UNLEASH THE POTENTIAL
- MENTORING AND UPSKILLING FOR SMES

Small and medium sized enterprise (SME) owners dominate the New Zealand business scene yet they can often feel isolated – without peers or colleagues to talk to about the company. They can also get so busy with day-to-day operations they don’t take time out to assess and grow the business to another level. Mentoring and training are two ways SMEs can upskill and inject new momentum into a business.

An experienced business mentor can help refocus a business that’s lost its way or offer advice to deal with a specific challenge. Empathetic and experienced mentors can discuss the challenges and difficulties the business faces. This process will help identify strategies and opportunities for growth, helping the business owner gain confidence in their ability to plan and manage a venture, meet new challenges and learn how to obtain the skills necessary for achieving desired results.

A mentor's value is in assessing the business from a distance and is someone you can talk with openly who will offer guidance based on their extensive experience.  They are coaches, not consultants. They don’t take the place of existing professional advisers and in fact often recommend clients develop a closer relationship with their accountant, bank manager or other professional service suppliers.

Companies who’ve used a business mentor list some of the positive impacts gained from the relationship as confidence, enthusiasm and energy.  In many cases, simply having someone to talk to and discuss ideas with is enough to provide confidence that you are on the right track.

Company Rebuilders is a charitable trust, established by highly experienced, retired senior business executives who donate their time to provide mentoring services to start-up businesses (less than six months old), businesses in trouble, and to successful businesses. 

Business in the Community is another charitable trust that delivers a free business mentoring programme nationwide to SMEs operating for at least six months.

Upskilling is also critical for most owners and operators of SMEs if they want to grow the business and ensure it has a sustainable and profitable future. Training can give entrepreneurs and business owners the skills to commercialise a great product or service, expand into export and keep up with business management trends.

A series of free Enterprise Training programmes are available for SMEs (companies with less than 20 full time staff) throughout the country, delivered by independent, specialist training providers.

Group training courses are aimed at transferring skills and knowledge from a range of generic and specialised areas of business management, with topics such as business planning, compliance, marketing strategy and managing resources. Some of the workshops have been created to meet the needs of people working in specific sectors.

A limited amount of training is available to people considering establishing a business – to help them decide if self-employment is the right option and help them to identify what the next steps are in establishing a business.

One of the biggest hurdles facing SMEs is knowing how to find finance to expand, diversify or commercialise a new concept. Investment Ready Training educates business people about the different types of finance and how they can access equity funding from investors.

Training programmes have also been developed specifically for Maori trustees and Pacific businesses. Maori trustee training is offered to trustees and managers of Maori trusts and other Maori organisations managing multiple owned assets. Participants get an opportunity to network and share best practice with other trustees and to up-skill and improve governance capability.

The Pacific Business training programme is a new initiative, delivered throughout New Zealand. This training aims to improve the management capability and productivity of Pacific people’s businesses and to increase the number of businesses being established by Pacific people in New Zealand. The Pacific population in New Zealand is expected to double from its current 6% to 12% of the population in the next 50 years. This population is a predominantly youthful one and positive action is required to lift the skill levels of people currently in the workforce and to enhance employment prospects for the future.

The Pacific Business training programme is offered to Pacific people interested in starting a business or those who are newly in business. Group workshops run by the Pacific Business Trust are available on a range of topics such as business planning and marketing.

Follow up training is an essential component of Enterprise Training – business coaches work with participants one-on-one to help implement the skills, ideas and knowledge gained from the workshops.