http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.strategize.co.nz en-us Mon, 04 May 2026 20:54:00 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/158496/welcome-to-2026/ ... Tue, 06 Jan 2026 12:41:47 +1300 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post158496 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/129884/evaluating-new-business-ideas/ People who are self-employed generally like to stay that way. If they sell a business they quickly start another one, and successful owners seem to have a ‘knack’ for coming up with good ideas for new businesses. This ability is based largely on their experience and on a set of values or standards that should be applied to every business idea before going ahead with it. This system of evaluating business ideas applies to both products and services; we use the term ‘product’ to mean both.... Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post129884 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/126153/five-oversights-that-can-kill-your-business/ Business owners usually have long term visions for their enterprise, but most business failures happen quickly, before the owner is able to change course or implement strategies that will correct the situation.  The fatal gap between planning and performance is often the result of one of the following set of factors, although two or more of these can occur simultaneously and accelerate the organisation’s demise. Take a close look at your own business and be sure none of these are taking s... Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post126153 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/87606/improving-cashflow/ Cash Flow Strategies Cash flow is often called ‘the lifeblood of a business’, and for several good reasons. But the flow of cash into most businesses is uneven and there can be times when a constrained cash flow creates serious problems, even if the long term situation is positive. There are, however, ways to improve the cash flow of any small business and remove some of the worries about bills not being paid or not having enough on hand to pay wages. These mainly involve no more than adjust... Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post87606 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/107767/look-good-to-lenders/ Look Good To LendersBusinesses borrow money for a number of reasons. Additional capital may be needed to increase production capacity or to open a new retail outlet. It might be necessary to borrow to expand overseas or to upgrade the business’ IT facilities.Whatever the reason, borrowing money involves the need to favourably impress the lenders you are approaching for finance. There’s never a guarantee that they will support your proposal, but there are some preliminary steps you can take t... Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post107767 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/109185/find-your-niche-and-market-to-it/ There are many definitions of a ‘niche’ market but essentially they’re a subset, a smaller segment, of your existing target market. This is very important because it means they may already be aware of you and are already prospects for your company’s offerings.Members of your targeted niche will share a similar set of characteristics. You can exploit that by satisfying those common needs and catering to their particular interests, and they can be extremely profitable if you provide them w... Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post109185 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/106916/write-a-business-plan-with-investor-appeal/ Every business should have a business plan in place that it works to and compares its performance against. These are usually functional plans that have the intention of serving as a guide to management, but may not be the best plan for impressing potential sources of funding for the business. Businesses often need to borrow money or attract investment capital, and when doing so need a business plan that’s both realistic and will demonstrate to those not involved in the enterprise that the busi... Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post106916 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/106459/ten-questions-you-should-be-able-to-answer-yes-to/ Ten Questions You Should Be Able To Answer ‘Yes’ ToThis is a list of questions that every business manager should be able to answer with an unqualified ‘yes’. They largely relate to the fundamental need of identifying and understanding your competition, and if you find yourself giving a ‘no’ answer to any of them it means you could be short of valuable information that would provide you with a competitive advantage.1.     Do you know who your competitors are? Do y... Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post106459 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/106460/outsource-to-a-virtual-assistant/ Many small businesses have already discovered the benefits of outsourcing certain functions of their organisations. Tasks including accounting and payroll are often handled by external providers more efficiently and economically than if kept in-house.As long as a business retains its core competencies internally there are few functions that can’t now be strategically outsourced, thanks to a new kind of entrepreneur known as a Virtual Assistant, or ‘VA’.  VAs are independent businesspe... Sun, 07 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post106460 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/post/104519/got-employee-issues-document-your-case/ Documentation of your employees’ performance and their conduct at work is becoming one of the most important tasks of management. It requires attention to detail that’s time consuming but it can save your company thousands of dollars if an employee relationship goes sour and you need to justify disciplinary action or even termination of their employment.Take a typical case of an employee whose performance is substandard. You will usually have a discussion with them in which you outline their... Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.strategize.co.nz/blog/#post104519