Established<\/b>: 1996 – 27 years\n<\/span><\/p>\nLocation<\/b>: Upper Hutt\n<\/span><\/p>\nContact Name:\u00a0<\/strong>Brett McKenzie<\/p>\nWebsite: <\/b>www.soilsupplies.co.nz<\/a>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Business mission and vision<\/b>:<\/div>\nTo provide honest advice and value for money results for people\u2019s commercial and residential landscape needs. Focus on providing honest, friendly advice<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\u201cLandscape supplies – servicing both retail and wholesale clients throughout the the greater wellington region <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWe also manufacture all our own concrete pavers, edging and kerbing onsite\u201d<\/span>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h2><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What sets you apart from your competitors?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nValue for money, prompt service, positive attitude and advice. Always striving to \u201cmake it work\u201d for the client and meet their needs however we can.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please provide details of any business awards you have won.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Finals of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Awards in the Small Business category on two occasions<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe why you decided to go into business for yourself.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Family business started by my parents in 1996\nI always enjoyed helping people and finding results for whatever they wanted to do and to provide a service on the customer\u2019s timeframe, not on the \u201cwe\u2019ll do it when we can do it\u201d attitude<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe some of the challenges you needed to overcome to get your business off the ground.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>When I took over the business, I was relatively young and had to work really hard to convince customers of my experience and knowledge<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please tell us about an example where you managed to overcome a significant challenge that stood in the way of your business success.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>The challenge of building a reputation. I had to make sure I \u201cwalked the walk\u201d and prove I was honest and trustworthy\nE.g. when we provided materials in the early 2000s for the Legend of Zorro (multi million dollar movie) – filming at Shelley Bay – over time they would come direct and ask my advice for whatever project they were working on at the time<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please explain how perseverance or overcoming adversity has been necessary for you to make a success of your business.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Maintaining a consistent supply chain when using natural products that are a finite supply e.g. things actually run out – finding alternative sources etc.<\/p>\nLearning to manage a growing staff starting off from 2 working up to having 16 in the team during covid.<\/p>\nCovid and post-covid were a huge challenge. The year after covid we actually did our highest turnover but we actually ran at a personal health loss due to stress and health issues worrying about the business, staff welfare, people being sick. It was a huge challenge to maintain our professionalism and core values while managing fluctuating staff availability.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What business success have you achieved to date? <\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Years of 2003 to 2019 we had a constant 25% increase in turnover each year and had a staff increase from 3 to 18.<\/p>\nBeing nominated for 2 x Chamber of Commerce Business Awards<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What are you most proud of in relation to your business?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Most proud of the family environment that has been created over the years. Several staff members have been here for in excess of 10 years. We look out for our staff as well as their own families.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>How many people does your business employ?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>10 people currently – we previously did civil contracting, commercial truck hire and manufacturing our own concrete products but due to personal health issues had to make the decision to downsize post covid.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What contractors do you regularly use in your business?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe don\u2019t use contractors to deliver our services – everything we do we are self sufficient.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What training opportunities have you provided to the people you employ?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>We offer in house training for staff to get additional licences – vehicle licences or compliance licences – company pays for this training.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What positive reviews and testimonials do you have from happy customers?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nGoogle Reviews – 145 reviews with a 4.7 average<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Apart from the potential financial benefits, what other benefits do you get from being a business owner?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Since downsizing I\u2019ve been able to spend a lot more time with 6 year old son and follow my hobby \/ passion of setting up military museum.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe any community involvement or sponsorship your business is involved with.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Currently the business is heavily into supporting the set up of a community trust called the \u201cM&M Military museum\u201d which will be open for educational purposes for schools, community groups and members of the public.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What other ways do you - as a business - give back to the community?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>We also provide products for community gardens and community groups<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please outline any other information you think is relevant to this entry.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>N\/A<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>[totalpoll id=”2690″]<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2799","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2799"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3010,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799\/revisions\/3010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Location<\/b>: Upper Hutt\n<\/span><\/p>\nContact Name:\u00a0<\/strong>Brett McKenzie<\/p>\nWebsite: <\/b>www.soilsupplies.co.nz<\/a>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Business mission and vision<\/b>:<\/div>\nTo provide honest advice and value for money results for people\u2019s commercial and residential landscape needs. Focus on providing honest, friendly advice<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\u201cLandscape supplies – servicing both retail and wholesale clients throughout the the greater wellington region <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWe also manufacture all our own concrete pavers, edging and kerbing onsite\u201d<\/span>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h2><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What sets you apart from your competitors?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nValue for money, prompt service, positive attitude and advice. Always striving to \u201cmake it work\u201d for the client and meet their needs however we can.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please provide details of any business awards you have won.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Finals of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Awards in the Small Business category on two occasions<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe why you decided to go into business for yourself.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Family business started by my parents in 1996\nI always enjoyed helping people and finding results for whatever they wanted to do and to provide a service on the customer\u2019s timeframe, not on the \u201cwe\u2019ll do it when we can do it\u201d attitude<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe some of the challenges you needed to overcome to get your business off the ground.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>When I took over the business, I was relatively young and had to work really hard to convince customers of my experience and knowledge<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please tell us about an example where you managed to overcome a significant challenge that stood in the way of your business success.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>The challenge of building a reputation. I had to make sure I \u201cwalked the walk\u201d and prove I was honest and trustworthy\nE.g. when we provided materials in the early 2000s for the Legend of Zorro (multi million dollar movie) – filming at Shelley Bay – over time they would come direct and ask my advice for whatever project they were working on at the time<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please explain how perseverance or overcoming adversity has been necessary for you to make a success of your business.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Maintaining a consistent supply chain when using natural products that are a finite supply e.g. things actually run out – finding alternative sources etc.<\/p>\nLearning to manage a growing staff starting off from 2 working up to having 16 in the team during covid.<\/p>\nCovid and post-covid were a huge challenge. The year after covid we actually did our highest turnover but we actually ran at a personal health loss due to stress and health issues worrying about the business, staff welfare, people being sick. It was a huge challenge to maintain our professionalism and core values while managing fluctuating staff availability.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What business success have you achieved to date? <\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Years of 2003 to 2019 we had a constant 25% increase in turnover each year and had a staff increase from 3 to 18.<\/p>\nBeing nominated for 2 x Chamber of Commerce Business Awards<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What are you most proud of in relation to your business?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Most proud of the family environment that has been created over the years. Several staff members have been here for in excess of 10 years. We look out for our staff as well as their own families.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>How many people does your business employ?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>10 people currently – we previously did civil contracting, commercial truck hire and manufacturing our own concrete products but due to personal health issues had to make the decision to downsize post covid.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What contractors do you regularly use in your business?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe don\u2019t use contractors to deliver our services – everything we do we are self sufficient.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What training opportunities have you provided to the people you employ?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>We offer in house training for staff to get additional licences – vehicle licences or compliance licences – company pays for this training.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What positive reviews and testimonials do you have from happy customers?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nGoogle Reviews – 145 reviews with a 4.7 average<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Apart from the potential financial benefits, what other benefits do you get from being a business owner?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Since downsizing I\u2019ve been able to spend a lot more time with 6 year old son and follow my hobby \/ passion of setting up military museum.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe any community involvement or sponsorship your business is involved with.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Currently the business is heavily into supporting the set up of a community trust called the \u201cM&M Military museum\u201d which will be open for educational purposes for schools, community groups and members of the public.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What other ways do you - as a business - give back to the community?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>We also provide products for community gardens and community groups<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please outline any other information you think is relevant to this entry.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>N\/A<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>[totalpoll id=”2690″]<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2799","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2799"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3010,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799\/revisions\/3010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Contact Name:\u00a0<\/strong>Brett McKenzie<\/p>\nWebsite: <\/b>www.soilsupplies.co.nz<\/a>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Business mission and vision<\/b>:<\/div>\nTo provide honest advice and value for money results for people\u2019s commercial and residential landscape needs. Focus on providing honest, friendly advice<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\u201cLandscape supplies – servicing both retail and wholesale clients throughout the the greater wellington region <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWe also manufacture all our own concrete pavers, edging and kerbing onsite\u201d<\/span>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h2><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What sets you apart from your competitors?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nValue for money, prompt service, positive attitude and advice. Always striving to \u201cmake it work\u201d for the client and meet their needs however we can.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please provide details of any business awards you have won.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Finals of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Awards in the Small Business category on two occasions<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe why you decided to go into business for yourself.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Family business started by my parents in 1996\nI always enjoyed helping people and finding results for whatever they wanted to do and to provide a service on the customer\u2019s timeframe, not on the \u201cwe\u2019ll do it when we can do it\u201d attitude<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe some of the challenges you needed to overcome to get your business off the ground.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>When I took over the business, I was relatively young and had to work really hard to convince customers of my experience and knowledge<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please tell us about an example where you managed to overcome a significant challenge that stood in the way of your business success.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>The challenge of building a reputation. I had to make sure I \u201cwalked the walk\u201d and prove I was honest and trustworthy\nE.g. when we provided materials in the early 2000s for the Legend of Zorro (multi million dollar movie) – filming at Shelley Bay – over time they would come direct and ask my advice for whatever project they were working on at the time<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please explain how perseverance or overcoming adversity has been necessary for you to make a success of your business.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Maintaining a consistent supply chain when using natural products that are a finite supply e.g. things actually run out – finding alternative sources etc.<\/p>\nLearning to manage a growing staff starting off from 2 working up to having 16 in the team during covid.<\/p>\nCovid and post-covid were a huge challenge. The year after covid we actually did our highest turnover but we actually ran at a personal health loss due to stress and health issues worrying about the business, staff welfare, people being sick. It was a huge challenge to maintain our professionalism and core values while managing fluctuating staff availability.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What business success have you achieved to date? <\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Years of 2003 to 2019 we had a constant 25% increase in turnover each year and had a staff increase from 3 to 18.<\/p>\nBeing nominated for 2 x Chamber of Commerce Business Awards<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What are you most proud of in relation to your business?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Most proud of the family environment that has been created over the years. Several staff members have been here for in excess of 10 years. We look out for our staff as well as their own families.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>How many people does your business employ?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>10 people currently – we previously did civil contracting, commercial truck hire and manufacturing our own concrete products but due to personal health issues had to make the decision to downsize post covid.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What contractors do you regularly use in your business?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe don\u2019t use contractors to deliver our services – everything we do we are self sufficient.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What training opportunities have you provided to the people you employ?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>We offer in house training for staff to get additional licences – vehicle licences or compliance licences – company pays for this training.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What positive reviews and testimonials do you have from happy customers?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nGoogle Reviews – 145 reviews with a 4.7 average<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Apart from the potential financial benefits, what other benefits do you get from being a business owner?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Since downsizing I\u2019ve been able to spend a lot more time with 6 year old son and follow my hobby \/ passion of setting up military museum.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe any community involvement or sponsorship your business is involved with.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Currently the business is heavily into supporting the set up of a community trust called the \u201cM&M Military museum\u201d which will be open for educational purposes for schools, community groups and members of the public.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What other ways do you - as a business - give back to the community?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>We also provide products for community gardens and community groups<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please outline any other information you think is relevant to this entry.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>N\/A<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>[totalpoll id=”2690″]<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2799","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2799"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3010,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799\/revisions\/3010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Website: <\/b>www.soilsupplies.co.nz<\/a>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Business mission and vision<\/b>:<\/div>\nTo provide honest advice and value for money results for people\u2019s commercial and residential landscape needs. Focus on providing honest, friendly advice<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\u201cLandscape supplies – servicing both retail and wholesale clients throughout the the greater wellington region <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\nWe also manufacture all our own concrete pavers, edging and kerbing onsite\u201d<\/span>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h2><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What sets you apart from your competitors?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nValue for money, prompt service, positive attitude and advice. Always striving to \u201cmake it work\u201d for the client and meet their needs however we can.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please provide details of any business awards you have won.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Finals of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Awards in the Small Business category on two occasions<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe why you decided to go into business for yourself.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Family business started by my parents in 1996\nI always enjoyed helping people and finding results for whatever they wanted to do and to provide a service on the customer\u2019s timeframe, not on the \u201cwe\u2019ll do it when we can do it\u201d attitude<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe some of the challenges you needed to overcome to get your business off the ground.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>When I took over the business, I was relatively young and had to work really hard to convince customers of my experience and knowledge<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please tell us about an example where you managed to overcome a significant challenge that stood in the way of your business success.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>The challenge of building a reputation. I had to make sure I \u201cwalked the walk\u201d and prove I was honest and trustworthy\nE.g. when we provided materials in the early 2000s for the Legend of Zorro (multi million dollar movie) – filming at Shelley Bay – over time they would come direct and ask my advice for whatever project they were working on at the time<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please explain how perseverance or overcoming adversity has been necessary for you to make a success of your business.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Maintaining a consistent supply chain when using natural products that are a finite supply e.g. things actually run out – finding alternative sources etc.<\/p>\nLearning to manage a growing staff starting off from 2 working up to having 16 in the team during covid.<\/p>\nCovid and post-covid were a huge challenge. The year after covid we actually did our highest turnover but we actually ran at a personal health loss due to stress and health issues worrying about the business, staff welfare, people being sick. It was a huge challenge to maintain our professionalism and core values while managing fluctuating staff availability.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What business success have you achieved to date? <\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Years of 2003 to 2019 we had a constant 25% increase in turnover each year and had a staff increase from 3 to 18.<\/p>\nBeing nominated for 2 x Chamber of Commerce Business Awards<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What are you most proud of in relation to your business?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Most proud of the family environment that has been created over the years. Several staff members have been here for in excess of 10 years. We look out for our staff as well as their own families.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>How many people does your business employ?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>10 people currently – we previously did civil contracting, commercial truck hire and manufacturing our own concrete products but due to personal health issues had to make the decision to downsize post covid.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What contractors do you regularly use in your business?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe don\u2019t use contractors to deliver our services – everything we do we are self sufficient.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What training opportunities have you provided to the people you employ?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>We offer in house training for staff to get additional licences – vehicle licences or compliance licences – company pays for this training.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What positive reviews and testimonials do you have from happy customers?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\nGoogle Reviews – 145 reviews with a 4.7 average<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Apart from the potential financial benefits, what other benefits do you get from being a business owner?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Since downsizing I\u2019ve been able to spend a lot more time with 6 year old son and follow my hobby \/ passion of setting up military museum.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please describe any community involvement or sponsorship your business is involved with.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>Currently the business is heavily into supporting the set up of a community trust called the \u201cM&M Military museum\u201d which will be open for educational purposes for schools, community groups and members of the public.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>What other ways do you - as a business - give back to the community?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>We also provide products for community gardens and community groups<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i><\/i><\/span>Please outline any other information you think is relevant to this entry.<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>N\/A<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>[totalpoll id=”2690″]<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"100-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2799","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2799"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3010,"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2799\/revisions\/3010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kiwibusinessheroes.co.nz\/awards\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Learning to manage a growing staff starting off from 2 working up to having 16 in the team during covid.<\/p>\n
Covid and post-covid were a huge challenge. The year after covid we actually did our highest turnover but we actually ran at a personal health loss due to stress and health issues worrying about the business, staff welfare, people being sick. It was a huge challenge to maintain our professionalism and core values while managing fluctuating staff availability.<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Being nominated for 2 x Chamber of Commerce Business Awards<\/div><\/div><\/div>
[totalpoll id=”2690″]<\/p>\n<\/div>