The SME Stream

Why did Chris Hipkins choose to announce that he will restore the pay equity regime within the first 100 days of a Labour-led Government? Why did he do that? I'm really confused by it because it's not as if there was a special event or venue that he tied the announcement to. He was just at a public meeting in Spreydon and then seemed to blurt it out. This is hugely consequential for the Labour Par...

How much cash will we get back from tax cuts? Nicola Willis will soon an announcement about their timing and potential value, if they get back to the Treasury benches. The good news out of yesterday's PREFU is that the books are out of structural deficit this year. That means when the government borrows new money going forward, it will be for capital spending, not to keep the lights on. We've esse...

A fun, self-reflective one. Scott and Mike break down the three archetypes of business owner — Visionary, Craftsman and Hustler — and how understanding your own type changes who you should hire and how you should lead. You'll learn: -The three main owner types and their classic strengths/weaknesses  -A simple test to identify your own type  -Why you should hire for the tasks...

What makes a mediation effective, and how do you know when to fight, negotiate, or settle? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Emma Butcher and Angela Evans, partners at BE Employment Law , for a practical conversation about employment law, mediation, negotiation, and resolving workplace disputes. Emma and Angela describe themselves as self-confessed law nerds, and their ap...

Our red meat sector appears to be sitting pretty amid a turbulent global market.  The sector's gathering in Wellington today for a conference focusing on resilience to market shocks, export demand, and geopolitics in supply chains.  Exports continue to surge, with combined receipts forecast around $12.6 billion across 2026 and 27.  Special Agricultural Trade Envoy Nathan Guy told Mi...

A former Finance Minister's hailing today as extremely important as Treasury opens the Government's books.  This afternoon's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update will show the levels of Crown debt, revenue, and expenditure.  Budget 2026 predicted a return to operating surplus in the 2028/29 financial year – a year earlier than had been signalled.  Steven Joyce told Mike Hos...

Built around a Richard Branson quote — employees first, customers second — this episode is a deep dive into how to identify, keep, and lead A-grade talent, even in a tight labour market. You'll learn: -What actually defines an "A-grader" (and why they'll leave a B-grade environment no matter the market); -The annual "Keep Test" — would you fight to keep this person, or feel relie...

Do you actually need to become the face of your business to grow it? This week on Make It Happen, we sit down with   ⁨@roimatawilkey⁩  founder of @burst digital to unpack how she built a personal brand that has reached more than 200 million people and turned content into a powerful growth channel for her business. Roi shares how she went from struggling to post consistently to findi...

Buying an established business can give you customers, systems and revenue from day one. But how do you know whether the asking price reflects what you’ll actually earn? On The Prosperity Project , Nadine talks to The Comic Accountant Sam Harith about the checks to make before buying a business. They discuss financial statements, debt, cash flow, the difference between buying assets and shar...

With the election just weeks away, a new poll gives us a glimpse into how voters feel about one of the major topics this campaign season – tax.  No new taxes for working people. No new taxes full stop. Taxes for capital gains. Tax the rich. Tax inheritance. Tax landowners.  The campaign season’s only just officially begun but it feels like we’ve already been h...

There's a belief New Zealand First's proposal to slash the tax rate for small businesses could make a positive difference to our business landscape.   The party's promising to lower the tax rate from 28% to 20% for firms with turnover under $30 million. Its estimated cost is about a billion dollars a year. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Katherine Rich told Kerre Woodham it would apply to a majori...

Labour is rolling out an election-year sweetener, this time aimed at Kiwis with student loans. The party is promising eligible borrowers will receive a 10 percent reduction on their student loan balance if it's elected.  Under the proposal, graduates who complete their studies and stay in the country for at least three years would qualify.  Labour's Tertiary Education Spokesperson Shanan...

A practical, framework-heavy episode on how owners actually get better at running their business — and how to know what kind of help you need next. -You'll learn: the 70-20-10 rule for learning (on-the-job, coached, and formal/theory); -How to spot your business's natural bias across Product, Customer and Finance; -The real difference between a mentor and a coach; -Why looking outside your o...

NZ First want taxes slashed for small and medium businesses in order to increase productivity. The party will campaign on lowering the rate from 28 percent to 20 - for businesses turning over less than $30 million dollars.  Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says there's a case for making this change, as Australia tried something similar for small to medium enterprises. LI...

Greg Smith KiwiSaver investment and Managed Funds specialist from Generate on earnings growth multiples. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Time is running out for the businesses that generate billions of dollars worth of GDP and that employ a quarter of a million New Zealanders. They're the businesses that run on gas. Your bakers, your coffee roasters, your wineries, your wood processors, your ag sec. And that's not counting the schools and hospitals dependent on gas to heat their buildings. Time is running out because the gas they o...

Forsyth Barr Investment Adviser Mark Richardson explains which assets are benefitting from high interest rates. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook and Instagram, has launched its own new AI-powered assistant. Muse went to number one on the app stores and it's generated plenty of interest, but not everyone's a fan. Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explained further - and revealed why Amazon has cut the agent off its platform. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Markets assess the prospects of the US restricting diesel exports, while S&P Ratings see a low inflation path for NZ that holds the OCR to 3%. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The window was closing. India is now chasing bigger fish, as it looks for alternatives to sending exports scrambling over a US tariff wall.' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As business owners, you know how hard it is keeping up with your business, let alone the news. Join Wilhelmina O'Keeffe each week as she gives you a rundown of the biggest stories that could impact your business, so you can make informed decisions with expert advice.   This week,  Our supermarkets become the focus of this election, fuel prices look set to stay high for a while yet, and t...

Salesforce New Zealand country manager Richard Phillimore-Smith says the next phase of artificial intelligence will hinge on whether organisations can put trusted data, established workflows and people together to solve real business problems. Speaking to The Business of Tech at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, Phillimore-Smith said the event reflected an industry at a tu...

What if becoming a better leader isn't about adding more to your toolkit, but knowing what to let go of? In this episode of HR Unlocked , Lisa Oakley sits down with Heather Langton, Chief People Officer at Spark , to explore what leadership, HR, and human capability need to look like in a rapidly changing world. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience across human resources, transformation, ta...

Let's start with the good news. The annual State of the Thriving Nation report prepared for the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum says workplace injury claims have fallen 28% over the past decade, and some of the biggest drops have come in the industries with the worst histories of harm, those like forestry and construction and the like. Although the report says rates of harm are still much...

New data shows insurance disputes have risen to record levels for the year ended 30 June 2026. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme reported handling 3,977 cases during this time period, including 2,602 complaints - with dispute volumes increasing almost 190 percent over the past five years. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny says much of this increase was dri...