Flying Start Business Plan Awards

It is a pleasure to be here today to award the supreme prize for www.business.govt.nz’s ANZ Flying Start Business Plan Competition.

More than 760 people put forward ideas for the ANZ Flying Start competition – the kind of ideas that show off the ingenuity and entrepreneurship that New Zealanders are renowned for. 

Many of these ideas, when partnered with a solid business plan, have the ingredients for success in New Zealand, and across the globe.

I’m here to announce the supreme winner, but before I do, I would like to acknowledge the thousands of companies throughout New Zealand that have taken the step to start a business.

Small and medium enterprise account for 40 per cent of our total output on a value-added basis and employ over 500,000 New Zealanders.

Firms with five or fewer employees have the highest average real profit per employee at just over 12,000 dollars.

Put simply, small and medium businesses are the lifeblood of the New Zealand economy and this Government is dedicated to helping them succeed.

One of the Government’s initiatives for supporting SMEs in NZ is the website www.business.govt.nz.

It provides a comprehensive overview of all the things businesses need and want to know from Government, in a format that is easy to understand.

It’s been a busy year and we have seen the launch of two new resources to help SMEs.

The first is an iPad app, the Mobile Business Toolbox, which features handy video case studies, health check tools and templates for business planning, marketing, forecasting and more.

The second resource is a cross government calendar, called B-Cal, which brings together key government opportunities, events and general compliance dates into one centralised place.

Business.govt.nz has, of course, also been running the ANZ Flying Start Business Plan competition - the reason we are here today.

This competition aims to support SME growth in New Zealand by encouraging business planning, one of the most searched for terms on Business.govt.nz, and the cornerstone of successful enterprise.

If SMEs are to reach their full potential they must plan ahead, and this competition has helped raise awareness of the wealth of resources available.

Of course it would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors: 

•           Gold sponsor; ANZ

•           Silver sponsors; MYOB and Ernst &Young, and;

•           Bronze sponsors; Stellaris, MYOB, The Marketing Bureau and NZBusiness Magazine. 

This is the second time we have run the Flying Start competition and we have built on last year’s success. 

Entrant numbers were up from 570 applications last year to 760 this year, and the competition has encouraged more people to take a look at Business.govt.nz – the site attracted nearly one million visitors over the past 12 months.

After taking home the supreme award last year Safe Eyes of Masterton said, ‘Everyone should have a go at this.  It makes you have a good strategic look at your business and where you want to head.’ 

Regional winners were also enthusiastic, not just about the competition, but the motivation it gave them to develop a business plan.

Peppermint Dream, a specialised nightwear company that won the regional Southland prize, said: ‘Preparing a great business plan… provided a solid foundation on which the business can grow and flourish.  Winning the Southland region business plan competition has opened doors to both new customers and opportunities.’

And SL Racing, of Hawkes Bay said of their experience that ‘…the benefit of entering the competition was not the prize, but the depth of questions you had to answer for the business plan…’ it provided ‘the confidence to move on and increase sales and productivity…’

I’m looking forward to hearing similar tales of success from our 16 regional winners and of course of Export Winner.

But ultimately, today is about our supreme award winner.   

And so, without further delay, I would like to announce the supreme winner of www.business.govt.nz's 2012 ANZ Flying Start Business Plan Competition:

They are Invert Robotics Limited from the Canterbury Region.

Invert Robotics has created a world leading inspection solution for dairy factories and other users of stainless steel equipment using remotely-operated climbing robots. 

This company is a prime example of the innovation that is thriving in New Zealand’s small and medium businesses. 

I congratulate them on their win.