Te Karaka 20 - Ngai Tahu

The Boardroomthe cafe where business decisions are made•"I knew 1 could create ahigh quality product.But could 1 build a highquality business?"Bryce Manukonga started his own business whenhe saw a need for high quality Maori arts and craftsin his local region. When Bryce does something, helikes to do it well. 'lb help him structure and managehis business, he contacted BIZ, the free nationalbusiness information service for small and mediumsized business in New Zealand.Years of observingbusinessdealings over coffeein cafes inspiredMike Beresford toopen the Boardroom- the cafe designedfor doing businesswhile enjoying goodfood and coffee.On a visit tothe Boardroom you will find an array of people, from thebusiness people in suits doing meetings to a number ofcasual people taking a break out of their busy day tomeet with friends, not to mention the line-up of clientsready and waiting to meet with Mike.From the moment Mike begins to speak there isan overwhelming sense of passion and enthusiasm - adynamic successful man serious about business who isalways working on the next good idea.Mike's plan with the Boardroom was to create abusiness that would cater to every business need, fromformal meetings in the privacy of a boardroom equippedwith internet access, computers and video conferencingfacilities, to the more informal meeting catered for, witha number of semi-private lounge cubicles on offer.There is also the 12-month membership packageideal for business people looking for a meeting place inthe city on a regular basis. Members receive discountson boardroom hire, free use of the cubicle areas andhalf-price espresso for themselves and their guests.Recently one of the boardrooms became acourtroom via the video conferencing equipment, whichallowed a witness to provide evidence from the comfortand safety of the Boardroom.A growing demand for their facilities has resultedin plans for expansion, with the creation of two newrooms that can accommodate up to 25 extra people.Mike is already negotiating franchising opportunities withinterested parties from Australia and Canada.Mike believes that the early success of theBoardroom is due to a hardworking group of friendlydedicated staff on his team, who all share the same goalsas himself and are paramount in making the Boardroomwhat it is today.Mike affiliates to Wairewa ROnanga and is an activerOnanga member, where he sits as a director on therOnanga's company board and enjoys participating atthe monthly rOnanga meetings. Having notched upseveral years of experience in the areas of business,real estate and marketing, Mike sees himself as beingable to help other people grow their own businessesand occasionally hosts Maori Business Networkmeetings.With good food, great coffee, a business-likeatmosphere and super friendly and efficient service, theBoardroom lives up to its name and its reputation! ~na Vicki Ratana1 •1I"BIZ gave me a lot of practical advice, a lot of handson advice and a lot of expertise from people who hadthe skills and knowledge to enable me to understandhow to run and structure my business."It was important to Bryce that BIZ understood hisneeds as a Maori."They understood my needs within the workshopsand the BIZ courses. The guest speakers worked oneon-onewith each business as well as a group andthat helped me achieve some of the objectives I hadfor my business."Bryce puts a very high standard on his own products,so how does he rate BIZ?"I rate BIZ very highly. I would recommend anyMaori to attend these programmes to enable themto get an understanding on how to manage theirbusiness."To find out more about how BIZ can add value toyour business call free on 0800 42 49 46 orvisit the BIZinfo website www.bizinfo.co.DzYou'll find your nearest BlZinfo centre at: Northland, 3-5 Hunt St, Whangarei. North Shore, Unit 3 100 Bush Rd, Albany. Auckland Central, 37 RemueraRd, Newmarket. Waitakere, Level 3 John Henry Centre, Cnr. Catherine & Pioneer, Henderson. Manukau, 22 Amersham Way. Auckland South, SouthmarketBusiness Park, 731-737 Great South Rd, Olahuhu. Walkato, 554 Victoria St, Hamilton. Taupo, 67 Hen Heu St. Tauranga, Old Post Office Building, 71 WillowSt. Rotorua, Rotorua Public Library, 1127 Haupapa St. Whakatane, 6 Richardson St. G1sborne, 295 Gladstone St. Napier, 231 Hastings St. Hastings, BarnesKirk Building. Cnr. Eastbonrne & Market St. Taranaki, 1st floor, 49-55 Powerham St, New Plymoutb. Manawatu, Vision Manawatu, 1st floor, The SquareCentre, Palmerston North. WanganuI, 187 Victoria Ave. Horowhenua, 93 Oxford St, Levin. Wellington, 38-42 Waring Taylor St. Porlrua, Business PorITua,20 Parumoana St. Lower Hutt, Level 3, 20 Daly St. Walrarapa, 110 Dixon St, Masterton. Marlborough, The Forum, Market St, Blenheim. Nelson,54 Montgomery Square. Christchurch, 57 Kilmore St. Dunedin, 241 Moray Place. Ttmaru, Cnr. Stafford & Stratballan St. Queenstown, BusinessService Centre, 34 Shotover St. Southland, Menzies BUilding, 1 Lower Esk St, Invercargill.redrocks IN217920 TE KARAKA Raumati I Summer 2002 R a u m a I i IS u m mer 2002 T E K A R A K A 21