Notes From The Executive

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Hannah McQueen is a New Zealand chartered accountant, financial adviser and entrepreneur. She began at KPMG before founding Enable Me, a financial coaching business built on a mortgage-structuring formula she developed with the University of Auckland.

She grew it to around 100 staff and 10 offices, worked with roughly 15,000 clients, and exited about three years ago. She is a regular finance voice across NZ media and now runs Age Brightly, a venture focused on improving older person healthcare in New Zealand.

What I Asked Hannah

How do I know if my business is actually ready to sell, or if I am still years away?

You sold when three buyers turned up unannounced. Was that luck, or a signal every owner should be watching for?

Most Kiwi owners decide to sell on a weekend and list on the Monday. How long does a proper exit really take?

What did selling actually feel like, and what surprised you about life after the deal?

If you had to build and sell all over again, what would you refuse to leave this late?

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Mina on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast

Mina on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp?si=c12e08e33f604916

Mina on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812

Mina on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/

Mina on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso

Follow Hannah

Age Brightly https://agebrightly.co.nz

Timestamps

0:00 Is growing a business in New Zealand actually harder than it looks?

1:07 Who is Hannah McQueen beyond her business success?

2:48 What's broken in New Zealand's aged care system, and can we fix it?

8:08 How did getting fired lead Hannah to create Enable Me?

13:46 Why do smart people still struggle to do "the right thing" with money?

17:34 How big did Enable Me really get, staff, offices, clients, revenue?

23:41 What should founders know about scaling from $2M to $20M?

32:41 What was Hannah's most expensive lesson about hiring and products?

46:55 How did Hannah juggle 100 staff, a baby, and a growing business?

1:07:08 How can founders protect their wealth, health, and plan an exit?

Bernard Hickey is one of New Zealand's best known economics commentators. Trained as an economist and as a journalist, he has spent more than three decades covering money, markets and housing. He now runs The Kākā, a subscription newsletter and podcast, and co-hosts an ANZ-funded economics podcast.<br>
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<br><br>
Timestamps<br>
5:11 why isn't the NZ economy growing the way we were promised<br>
10:44 is the lack of a capital gains tax the real problem<br>
13:48 why does every other country make it easier to invest outside property<br>
18:08 when did buying more houses become the only way to get rich here<br>
34:07 why have we bet the whole economy on the housing market<br>
35:48 what happens when everyone has borrowed as much as they can<br>
45:02 why won't another rate cut start the boom again<br>
45:22 if housing is done, where do I actually build wealth now<br>
50:14 is immigration really what's holding the economy back<br>
1:12:12 how does any of this hit a business owner turning over a million<br>
1:22:18 what would actually fix this if anyone in power listened<br>
1:25:04 why are a third of our graduates leaving the country<br>
1:33:33 how do I stop my kids and grandkids from leaving NZ<br>
1:37:05 where to find Bernard Hickey and The Kākā<br>

Ashish Saxena is a former executive at Lucent-Alcatel, Nokia and General Electric, an investor, mentors business owners across multiple markets. This is his second appearance on Notes From The Executive.

What I Asked Ashish
Why is a $13M business with a 2% margin more dangerous than a $1M business at 25%

Why is revenue the metric quietly killing most NZ businesses

How do I sell something before I have even built it

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Mina on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast
Mina on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp?si=c12e08e33f604916
Mina on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812
Mina on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/
Mina on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso

Follow Ashish
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishrameshsaxena/

Watch on YouTube
https://youtu.be/txiSrqSo7o8

Time Stamps
0:00 – Intro
4:13 – Revenue vs Margin: The #1 Mistake Business Owners Make  
6:40 – Why Net Profit Margin Matters More Than Hitting $1M–$10M Revenue  
8:01 – Stalled Growth? Start by Rethinking the REAL Problem  
9:47 – Marketing & Branding vs Just Having a “Great Product”  
10:20 – Business Goals: Profit, Margin, and Building a Real Asset  
12:28 – Premium Customers, Luxury Brands & the 80/20 Rule Explained  
13:24 – What a Business Really Is: Daily Transactions, Not Busyness  
15:25 – If You Had No Transactions Today, You Didn’t Do Business  
16:22 – Two Core Questions: How to Increase Transactions and Margin per Sale  
17:09 – Example: Media & Airline Businesses, Oil Prices, and Squeezed Margins  
20:17 – Risk vs Uncertainty: What Smart Business Owners Actually Manage  
21:56 – Why Ashish Starts With the Market, Not the Business  
23:29 – Are You in a Growing Trend? How to Read Market Signals  
25:35 – The “Sell Before You Build” Strategy: Validating Offers Upfront  
27:29 – 3 Pillars: Trend, Money in the Trend, and Your Experience  
29:48 – Ad Break
30:16 – Case Study: Selling an Online Course Before Creating It  
31:44 – Pricing Strategy: Why You Should Price High, Then Discount  
33:14 – Established Businesses: Innovating Offers When Margins Stall  
34:17 – Clarifying the Pre-Sale Strategy: Content, Trust, and Timing  
35:11 – Attention vs Credibility: From Attention Economy to Trust Economy  
36:50 – How Much Content Someone Should Consume Before Buying ($1k Offer Rule)  
37:59 – Applying 80/20 to Content: Who Actually Becomes a Buyer?  
39:50 – From One-Off Transactions to Long-Term Customer Relationships  
40:07 – How Long-Term Clients Increase Your Profit Margins  
41:44 – Apple’s Ecosystem: iPhone, iCloud, AirPods & Recurring Revenue  
42:47 – Why Some Clients Leave Programs—and What That Reveals About ROI  
44:19 – Are You in a Collaborative Business Model or a One-Sided One?  
45:42 – Summary: Why You’re Stalled While 38% of Businesses Still Grow  
47:55 – Think Market First: Is the Market Growing While You’re Not?  
51:22 – Shiny Object Syndrome: Chasing AI and New Trends vs Staying the Course  
52:10 – Long-Term vs Short-Term Trends: What Coca-Cola and Toyota Teach Us  
54:23 – Business Models with Built-In Repeat Demand: Supermarkets, Cybersecurity  
55:16 – “I Want to Be in Demand” vs “What Is in Demand?” – A Critical Mindset Shift  
57:15 – If Your Market Isn’t Hot Anymore—Do You Leave or Adapt?  
58:34 – Same Product, New Markets: How Apple Expanded into GPS and Torch  
1:00:05 – Why Apple Launched the Watch & AirPods: Following the Trend + Revenue  
1:01:48 – How Apple Uses Acquisitions (Beats) to Shortcut Experience  
1:03:01 – Final 3 Takeaways: Thinking, Transactions, and Trend–Revenue–Experience  
1:04:26 – How to Connect with Ashish Saxena (LinkedIn)  
1:04:48 – Closing: Applying These Ideas to Your Own Business Growth

Tim Warren is the Co-Founder of Ambit, a New Zealand AI software company serving Financial Services, eCommerce, Retail, Telco and Utilities. Before Ambit, Tim was a COO at JBWere and an executive at Goldman Sachs. He is an angel investor with more than 15 investments and was previously on the board of Flying Kiwi Angels.In this conversation he tears apart New Zealand's government AI strategy, questions the $76 billion Microsoft and Accenture forecast, and tells NZ business owners why most AI consultants are wasting their money.What I Asked TimWhat is actually wrong with New Zealand's government AI strategy?Is the $76 billion AI forecast a real number or marketing copy?How do I know if my AI spend is strategic or just expensive noise?What is the worst AI mistake NZ business owners are making in 2026?What should I ignore that every AI guru on LinkedIn is telling me to do?Episode SponsorsAcademyExGet ahead with AIhttps://discover.academyex.com/minaPwrfullyGet Your Free Podcast Listhttps://www.pwrfully.comFollow MeMina on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcastMina on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp?si=c12e08e33f604916Mina on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812Mina on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/Mina on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/minaamsoFollow TimTim on LinkedIn https://nz.linkedin.com/in/tswarrenTIME STAMPS00:00 INTRO01:02 why does NZ's AI strategy feel weak to business owners03:08 how do I tell if the $76 billion AI forecast is realistic06:30 why is AI making bad work worse instead of better08:20 how do I avoid AI generated misinformation in my industry14:30 why do I feel behind every other business owner on AI16:07 how do I actually define a strategy for my NZ business25:30 how do I know if my AI investment is strategic or tactical34:30 how should a small NZ business approach AI without wasting cash44:30 how do I tell a good AI consultant from a bad one52:00 is hiring an in-house AI lead worth it for my business55:00 what are the worst decisions NZ business owners are making right now58:00 what should I be doing today that pays off in five years1:02:00 how do I grow without chasing every shiny new tool1:09:00 what should I ignore that everyone tells me to do with AI1:11:00 how do I reach Tim Warren on LinkedIn

Nicki Osbaldiston is a NZ marketing strategist and founder of Client Focused Approach. She has spent years repositioning founders whose marketing was never the real problem and built a framework experienced operators use to win back premium clients without producing more content.

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Follow Me
Mina on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@NotesFromTheExecutivePodcast
Mina on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4QgZGJdrnfjZ1sEm6MeGcp?si=c12e08e33f604916
Mina on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/notes-from-the-executive-podcast/id1586953812
Mina on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/minaamso/
Mina on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/minaamso

Follow Nicki Osbaldiston
Website: https://www.clientfocusedapproach.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicki-osbaldiston

What I Asked Nicki
Why are experienced NZ founders getting underbid every week despite being active online?
What is the framework you walk founders through to fix this?
How do I stop competing on price and start being chosen?
What do my best clients actually want to hear that I am not saying?
How do I get found without producing more content?

Timestamps
(rebuild after final edited runtime — placeholders from current cut below)
36:55 — How does networking actually grow a service business?
38:24 — How do strategic partnerships work in practice?
41:21 — Why should I celebrate what is already working?
44:13 — Who is in my network that I am not talking to?
49:29 — How do I find my ideal client through second-degree connections?
54:47 — How do I track relationships when I am too small for a CRM?
56:27 — How do I build a positioning framework from scratch?
1:00:06 — Why does Nicki want NZ businesses to win?
1:00:30 — Where can people find Nicki Osbaldiston?