The SME Stream

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, National and Labour’s fiscal plans are out so how do they compare? Food costs are up again, and is AI driving high youth unemployment rates? Plus is cash on the out?
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What does it REALLY cost to start a drinks brand and get your products stocked in supermarkets?
When we launched Brewe, our iced coffee and matcha brand, we invested around $300,000 to get the business off the ground. Less than a year later, we're stocked in Woolworths supermarkets across New Zealand. But getting there has been a much bigger learning curve than either of us expected.
In this episode of Make It Happen, I'm joined by my husband and Brewe co-founder, Jordan Delmont, to break down exactly what it takes to build a beverage brand from scratch.
Jordan left his 13-year career in his family business to take on Brewe full-time, despite having no previous experience in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. Since then, he's had to figure out everything from manufacturing and distribution to supermarket negotiations, pricing, cash flow and managing thousands of cans of stock.
We get into the real numbers behind starting a drinks business, including our initial $300K investment, how we secured our first major supermarket deal and the mistakes we'd avoid if we were starting again.
We also share the lessons we've learned about working together as husband and wife.
If you've ever dreamed of launching your own product, getting stocked in New Zealand supermarkets, or turning a business idea into a brand, this episode gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what it actually takes.
Ready to take your business further?
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🌐 Instagram: @drinkbrewe
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It’ll come as no surprise that new data’s revealed more Kiwis are struggling with cost of living.
The latest New Zealand Consumer Lifestyles survey from the University of Otago shows just over half of respondents went without something to buy essentials.
More alarming though, 48% believe they need to leave the country to get ahead, up from 28% in 2020.
Today on The Front Page, lead researcher Associate Professor Leah Watkins is with us to break down the numbers.
Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.
Host: Chelsea Daniels
Editor/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Jane Yee
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Mike and Scott unpack the strategic foundations most businesses skip - purpose, vision, values, CVP and goals - and why skipping them means growing by accident instead of on purpose. They trace real examples from Lion Brewery's purpose statement to Point16's own vision, plus a listener Q&A on when to bring in a consultant.

Drinking beer from: Canyon Brewery - Monsoon Hoon Bright IPA (6%)
Eating a pie from: One Tree Bakery - Thai Chilli Beef

You'll learn:
-The difference between purpose (your internal why), vision (how you want to be described in future) and values (how you deliver on both), tied together through Simon Sinek's Golden Circle;
-Why an unwritten goal lives in one person's head and keeps shifting, while a written one becomes something a team can actually serve;
-How to build a Customer Value Proposition around who your customer is, what problem you solve, and what value they'd place on that;
-Why giving a consultant your own purpose, vision and goals up front gets better advice than asking them "what do you think I should do";
-and why judgment, not speed or output, is the thing a human advisor gives you that AI still can't.

Liked this one and want to uncomplicate your business growth and get better content? Make sure you catch the next episode - hit subscribe and check us out here:
https://linktr.ee/pintspiesandprofits
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With the election campaign in full swing, it’s a pleasure to host Finance Minister and Deputy Leader of the National Party, Nicola Willis, for Episode 72 of Leaders Getting Coffee.
When former Finance Minister Steven Joyce resigned from Parliament in the aftermath of the 2017 election, his departure created an opportunity for a relative unknown to enter Parliament from the not-so-lofty position of 48 on the National Party list.
Her name was Nicola Willis. She had just lost the Wellington Central electorate contest to another future Finance Minister, Grant Robertson.
At the time, she was largely unknown to most New Zealanders. But she’d already completed a political apprenticeship that most new MPs could only dream of, working first as a policy adviser to Bill English and subsequently as a senior adviser to Prime Minister John Key.
For the next five years, she had to bide her time in Opposition. It was a period that gave her the opportunity to learn the parliamentary ropes, take on a wide range of portfolios and establish herself as one of National’s emerging leaders.
Then came 2023. National was able to form a government alongside ACT and NZ First, and Nicola Willis was appointed Minister of Finance.
On this episode of Leaders Getting Coffee, Nicola talks to Bruce Cotterill about being at the centre of the coalition negotiations that led to the formation of the current government. She also discusses the state of the government’s finances they inherited, and the rapid-fire decisions required during those early days in office.
There’s plenty of discussion about the performance of the government she’s been part of: the difficult decisions, what they got right, and what they might have done differently.
And then there’s the current election campaign.
Nicola and Bruce agree to disagree on National’s policy for the supermarket sector. And she is refreshingly open when asked about the possibility of National winning electorate seats at the expense of her own position on the party list.
This is a wide-ranging conversation with the Minister who has held the government’s purse strings for the past three years. It provides an informed look behind the scenes of government, coalition politics and economic management — as well as some insight into the person behind the portfolio.
Nicola Willis is bright, articulate and ambitious for the country. She also speaks candidly about the very real personal sacrifices that come with pursuing those ambitions in public life.
It’s well worth a listen.
Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 72 with Bruce Cotterill and Hon Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance
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