BNI Blog

It’s one year since the first Christchurch earthquake and there are still so many people in need of help. People whose homes were wrecked, people whose hearts were broken, people who lost their jobs and their livelihood. Many Christchurch businesses are struggling to keep their heads above water.

The rest of the country has given and given to help our Canterbury country folk but many are in hard times themselves and it’s getting harder to donate.

One Christchurch business has come up with a simple way to help without having to put your hand in your pocket. SHE Chocolat in Governors Bay has devised a logo to put on Christchurch made products so that New Zealanders can continue to buy their everyday items, but choose the brands, which are based in Christchurch thus helping a business to survive.

It’s a simple idea, which enables us all to help in our day-to-day lives. All New Zealanders will be able to easily identify and buy Christchurch made products and services. By buying these branded items, they will be helping businesses, families, communities and the city rebuild.

Campaign creator, Declan Scott says: “Businesses, just like people, need support, encouragement and inspiration. The time for handouts has passed; it is time for positive action. For New Zealand to grow, Christchurch needs to regain its momentum in the commercial space.”

The inspiration for the design came from the Rose Window in the Christchurch Cathedral.

“The strength required to continue standing in the face of greater challenges and continual earthquakes takes great courage and commitment. Look for the logo and help the businesses of Christchurch – help us be daring by you caring.”  says Declan.

The Dare to Care logo is available to all local manufacturers to identify their products as Christchurch made. For more information go to www.daretocare.co.nz.

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Around the time Samantha Key (a member of BNI Pontefract in England) was planning a parachute jump to raise funds for Dogs for the Disabled in the UK, she read about Mobility Dogs here in New Zealand on the BNI Blog – and it wasn’t long before she was winging her way to our shores.

“My visit to New Zealand was prompted by several factors, the first being meeting Mobility Dogs Manager, Helen Spence, online through the BNI network and our combined interest in Mobility Dogs. The second was I was in need of a holiday having not been away properly for some time now. The third was probably that I have always wanted to visit New Zealand and this gave me the ideal opportunity!”

In addition to her interest in dogs for the disabled, Samantha is a photographer and during her visit here she was able to visit BNI Parnell (where Helen is a member – there’s even a Mobility Puppy named Parnell after the chapter), where she also met commercial photographer Grant Southam.

“The link with Grant was generated by Helen. I am pretty new to BNI having only joined in March this year and wanted some hints as to how to do a good 60 seconds. When Grant found out I was coming to visit he kindly offered to take me on a shoot.

“However, when we met we got on really well and I ended up spending two days with him being his assistant. I really enjoyed talking ’shop’ with Grant and learning more about how he had developed the business. His work has really inspired me, and I have gained a new friend in the process which is always good.

“Grant gave me a grapefruit from his garden and I took this on my tour of the south island. Now I am in the process of putting together an album documenting the adventures of “Grant the Grapefruit”! Photographing him became quite an obsession for the whole trek group,” says Samantha.

Of her visit to BNI Parnell, Samantha says she found the group friendly, welcoming and much more relaxed than the groups she has seen in the UK.

“I enjoyed the fresh approach and the experience. I would like the thank the whole chapter for making me feel so welcome. I love the New Zealand way of life and felt like I had fitted in perfectly. I even asked Helen how I could emigrate to New Zealand!”

Samantha says highlights were trekking the coastline in the South Island and making new friends in the North Island!

“Mobility Dog, Chance, (also a member of BNI Parnell) was my official tour guide. Every day we went somewhere different and Chance got so much attention. We visited the Thermal Village in Rotoura, Rainbow Springs Kiwi Sanctuary and went on a Kiwi Adventure where the Kiwi’s were more interested in Chance than he was in them. Chance showed me cafes and restaurants where he used his VIP status to access all areas and privileges.

“I absolutely loved doing the parachute jump for the UK Dogs for the Disabled. It took me 5 attempts to complete the jump as the British weather kept hampering me, but when I did it, it was amazing. I raised nearly £500 for the charity!”

Pictured: Samantha and Chance

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Pukekohe based Commercial Photographer and Graphic Designer, Harry Janssen of Redzebra Studio, was named NZIPP Auckland Photographer of the Year at the September meeting last week.

Janssen was the winner of 9 awards at this year’s prestigious Epson / NZIPP Iris Professional Photography Awards and a finalist in the Landscape Category.

NZIPP’s Honours Chair Kaye Davis said that this year’s entries contained a lot more imagery that is visually simpler, cleaner and less cluttered. “The judges are looking for consistency, quality, technical execution and command of the craft of image making.”

She said that the winners showed superior levels of photographic practice that made them stand out from other photographers.

“Each year I am amazed at the creativity and professionalism of the award entrants,” said NZIPP President Craig Robertson. “These photographers continue to push their own creative boundaries and this filters down to their day to day work putting them at the leading edge of the profession. The entries we’ve seen this year nudge us into the realm of fine art as we see image making and communication through the medium of photography.”

Organised by the NZIPP for more than 30 years, these annual awards celebrate the excellence of New Zealand’s professional photographers, providing a platform for recognition within the industry and the wider public. The 2011 awards attracted 934 entries with the largest numbers occurring in the landscape, portrait, wedding and student categories.

“Winning Iris Awards is very special because it means my work has passed high quality levels in the eyes of some of the most successful professional photographers in both New Zealand and Australia,” said Harry.  “It gives my clients the confidence that they have picked the right guy for their job”.

Harry is a Master of Photography, has 30 years experience as a professional photographer and regularly tutors both amateur and professional photographers. He says “Entering the awards pushes your own personal skill levels to the max. The awards give you the incentive to keep exploring and trying new things.  They encourage us to be creative at levels where we might not normally go.”

“The awards give photographers an opportunity to push the boundaries, and to see how their work is judged against the rest of the industry,” said NZIPP President Craig Robertson.  “As a result, the bar keeps getting raised higher and higher and this year was no exception.”

You can view Janssen’s award winning images at www.redzebrastudio.co.nz

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According to research just released on Science Daily, ‘the brain was built for cooperative activity, whether it be dancing on a reality television show, constructing a skyscraper or working in an office, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins behavioral neuroscientist Eric Fortune and published in the November 4 issue of the journal Science.

‘”What we learned is that when it comes to the brain and cooperation, the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts,” said Fortune, of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. “We found that the brain of each individual participant prefers the combined activity over his or her own part.”’ (Read the full, fascinating article here)

We’ve known for years that we work better together. Now the scientists are confirming that we’re actually wired for cooperation – which begs the question, why aren’t we cooperating more?

BNI creates an ideal environment for inter-company, inter-person cooperation, but very few of us take full advantage of the benefits of working together beyond referrals, dances and ‘off the cuff’ advice.

Here are some ideas for closing the cooperation gap:

1.     Form a hub of inter-connected Business Facebook Pages so that your broader networks are exposed to people in your BNI chapter (social media)

2.     Conduct joint marketing efforts to combined databases i.e. a shared newsletter (cross marketing)

3.     Post on each other’s blogs (content marketing and backlinks marketing)

4.     Link to each other’s website (search engine optimisation)

5.     Brainstorm joint ventures or joint sales drives, utilising each other’s strengths in various areas (joint project work)

6.     Provide recommendations to each other’s LinkedIn pages, or testimonials for each other’s websites (influencer marketing)

7.     When somebody in your chapter writes a press release or blog, share it with your network via your blog, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter (content syndication)

8.     Hold ‘master mind’ group meetings over a coffee or a wine to help each other grow or tackle difficult problems (mutual support)

9.     Organise an event together (seminar, expo, business solutions clinic)

10.  Share resources (marketing research, bulk buying of stationery, advertising, paper, ink etc)

Colin Kennedy is a keynote speaker, writer and content marketing consultant. As BNI New Zealand’s marketing director he is responsible for the organisation’s communications strategy, and also serves as an assistant director for North Central region of BNI.

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BNI Parnell is hosting a Hospice Charity Steam Train Excursion to raise funds for South Auckland Hospice on 20 November from 8.30am until 3.30pm.

BNI Parnell member and Eventz on Show director, Hayley Buttimore, says the day trip travels to Helensville for a picnic lunch, taking in the beautiful Auckland waterfront and Waitakere scenery.

“There is a pickup option at Papakura and Newmarket stations on the way. The hour stop at Helensville will allow time for lunch and a stroll through the Helensville station, which has been restored by local volunteers.

“It features a museum showing the history of rail in the area. The main street is only a short walk away and a well developed walkway borders the tributary to the Kaipara Harbour,” says Hayley.

There is just room for 350 travellers on what promises to be a great pre-Christmas event, so book now and at the same time enable Hospice to continue its ‘free’ specialist medical and nursing palliative care service for more than 700 families every year.

“Hospice South Auckland must raise $2.8million dollars per year, this is over and above their partial Government funding. It is a huge challenge for the hospice, which relies very heavily on the community to help in this regard.

“The hospice is embarking on a redevelopment of the Hospice to double its size due to demand, and as a result must now raise an additional $6.75 million dollars to increase the In Patient beds substantially.

“By ensuring they have a facility available for acute, non acute and respite hospice palliative care has been indentified as a significant regional infrastructure need,” says Hayley.

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