Business & Networking - March in Pictures

Welcome to this month's series where we would like to take you behind the scenes and share what's been happening at Business Assist! Networking and regular upskilling is so important for businesses to stay up-to-date and relevant. This is why we would like to encourage you to join us and make the most of these opportunities to grow your business and network. 

We also have complimentary & free business consultations and an affordable mentoring service available for you, whether you are at a startup phase or run an existing business. Please get in touch if you'd like to further explore.

And now, here is March in pictures, and for a summary and takeaways, scroll down please!

 

1. Lunch & Learn Mapua | 4 March

Business Fundamentals - with Alice Hazlett, Keetrax/ Manoli Aerakis, Go Accounting/ Brian Radke, Nelson AI Sandbox

 

At this business panel, we addressed themes around business fundamentals that are so needed these days - business development, social media and AI.

A big thank you to all the questions and especially to our panelists Alice Hazlett, Manoli Aerakis and Brian Radke for contributing with your expertise and helping businesses explore opportunities & trends in these fields.

As we wrap up today, we are filled with gratitude for the great partnership with our co-organisers Mapua District Business Association - MDBA for bringing these Lunch & Learns to our local businesses in the past years.

It was a pleasure to work together, and a big shout out to Gordon, Danielle and the team for our partnership. We wish you all the very best with your new projects, you will be missed, and we hope to see you all again at some stage at our upcoming events.

 

 

2. Mentoring is for Everyone | 5 March

Appreciating our wonderful Nelson-Tasman Mentors who volunteer their time so generously to support local businesses, and listening to the success stories of Amy Johnson and David Price - a wonderful co-operation with Business Mentors New Zealand to educate our local business owners about the power and benefits of mentoring.

Thank you Sarah Trotman and Brook Tracey, it was a pleasure to create an opportunity for our Mentors and local business community to connect in person.

If you know anyone who would be interested in sharing their business experience through mentoring, please send them our way, we are always looking for new Mentors to join us.

If you know anyone who would love to have the support of a Mentor for their business growth, please tell them to contact us. Our BMNZ mentoring services provide up to 12 months of confidential, one-on-one assistance for business owners, who are trading, want to grow or need help with their challenges.

 

 

3. NBS Lunch & Learn | 11 March

How to Network Effectively - with Stephen Caunter, Business Physics

We enjoyed brushing up on our networking skills at our Lunch & Learn - how to meet new people, the art of shaking hands - so much useful information! Thank you so much for the fantastic interactive session everyone and being so brave to explore together!

Stephen Caunter, our presenter from Business Physics was a delight to listen to, and we got so many useful tips to take away! Thank you Stephen, and to our sponsors & partners NBS & Pūtangitangi Greenmeadows Centre for all their support to make these events possible.

We look forward to seeing you all again soon so we can keep practicing at our upcoming networking events.

 

 

4. Apex Accounting "Just Talking" Businesswomen's Series | 19 March

Persistence & Perseverance with Alice Douglas, Managing Director of HTL.

A fantastic start to our Apex Accounting "Just Talking" Businesswomen's Series 2025, thank you Alice for sharing so many insights, tips, moments of tears & laughter with us through your business journey, and for being so real! So inspiring!

These events are always a reminder of the power of authentic real conversations, connections, and the opportunities that emerge when we step out of comfort zones and start to curiously engage with someone else who shows up, with an open mind and open heart.

What our participants loved:

"Alice was so inspiring! Another great session!!"

"I took away that we all have depth and layers that most don’t see that make us ‘us’…"

"I loved this session so much! I took away a lot of things from listening to Alice but one that I've immediately put into action is making sure that my 'look' is congruent with my 'self'. So today I'm wearing a bold patterned dress and sneakers because I feel great and authentic in that outfit. Thanks Alice!"

"I really loved this talk! Having recently ‘burned the boats’ it was a reassuring talk full of inspiration. So glad I joined you all."

 

A big thanks to all of you who showed up and to our amazing sponsors & partners, Apex Accounting for sponsoring this series and BNZ Partners Centre Nelson for hosting us.

 

 

5. ICIB BizBreak Networking | 26 March

Our business networking sessions go beyond a business card swap networking! Business owners come here to meet new people, obviously, and look for new opportunities to grow. But there is more.

They walk away with a deeper connection, a sense of support, understanding and encouragement. New ideas. New business perspectives and real-time connections that can lead to new business and referrals.

This is the power of our networking events. We craft our icebreakers and topics of discussion consciously to facilitate this in a relaxed, welcoming way.

Whether it is:

“I work at home, I need to get out!”

“I want to grow my local network because I am new here.

”I want to understand issues & problems so I can offer better solutions.”

Or

“I am a Bizbreak networker junkie, I keep coming because they are so good.” - thanks Michael, 

we are looking forward to meeting you at our upcoming events!

 

Thanks to ICIB Brokerweb Insurance & Risk Advisory for the sponsorship so we can provide BizBreak free of charge!

 

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At Business Assist, our aim is to support our local business community through our network events, business consultations and mentoring services so you can focus on the growth of your business without feeling on your own. Get the support and assistance you need for your business to level up.

We look forward to meeting you!

RSVP for our upcoming events HERE.

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