Yesterday afternoon I danced with BNI Harbour View Chapter Member Colleen Sluiter. A dance is when you meet up with a BNI Member and find out as much as you can about them and their business. Her story about becomming a New Zealander (which she now is) should be welcomed as an inspiration by other New Zealander's.
Colleen owns and operates Business Insight Group, an NZ firm that fixes the marketing problems of other NZ companies. Colleen has a degree in Business Economics, covering marketing, financial, and organisational management. She also has a Diploma in Business Logistics. I guess that makes her an academic of sorts. In addition to that though she is an involved, capable, competent, and effective member of the NZ Business Community. She does not simply think or talk about things. She does things.
The logistics qualification resulted after she found herself owner of a transport company. She felt it had to be expanded and transitioned into a fully fledged South African logistics company. After four years at the helm of her company Colleen was able to sell the business as she prepared to leave South Africa for New Zealand with her husband (a Spec Builder in South Africa turned Quantity Surveyor here in New Zealand), and two daughters (both now in their mid to late 20's and married to "great kiwi blokes"). She still knows the person who bought her business from her and all indications are it is going well.
When Colleen got to NZ everything was new. She told me of being at a comedian's performance when the performer asked those who were not for the taking of recreational drugs to stand up. Colleen and her husband found themselves to be the only ones standing in the entire audience. She was shocked, but maybe Don Brash is actually onto something with his call to de-criminalise grass? His assertion that the Police cannot go around arresting vast numbers of the entire NZ population may have some credibility...
Anyway, Colleen's commitment to her new home was such that she understood she had to learn to think like a kiwi. So she looked for a job. A packaging manufacturer based in Onehunga was lucky enough to get her to agree she would stay on contract with them for 2 years on minimum wage. At first she had no idea of wage rates in NZ and that she, with all her experience and ability, was earning (for a 40 hour working week) about the same as a couple on the un-employment benefit after all of the allowances are included. Even so, she feels that a promise is a promise so she stayed at that company just over the two years. By then she was simply bored and felt the need to find something that would help her grow.
She bought a licence to practice business consulting under an NZ consulting business banner. The organisation specialised in small to medium businesses but soon Colleen became aware of demand for her abilities from bigger businesses. The product she used under the consulting banner was not up to the mark for the bigger businesses so she started writing her own materials. One year ago she dropped the licence arrangement with the banner business and started Business Insight Group, specialising in finding marketing solutions for businesses.
In five years time she wants her business to be:
- employing consultants
- adding to and running a training and coaching arm
- Speaking and writing about business
She says her main driver is watching the flea leap from the jar. What? Missed that? Let me explain.
Q. How do you train a flea to stop it leaping from the jar it lives in?
A. Put a lid on the jar. After a while the flea get's sick of bumping the back of it's head on the lid so it learns to jump lower. Once it has done that you can remove the lid and the flea will never leap from the jar again - because it no longer thinks it can.
People are the same. They learn a limit and whether it exists or not they are restricted by it forever more. Colleen loves to see those chains of restriction broken.
The strengths she brings to the table is the inate ability to listen and translate for her client what they are saying about their business issues. She says that most people know the answer to their issues and that they simply need to hear someone like her confirm they are correct in their assessment and intentions. I think that is the icing on the cake for her. Not only are the chains of restriction broken but, for the most part, they are broken by the wearer, which thrills her to bits!
You can find Colleen here http://www.bigbusinessinsight.com/
Colleen, 12 years after your arrival here, I want to welcome you to NZ and into my business life.
Wayne
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