Monday, 15 September 2008

Local Engagement - Global Markets

NZTE has arranged a meeting in Te Puke this afternoon.

I have been to one of these before. They provide a great opportunity to catch up with other Bay of Plenty companies engaged in offshore sales and expansion. Given our own move into the UK market at this time, shared experiences like this are totally cool.

Tomorrow sees me in Auckland for another day of presentations. It is also giving me the chance to catch up with John Waugh, Head of UK T&I in New Zealand. As clients of the UK T&I Global Entrepreneur Program, I want to find out more about UK Government input into this program at this time.

Leveraging the support of Government agencies in our target offshore markets is a key part of Pingar's market entry plans. That is one lesson I intend to share with BOP partners in Te Puke this afternoon.

The other is to listen. For the past almost 5 years now, I have had a tendency of trying to apply UK solutions to NZ problems. Sometimes it has worked, but in truth the two trading environments are quite different. Running a business out of New Zealand has a quite different set of challenges from running one out of London. There are a number of great case studies of NZ businesses doing well globally whilst operating from the Bay. I hope to therefore learn, as well as listen, when I meet my peers later today.

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