http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.melcurwood.co.nz en-us Sun, 31 May 2026 01:41:29 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/post/143464/ill-pay-you-next-week-promise-classic-excuses-and-what-to-do-about-them/ There’s a moment every business owner knows too well. The job’s done, the invoice is sent, and then… silence.Or worse—the excuse parade begins.“Hey mate, just waiting on another payment to come through first." “I’ll do it tonight, just flat out today." “Sorry, I thought my partner paid it already?” “Next week for sure, I promise.” “Can you just resend it again? I lost it. Again.”Sound familiar?If you've ever felt like you're stuck in a game of cat and mouse with a clien... Fri, 28 Mar 2025 11:46:39 +1300 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/#post143464 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/post/138153/dont-walk-the-plank-how-business-owners-can-protect-themselves-from-financial-risk/ For many New Zealand business owners, every project represents a leap of faith—an investment of time, money, and resources with the hope of future payment. However, when payment is delayed, the business owner finds themselves edging out further on a precarious financial plank, with the waters below teeming with risk and uncertainty.The analogy is stark but fitting. The longer the delay between a business’s investment and receiving payment, the greater the risk. A slow-paying client, an unexp... Wed, 20 Nov 2024 11:32:51 +1300 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/#post138153 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/post/136451/i-cant-pay-you-until-ive-been-paid--how-this-money-mindset-is-draining-your-business/ Let’s be real, we’ve all been there as business owners. You’ve done the work, put in the time, delivered the service, and then—when the invoice is due—you hear, “I can’t pay you until I’ve been paid.” It’s frustrating, right? It leaves you overextended, financially strained, and wondering why this is happening so often. The reality is, this happens to far too many small business owners.In my six years working with businesses across New Zealand, I’ve seen it all. Hard work, ... Sat, 19 Oct 2024 14:28:01 +1300 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/#post136451 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/post/135632/finding-good-after-crisis-and-how-to-carry-on/ Business mentor Mel Curwood shares how she coped when life as she knew it spun upside down.... Sun, 13 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/#post135632 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/post/135633/steps-to-ensure-business-is-resilience/ Business owners are at the coalface of the economic pressure the country is now experiencing. The boom times have slowed and the real impact of Covid increasingly evident. Many businesses are feeling the pinch, especially those who were reliant on government subsidies and, as these subside, a cold reality is becoming evident – potentially over-extended cash flow.Recent figures* reveal that liquidations were up for the first quarter of the year, higher than the previous two first quarters. Ther... Mon, 12 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/#post135633 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/post/135634/why-you-should-be-safeguarding-your-business-now/ The current climate is one of high demand for many businesses within the trade, manufacturing, agricultural and industrial sectors and yet there are significant challenges that business owners are having to navigate.The toll that the last couple of years has had is manifesting in several key issues impacting on businesses such as increasing material costs, low staff numbers, time delays and higher transportation costs. Many business owners are finding themselves having to spend more time out on ... Mon, 07 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/#post135634 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/post/135635/just-pick-up-the-phone--mel-curwood/ The article below was contributed by one of our long-term Venus members. Venus Businesswomen, is a registered charity run by women, for women. Venus's charitable purpose, and reason for being, is to help women grow their businesses - and themselves. Mel Curwood’s world was turned upside down a few months ago, and she wanted to share what she has learned through that experience in the hopes that it may help someone who may be going through something similar. As you prepare for your 60-seco... Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.melcurwood.co.nz/blog/#post135635