Yesterday I went to a debate between two of NZ’s major political parties, and the leader of the green party and a student representing our far right minor party.

It was humiliating to watch.
The subject was “What does sustainability mean and what is your party going to do about it”.

Within two minutes, the debate degraded quite literally into a schoolboy fight with the two men from Labour and National caught in a squabble that went:

“You said this”
“no i didn’t”
“yes you did”
“no I didn’t”
“yes you did”

With no end in sight, the audience had to try to calm them down.

We managed to make our way sloooowly though a bunch of questions, that Nick Smith seemed to have trouble remembering, so instead went on these long, drawn out rants about nothing in particular, while the student representative for Act loudly proclaimed that market forces and technology changes were all we need. Oh, and that people should pay for water.

I was horrified that any of these people (aside from the Green party who are so well versed on the subject, Jeanette sat there calmly explaining climate change to the idiots surrounding her as they plucked ‘facts’ out of the air) are going to be sitting in our government come the beginning of next year.

The very fact that we are facing quite literally the worst disaster in human history, which is about 50 years away from obliterating ANY hope of survival makes me think that instead of squabbling, these people should be watching Armageddon or something to realise that tackling climate change should be a united, world wide effort, not some silly debate.

I hear parliament is very much the same. At this stage, despite Claire telling me that at least the debate has become a little more sophisticated over the years, I feel very anxious about how we as a country are going to reduce our emissions by 90% at ANY stage in the future, let alone in the next few decades.

Yup, it’s a pain in small business when you’re overloaded and everyone gets sick. The business grinds to a halt and you all get behind. Rod Drury’s fairly ‘unique’ solution has a lot of plusses and can be adapted to virtually any small business:

To: All Xero Staff (and Shareholders)

From: Rod

Re: What do do when you’re sick

If you feel like you need to be off work you will require a medical certificate. This will mean a trip to your doctor.

In New Zealand a doctors consultation for 15 minutes will cost you around $49. The same as a whole month of Xero.

As the doctor is completing your prescription, this is a good time to enquire about what accounting system they use. Advanced Xero’s will actually be able to do a live demo right there on the doctors computer.

Medical centres are mainly cash based with most receipts coming through the bank account each day and processing of supplier invoices. Use this information to show you understand their business.

As you’ve paid for the consultation, don’t feel bad about using a few minutes to show the benefits of Xero. It will make you feel a lot better if you can get them to sign up for a free demo.

Accordingly medical certificates will now only be accepted with a matching demo sign up.

Be well.

Rod

I subscribed to the fishpond newsletter a while ago and receive regular updates. It struck me yesterday (while I was giving them my credit card details) that they have their target market sussed.

Fishpond regularly offer the top 100 books or award winning books for 50% off. This is kind of unheard of in NZ. They they email you to let you know. And since the people who subscribe to the emails LOVE books, we all sit there going ‘How can you POSSIBLY pass up a bargain like that?”

So we toddle to the website, where we get excited about exploring other books. We then see the big “Buy $50 of books and get free shipping” message. Since our 50% off book is now something like $15. We now get very excited about the sheer number of books we can buy.

So we browse the site, adding madly to our shopping carts, whip out the old credit card, add in our details and prepare to sit back for the 24 hour wait until our new books arrive.

And THEN they take you to a screen that tells you to signup 3 of your friends to give them a $10 book voucher.

So of course, you do.

Then the next day, you get emails from your friends saying ‘Wow, a $10 book voucher? That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me!”

Which makes you look great and gives Fishpond another 3 addicts.

And the cycle continues.

I admit it, horoscopes rule my life. I am one of those superstitious idiots who ill read a bad horoscope and then dwell on it for a week. This week, my horoscope was quite wonderful, but mentioned that I would have to make an ethical choice in business, and decide to who and how I would be willing to sell out (This wasn’t even a business horoscope!?!)

It got me thinking about ethics in business, an issue that I have come across time and time again through people who think that the way you run your business has a different set of ethical rules from the way you run your life (and some who run both extremely unethically). A couple of rules I think a lot of people need to learn (especially in small business) are:

Pay people on time

This includes employees, yourself and your suppliers. Most people accept flexibility and I’m happy to work with people who genuinely don’t have the cash and sort out an arrangement, but to try to sneak out without paying is just rude. And it starts a cycle. If you don’t get paid by your customers, then you can’t pay your suppliers and we all lose.

Your employees are hanging out for the day your business is worth a fortune, they are only there for the pay they receive weekly. Give it to them. I am shocked at how many people are nice enough to allow people not to pay them until they can’t pay their rent, this niceness shouldn’t be abused, it should be rewarded.

But it’s not all about money

I hate people who say ‘it’s just the way business works’ and who look down on you for not being a cut throat, money and power hungry machine. I find the kind of personality that thrives off underhanded competition just plain weird. That’s not business, that’s a psychological disorder! Play by generally accepted social rules, do business as if you are doing it with friends, not enemies.

Work with people you believe in

A benefit of owning your own company is that you have the choice to work with who you want, when you want to. Don’t forgo that choice in order to make profits, because you will lose int he long run. You don’t have to ’sell out’ to anyone, you do have to wake up tomorrow and look at yourself in the mirror and be happy with what you see.

Last night I went to craft night, today I am going to get in trouble for telling the world about the BEST most AWESOME activity in the UNIVERSE, because then it will be all booked out and we wont be able to go any more.

Craft night is in Newtown in Wellington and this super cute little gallery, the entire experience is so well thought out and run, I cannot rave enough about it.

You arrive and get a lucky dip parcel, there is a table in the middle full of buttons and material and cotton and other pretty shiny things. Then you get to open your parcel while eating chocolate biscuits and drinking tea. Then you get to MAKE something. So you sit around for 2 hours in a room full of people getting excited about making stuff and compare all the funky and innovative ways people use exactly the same stuff. The atmosphere is so full of girl power and mutual support, it would make grown men cry just to walk within the vicinity of the gallery.

The most incredibly, weirdly awesome part, is that it only costs $12. Which is why we all booked back in immediately and I think the craft night is full for the next four months already.

Post Secret is my secret obsession. I even have one of their coffee table books. Post Secret is one of the things that has got me through the past few years. The joys of having such a large number of people on the planet, is that every now and then you see a post card that feels like it was written just for you. And it makes your day.

Today I saw this postcard, which could have been made by me (but wasn’t):

I know from personal experience that sometime leaving the comfort of a bad situation feels virtually impossible and a risk that you just don’t have it in you to take. But in my experience, I have found that when you risk it all to do exactly what you want, it pays off like nothing else.

So good luck to my fellow earthling who feels the same way as me, and to everyone else who is in the same boat, yay for making the leap!

Following on from my rant about the Wellington parking wardens, I received a parking ticket for parking in a Coupon Zone in Mt Victoria (where I live). Funnily enough, I had a prominently displayed RESIDENT’S parking permit (Which is in the same place as it is on all other cars and entitles me to park anywhere), which some idiot had simply overlooked.

No worries, I rang to explain, the lady at the other end of the phone laughed and said ‘oh that’s a bit stupid isn’t it?’ to which I agreed and said ‘cool ok, so you’ll just wipe that?’

Um, no, it’s not that simple.

Despite it being their fault, I am required to write in and explain the situation again (even though she could tell on the phone it was a mistake).

What a simple way to ENSURE that your ‘customers’ hate you. Who RUNS these companies?

In fact, I am getting teeth extracted. 4 of them. At this stage, the social norm of paying for such pain seems ludicrous.

However, once again, I marvel at GREAT customer service. I have never been sick. I have never been operated on. And now I’m going to be knocked out and have parts of my body removed.

The fact that this oral surgeon made me feel fine about that is to his credit.

The countdown to August 8th has begun.

Mum is stocking her fridge with ice cream and I will move home to her for the week.

yes I am about as pathetic as they come.

One of Rod’s (final?!?) posts caught my eye today.

It was an article about the new Startup-Magazine edition which has just been released, with a cover that features “Just about everyone” Rod knows.

The reason it caught my eye was for the same reason. It’s the same old group of tech startups - some of whom, I don’t even think classify as startups anymore?

There are so many new players out there who are making waves on the international scene. It’s a shame that they are flying so far under the radar, I’m not even sure if the old boys know they exist.

I assume the new wave of startups are too busy making a fortune overseas to be blowing their trumpets locally, but it does seem a shame that we don’t hear more about them.

Post the scandal over child abuse in New Zealand, I was absolutely STUNNED to hear about this ‘celebrity’ who pushed his ex-girlfriend down the stairs and kicked her repeatedly in the head until she was bound to a wheelchair to recover. This man, ADMITTED doing it to the entire country and the discussion focused around if he should stay in his job, not on whether he should be in jail. In a country where violence is running rampant, this story send out the strong message that:

• Violence is only a criminal offense if you are poor and in a minority.
• Violence is OK if you are ‘tired, working seven days a week and frustrated by your ex girlfriend’
• Kicking someone repeatedly in the head is not that big a deal - especially if your new wife is fine with it.
• If you pay someone $100,000 to stay quiet (and to cover the councilling costs, loss of job etc etc that is the result of having your head and confidence pummeled), people should feel sorry for you when it comes out in the open anyway

Another knock for NZ women who live in violent relationships. And we wonder why they don’t come forward.