1
00:00:09,093 --> 00:00:12,693
Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from news Talks be follow

2
00:00:12,773 --> 00:00:17,013
Speaker 1: this and our wide range of podcasts. Now on iHeartRadio.

3
00:00:16,653 --> 00:00:20,053
Speaker 2: Free seems to be stealing small business owners productivity and

4
00:00:20,213 --> 00:00:23,212
Speaker 2: also sleeps. Zero data shows nearly half of New Zealand

5
00:00:23,253 --> 00:00:26,532
Speaker 2: small business owners surveyed had considered giving up their business

6
00:00:26,773 --> 00:00:29,853
Speaker 2: due to that stress. Joining us now is Bridget Snelling.

7
00:00:29,973 --> 00:00:32,772
Speaker 2: She is country manager for zero New Zealand. Bridget Very

8
00:00:33,213 --> 00:00:35,732
Speaker 2: afternoon to you.

9
00:00:36,453 --> 00:00:40,693
Speaker 3: Bridget is sme stress, I guess materially worse now than

10
00:00:40,732 --> 00:00:42,213
Speaker 3: it was in previous downturns.

11
00:00:43,533 --> 00:00:43,733
Speaker 2: Yeah.

12
00:00:43,893 --> 00:00:46,973
Speaker 4: On Our survey shows that three quarters of key business

13
00:00:47,013 --> 00:00:50,373
Speaker 4: owners have said that this financial year has been more

14
00:00:50,412 --> 00:00:53,773
Speaker 4: stressful than previous years. I think the past fwo years,

15
00:00:53,773 --> 00:00:56,212
Speaker 4: which have been pretty tough for our small business economy,

16
00:00:56,573 --> 00:00:59,373
Speaker 4: I'd say they're probably a bit fatigued, and so this

17
00:00:59,973 --> 00:01:02,212
Speaker 4: financial area is feeling is more tax than then in

18
00:01:02,253 --> 00:01:02,733
Speaker 4: the past.

19
00:01:03,453 --> 00:01:07,453
Speaker 3: What's the biggest cause of stress? Is it financial uncertainty?

20
00:01:07,693 --> 00:01:08,293
Speaker 3: Is it compliant?

21
00:01:08,493 --> 00:01:08,893
Speaker 1: What is it?

22
00:01:10,173 --> 00:01:12,613
Speaker 4: Well? I mean it's financial pressure is sort of the

23
00:01:12,693 --> 00:01:16,253
Speaker 4: dominant stressor, and that's really due to rising costs and

24
00:01:16,413 --> 00:01:19,853
Speaker 4: unpredictable demands. The other king contributors to stress the small

25
00:01:19,853 --> 00:01:22,613
Speaker 4: business owners. You know, we have seen that sales data

26
00:01:22,773 --> 00:01:24,853
Speaker 4: has shown that things have been really tough over the

27
00:01:24,932 --> 00:01:28,413
Speaker 4: past few years. So small businesses have been really kind

28
00:01:28,413 --> 00:01:30,813
Speaker 4: of struggling in many sectors. And I think now that

29
00:01:30,893 --> 00:01:33,572
Speaker 4: they are coming to that time of year wheneveron's spiling

30
00:01:33,613 --> 00:01:36,652
Speaker 4: their tax, it's feeling, you know, particular, they're stresses.

31
00:01:37,413 --> 00:01:41,013
Speaker 3: Do we know how many businesses failed you to stress

32
00:01:41,093 --> 00:01:44,732
Speaker 3: and burn out of the owners, Well.

33
00:01:44,572 --> 00:01:46,413
Speaker 4: We know that you know about part have said that

34
00:01:46,413 --> 00:01:49,453
Speaker 4: they've considered giving up their business altogether due to stress.

35
00:01:49,813 --> 00:01:52,453
Speaker 4: And I think that just shows that, you know, business

36
00:01:52,533 --> 00:01:56,373
Speaker 4: owners are pretty close to breaking point at some point

37
00:01:56,453 --> 00:01:59,133
Speaker 4: in their business journey. And so what we're you know,

38
00:01:59,133 --> 00:02:01,973
Speaker 4: we're talking about and acknowledging is that there is a

39
00:02:02,013 --> 00:02:05,053
Speaker 4: lot of tax that get filled as we come to

40
00:02:05,133 --> 00:02:07,413
Speaker 4: a thing as much, but really what we don't see

41
00:02:07,493 --> 00:02:09,733
Speaker 4: or talk about tom it is the emotional tax that

42
00:02:09,893 --> 00:02:12,733
Speaker 4: kind of goes beyond the balance sheet, where small businesses,

43
00:02:13,373 --> 00:02:15,893
Speaker 4: you know, miss out on their family moments, they have

44
00:02:16,413 --> 00:02:19,453
Speaker 4: their sleep effected, they lose personal time, and it takes

45
00:02:19,453 --> 00:02:23,053
Speaker 4: a real toll on them. And we want to acknowledge it.

46
00:02:23,333 --> 00:02:25,733
Speaker 4: This and the financial year that's coming up.

47
00:02:26,853 --> 00:02:30,692
Speaker 3: Tax returns, sort of end of year burdens disproportionately high

48
00:02:33,213 --> 00:02:37,733
Speaker 3: and New Zealand businesses. Is it comparatively harder to, you know,

49
00:02:37,813 --> 00:02:39,653
Speaker 3: finish off your end of years in New Zealand compared

50
00:02:39,693 --> 00:02:40,852
Speaker 3: to other economies.

51
00:02:41,733 --> 00:02:43,972
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't think that there's sort of any more

52
00:02:44,013 --> 00:02:46,173
Speaker 4: difficulty in the process, but I think that there are

53
00:02:46,213 --> 00:02:49,093
Speaker 4: certainly things that can make it easier, which are things

54
00:02:49,213 --> 00:02:51,813
Speaker 4: like having an advisor to work with who can do

55
00:02:51,853 --> 00:02:54,613
Speaker 4: the heavy lifting for you. Obviously, using an accounting stuff

56
00:02:54,613 --> 00:02:56,613
Speaker 4: which you understand what's going on in your business, you

57
00:02:56,733 --> 00:03:00,853
Speaker 4: understand what your obligations are, obssesss and key ways to

58
00:03:00,933 --> 00:03:02,893
Speaker 4: reduce this tress. But it's a really busy time of

59
00:03:03,013 --> 00:03:06,013
Speaker 4: year for business owners and for accountants and bookkeepers alike.

60
00:03:06,853 --> 00:03:10,333
Speaker 2: Is it equital across the ball with the businesses because

61
00:03:10,333 --> 00:03:13,613
Speaker 2: small to medium businesses obviously that can involve businesses that

62
00:03:13,733 --> 00:03:17,333
Speaker 2: have one hundred employees versus the mum and dad operations.

63
00:03:17,373 --> 00:03:20,333
Speaker 2: Do you see any difference between maybe the guys who

64
00:03:20,373 --> 00:03:22,532
Speaker 2: are almost running it themselves and they might have one

65
00:03:22,532 --> 00:03:25,093
Speaker 2: and two employees versus people that have scaled up a

66
00:03:25,093 --> 00:03:25,453
Speaker 2: little bit.

67
00:03:26,693 --> 00:03:29,573
Speaker 4: Yeah. Look, I think absolutely the larger the business, the

68
00:03:29,613 --> 00:03:32,373
Speaker 4: more likely they are to have processes and people involved,

69
00:03:32,693 --> 00:03:35,453
Speaker 4: and more likely to have a strong team of advisors

70
00:03:35,453 --> 00:03:37,813
Speaker 4: supporting them. And I think the smaller the business. Now,

71
00:03:37,893 --> 00:03:39,973
Speaker 4: often you have business owners that are doing everything. They're

72
00:03:39,973 --> 00:03:42,853
Speaker 4: the marketer, they're the finance person, are the customer service.

73
00:03:42,893 --> 00:03:45,733
Speaker 4: So do they really do take on a great burden?

74
00:03:46,053 --> 00:03:49,173
Speaker 4: And when it comes to the financial management, well that

75
00:03:49,293 --> 00:03:51,293
Speaker 4: is a stress because often these people are really good

76
00:03:51,293 --> 00:03:54,573
Speaker 4: at something, but financial management may not be their strength.

77
00:03:55,133 --> 00:03:57,133
Speaker 4: And so at this time of year that comes come

78
00:03:57,253 --> 00:03:59,933
Speaker 4: home to roosk which again is another reason why it's

79
00:03:59,973 --> 00:04:02,533
Speaker 4: sooper important to work with an advisor because they obviously

80
00:04:02,573 --> 00:04:05,253
Speaker 4: are experts in things like financial management and that can

81
00:04:05,293 --> 00:04:06,653
Speaker 4: really help alleviate stress.

82
00:04:06,973 --> 00:04:09,813
Speaker 3: Did your research come up with any businesses that are

83
00:04:10,173 --> 00:04:11,893
Speaker 3: more stressful than others.

84
00:04:13,013 --> 00:04:16,813
Speaker 4: We didn't really dive into particular industries or types of businesses,

85
00:04:17,453 --> 00:04:19,573
Speaker 4: and so I think, you know, really, this is something

86
00:04:19,613 --> 00:04:23,693
Speaker 4: that we see across the board that small business owners do.

87
00:04:23,893 --> 00:04:26,733
Speaker 4: It does take a real personal toll on them. And

88
00:04:26,773 --> 00:04:28,693
Speaker 4: I think if you talk to any businesses, you know,

89
00:04:28,893 --> 00:04:31,813
Speaker 4: I am speaking to businesses across the country all the time,

90
00:04:32,213 --> 00:04:35,013
Speaker 4: and particularly in the last couple of years, I have

91
00:04:35,173 --> 00:04:39,213
Speaker 4: heard it's been really tough, and obviously that comes down

92
00:04:39,293 --> 00:04:42,053
Speaker 4: largely to the performance of the economy, and things have

93
00:04:42,133 --> 00:04:44,653
Speaker 4: been tough, and in certain industries it's been tougher than

94
00:04:44,693 --> 00:04:48,093
Speaker 4: in others. But I think just across the board, businesses

95
00:04:48,173 --> 00:04:52,293
Speaker 4: have felt the toil and it's hard work. You know,

96
00:04:52,373 --> 00:04:54,813
Speaker 4: my husband runs his own business, and you never get

97
00:04:54,853 --> 00:04:57,293
Speaker 4: to forget thinking about it. You know, it's always on

98
00:04:57,333 --> 00:05:00,173
Speaker 4: your mind. It's always there night and day. You know,

99
00:05:00,213 --> 00:05:02,533
Speaker 4: you have to make sacrifices because it's your baby and

100
00:05:02,573 --> 00:05:05,133
Speaker 4: you want it to succeed, obviously, and so I think

101
00:05:05,173 --> 00:05:07,493
Speaker 4: that's just part and pastul of being business and it's

102
00:05:07,533 --> 00:05:11,013
Speaker 4: so rewarding, but equally a lot to manage and a

103
00:05:11,013 --> 00:05:14,853
Speaker 4: lot to navigate, and particularly with finances. You know, there

104
00:05:14,893 --> 00:05:17,493
Speaker 4: are some new digital tools available that can help these days,

105
00:05:17,533 --> 00:05:20,173
Speaker 4: it's really important for business owners to be leverridging those

106
00:05:20,373 --> 00:05:21,653
Speaker 4: as much as possible.

107
00:05:22,133 --> 00:05:25,933
Speaker 3: Speaking of success is the stress and your ability to

108
00:05:26,013 --> 00:05:29,453
Speaker 3: handle that stress. And you know, the risk taken, the

109
00:05:29,493 --> 00:05:33,293
Speaker 3: price owners pay for the potential outsized rewards if they

110
00:05:34,173 --> 00:05:37,733
Speaker 3: get through and get it right. Because if everyone's facing

111
00:05:37,733 --> 00:05:41,613
Speaker 3: the stress, the person that can handle it are they

112
00:05:41,653 --> 00:05:43,453
Speaker 3: the ones that are going to succeed and eventually be

113
00:05:43,453 --> 00:05:44,893
Speaker 3: in a position of less stress.

114
00:05:46,093 --> 00:05:48,573
Speaker 4: Well, I mean, and that's such a rabbit hole. We

115
00:05:48,613 --> 00:05:51,293
Speaker 4: could go down and talk about stress all day long. Wait,

116
00:05:52,013 --> 00:05:55,973
Speaker 4: and it's not like that experience stress. But I think

117
00:05:55,973 --> 00:05:57,693
Speaker 4: you know, what we do know, right, is that stress

118
00:05:57,813 --> 00:06:01,493
Speaker 4: does cost the owner's productivity. So if you're not sleeping, well,

119
00:06:01,533 --> 00:06:03,533
Speaker 4: if you're getting less sleep than as optimal, you're not

120
00:06:03,533 --> 00:06:05,413
Speaker 4: going to be as productive during the day, and therefore

121
00:06:05,413 --> 00:06:07,892
Speaker 4: your output's not going to be as good both. You know, again,

122
00:06:07,973 --> 00:06:11,013
Speaker 4: it does have a real knock on effect into productivity

123
00:06:11,013 --> 00:06:13,933
Speaker 4: and output, which ultimately is really important for a business.

124
00:06:13,973 --> 00:06:17,293
Speaker 4: So I think a lot of there there own techniques, meditation,

125
00:06:17,853 --> 00:06:20,013
Speaker 4: the Mental Health Foundation has a whole lot of resources

126
00:06:20,013 --> 00:06:23,133
Speaker 4: that can help individuals manage their stress, but it could

127
00:06:23,133 --> 00:06:26,013
Speaker 4: know at the same time, it's important to just I think,

128
00:06:26,053 --> 00:06:29,293
Speaker 4: acknowledge the tress that business owners are going through. Support

129
00:06:29,333 --> 00:06:32,653
Speaker 4: then as much as possible as consuming. Supporting our sneeze

130
00:06:32,733 --> 00:06:35,213
Speaker 4: is something we always talk about at zero how can

131
00:06:35,253 --> 00:06:38,773
Speaker 4: we do that? And we actually are trying to think about,

132
00:06:38,813 --> 00:06:41,293
Speaker 4: you know, how we can I guess we're talking about

133
00:06:41,293 --> 00:06:44,213
Speaker 4: the emotional tact how we can provide an emotional tax

134
00:06:44,733 --> 00:06:48,733
Speaker 4: refunds brought some of these business owners across our showing land.

135
00:06:49,253 --> 00:06:51,573
Speaker 4: So we are giving small business owners a chance to

136
00:06:51,973 --> 00:06:55,533
Speaker 4: kind of reclaim time and moments that they've missed over

137
00:06:55,573 --> 00:06:57,653
Speaker 4: the years. You know that might be an anniversary dinner

138
00:06:57,733 --> 00:07:01,173
Speaker 4: or an overdue vacation where we've got a competition running,

139
00:07:01,173 --> 00:07:03,893
Speaker 4: so business owners can enter to show and reclaim something

140
00:07:04,533 --> 00:07:07,493
Speaker 4: and we can give them a chance to claim that

141
00:07:07,493 --> 00:07:10,533
Speaker 4: that can get there emotional text refund.

142
00:07:10,973 --> 00:07:13,293
Speaker 2: Great stuff, Bridget. Thank you very much for joining us.

143
00:07:13,373 --> 00:07:16,373
Speaker 2: It is fascinating but terrifying research. Really appreciate your time

144
00:07:16,373 --> 00:07:17,053
Speaker 2: this afternoon.

145
00:07:17,733 --> 00:07:20,373
Speaker 1: For more from News Talk sed B, listen live on

146
00:07:20,453 --> 00:07:23,413
Speaker 1: air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever

147
00:07:23,493 --> 00:07:26,053
Speaker 1: you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio