It's another busy week in The Orchard Business & Event Hub, with the hustle and bustle of our resident businesses and entrepreneurs, meetings and events underway, and in the midst of this, party planning is in full swing to celebrate The Orchard's sixth birthday.
When The Orchard Business & Event Hub was launched in Whāngarei by Northland Inc six years ago, it was as a place mostly for entrepreneurs and start-ups, with Northland Inc and NorthChamber in the mix for support to help them grow. Looking around at the businesses here today, there are some big changes from when we started.
In the past two years, we've welcomed much bigger businesses and agencies from around the country who had previously had no one based north of Auckland. Joining us at The Orchard when they first get to Taitokerau Northland means they can hit the ground running here without the logistics and cost of setting up their own office straight away. They can focus on important things like growing their teams, building their networks and getting stuff done. And this approach is working for them, with a few having already moved into their own well-branded spaces around town.
![Andrea Primrose-Netzler is a Growth Advisor at Northland Inc, based at The Orchard Business and Events Hub. Photo / Supplied](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/2RAP4MI4LJIPKNSCTTS6EUVORE.jpg?auth=4102e991588c951c59d6bce1791d6c71f8f8e73a01691e802d0ffb38aad11607&width=16&height=24&quality=70&smart=true)
Along with the start-ups and entrepreneurs we are home to, we spend a lot of time with the people of the businesses who set up shop from The Orchard. We celebrate with them when they hire new staff, win new contracts, and their client base is flourishing. Their growth is so exciting and we are stoked for them, but with this comes the knowledge that the day will come when they will move on to their own dedicated space. This part is bitter-sweet, it is exactly what is meant to happen, it shows The Orchard model is working – but gosh we miss them when they go! Lucky for us they are often close by, and we can pop in for a visit and a cuppa.