A recent event held at The Orchard in Whangārei. The Seedling Business Christmas Market will be a chance to help the region's fledgling businesses connect with their markets, says Grace Jones.
A recent event held at The Orchard in Whangārei. The Seedling Business Christmas Market will be a chance to help the region's fledgling businesses connect with their markets, says Grace Jones.
There's no denying it has been a challenging year for Tai Tokerau's small business community and, as Christmas approaches, it has never been more timely to support our local enterprises.
What better way is there to spread seasonal goodwill in Northland than to think local, shop local and buy local?
To that end The Orchard, Northland Inc's business and events hub, wants to help the region's fledgling businesses connect with their markets. So, in the week before Christmas, it will gift a group of small businesses with something they have never had before – a storefront.
Grace Jones is the marketing and communications coordinator for The Orchard business and events Hub, and Northland Inc, the regional economic development agency.
Accordingly, The Orchard will be transformed into a vibrant marketplace as it hosts the Seedling Business Christmas Market, on Wednesday, December 16 – an event designed to help budding entrepreneurs and start-up businesses come into an office space and showcase their products for the first time.
Naturally, a sprinkling of festive fun will be thrown in for good measure.
The idea is to provide these businesses with a unique opportunity and atmosphere in which to grow their confidence, develop their networks and equip them with the know-how to take their fledgling businesses to the next level.
In this season of giving, Northland Inc's team of growth advisers will be on hand, as will the Northland Chamber of Commerce and our many Orchardists (all like-minded businesspeople), to give freely of their professional advice, support, and knowledge.
Northland Inc's growth advisers have recently facilitated support for more than 1000 Tai Tokerau businesses since the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown in March, and their input on the day will prove invaluable.
Business contacts are often made during a chance conversation with someone by the coffee machine.
The team has been in a privileged position to deliver central government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic for small-to-medium-sized businesses, and this has allowed them to get to know the real issues and challenges that the business community faces, while also observing first-hand how Northland has adapted to the crisis.
During a year that has thrown up a series of unprecedented events, which continue to test and reshape the world, the Seedling Business Christmas Market will be not just an opportunity to give our young businesses a leg up, it will also be a chance to toast the diversity of Northland and the resilience and fortitude of our amazing regional business community.
The Orchard's mission is to seed, nurture and grow Tai Tokerau's young businesses, and that key statement infuses everything we do.
That process starts from the moment you are welcomed into The Orchard and introduced to a network of like-minded businesspeople, who are either running fully-fledged organisations or, as in so many cases, are newbies, dipping their toes into the commercial marketplace for the first time, eager to rub shoulders with potential clients and connectors.
We are a network, and we have this beautiful culture of referral – something that can be as simple as starting up a chance conversation with someone by the coffee machine; it really is that organic.
Finally, we are proud of our Orchard buzz – a vibe, in part, that comes from the influx of different people and businesses who pass across our threshold every day to use our six purpose-built meeting rooms.
We host many free events, where we aim to inspire budding entrepreneurs and give them the fundamental stepping stones they need to grow their business to its full potential.
These include Lunch Box Sessions, which are held bi-weekly, and are designed to be the transfer of bite-sized information and skills that you can instantly apply to your working life, covering everything from cash flow to time management, and social media.
We also have a new speaker series, which aims to inspire and unite our business community, with local business leaders sharing their journeys and all the requisite ups and downs they experience along the way.
If you want to catch a young business on the rise, or be a part of our vibrant marketplace, come to the Seedling Business Christmas Market at 35 Walton St, next Wednesday, December 16. Doors will be open from 4-7pm.
Call our Welcome Team on 09 438 5110 for more information about joining The Orchard.
• Grace Jones is the marketing and communications coordinator for The Orchard business and events Hub, and Northland Inc, the regional economic development agency.
