Life's a beach - if you work hard

Jayne Banfield

Owner, Beachcomber Resort, Pahia,

Bay of Islands

Number of employees: 20


What makes your day at work?


Seeing and meeting with Beachcomber guests enjoying the resort. Knowing that people are delighted with their stay makes all the challenges that I've faced worthwhile.


How did you get where you are today?


My husband died suddenly two years ago. I'd always been the support person in the background concentrating on raising our family and it was an awesome responsibility to find myself suddenly in sole charge and ownership of a large hotel. It was a case of either sink or swim.


What was the most important lesson you learnt on your way up?


To trust my own gut feelings and not constantly feel the need to ask others for their advice and opinion. Also to recognise at the same time that I needn't be embarrassed to ask for help when I needed it and to know that there are people out there more than happy to assist.


What pitfalls have you come across in your career and how have you dealt with them?


Lacking the confidence initially to believe that I could run this business successfully.

However, by a process of setting myself goals and learning to break them down into small objectives which I could see would get me there, I found that each time I achieved one of my objectives my confidence in my ability grew.


What advice would you give a young person starting out in business?


Find a mentor. Someone whose personal integrity and business sense you respect and can bounce ideas off and who you can ask for help when you want to.

What's the biggest challenge for your company in the present economy?

The dynamic rate of change in New Zealand business and in customer wants and needs are challenging to keep ahead of.


What one thing would you have done differently in your business life?


I have a tendency to become too involved in working in my business and too little working on it. I am very fortunate now, though, to have an excellent manager and a superb staff team who take care of the operational side of the resort exceedingly well.


What ambitions do you have?


To become more involved in local community affairs. I currently chair our local business association, which is very rewarding. And to raise my three teenage daughters to be sensitive, secure and to feel good about themselves.


How do you relax?


By spending time in, on, or by the sea. I adore swimming and I love the yachting I've done recently with my new partner and my children. I'm currently taking sailing lessons!


* Jane Banfield spoke with Jo-Marie Brown.