Business Support

We can work with you to design and deliver support for small businesses. Examples of services we can offer include:

• Design of a small business start-up and support programme to meet your organisation’s needs
• Development of resources to be used within a small business start-up initiative
• Small business workshops, delivered online or in-person
• One-on-one support to individual business owners and prospective business owners
• Assistance to develop business plans
• Mentoring support
• Project management services for a business support initiative

The services we offer to individuals and small business owners are funded by other organisations, as opposed to the small business owner. As such, the availability of services depends on contracts we hold, and the arrangements we have, with other organisations.

We currently offer:

• Assistance to access Ministry of Social Development (MSD) start-up support, including the Flexi-Wage for Self-employment and the Self-Employment Start-Up Payment. Support is offered via the Business Training and Advice Grant. If you are interested in this service, please speak to MSD about eligibility. All clients must be referred to us from MSD.

• Assistance to seek support from the North King Country Development Trust (NKCDT). If you would like to apply to NKCDT for support, you can either apply directly or we can help you to complete an application. Depending on what your needs are, and what support is approved by NKCDT, we may be able to provide additional mentoring support.

If you are looking for support, please contact us via our Heartlands Services hub to see what services are currently available. If we do not have any services that meet your needs, we can help connect you with other providers of support and business training.

For example, Te Wānanga o Aotearoa has a great suite of business education programmes that can help you to establish, operate, and grow your business. Resources for several of these programmes, including the Smart Steps to Business, the Certificate in Small Business, and the Diploma in Small Business and Project Management, were developed by our Aotahi team.