Message from the North Island

Back on the Road

Ngā mihi o te tau hou (Happy new year, greetings for the new year).

2020 is here and I hope everyone had a fun, well rested holiday and are now feeling back in the swing of things. For those of you who worked through, I hope you have scheduled some time off in the coming months to ensure you don’t burn out. NZCB prides itself on delivering education and support to its members.

In lieu of the suspension of our 10-year residential building guarantee insurance, Halo, I have had many discussions with NZCB members regarding the challenge they are facing when selling themselves to the client to win the job. I empathise with our members as I too used Halo as a trump card to close when selling membership to a potential new member. I believe our members and our Association goes a lot wider than just a 10-year residential building guarantee insurance meaning we offer many other products and services to our members to support and assist them in managing and growing their business. For members, in the public eye or when you are selling yourself to the client you can touch on the following: • As an NZCB member you can be rest assured I am trade qualified meaning I have done my apprenticeship • NZCB doesn’t just let anybody in – all members are screened to ensure we have good building practices and business management • NZCB prides itself on delivering education and support to its members. This ensures all members are up to speed with the latest industry trends and regulations. The new Toolshed is up and running. If you haven’t logged in since the changeover, please ensure you familiarise yourself with the new look. If you are experiencing problems with it, please call the National Support Office for assistance – 0800 237 843. Why get to know the Toolshed? It’s a great business tool. There is a lot of information, tools and templates available to help you manage your business. These include contracts, a charge out calculator, builder compliance checklists, a library of educational resources and more. What’s on my calendar over the next couple of months? I have regional golf fundraiser tournaments to support, regional meetings and Annual General Meetings to attend, and 2020’s first Building Trade Professionals Workshop to host, with special guest speaker Geoff Hardy of Martelli McKegg lawyers. If you haven’t been to Geoff’s seminars or builders’ breakfasts, I seriously recommend attending. This event is focused on payment claims and payment schedules, so very topical – see page 9 for more details. That’s all from me for now, see you in the regions.

Ka kite anō.

NORTH