Book encourages businesses to back themselves

Business coach Natalie Tolhopf runs a successful business but underneath it all, she says she was full of self-doubt.

“I was doing well, but it was about believing it, on a personal level,” she says. “Businesses are all about planning and moving forward, but I discovered it’s also super important to stop, celebrate the benchmarks we achieve and look at how far you’ve come.”

She wrote her new book, Become Unstoppable: How to quit playing small, own your expertise and elevate your business in the aftermath of Covid-19.

“That whole process showed me that noone in business knew what the right next step might be,” she says. “All we had was ourselves and in fact, that is enough. We have to trust our intuition, back ourselves and then we become unstoppable.”

In the book, Natalie shares her own personal journey to get to that point of confidence.

“I look at where my self-doubt came from, and sharing that helps normalise it,” she says. “Social media makes everything look perfect, but underneath, everyone is like that duck on water – paddling fast to stay afloat.”

Personal confidence is a vital part of your business, Natalie says, because when you are not confident, you don’t sell as well and sales are the lifeblood of any business.

“If you understand your value, and the value of what you offer, you will sell with conviction – and that has to be consistent.”

“I was sick of feeling like I wasn’t enough – comparing myself to unrealistic benchmarks. Especially in these difficult times, we have to keep moving forward, without those types of comparisons.”

At the same time, she says being unstoppable is not about constantly striving and pushing.

“It’s carrying on in spite of your failures and doubts. Instead of focusing on your weaknesses, you build and start from understanding that you are already enough – you know what you are doing.”

Win This Book

Hibiscus Matters has two copies of Become Unstoppable to give away. To enter the draw, ‘like’ Hibiscus Matters on Facebook and message us your name and daytime phone number, mentioning Become Unstoppable; or drop an entry that includes your name and phone number into our office at 21 Florence Ave Ōrewa. Entries close Friday, April 7. The book is published by Imperfect Action Publishing, RRP $25 and is available from www.natalietolhopf.com

Community co-ordinator to support fundraising events

Fundraising groups throughout Rodney and the Hibiscus Coast could get a boost in future, thanks to a new regional role created by real estate group Harcourts Cooper & Co.

The company has appointed Hiria Kayes as its community relationship co-ordinator to support and help with events in the area covered by the seven new branches it acquired last year – Ōrewa, Whangaparāoa, Silverdale, Millwater, Warkworth, Snells Beach and Matakana.

Kayes, who lives at Manly, will liaise with local agents and organisations to support and help with a range of community fundraising events.

“We can support an event in a number of ways – sometimes it can be with money, it might be our time or with equipment, such as gazebos, or with our Coffee & Cone ice cream and coffee truck,” she says.

“It will be a real privilege to cover the northern Auckland region, and meet and assist the people that really work so hard to provide events and raise funding to enrich communities.”

Some of the organisations already being assisted in the region include Harbour Hospice, Youth in Transition, Silverdale Rugby Club, Saviong Hope, the Ōrewa Bike Cruise, Run Ōrewa and Women’s Centre Rodney.

Kayes joins a team of four – plus casual staff – who make up the Harcourts Cooper & Co community team, which has existed since 2013 and has raised more than $6 million in that time.

Cooper & Co managing director Martin Cooper says the company’s growth will see an increase in its community fundraising, which already supports more than 400 events each year.

“As a company, we have always believed that you give back to those who support you, and I believe we have the largest community outreach programme in northern Auckland,” he says. “We are thrilled to be bringing the team to the Coast and Rodney, and Hiria is the ideal person to engage with all the communities we operate within.”

Anyone interested in seeking support for a community group or event should visit www.cooperandco.co.nz/do-you-need-somehelp or contact their nearest Harcourts Cooper & Co branch.

Right, Hiria Kayes will co-ordinate Harcourts’ local fundraising activities. A Cooper & Co coffee and ice cream truck is available for events.