Happy new year and welcome to 2024.

The Wellington City Libraries Business Development team look forward to assisting local businesses with their information requirements in the coming year.

If you need assistance on any type of business subject, feel free to email or call to make an appointment with our specialist librarian Linda at prosearch@wcc.govt.nz or 021 596 274.

“Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers.” ~ Stephen R. Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Find more inspirational quotes for small business owners here.

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If you have the time, we’d like to know a little more about you and what content you might like to see in this year's Kōrero Kaipakihi - Business News from Wellington City Libraries

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From the blog: Toilets and new books

We rounded off the year with an unlikely blog topic – toilets.  Yes, we provided some light relief and some fun facts on wharepaku, learn more on our blog!

If you’re still on holiday, or are thinking of hanging your hammock up in the sun later in the month, this new blog post collates some of the new business reading from our collection. 

A new book river has gone up – Beating burnout.

If you’ve started the new year feeling stressed and overworked, have a look at our resources on how to build resilience and overcome that burnt-out feeling.

Summer holidays can be confusing when it comes to calculating staff leave.

Business.govt.nz offers some guidance to business owners and employers. Find information on this topic here - Paying your employees for leave.

Summer holidays are here, so now is a good time to make sure you’re on track to pay your employees for any leave they will be taking.

Calculating holiday pay correctly is straightforward when you’ve got the right systems in place, such as:

• Accurate, up-to-date time and wage records.
• The correct calculations, using the right data.

Cashing-up annual leave (also called annual holidays) is the process of exchanging unused annual leave for cash. Employees can ask to cash-up up to 1 week of their 4-week annual leave entitlement per year, as long as they:

• Submit a written request to the employer.
• Have completed 12 months of employment.

If an employer agrees to pay out some of the employee's annual leave, they need to pay as soon as they can, and the payment must be at least the same amount as if the employee had taken the time off. Learn more at business.govt.nz.

Tips for tradies

Are you a tradie who needs a hand with pricing and quoting your work to improve your margins and profit? 

Explore these e-learning series on:

• How to price a job, including working out your markup and hourly rates. You can also download editable templates to help you.
•  how to quote, with a downloadable proposal template you can fill in and send directly to your clients.

Learn more about these tips for tradies here. 

Thirty-two actions to build a better business in 2024

Marketing strategist, Rachel Klaver lists some actions small businesses can take to improve their performance in the coming year.

Knowledge base: Using emotional connection to engage customers with Callum Robertson, Hardwired

In this must watch interview Callum explains why founders must understand that establishing emotional connection with customers has a proven bottom-line impact, yet most businesses continue to focus on conversations around function: price, value for money, and what competitors do or don’t have by comparison. This is especially important if you have new or difficult to explain products.

Five tips for small businesses looking to flourish during the holiday season

Five tips for small businesses looking to flourish during the holiday season – NZ Entrepreneur Magazine.

Do you need a marketing strategy refresh? How to reassess your marketing in the new year

Marketing is no longer just the tactics you use to grow your brand, but a holistic strategy that grows with your business. As such, January is a great time to reassess your priorities and reorient your marketing strategy for the year ahead. In this article, we’ll walk you through the process to keep your brand marketable, relevant, and competitive.