What is a Pie?
To make sure we are all on the same page here I have been reminded to explain the definition of a "pie" to those readers who are unfamiliar with the concept.
Being in New Zealand we have grown up with pies, but we have heard that a savoury pie is a new concept to many overseas countries. In New Zealand we tend to eat pies as a savoury dish, not as a dessert. Pies are an extremely popular food concept here and are sold everywhere from bakeries to corner dairies. Usually containing meat such as mince or chicken. We believe meat pies are common in New Zealand and Australia especially due to the strong agriculture and farming industries of sheep and beef farming. It seems a natural fit that with such easy access to meat innovative ways were created to serve it.
I have been a fan of Jesters Pies for almost 2 years now. They are a fast food chain that operate in Australasia.
History
Jesters was created in 1997 in Australia and is now spread throughout Australia and New Zealand. The company in its present form is the result of the merger of Shakespeares Pies and Jesters Jaffle Pie company. The merger took place in 2005 and all stores were rebranded as Jesters.
Business model
Jesters operates under the popular franchise model that many food outlets follow. Jesters do not have stand alone company stores, rather they have outlets in major shopping centres. This obviously eliminates the need for expensive store layouts, which makes for a more cost-effective franchise. The style of the outlet is in a basic cafe-style with a large heated display unit taking u the front and serving areas on each side. Jesters kitchen can operate in a very small space with 1-2 operators making the pies. Generally they do 2-3 bakes per day. the stores generally can run with a minimum 2-3 staff part-time.
Food
The quality of Jesters pies is excellent. All pies are made fresh in house several times daily. The pastry is a great selling point - it is so unique. It is crispy on the outside without being messy, and soft on the inside. I must mention that Jesters pies are a little on the small side for the price. You would generally need 2 pies to fill you up. Jesters do offer combos with wedges and drinks. The fillings are made of high quality ingredients. You can really tasts the differnce over say, a bakery pie. Being a franchise the pies are always uniform which is a good thing when pie quality and taste can vary so must from bakery to bakery.
An great thing about Jesters is the range of gourmet flavours available. From Mahurajah (Butter Chicken) to Popeye (Vegetarian Feta, Spinach and Mushroom). Jesters also provide dessert pies such as apple crumble pie and other interesting combinations. You can also purchased pre-frozen packs to enjoy at home.
Price
Jesters are quite pricey when compared to other Pie outlets. A Typical Jesters pie in NZ costs $3.50 - $3.90. Pies in NZ range from $1.00 to $1.50 at dairies, $2.00 - $3.00 at most bakeries and from a service station $3.00-4.00. So they are at the top end of pie retailers in NZ. Obviously though they are a gourmet outlet so must charge a higher price, but I believe the price is okay for a chain store. Would be great if the pies were 30-50% bigger.
Locations
Jesters operates over 70 stores with 18 in New Zealand. They tend to be located in busy shopping centres with high foot traffic. Recently in New Zealand they have tested the Service Station food court model successfully used in New Zealand by Subway. Essentially this concept involves putting the storefront inside a corner of the service station building. Subway seems to have dozens and dozens of these stores throughout NZ so it must be a winning combination.
Competitors
While pies are a big thing in New Zealand, there are not many chains offering alternative options. Georgie Pie was the original popular Pie restaurant chain in NZ in the 1990's and operated in the same way McDonalds Restaurants do, with lots of menu selection, kids toys and kids playground. Unfortunately McDonalds bought out Georgie Pie and there has never been another strong chain offering pies.
In competiton with Jesters though there seems to be no franchises operating. Several years ago there was a new franchise in New Zealand called King Pie. Last I heard the franchise shut down due to lack of sales. Jesters seems very similar in concept to King Pie with similar locations and store layout. We can only hope that their business model renders them more successful. It would be a shame to lose another great tasting pie outlet.
Summary
In Summary I would definitely recommend trying Jesters Pies out if you are located in New Zealand, or Australia. They are a welcome addition to the fast food marketplace and I hope they grow to be present in more centres. Would be great to see them take the Unique "Pie" concept to other countries especially Asia, and even England and Europe.
Auckland, New Zealand
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Review - Fullers Car Ferry Opua to Russell
We recently used the Fullers Car Ferry which travels between Opua and Okiato, Russell, Bay of Islands. The ferry is used by 99% of people travelling to the historic township of Russell. While you can avoid the ferry and drive around the peninsula, this is not recommended. The road is of course unsealed the whole way, and normally in pretty bad condition. Extremely bumpy, dusty and uncomfortable. The old road was used for generations by some of the earliest settlers in New Zealand so had a lot of history but only the brave should attempt that drive!
This short ferry trip (approx 10 minutes) cuts out the long drive on the old Russell road around the peninsula which takes about 45 minutes. It is good to get out on the ferry to stretch your legs after a long journey (usually 3 1/2 hours from Auckland for most tourists)
Vessels
The Vessels are purpose built car ferries which carry approx 20 vehicles. They are flat deck with a raised cab on one side. They have sections at the front that raise and lower to let cars and trucks drive on.
Ferry Times
The ferry operates all year round with peak season being summer when a influx of tourists arrive. From each port they leave about every 20 minutes. They run from dawn to around 10pm at night. Fullers usually have 2 vessels on duty who pass each other halfway during the trip, so you never have to wait too long.
Pricing
The ferry ride now costs $10 one way including driver and car. Passengers are still $1 each. This year we noticed a price increase over last year - approx $2.00. But this is understandable given all the petrol price rises over the past year.
Summary
In summary, if you are travelling to Russell in the Bay of Islands I highly recommend using the ferry service. It will save a terrible drive around the unsealed road and $10 is a small price to pay for the speed of arrival. The trip only takes 10 minutes and then you can be enjoying the sites Russell has to offer!
This short ferry trip (approx 10 minutes) cuts out the long drive on the old Russell road around the peninsula which takes about 45 minutes. It is good to get out on the ferry to stretch your legs after a long journey (usually 3 1/2 hours from Auckland for most tourists)
Vessels
The Vessels are purpose built car ferries which carry approx 20 vehicles. They are flat deck with a raised cab on one side. They have sections at the front that raise and lower to let cars and trucks drive on.
Ferry Times
The ferry operates all year round with peak season being summer when a influx of tourists arrive. From each port they leave about every 20 minutes. They run from dawn to around 10pm at night. Fullers usually have 2 vessels on duty who pass each other halfway during the trip, so you never have to wait too long.
Pricing
The ferry ride now costs $10 one way including driver and car. Passengers are still $1 each. This year we noticed a price increase over last year - approx $2.00. But this is understandable given all the petrol price rises over the past year.
Summary
In summary, if you are travelling to Russell in the Bay of Islands I highly recommend using the ferry service. It will save a terrible drive around the unsealed road and $10 is a small price to pay for the speed of arrival. The trip only takes 10 minutes and then you can be enjoying the sites Russell has to offer!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Review - Holiday Shoppe
I am heading off to the USA in February and I have been using Holiday Shoppe Lynnmall as my travel agents. They have been extremely helpful in all aspects especially when I needed to switch around some flights.
Pricing
The good thing with travel agents is they have access to pricing, generally for all the major airlines. So this is better than going online to a single airlines website and mucking around for hours comparing deals. You may pay a little more thru a travel agent but you are paying for a service that will save you time, energy and stress. Especially when booking an international trip you want to have everything in order so using a travel agent is good for peace of mind.
Customer Service
When thinking about an overseas trip try this technique. I went around to as many travel agents as I could find. I asked them for quotes for my trip and this is a very good test of their customer service skills. At least half I found not to be very helpful and obviously I was going to avoid them. Go with the agent you feel most comfortable with, over one that offers the lowest price. You want someone who will be happy to advise you and help with any issues or changes down the track.
I recommend Holiday Shoppe Lynn Mall. They are located on the outside edge opposite Pizza Hut. Agent Caroline Sowden is great to deal with!
Auckland, New Zealand
Pricing
The good thing with travel agents is they have access to pricing, generally for all the major airlines. So this is better than going online to a single airlines website and mucking around for hours comparing deals. You may pay a little more thru a travel agent but you are paying for a service that will save you time, energy and stress. Especially when booking an international trip you want to have everything in order so using a travel agent is good for peace of mind.
Customer Service
When thinking about an overseas trip try this technique. I went around to as many travel agents as I could find. I asked them for quotes for my trip and this is a very good test of their customer service skills. At least half I found not to be very helpful and obviously I was going to avoid them. Go with the agent you feel most comfortable with, over one that offers the lowest price. You want someone who will be happy to advise you and help with any issues or changes down the track.
I recommend Holiday Shoppe Lynn Mall. They are located on the outside edge opposite Pizza Hut. Agent Caroline Sowden is great to deal with!
Auckland, New Zealand
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Review - Tony Robbins Personal Power
Everyone knows who Tony Robbins is. He really needs no introduction. He's the guy on the infomercials on TV advertising his self-help program "Personal Power" - the guy with the big teeth.
I was given an ancient version of Personal Power for Christmas and I have been going thru the 30 Day program. I have to say it is better than I expected. Really useful stuff, and it has been amazing to see myself actually following and doing the exercises and avoiding being lazy. Its something about the way Tony talks on the cd's and his encouraging way that makes you take action on the daily tasks.
Now given I have missed a few days, but I have been extremely busy. I am up to about Day 14 now which covers Goal Setting. The content while being around 14 years old was obviously ahead of its time as I have heard a few concepts being recycled by seminar speakers I have attended over the last few years. The principles while basic are very powerful and do have an amazing effect on your daily life.
He has you complete a "Success Journal" which you write each days tasks in. Usually answering a bunch of questions and interpreting their meaning and working on the next step. He is big on identifying core beliefs and studying them to see if those beliefs are causing some trouble in your life. Internal beliefs or limitations either from being to hard to achieve, or just plain incorrect, stupid, or unreasonable. Beliefs are like rules that you have unconsciously lived by.
Tony has put out a more recent CD Program called Get The Edge. Instead of a 30 Day program its 7 days. More intense and more focused. It will be good to try this program at some stage and compare the differences.
I have found Personal Power so far to be extremely effective. It will be good to see what the next 14 days bring. I am hooked on the program and have started to look forward to each daily session.Once I have completed the 30 Days I will post again with more insights into the program.
Auckland, New Zealand
I was given an ancient version of Personal Power for Christmas and I have been going thru the 30 Day program. I have to say it is better than I expected. Really useful stuff, and it has been amazing to see myself actually following and doing the exercises and avoiding being lazy. Its something about the way Tony talks on the cd's and his encouraging way that makes you take action on the daily tasks.
Now given I have missed a few days, but I have been extremely busy. I am up to about Day 14 now which covers Goal Setting. The content while being around 14 years old was obviously ahead of its time as I have heard a few concepts being recycled by seminar speakers I have attended over the last few years. The principles while basic are very powerful and do have an amazing effect on your daily life.
He has you complete a "Success Journal" which you write each days tasks in. Usually answering a bunch of questions and interpreting their meaning and working on the next step. He is big on identifying core beliefs and studying them to see if those beliefs are causing some trouble in your life. Internal beliefs or limitations either from being to hard to achieve, or just plain incorrect, stupid, or unreasonable. Beliefs are like rules that you have unconsciously lived by.
Tony has put out a more recent CD Program called Get The Edge. Instead of a 30 Day program its 7 days. More intense and more focused. It will be good to try this program at some stage and compare the differences.
I have found Personal Power so far to be extremely effective. It will be good to see what the next 14 days bring. I am hooked on the program and have started to look forward to each daily session.Once I have completed the 30 Days I will post again with more insights into the program.
Auckland, New Zealand
Monday, January 21, 2008
Review - Pak 'n Save Supermarkets
Pak 'n Save Supermarkets are operated by Foodstuffs New Zealand Ltd. Foodstuffs also operates the supermarket brands 4Square and New World. Foodstuffs is a co-operative business which means that each store is owned by individual owners but they use their collective buying power of hundreds of stores to purchase from suppliers at a better price.
This is as opposed to Progressive Enterprises who run Foodtown, Countdown. All stores are owned by one large company, not individual stores owned by private individuals. So is there any advantage to shopping at a collective business? Collective style businesses are better for the economy. This is because each store is owned locally so the profits generally will stay within the country and usually within the local community.
The other benefit of a collective is that smaller independent stores in rural and far out areas still get the benefit of the lower group prices as they are part of the collective. they are not disadvantaged by location. Otherwise if they were independent they would have to negotiate directly with suppliers and because they would only buy a small quantity they would not get good prices over a large big volume negotiator. So the collective bargaining under Foodstuffs umbrella means that they pay the same as the larger stores. This is better for the smaller local communities as the stores don't have to change high prices due to location.
Progressive Enterprises is owned by an Australian publicly-listed retail giant so the profits go offshore which harms the NZ economy. Pak 'n Save is cheaper than most other supermarkets so it seems the collective system works well. Both for the independent stores, the local communities, and of course for the consumer.
Auckland, New Zealand
This is as opposed to Progressive Enterprises who run Foodtown, Countdown. All stores are owned by one large company, not individual stores owned by private individuals. So is there any advantage to shopping at a collective business? Collective style businesses are better for the economy. This is because each store is owned locally so the profits generally will stay within the country and usually within the local community.
The other benefit of a collective is that smaller independent stores in rural and far out areas still get the benefit of the lower group prices as they are part of the collective. they are not disadvantaged by location. Otherwise if they were independent they would have to negotiate directly with suppliers and because they would only buy a small quantity they would not get good prices over a large big volume negotiator. So the collective bargaining under Foodstuffs umbrella means that they pay the same as the larger stores. This is better for the smaller local communities as the stores don't have to change high prices due to location.
Progressive Enterprises is owned by an Australian publicly-listed retail giant so the profits go offshore which harms the NZ economy. Pak 'n Save is cheaper than most other supermarkets so it seems the collective system works well. Both for the independent stores, the local communities, and of course for the consumer.
Auckland, New Zealand
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Review - Big Day Out Festival
I attended the Big Day Out festival this week and I thought it a good topic to look at the business side of organising a large event. With tickets sales reaching 40,000 there is some serious organisation and serious money involved in an event like this. Take the ticket price at minimum $123 each and we're talking a 4 million dollar event plus all the sponsorship that goes along with it.
And this is just ticket sales. The amount of advertising revenue generated must be enormous. With major New Zealand sponsors such as C4 Television, Lion Red Beer, V Energy Drink, Illicit Clothing....the list goes on.
Bands
Some say that the lineup this year wasn't very inspiring. They had one huge name Rage against the Machine but other than that were really mediocre bands. The event did not sell out this year no doubt due to the poor lineup. The previous year 2007 sold out due to big acts such as: Tool, Muse and My Chemical Romance.
Big Day Out.com
And this is just ticket sales. The amount of advertising revenue generated must be enormous. With major New Zealand sponsors such as C4 Television, Lion Red Beer, V Energy Drink, Illicit Clothing....the list goes on.
Bands
Some say that the lineup this year wasn't very inspiring. They had one huge name Rage against the Machine but other than that were really mediocre bands. The event did not sell out this year no doubt due to the poor lineup. The previous year 2007 sold out due to big acts such as: Tool, Muse and My Chemical Romance.
Big Day Out.com
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Review - AskMen.com
A website I have been checking out a bit lately is called Ask Men.com. I originally stumbled upon this website about 5 years ago and after having a look recently its good to see it is still the same idea, albeit revamped.
The website essentially serves as an online mens magazine with different sections devoted to different topics such as Sports, Gadgets and Dating. Of course it has its fair share of advertising, in fact quite a lot but the content of the site makes up for it.
Advertising
While the site has the standard banner and window advertising, an interesting new twist is mid article advertising. An article could be 3 pages long where you have to link thru between pages. After you click the link you occasionally get taken to a page with a TV ad running! The page does have a link to the article but it can sometimes be off putting when you are halfway thru an article.
Content
One things that is good is the content. The website has hundreds of contributors and over 40,000 articles online which is no mean feat. the majority I have read have been well written. Most srticels though do link thru to the writers products so there is softselling built into most articles.
I would recommend checking out the site: www.askmen.com
The website essentially serves as an online mens magazine with different sections devoted to different topics such as Sports, Gadgets and Dating. Of course it has its fair share of advertising, in fact quite a lot but the content of the site makes up for it.
Advertising
While the site has the standard banner and window advertising, an interesting new twist is mid article advertising. An article could be 3 pages long where you have to link thru between pages. After you click the link you occasionally get taken to a page with a TV ad running! The page does have a link to the article but it can sometimes be off putting when you are halfway thru an article.
Content
One things that is good is the content. The website has hundreds of contributors and over 40,000 articles online which is no mean feat. the majority I have read have been well written. Most srticels though do link thru to the writers products so there is softselling built into most articles.
I would recommend checking out the site: www.askmen.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Review - Mini Storage
We have recently taken out some storage with a local self storage company. This is the one where they have garages or containers where you can rent space to store furniture or excess stock. Its a really convenient way to clear space at home or the office.
This has also lead to look at the business model behind self storage premises. At our local they have no one on the front desk or anything. There is an office and falt but no one lives there. The owner told me that they don't need someone there full time or even part time. They have automatic gates with swipe cards for the customers so theres not really much human assistance needed. So it seems like an ideal business because you don't have to physically be there to run it and you don't have to pay someone!
They have a contact number on the wall so I guess they do have a few calls a day and perhaps have to come into the office say once a day but Im sure there are days when they don't need to. The owner said that I had taken the last space avaialbe so the whole place was fully rented. So he receives the monthly payments, dosen't have to be there, and might get called out once a day. Sounds like a great way to run things. The guy said he was fully rented out so that must be a good feeling. I wonder how much the outgoings are, and how much rent they receive in total.
There must be about 80 spaces. 20 full containers x $195m 3900, 15 garages x 195m 2925, 30 2x3m x 100m 3000, 25 2x2m 80m 2000 = 11825 monthly. Outgoings Lease/Rent, Rates, Power, Advertising, Maintenance (Paint)
There would be significant capital needed to set up a business like this. You would have to decide whether you would buy the land or lease it. You would also need to think about Signage, Build garages, Buying some old containers, Building an auto entry gate on both entrances.
So it sounds like the ultimate hands off business (once set-up). You are technically on call but what types of calls would you receive? "Hi, I would like some space, how much" Hi I would like to cancel my space" " You wouldn't receive hi I lost my key because you use your own key to lock.
So I will definitiely be looking into Mini storage as a future business investment. You would need a fair bit of capital to start with but the passive nature of the business really appeals to me
Auckland, New Zealand
This has also lead to look at the business model behind self storage premises. At our local they have no one on the front desk or anything. There is an office and falt but no one lives there. The owner told me that they don't need someone there full time or even part time. They have automatic gates with swipe cards for the customers so theres not really much human assistance needed. So it seems like an ideal business because you don't have to physically be there to run it and you don't have to pay someone!
They have a contact number on the wall so I guess they do have a few calls a day and perhaps have to come into the office say once a day but Im sure there are days when they don't need to. The owner said that I had taken the last space avaialbe so the whole place was fully rented. So he receives the monthly payments, dosen't have to be there, and might get called out once a day. Sounds like a great way to run things. The guy said he was fully rented out so that must be a good feeling. I wonder how much the outgoings are, and how much rent they receive in total.
There must be about 80 spaces. 20 full containers x $195m 3900, 15 garages x 195m 2925, 30 2x3m x 100m 3000, 25 2x2m 80m 2000 = 11825 monthly. Outgoings Lease/Rent, Rates, Power, Advertising, Maintenance (Paint)
There would be significant capital needed to set up a business like this. You would have to decide whether you would buy the land or lease it. You would also need to think about Signage, Build garages, Buying some old containers, Building an auto entry gate on both entrances.
So it sounds like the ultimate hands off business (once set-up). You are technically on call but what types of calls would you receive? "Hi, I would like some space, how much" Hi I would like to cancel my space" " You wouldn't receive hi I lost my key because you use your own key to lock.
So I will definitiely be looking into Mini storage as a future business investment. You would need a fair bit of capital to start with but the passive nature of the business really appeals to me
Auckland, New Zealand
Review - Pizza Hut
Today I ordered a Pizza over the phone with Pizza Hut. While I was on their automated menu there was an option to Press 2 and use their automated ordering service and receive a free Garlic Bread. So I thought why not and pressed 2. I was put thru to an operator. Not the automated system I was expecting. After asking why I wasn't put thru to the automated system the girl said oh okay yes please try it again...and hung up!
So I rang back and pressed 2 again and was put thru to a new operator. Still no automated system. I asked this girl why I didn't get put thru and she said it may be because you have a restricted number. She goes "were you after the Free Garlic Bread? and I said yes" She asked for my order which I gave then I asked whether I can have the Free Garlic Bread and she said yes :) Its pays to ask!
The Pizza was great with the stuffed crust. Although a little pricey I do prefer Pizza Hut slighty more that Dominos. Dominos tend to have tiny pizzas compared to Pizza Hut. Dominos seems to be doimnating the NZ market thats Pizza Hut once owned. Pizza Hut has been raidly shutting down their old fashioned sit-down All you can eat restaurants. Its a shame because they are great. Admittedly I hadn't eaten in once for about 5 years but all the bad press Pizza Hut has been getting about declining sales made me go to the Local one (one of 4 left in Auckland) With the remaing ones they have totally revamped them along the lines of the big KFC revamp that Yum! Brands (Pizza Hut, KFC and Starbucks) NZ franchisor has been rolling out. Some new KFC stores were posting double digit sales growth due mostly to the new buildings. They do look great.
All you can eat Pizza Hut is still great value at $12.95 for Dinner or $9.95 for Lunch!
Auckland, New Zealand
So I rang back and pressed 2 again and was put thru to a new operator. Still no automated system. I asked this girl why I didn't get put thru and she said it may be because you have a restricted number. She goes "were you after the Free Garlic Bread? and I said yes" She asked for my order which I gave then I asked whether I can have the Free Garlic Bread and she said yes :) Its pays to ask!
The Pizza was great with the stuffed crust. Although a little pricey I do prefer Pizza Hut slighty more that Dominos. Dominos tend to have tiny pizzas compared to Pizza Hut. Dominos seems to be doimnating the NZ market thats Pizza Hut once owned. Pizza Hut has been raidly shutting down their old fashioned sit-down All you can eat restaurants. Its a shame because they are great. Admittedly I hadn't eaten in once for about 5 years but all the bad press Pizza Hut has been getting about declining sales made me go to the Local one (one of 4 left in Auckland) With the remaing ones they have totally revamped them along the lines of the big KFC revamp that Yum! Brands (Pizza Hut, KFC and Starbucks) NZ franchisor has been rolling out. Some new KFC stores were posting double digit sales growth due mostly to the new buildings. They do look great.
All you can eat Pizza Hut is still great value at $12.95 for Dinner or $9.95 for Lunch!
Auckland, New Zealand
Friday, January 11, 2008
Review - Mack Newton
Mack Newton is a personal trainer/motivational speaker from the USA. He is an exceptionally good presenter and is extremely knowledgable about health and fitness. I first saw a video of him speaking on the RichDad.com website. Mack has a fascinating story of how he overcame early problems in his life. He is into health and how to get others to become more healthy through changing their attitude to food, life and exercise. I found his 2 hour talk to be extremely inspirational.
Some of the topics he covered included " Don't try lose weight, just eat healthy" and "Why you shouldn't eat Bread!" After considering all his points both topics sound extremely logical! He says that healthy people cannot be fat. That if you are healthy you are automatically your target weight. So how do you get healthy? It comes down the diet and exercise - the obvious two.
He has designed something called the 3-2 eating plan which enables you easily become healthy. You can eat 3 things and Drink 2 things.
Drink
Water, lots of it. 120 oz a day. This is equivalent to 3 litres per day. Mack says that 90% of people walk around dehydrated. This affects your ability to think, it is not healthy and actually means that your body holds on to water and stores it.
Drink Fruit Juice. Real fruit Juice, not friut drink from a carton.
Food
1. Meat. As much as you want. Remove the fat. Fish is good. Ham is not meat. Ham is a by product with lots of additives.
2. Any vegetable as long as its green. Broccoli, Asparagus, etc
Green vegetables have the best nutrients out of all vegetables. Peppers have almost no nutrients. Lettuce and cabbage are mostly water. Salads are generally a no no because the contain more fattening ingredients that good ingredients by weight
3. Fruit. Eat moderately. If you have a Mack Shake (read more below) then this is equivalent to 80% of your fruit intake for the day.
Mack has a great idea for a fruit shake to have every morning. I started doing this about 3 months ago and it has been great. I have lost about 9kgs.
Mack Shake Recipe
One Banana
Half an apple (Skin on is fine)
Orange Juice.
Into a blender. Thats it
Foods to Avoid
- Salt
We don't need it in our diet. The low amount of salt we actually need is found naturally in the above foods/meat. We don't need to add extra salt to our cooking. Salt is like a drug. Once we have it, we need a little more, and then we get used to having it and feel bad wihout it - just like nicotine. We end up craving it with every meal. We don't need extra salt to season food. this just masks the real flavour of the food. Avoiding salt also means that we need to cut out things like salty snacks, potato chips corn chips etc.
- Bread.
- Excessive Sugar
- Coffee and Caffeine. We dont need it. Its just a drug
- Starch rich foods like potatoes, corn
- Food with chemical additives - which is pretty much anything that comes in a packet. Check the ingredients labels. If you can see an numbers in the ingredients list such as (621) or (202) then these are chemicals, and hey we don't need them in our food.
From personal experience. Once you stop eating things like potato chips you just don't crave them. Once you break free from the need for salt you just dont need it. You can get your power back and you feel a lot better being in control. After 1 week of avoiding salty foods, I was over the craving. Its about just putting your mind to it. I haven't eaten Potato Chips now (not even at parties) for almost 4 months - its quite amazing.
To read more on Mack Newton and his techniques visit his website macknewton.com or do a Google search.
Auckland, New Zealand
Some of the topics he covered included " Don't try lose weight, just eat healthy" and "Why you shouldn't eat Bread!" After considering all his points both topics sound extremely logical! He says that healthy people cannot be fat. That if you are healthy you are automatically your target weight. So how do you get healthy? It comes down the diet and exercise - the obvious two.
He has designed something called the 3-2 eating plan which enables you easily become healthy. You can eat 3 things and Drink 2 things.
Drink
Water, lots of it. 120 oz a day. This is equivalent to 3 litres per day. Mack says that 90% of people walk around dehydrated. This affects your ability to think, it is not healthy and actually means that your body holds on to water and stores it.
Drink Fruit Juice. Real fruit Juice, not friut drink from a carton.
Food
1. Meat. As much as you want. Remove the fat. Fish is good. Ham is not meat. Ham is a by product with lots of additives.
2. Any vegetable as long as its green. Broccoli, Asparagus, etc
Green vegetables have the best nutrients out of all vegetables. Peppers have almost no nutrients. Lettuce and cabbage are mostly water. Salads are generally a no no because the contain more fattening ingredients that good ingredients by weight
3. Fruit. Eat moderately. If you have a Mack Shake (read more below) then this is equivalent to 80% of your fruit intake for the day.
Mack has a great idea for a fruit shake to have every morning. I started doing this about 3 months ago and it has been great. I have lost about 9kgs.
Mack Shake Recipe
One Banana
Half an apple (Skin on is fine)
Orange Juice.
Into a blender. Thats it
Foods to Avoid
- Salt
We don't need it in our diet. The low amount of salt we actually need is found naturally in the above foods/meat. We don't need to add extra salt to our cooking. Salt is like a drug. Once we have it, we need a little more, and then we get used to having it and feel bad wihout it - just like nicotine. We end up craving it with every meal. We don't need extra salt to season food. this just masks the real flavour of the food. Avoiding salt also means that we need to cut out things like salty snacks, potato chips corn chips etc.
- Bread.
- Excessive Sugar
- Coffee and Caffeine. We dont need it. Its just a drug
- Starch rich foods like potatoes, corn
- Food with chemical additives - which is pretty much anything that comes in a packet. Check the ingredients labels. If you can see an numbers in the ingredients list such as (621) or (202) then these are chemicals, and hey we don't need them in our food.
From personal experience. Once you stop eating things like potato chips you just don't crave them. Once you break free from the need for salt you just dont need it. You can get your power back and you feel a lot better being in control. After 1 week of avoiding salty foods, I was over the craving. Its about just putting your mind to it. I haven't eaten Potato Chips now (not even at parties) for almost 4 months - its quite amazing.
To read more on Mack Newton and his techniques visit his website macknewton.com or do a Google search.
Auckland, New Zealand
Review - The Theory that Savers are Losers
The first time I heard the theory that "savers are losers" was from Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Its a funny statement to make, but when you listen to his argument it really gives you something to think about.
Essentially the theory explains that people who save money, be it in the bank or wherever are actually losing money, due to inflation. When you park your money somewhere where it is not actively invested and working for you all you can really expect is a few percent in interest. When inflation runs at the average 3% in western economies any interest you gain simply gets eaten up by the natural run of inflation.
So all the money you are saving gives you either the same purchasing power as the year before, or worse you are actually able to buy less with this money than you could last year.
To put it in money terms, say you have saved $1000. You put this in the bank at 3% interest. 3% Interest? The bank rate may be 4-5% but after tax you will generally receive around the 3% mark. After year 1 the dollar amount in your bank account is $1030. Lets say over the year inflation ran at the average 3%. That is prices for everyday goods rose on average 3% in the economy over the year. So lets reduce the $1030 by 3%. Your $1030 can now only buy you $999.10 worth of goods compared to the previous year. So in effect you have lost money by saving!
So what does this mean? Does it mean that we shouldn't save?
I think saving is a good idea and a good habit to get into. But isn't it crazy to think that all your hard work to save is actually dissolving by the day? To think that saving money alone will enable you to "get rich" or have a great retirement is a flawed way of looking this issue. You really need to increase your savings at a faster rate to escape inflation and to see some real benefit from tucking away your hard earned cash and not spending it.
So how can we increase the return we get on our savings?
We need to look further afield than simply putting money in the bank. There are so many options and other methods of receiving a higher return on your money. In future blogs I will be investigating and reviewing all kinds of options for us to achieve a higher return.
So please keep checking back to this blog for ideas on how to increase your money and avoid the "Savers are losers" theory.
If you would like to add a comment, even just a few lines, then please click below to add your comment. It would be great to hear from from blog readers.
Auckland, New Zealand
Essentially the theory explains that people who save money, be it in the bank or wherever are actually losing money, due to inflation. When you park your money somewhere where it is not actively invested and working for you all you can really expect is a few percent in interest. When inflation runs at the average 3% in western economies any interest you gain simply gets eaten up by the natural run of inflation.
So all the money you are saving gives you either the same purchasing power as the year before, or worse you are actually able to buy less with this money than you could last year.
To put it in money terms, say you have saved $1000. You put this in the bank at 3% interest. 3% Interest? The bank rate may be 4-5% but after tax you will generally receive around the 3% mark. After year 1 the dollar amount in your bank account is $1030. Lets say over the year inflation ran at the average 3%. That is prices for everyday goods rose on average 3% in the economy over the year. So lets reduce the $1030 by 3%. Your $1030 can now only buy you $999.10 worth of goods compared to the previous year. So in effect you have lost money by saving!
So what does this mean? Does it mean that we shouldn't save?
I think saving is a good idea and a good habit to get into. But isn't it crazy to think that all your hard work to save is actually dissolving by the day? To think that saving money alone will enable you to "get rich" or have a great retirement is a flawed way of looking this issue. You really need to increase your savings at a faster rate to escape inflation and to see some real benefit from tucking away your hard earned cash and not spending it.
So how can we increase the return we get on our savings?
We need to look further afield than simply putting money in the bank. There are so many options and other methods of receiving a higher return on your money. In future blogs I will be investigating and reviewing all kinds of options for us to achieve a higher return.
So please keep checking back to this blog for ideas on how to increase your money and avoid the "Savers are losers" theory.
If you would like to add a comment, even just a few lines, then please click below to add your comment. It would be great to hear from from blog readers.
Auckland, New Zealand
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Review - TradeMe.co.nz
Introduction
If you live in New Zealand, you will have heard of TradeMe. This website is New Zealands equivalent of US Online Auction Giant Ebay. Out of a population of 4 million, 1 million people are a member of this website. The numbers are staggering and the story behind TradeMe's rise is one of the little guy beats the big guy.
History
Started back in 1999 by Sam Morgan. Trade Me started out of a simple problem. Sam needed a small heater for his cold and draughty Wellington Flat. He decided to have a look online to see if he could find a nice cheap second hand heater. After much searching he stumbled across the Trade and Exchange website. This was the online section of the popular classifieds newspaper. The funny thing was that the ads on the website were a week old and by the time you called them the items had long been sold. Looking at the funny side Sam decided to have a crack at his own website where people could post ads for free, and best of all live.
He was getting into a bit of website design so started to create the site in his spare time on his dad laptop. He managed to get the programming to work and encouraged all his friends and family to sign up. It went this way for a few months, there were only a small number of members but slowly membership started to grow. Before long there were a few thousand members and things started to tick along nicely.
Things went well until Sam found the site runnng costs were starting to rise. He needed to get some revenue through the site. He tried and tried with banner advertising. It was mildly successful but never seemed to cover the costs. Also the long hours time Sam was putting into the site were not being compensated. After much indecision he decided to start charging for the service. At first he charged to post classifieds. This gave revenue a much needed boost, and was enough to cover costs and pay have a little left over.
After looking at what the Early Ebay site was doing in the USA he decided to add online auctions to the mix. He charged a small success fee around 5% of the sale price if the auction was successful. The auction phoemoenena worldwide was set to boom and online auctions took off. This was no doubt in part to the convenientce and addictiveness of this new craze.
The site was starting to make money. Some old colloeagues heard about Sams venture and could see the metrics of ebay. They decided to back sam and invested 70,000 and provided some office space. A few staff were hired and the business was able to buy much needed computer hardware to keep the site loading fast.
I recommend checking out the website, and if you are in New Zealand or Australia consider signing up at www.trademe.co.nz
You can also find out more information about Trademe on the TradeIt website:
www.tradeit.co.nz
Auckland, New Zealand
If you live in New Zealand, you will have heard of TradeMe. This website is New Zealands equivalent of US Online Auction Giant Ebay. Out of a population of 4 million, 1 million people are a member of this website. The numbers are staggering and the story behind TradeMe's rise is one of the little guy beats the big guy.
History
Started back in 1999 by Sam Morgan. Trade Me started out of a simple problem. Sam needed a small heater for his cold and draughty Wellington Flat. He decided to have a look online to see if he could find a nice cheap second hand heater. After much searching he stumbled across the Trade and Exchange website. This was the online section of the popular classifieds newspaper. The funny thing was that the ads on the website were a week old and by the time you called them the items had long been sold. Looking at the funny side Sam decided to have a crack at his own website where people could post ads for free, and best of all live.
He was getting into a bit of website design so started to create the site in his spare time on his dad laptop. He managed to get the programming to work and encouraged all his friends and family to sign up. It went this way for a few months, there were only a small number of members but slowly membership started to grow. Before long there were a few thousand members and things started to tick along nicely.
Things went well until Sam found the site runnng costs were starting to rise. He needed to get some revenue through the site. He tried and tried with banner advertising. It was mildly successful but never seemed to cover the costs. Also the long hours time Sam was putting into the site were not being compensated. After much indecision he decided to start charging for the service. At first he charged to post classifieds. This gave revenue a much needed boost, and was enough to cover costs and pay have a little left over.
After looking at what the Early Ebay site was doing in the USA he decided to add online auctions to the mix. He charged a small success fee around 5% of the sale price if the auction was successful. The auction phoemoenena worldwide was set to boom and online auctions took off. This was no doubt in part to the convenientce and addictiveness of this new craze.
The site was starting to make money. Some old colloeagues heard about Sams venture and could see the metrics of ebay. They decided to back sam and invested 70,000 and provided some office space. A few staff were hired and the business was able to buy much needed computer hardware to keep the site loading fast.
I recommend checking out the website, and if you are in New Zealand or Australia consider signing up at www.trademe.co.nz
You can also find out more information about Trademe on the TradeIt website:
www.tradeit.co.nz
Auckland, New Zealand
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Review - Mr Vintage
Mr Vintage Ltd
Introduction
Mr Vintage is an Auckland clothing company which specialises in Pop Culture and Vintage style t-shirts. While the bulk of their business is thru www.mrvintage.co.nz they also have a retail store in Parnell, Auckland. From small online beginnings Mr. Vintage has grown to be extremely popular in NZ.
History
Mr Vintage was started by founder Robert Ewan in 2004. Annoyed at the lack of good t-shirts available he decided to import Vintage and Pop Culture designs from the USA. Based on the auction website TradeMe.co.nz his little side earner grew and grew. They became a very successful trader thru the auction site selling at least 100-200K p.a. They expanded to a website and now actually do not sell on TradeMe, only through their website. From a one man band operating thru TradeMe auctions, Mr Vintage now employs 3 staff located in their Parnell store.
Products
The core lines are printed T-Shirts with Vintage style prints. They have an extensive range of pop culture designs from the USA covering movies, music, old Tv shows, and movie stars. Some examples include the Beatles, Terminator and the Godfather. Also extremely popular are their locally designed Kiwiana t-shirts with designs such as "Keep New Zealand Beautiful" and the Commenwealth Games "NZZN designs".
Quality of Tees
We have found the quality of both the Blank T-shirts and the screenprinting to be very high quality. Even after lots of washes the shirts hold their shape and the print stays intact. We recommend checking them out!
Mr Vintage can be found online at: www.mrvintage.co.nz
Introduction
Mr Vintage is an Auckland clothing company which specialises in Pop Culture and Vintage style t-shirts. While the bulk of their business is thru www.mrvintage.co.nz they also have a retail store in Parnell, Auckland. From small online beginnings Mr. Vintage has grown to be extremely popular in NZ.
History
Mr Vintage was started by founder Robert Ewan in 2004. Annoyed at the lack of good t-shirts available he decided to import Vintage and Pop Culture designs from the USA. Based on the auction website TradeMe.co.nz his little side earner grew and grew. They became a very successful trader thru the auction site selling at least 100-200K p.a. They expanded to a website and now actually do not sell on TradeMe, only through their website. From a one man band operating thru TradeMe auctions, Mr Vintage now employs 3 staff located in their Parnell store.
Products
The core lines are printed T-Shirts with Vintage style prints. They have an extensive range of pop culture designs from the USA covering movies, music, old Tv shows, and movie stars. Some examples include the Beatles, Terminator and the Godfather. Also extremely popular are their locally designed Kiwiana t-shirts with designs such as "Keep New Zealand Beautiful" and the Commenwealth Games "NZZN designs".
Quality of Tees
We have found the quality of both the Blank T-shirts and the screenprinting to be very high quality. Even after lots of washes the shirts hold their shape and the print stays intact. We recommend checking them out!
Mr Vintage can be found online at: www.mrvintage.co.nz
Monday, December 17, 2007
Review - Rich Dad, Poor Dad Book by Robert Kiyosaki
Robert Kiyosaki is a extremely well-known financial guru from the USA. His major claim to fame was to author the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" which is one of the most popular and best selling business books of all time. The book has sold over 26 million copies and has been on the New York Times bestseller lists for over 6 years.
If you haven't already I highly recommend reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It is a story about Robert and his 2 fathers, one is real father and the other a friends father. The book discusses their 2 different approaches to the subject of money and the effect both viewpoints had on him from childhood. The book is real wakeup call to most people as its main premise is the "Rich do not work for money, the rich have their money work for them.
The full title of the book is: Rich Dad, Poor Dad. What the rich teach their kids that the poor and middle class do not.
The title sets the scene for the book and there is a strong emphasis on education is the book. There are many mantras repeated throughout the book such as:
Instead of saying "I can't afford it" Say "How can I afford it?
By saying "I can't afford it" instantly stops your mind from working on solving the probelm. Asking "How can I afford it" puts your mind to work.
"The Rich Don't Work from money, The Rich have their money work for them"
Essentially this means that the Rich do not trade hours of their time for money. Very few people can ever get rich simply working in a job. The rich have their money work for them in businesses and investments so that they do not physically have to work. The rich also use many forms of "Leverage" which is the ability to do more with less. Such Leverage through OPT, Other Peoples Time and OPM other peoples money.
Other books in the series written by Robert Kiyoskai are: Rich Dads Cashflow Quadrant, Rich Dad's Guide to investing, Rich dad's Rich Kid Smart Kid, Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich, Rich Dad's Prophecy, Rich Dad's Success Stories, Rich Dad's Who took my money.
Auckland, New Zealand
If you haven't already I highly recommend reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It is a story about Robert and his 2 fathers, one is real father and the other a friends father. The book discusses their 2 different approaches to the subject of money and the effect both viewpoints had on him from childhood. The book is real wakeup call to most people as its main premise is the "Rich do not work for money, the rich have their money work for them.
The full title of the book is: Rich Dad, Poor Dad. What the rich teach their kids that the poor and middle class do not.
The title sets the scene for the book and there is a strong emphasis on education is the book. There are many mantras repeated throughout the book such as:
Instead of saying "I can't afford it" Say "How can I afford it?
By saying "I can't afford it" instantly stops your mind from working on solving the probelm. Asking "How can I afford it" puts your mind to work.
"The Rich Don't Work from money, The Rich have their money work for them"
Essentially this means that the Rich do not trade hours of their time for money. Very few people can ever get rich simply working in a job. The rich have their money work for them in businesses and investments so that they do not physically have to work. The rich also use many forms of "Leverage" which is the ability to do more with less. Such Leverage through OPT, Other Peoples Time and OPM other peoples money.
Other books in the series written by Robert Kiyoskai are: Rich Dads Cashflow Quadrant, Rich Dad's Guide to investing, Rich dad's Rich Kid Smart Kid, Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich, Rich Dad's Prophecy, Rich Dad's Success Stories, Rich Dad's Who took my money.
Auckland, New Zealand
Review - Presidential Inner Circle
Presidential Inner Circle is a company under the Richmastery umbrella. The PIC is a private club that provides unique experiences for their members with a success and business focus. Some of their events include Lunches with the worlds top business people and celebrities, Ferrrari/Porsche days and other one-off special elite events.
The club looks like a lot of fun with a good variety of events to cater to a wide a range of tastes. Membership cost is in the $10,000 region. Which I think is quite reasonable considering some of the heavyweights they have secured in their first year such as Richard Branson, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
They run a range of events with internationals celebrities as well as local events with local business people and personalities such as Grant Dalton, Dean Barker, Michael Hill, Ian Taylor.
Essentially the group is just a networking opportunity for wealthy/success minded people but obviously the deals you can strike can be worth a significant amount. The other purpose of the group is to provide elite experiences not available anywhere else. The kind of events that other a select few people will ever attand. You have to be a person of stature, famous or personally know the celebrities but Inner circle groups the world over are meeting the need of very successful people to network and socialise with like-minded people.
The club looks like a lot of fun with a good variety of events to cater to a wide a range of tastes. Membership cost is in the $10,000 region. Which I think is quite reasonable considering some of the heavyweights they have secured in their first year such as Richard Branson, Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
They run a range of events with internationals celebrities as well as local events with local business people and personalities such as Grant Dalton, Dean Barker, Michael Hill, Ian Taylor.
Essentially the group is just a networking opportunity for wealthy/success minded people but obviously the deals you can strike can be worth a significant amount. The other purpose of the group is to provide elite experiences not available anywhere else. The kind of events that other a select few people will ever attand. You have to be a person of stature, famous or personally know the celebrities but Inner circle groups the world over are meeting the need of very successful people to network and socialise with like-minded people.
Review - Subway
Lots of New Restaurnants
I thought it a good time to give a review on Subway Restaurants. In the area I live there seems to be more and more restaurnats opening per suburb. Sometimes several in the same suburban street! One of the the worlds most successful and well known franchises, Subway has literally taken the world by storm. Now with over 28,000 Restaurants in 86 countries including 197 in New Zealand.
Eat Fresh
The menu at Subway has always been funny to me. I would go thru stages of buying Subway 3 times a week then go thru periods of not eating it for months because I didn't like the last time I ate it. Subway can leave a funny taste in your mouth (no pun intended). Their mantra is of course "Eat Fresh" and while the food looks fresh, it looks very uniform and possibly processed.
Genetic Engineering
In New Zealand there was an item on the news several years ago that Subways baker Yarrows used GE wheat in their bread. Subway do promote in each store now that their bread is baked fresh daily on site. But baking dosen't necessarliy mean they make the actual dough. So I assume that Yarrows stil make thedough and each store "bakes" as in puts the dough in the overn every day. So I believe that their bread still contains GE wheat. Their vegetables are all so uniform it makes you wonder if they are GE as well to get the consistency.
Business Model
As a business model though I believe a Subway franchise would be quite a good money spinner. A typical Sub costs around $8.00. The ingredients to make that can't be more than $4.00
Auckland, New Zealand
I thought it a good time to give a review on Subway Restaurants. In the area I live there seems to be more and more restaurnats opening per suburb. Sometimes several in the same suburban street! One of the the worlds most successful and well known franchises, Subway has literally taken the world by storm. Now with over 28,000 Restaurants in 86 countries including 197 in New Zealand.
Eat Fresh
The menu at Subway has always been funny to me. I would go thru stages of buying Subway 3 times a week then go thru periods of not eating it for months because I didn't like the last time I ate it. Subway can leave a funny taste in your mouth (no pun intended). Their mantra is of course "Eat Fresh" and while the food looks fresh, it looks very uniform and possibly processed.
Genetic Engineering
In New Zealand there was an item on the news several years ago that Subways baker Yarrows used GE wheat in their bread. Subway do promote in each store now that their bread is baked fresh daily on site. But baking dosen't necessarliy mean they make the actual dough. So I assume that Yarrows stil make thedough and each store "bakes" as in puts the dough in the overn every day. So I believe that their bread still contains GE wheat. Their vegetables are all so uniform it makes you wonder if they are GE as well to get the consistency.
Business Model
As a business model though I believe a Subway franchise would be quite a good money spinner. A typical Sub costs around $8.00. The ingredients to make that can't be more than $4.00
Auckland, New Zealand
Review - Auckland Property Investors Expo
November 2007, Auckland Showgrounds
I attended the Auckland Property Investors Expo on day 1. I was expecting a little more from a prestigious sounding event. The expo was extremely small and I would have thought there would be more exhibitors and patronage. A possible reason for the small scale is the fact that the property boom and surrounding hype has died down stopping Property Investing from being investing flavour of the month. At least to Mom and Dad investors.
The first seminar I attended was the Ron Hoy Fong hour. Ron has been featured on many Investing programs on TV and he is a well known Richmastery Graduate. I have always liked Ron Hoy Fong after meeting him at a Richmastery seminar. He expressed some insightful concepts about the property cycle. In particular he talked about the wave of property price rises during the last boom in Auckland. He says that in the last 2 year boom period, the first rise of prices in Aucklands Central suburbs (Parnell, Mt Eden etc) took 2 years for those same rises to hit the outermost Auckland suburbs like Pukekohe. Essentially a ripple effect of prices rises, from the CBD, outwards in all directions. It is a very intriguing concept.
The next seminar I went to was a short presentation by GRA (Gilligan Rowe and Associates). They discussed Propert Investing Structures such as trusts and LAQC companies. They also covered tax minimisation techniques. I had seen the bulk of a standard GRA presentation before so the info was nothing knew but they have some interesting insights on immigration and property price rises.
I attended a presenation by How2 which seem to be an amateur developers advisory service. They talked alot of about different ways to develop property and how to assess possible development options prior to purchasing a property. I was alittle confused at how their business works but from what I understood they sell software to help you manage the development process and run a few seminars for more intensive techniques.
Hotspace was an interior design agency. Essentially they send a consultant around to the property you'd like to sell and advise on various design aspects that could be applied to give the property a lift in preparation for selling to obtain a higher price. Their before and after hptos did show dramatic improvements in interior and exterior changes which really did lift the appeal of the properties. Hotspace are not contractors or project managers, simply just consultants that come in and advise on how to decorate.
Sue Tierney, President of the Auckland Property Investors Association was up next to talk about her mortgage broking business Mortgages by Design. She had some interesting takes on banks and how they assess loan applicants. She explained the ratios they apply to applications such as (LVR) Loan to Value and (UCM) Uncommitted Monthly Income. She also fielded lots of questions from audience members on aspects of mortgage broking fitting their personal circumstances.
Sue also spoke in the next section about the Auckland Property Investors Association and the benefits to be gained by joining. Quite a convincing presentation and I know of a few people that signed up. Essentially the networking and industry news aspect of belonging to an association are great selling points.
All in all the Expo I found to be vsmaller than I expected and light on good content. It With 2 seminar rooms they were only ever each half full. I suppose the expo was really just a showcase of the support businesses to the private mom and Dad investors market.
Auckland, New Zealand
I attended the Auckland Property Investors Expo on day 1. I was expecting a little more from a prestigious sounding event. The expo was extremely small and I would have thought there would be more exhibitors and patronage. A possible reason for the small scale is the fact that the property boom and surrounding hype has died down stopping Property Investing from being investing flavour of the month. At least to Mom and Dad investors.
The first seminar I attended was the Ron Hoy Fong hour. Ron has been featured on many Investing programs on TV and he is a well known Richmastery Graduate. I have always liked Ron Hoy Fong after meeting him at a Richmastery seminar. He expressed some insightful concepts about the property cycle. In particular he talked about the wave of property price rises during the last boom in Auckland. He says that in the last 2 year boom period, the first rise of prices in Aucklands Central suburbs (Parnell, Mt Eden etc) took 2 years for those same rises to hit the outermost Auckland suburbs like Pukekohe. Essentially a ripple effect of prices rises, from the CBD, outwards in all directions. It is a very intriguing concept.
The next seminar I went to was a short presentation by GRA (Gilligan Rowe and Associates). They discussed Propert Investing Structures such as trusts and LAQC companies. They also covered tax minimisation techniques. I had seen the bulk of a standard GRA presentation before so the info was nothing knew but they have some interesting insights on immigration and property price rises.
I attended a presenation by How2 which seem to be an amateur developers advisory service. They talked alot of about different ways to develop property and how to assess possible development options prior to purchasing a property. I was alittle confused at how their business works but from what I understood they sell software to help you manage the development process and run a few seminars for more intensive techniques.
Hotspace was an interior design agency. Essentially they send a consultant around to the property you'd like to sell and advise on various design aspects that could be applied to give the property a lift in preparation for selling to obtain a higher price. Their before and after hptos did show dramatic improvements in interior and exterior changes which really did lift the appeal of the properties. Hotspace are not contractors or project managers, simply just consultants that come in and advise on how to decorate.
Sue Tierney, President of the Auckland Property Investors Association was up next to talk about her mortgage broking business Mortgages by Design. She had some interesting takes on banks and how they assess loan applicants. She explained the ratios they apply to applications such as (LVR) Loan to Value and (UCM) Uncommitted Monthly Income. She also fielded lots of questions from audience members on aspects of mortgage broking fitting their personal circumstances.
Sue also spoke in the next section about the Auckland Property Investors Association and the benefits to be gained by joining. Quite a convincing presentation and I know of a few people that signed up. Essentially the networking and industry news aspect of belonging to an association are great selling points.
All in all the Expo I found to be vsmaller than I expected and light on good content. It With 2 seminar rooms they were only ever each half full. I suppose the expo was really just a showcase of the support businesses to the private mom and Dad investors market.
Auckland, New Zealand
Review - Fastway Couriers
Worst Courier Company in New Zealand
Fastway Couriers have got to be the worst courier company we have ever dealt with. Their customer serivce is the absolute pits. I really do wonder how they have survived at all. I suppose because they are probably the cheapest courier service around. They seem to win lots of awards for franchising. Easy to sell a franchise, hard to run the business well.
Whenever we had an issue with a delivery that had gone missing. I.e. a customer complains that their order hasn't arrived yetr. We would ring the office and sometimes it would take us about 6 attempts over 2 days jsut to speak to an actual person, let alone get even close to resolving the issue.
This wasn't a one-off incident. Everytime we had an issue with a delivery we would ring them. If you were able to speak to a person within 3 attempts over the day it was a good day. All the while you're customer is asking you what is happening, where is my order!
Once you actually speak to a person you'd think your problems would be sorted but its just the beginning. The staff or better still the systems are rubbish and it takes about 3 days to get an answer. Not good enought for a business that wins all these supposed franchise awards. Franchise awards are for good systems, and Fastway couriers is rubbish. Now don't get me wrong we haven't sampled any other office, other that Auckland main head office. But hey, in the businest office you'd expect the fastest result. They need to hire more staff but are obviously trying to cut costs
Review - PBT Couriers
PBT Couriers Auckland
After giving such a bad review about Fastway Auckland, I need to offer an alternative! PBT are the best courier service we have used. Reasonable Pricing, Signature Delivery and some of the best courier customer service around.
Background
The company was started as Peter Baker Transport in 1972 by Peter Baker. Originally a trucking company they added the courier arm in the late 90s. PBT Couriers have grown to be a major player in the National Courier market.
Online Package Tracking
PBT have a comprehensive online tracking systems where you can track the progress on your package on its way to you. You are given a tracking number and each time the package changes hands (ie from pickup driver to depot, from depot to truck) the operator will scan the barcode on the package. Each time the barcode is scanned the transfer shows up on the online tracking record. This way you can see the exact times when the package moved thru each stage in transit.
Customer Service
On the odd occasion we need to check up on a delivery the PBT staff are always great to talk to. And hey you can actually speak to someone on your first call! They have the systems in place to deal with an query. Their online tracking systems are excellent and you can actually see each change of hands with the package. Not just the latest change like on the "Courier Post" Website.
Also when a staff member follows up on a delivery for you, they stick to their word and do call you back. They really do go out of their way to help!
I highly recommend looking at using PBT Couriers if you are sending 5 or more packages per day!
Auckland, New Zealand
After giving such a bad review about Fastway Auckland, I need to offer an alternative! PBT are the best courier service we have used. Reasonable Pricing, Signature Delivery and some of the best courier customer service around.
Background
The company was started as Peter Baker Transport in 1972 by Peter Baker. Originally a trucking company they added the courier arm in the late 90s. PBT Couriers have grown to be a major player in the National Courier market.
Online Package Tracking
PBT have a comprehensive online tracking systems where you can track the progress on your package on its way to you. You are given a tracking number and each time the package changes hands (ie from pickup driver to depot, from depot to truck) the operator will scan the barcode on the package. Each time the barcode is scanned the transfer shows up on the online tracking record. This way you can see the exact times when the package moved thru each stage in transit.
Customer Service
On the odd occasion we need to check up on a delivery the PBT staff are always great to talk to. And hey you can actually speak to someone on your first call! They have the systems in place to deal with an query. Their online tracking systems are excellent and you can actually see each change of hands with the package. Not just the latest change like on the "Courier Post" Website.
Also when a staff member follows up on a delivery for you, they stick to their word and do call you back. They really do go out of their way to help!
I highly recommend looking at using PBT Couriers if you are sending 5 or more packages per day!
Auckland, New Zealand
Review - New Zealand Herald
I had always wanted a subscription to the New Zealand Herald. I enjoyed reading it on weekends for years. I deceided to go the whole hog and subscribe to the daily service. It went well for about 3 months, then I started running out of time to read it all.
Then the bad news starting coming. Doom and Gloom. Not want you want to read when you are about to start the business day!
So I cancelled the subscription. Perhaps in boom market time I will re subscribe :)
Auckland, New Zealand
Then the bad news starting coming. Doom and Gloom. Not want you want to read when you are about to start the business day!
So I cancelled the subscription. Perhaps in boom market time I will re subscribe :)
Auckland, New Zealand
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