How Plus by ASB can add to your business: Auckland Labour Hire

Tell us about your business and how you got started.

I run a labour supply company. We started off within the Auckland region but after a year and a half of operation have gone nationwide. My background is a building one. I started in my building apprenticeship straight out of school, gave that a go for a few years  before moving onto university. After university I started my own business - Auckland Labour Hire.

I started Auckland Labour Hire because I wanted to create the most enjoyable and positive working environment within New Zealand's construction industry and this was the pathway for me to do just that. Our customers are anyone from furniture moving companies to high rise building construction companies. The majority of our demand has been in the commercial construction industry to date, but the more we have grown the more we extend our service to different areas.

What attracted you to the industry?

My background and upbringing was always a ‘hands on’ one. From a young age I was always out with my Dad whenever I could on any job. I found great job satisfaction constructing things, whether it be a deck or house.

What is the best thing about owning your own business?

I really enjoyed knowing that most things, in the beginning at least, relied on me. I thrive on responsibility and the opportunity to grow a business is something I love. People often say I must love the flexibility in hours that comes once you own your own company, but that’s a foreign concept to me at the moment. That may come with a little more hard work and achievement.

What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered operating a small business in NZ? 

One challenge I faced was deciding which aspect I needed to prioritise and where to focus my time, particularly in the start-up phase when I was covering all areas myself. I was really fortunate to be surrounded with some highly respected people I could learn from, which helped me to bypass challenges I would have encountered without their advice.

However, I also quickly learnt for myself - what was of more importance at that time. From the start I was just incredibly eager to learn and grow my knowledge and experience within Auckland Labour Hire and the industry, so I would say the biggest challenge was getting time in the game, but I guess you can't fast-track that.

What online business tools do you use?

Xero I am a big fan of but apart from that Excel, Google Drive and Notepad Shelf. And more recently Plus.

Why did Plus interest you?

Plus gives me the ability to see all the relevant and required information on a single platform, it is a time effective solution to scanning over the company’s analytics. Simply being able to have all my online tools in one app is my favourite feature.

How has Plus supported you to run your business?

I use Plus strictly on my mobile device as I’m not often at the desktop. Being out and about and constantly on the go can be a bit challenging to be able to run over some analytics or stats when I need, but Plus has definitely given me that mobile solution.

Where to from here?

Continuing to grow our positive working environment, ensuring everyone on board at Auckland Labour Hire is happy where they are and building from there. Creating a great and honest environment within our team allows our service be a reliable and hardworking one which in the labour supply market can be hard to come by. I’m constantly seeing where improvements can be made and with that I’m confident growth will continue also.

What advice do you have for other Kiwi businesses wanting to be a success?

There really is no substitute for hard work so I am going to going with ‘Hard work, works’.

Join other Kiwi business owners using Plus by ASB and get started for free.