Fruitbowl - Fresh Ideas from Hawke's Bay

With school starting last week we’re heading into our second year in the Bay.

When we first thought about moving back here we did hear a few stereotypes.  It would be hard to meet people, Diva was overrun by cougars, and we’d get bored ‘up there’.

As we have young kids a late night out is not arriving at Pipi’s for the 4:30 opening so I have no idea about the cougars. But what we have found is that it was very easy to make new friends, there are lots of Auckland and Wellington refugees like us, and that the lifestyle is much better than we even dreamed it was.

Having a  week with the family back in Wellington just before Christmas we noticed that there was just a background level of stress that is absent. Also life is certainly much less of a contest here. Havelock doesn’t even have parking meters.  Awesome!

A real bonus is that summer keeps on going.  This morning the beach was just sensational.

As a newcomer you of course notice things and see opportunities.

Hawkes Bay is a foodies heaven. I think that’s as important as the wine side. There are great cafe’s and shops. In Havelock North Bellatino’s is just fantastic as is The Milk Bar in Joll Road. I do find it odd though that some places are in denial of children.  The Cheese Factory has great sandwiches and outdoor area but no baby chairs.  Who do they think goes there? Neither does Jacksons on Joll or Bolderson’s. More than a few have noticed that Bolderson’s, which is a great place, decided to no longer do takeaway coffee even though at anytime there are 20 parents watching their kids swimming at Hilton Brown over the road.  I don’t get that. In Havelock there isn’t the equivalent of a Chocolate Frog or Chocolate Fish that just nails the balance between mums, tourists and the business folk.

I would do more meetings and  spend more time and money at Milk and Honey and Raffles Street if they had the Internets.

But those gripes are minor.  We keep having moments of euphoria, like swimming at the village pools after school in December. Even getting to know the guys that run the BP in the village has been fun.

With multiple offices, operating remotely with frequent trips works well. I try to do two days a week at head office and usually a least a day somewhere else. My airfares last year cost me around $8k to travel to head office  which seems like a reasonable amount to enjoy the extra lifestyle the Bay has to offer. The remote working model gives me a day or so a week to actually do work, make calls, and review things.  I think I’m more effective not being in the office all the time. I believe this model makes our business more scalable. Everyone steps up and I have a greater affinity for how our remote sales teams work across the world, away from head office. Tools like Skype and Yammer augment email and calls to keep everything going.

It’s always the same business people on the flights in and out though.  There are many companies in the Bay doing world class things.  It’s so easy to get to Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington I hope that this year a few more of you plan one or two days away a month to drum up new business.  Australia is the only pain, normally requiring a few hours sleep at hotel rathole by Auckland Airport to get home.  Just a couple of flights a week to and from Sydney would help that.

As we head out of recession it would great if those growing businesses had a goal of hiring one new person out of region.  The Bay is a lifestyle dream for many New Zealanders and they want to come here.

It’s been so cool seeing our kids have a real summer, play in the pools and learn to ride bikes. If you can find a job here or bring your own business into the Bay it’s a great place to operate from.

So one year in we don’t regret a moment.  It’s even better than we could have hoped.