Your business matters. But you matter too. My mission as a mentor is to help you find enjoyment from your business.

It’s personal. Every business has unique challenges. Every person has their own personality and their own priorities.

My approach is people-focused, but I’ll also help you master the numbers.

I don’t work on theory. I work on experience - 30 years of it. I don’t have all the answers, but I usually have the right questions. At the end of the process, the right answers will be yours - your informed decisions based on thoughtful and thorough analysis.

Because I know that my value is measured by your success.

How we help

If you could wave a magic wand and change two things about your business, what would they be?

Most people choose to solve money problems and people problems. Sound like you? I don’t have a magic wand, but I do know that the first step to a solution is clearly defining the problem. And that when you do the right analysis of a problem, the answer usually presents itself.

My role is to help you find the problem. And then help you find the solution. The key in both of these steps is you. Because when you learn to do it, you can keep on doing it.

They say, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This means that even the smartest business ideas are useless without the right team to pull them off.

When you sort the numbers, an engaged team makes the boat go faster. We’ll know we’ve succeeded when your workplace is more enjoyable and your financial position isn’t stressing you out.

My Story

When I was thrown into the deep end as a marketing manager for a multinational company at age 25, the thing I needed most was experience. I didn’t have it, but others around me did.

I’ve always believed in tapping into the knowledge of people who’ve gone before me. Now, after 30 years of solving all kinds of problems as a general manager for multinational and privately owned companies, I am grateful to be in a position to give some of my experience back.

That experience spans service industries, retail industries and manufacturers. I’ve grown $1 million companies into $12 million companies and I’ve always tried to do it with people in mind.

I always look at professional success and personal success together. Financial success is one thing, but an enjoyable workplace is just as important.

I learned a lot from my mentors. And I learned a lot the hard way too. Now, what I enjoy most is putting that practical wisdom to work for business owners.

More about me.

Victoria University of Wellington, Bachelor of Commerce and Administration 1978
Graduate of the New Zealand Administration Staff College 1986
Honorary Member of Heart Kids New Zealand 1991
Rotarian since 1992
President of the Rotary Club of Christchurch Sunrise 2016/17

Mentoring

You are at the heart of my mentoring programme - not a cookie-cutter business success formula. I want you to enjoy your business more and feel stressed less.

So I start by looking at your personality and the goals that you’ve set for your business and personal life. Your personality affects what you need in a mentor. You might need a handbrake. Or you might need encouragement to try new things.

Whatever your problems, life tells me that they can be solved. As long as we aren’t ostriches with our heads in the sand. I can help you focus and make decisions. And I have some great tools that you can unpack and use in your business everyday.

This approach works, because it gives business owners confidence to tackle problems themselves.

My role is not to tell you what to do. My role is to tell you how to figure it out. And I get great pleasure from watching you succeed.

Training

I develop specific courses for specific needs. One example is a course I am currently finalising entitled “The things your accountant would like to tell you - but doesn't have time”. It’s a how-to covering margins versus markups, dollar and percent margins and how to optimise your margins using a variety of strategies. We go through calculator and Excel skills that we’ll use in hands-on tutorials, including break-even analysis for businesses or products.

Budgeting

Sometimes we spend money on remote control. I train people on managing their personal and business budgets more consciously. I won’t tell you what to spend your money on - that’s up to you - but I will make sure you’re making a conscious decision about that spending. When we turn off the remote control and think about each spending choice, we often make very different decisions.

Principles

To help you understand more about some of the things that matter to me and how I think, I’ve pulled out these words to live by.

1/7
To thine own self be true.

This one comes from my father who always told me that as an individual you need to be yourself no matter what, if you want to succeed in life. Don’t let anyone try to make you into someone you are not.

2/7
The only two things that we can’t do in a business - lose money and do something that is illegal. Otherwise we can do anything we like!”

A lot of people put roadblocks in the way: “You can’t do this” or “You can't do that”. In reality, there is no rule book and you have to just get on with it. Free wheeling is foreign thinking to many people but when you get your head around it, it is so much fun.

3/7
Lower the water to expose the rocks!

What does this mean? We tend to do the same things all the time without asking why? Be a two-year-old again. Ask why. Ask, how can we do it differently? You’ll be amazed what you find.

4/7
We don't fly kites we make them!

It is easy for people to float ideas and run away. We need to accept the challenge and find the resources to make it happen.

5/7
If you are going to be wrong, at least believe in what you are doing.

We’ve all done things over our lives that we didn't think were right and did them because someone else thought they were right. It turned out they were wrong! When people do what they believe in, they generally make it work!

6/7
Margin isn't just the difference between cost and sell, its what you have left over.

Too often we take something that on the surface seems like the best deal, but when you fully evaluate other options you see that from a big picture point of view this is not the case at all.

7/7
Business is just a game, however is can have very serious rules.

It is a game and as such it is there to be enjoyed! Learn the rules and keep up-skilling so that you retain all the joy that it should bring.

Partners and Associations - DiSC

In my own business, I used DiSC personality profiling for more than 15 years. I loved it so much that I became a certified trainer in 2015.

The DiSC programme has three functions. The first is to improve your understanding of yourself so you can focus on your strengths. The second is to optimise relationships with the people you work with. And the third is to understand what makes your customers tick so that you can tailor your pitch and improve your business outcomes.

Everything DiSC Sales Profile
Everything DiSC Management Profile
Everything DiSC Work of Leaders Profile
Everything DiSC 363 for Leaders Report
DiSC based Training Courses

http://www.discprofiles.co.nz

As Much Mentoring As Therapy.

Working with Nigel has been as much mentoring as therapy. It always results in a new outlook on the issues of running a small, up-and-coming business. Nigel’s professional, uplifting and positive attitude towards me as a person - and as a business owner - has changed my outlook on life, as well as my understanding of the critical to-do’s of day-to-day business life.

Nigel brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and genuine enthusiasm to each and every mentoring session. He follows up with critical meeting points to keep the ball rolling in the right direction.

Working with Nigel has been a much-needed breath of fresh air. I highly recommend him to any business, whatever size you are or wherever you’re placed in the business lifecycle.”

Morgan Perry
Limitless Supplements
Managing Director

I Can Meet Challenges With Confidence.

From the moment I met Nigel, I was confident that his knowledge and and experience was going to be a huge asset. And I have not been disappointed. He has helped me navigate the challenges of small business ownership with clear, precise thinking and innovative ideas so I can meet these challenges with confidence and ultimately achieve great results.

I look forward to continuing my working relationship with Nigel as I know he still has a huge amount of expertise to give that will benefit my business.”

Heather Cayford
Naturally Tiles
Director/Owner

A Fresh Set Of Eyes Is Invaluable.

My husband and I were very fortunate to be assigned Nigel Burson as our business mentor through the CDC.

From our first meeting, we found Nigel to be personable, with a very calm and reassuring manner. Even after just two meetings, we feel he has helped us to re-focus our energy. Having a fresh set of eyes look at your business is invaluable - whether to confirm what you thought you already new and help you apply it, or to gain a whole new perspective.

Nigel has a wealth of experience in ways to improve and grow a business and has a very down-to-earth way of applying his knowledge. We always look forward to our sessions with Nigel. It’s a great way to start our working week.”

Lydia Schroder
Breads of Europe
Owner/Operations Manager

Pragmatic Advice To De-Stress The Day-To-Day Operations.

Let’s face it, you only know what you know. Teaming up with a mentor to help you with what you don’t is a great idea. We have found that teaming up with Nigel has given us opportunity to step back and learn a lot from his experience, acumen, and use his advice to grow our business.

He continues his own development through study and from his other mentoring partnerships. This is how be brings dependable advice and information to our business. Nigel has invested time to understand us, our business and our goals. He is always enthusiastic and positive with a focus on measuring and celebrating our successes over time. He offers pragmatic advice that helps de-stress the day-to-day operation of running a business and get your focus back to the important things.

It’s a down-to-earth approach to implementing ideas and changes in your business for the better. We recommend Nigel without reservation.”

Hamish Roy
vBridge
Director

Disc Profile Improved Our Productivity And Satisfaction.

Nigel has been working with me for over two years now. His experience is broad-ranging and his business skills impeccable. He has provided me with essential support and know-how to grow my business and maintain a good work/life balance.

He has also assisted me in DiSC profiling my staff. This has enabled me to structure my business around each staff member’s profile, and this has increased our productivity and staff satisfaction.

I would highly recommend Nigel for any size business.

Kane Lacey
Securtiec Limited

Relevant, Insightful and Real Experience.

Nigel Burson has been helping me as a business coach and mentor on a weekly basis since January 2017. Before we started, I was hesitant. I had not gained a great deal from coaching in the past. But I knew that I needed assistance to grow and move forward. I’m happy to say that, in just one session with Nigel, I gained more from his expertise and experience than any previous coaching sessions. The advice he gives is relevant, insightful and comes from real experience and not just business theory.

The most valuable of the coaching has been in the areas of costing, budgeting, negotiation and looking at feasible options to grow the business. He has assisted by giving - not just advice - but the right tools and confidence to move the business forward myself. This is important.

I cannot speak highly enough of Nigel as a business coach and mentor and would recommend him to anyone looking for a great coach to assist them in moving their business to the next level.

Lucy Bennetto
Natural Foods
Founder

Nigel helped me understand things I didn’t even know I needed.

Being a business owner you start, you evolve and before you know it it’s got complex and there’s loads of things to consider. Nigel helped navigate through what I thought were complicated issues and made them seem simple. He related to me on my level and made it easy to understand. Doing the disc program too was a revelation - I thought I knew my staff but this helped me really understand how to relate and communicate effectively. He looks an awful lot a like Remington Steele too.

Stephen McCarthy
McCarthy Design
Director

Let's Talk

So are you seeking answers to problems that you have, or is it that the enjoyment has gone from running your business, then give me a call so that we can work together.

My first meeting is free with no obligation. Why? Because this gives us the opportunity to meet and to see if we can work together. This is important to me.

Also can I make a difference to your business. If I can't I will say so. So contact me now

nigel@ndb.co.nz
+64 21 990 397