11 honest questions. No right answers. Just the clarity you probably haven't had time to sit with yet.
Question 1 of 11
Question 1 of 11
Why did you actually start this — or why do you want to?
I have knowledge or a product idea I believe in and I want to share it
I need another income stream that isn't dependent on someone else
I want to build something my whānau can be proud of
I want to prove — to myself or others — that it's possible
Honestly, all of the above
Question 2 of 11
Where are you right now?
I have a product idea but haven't started yet
I've started but haven't made consistent sales yet
I'm making sales but not making the profit I expected
I'm making money but I'm exhausted and losing direction
Question 3 of 11
When did you last review every single cost in your business — not broadly, line by line?
I haven't yet — I'm just starting out
Roughly — maybe monthly or when something feels off
I review costs regularly but I'm not sure what I'm actually looking for
I review specific cost centres weekly against set targets
Question 4 of 11
Do you know your actual profit margin — not your revenue, your profit — right now today?
No — or not applicable yet
Roughly, but not precisely
Yes, but only because my accountant told me
Yes — and I track it myself regularly
Question 5 of 11
How did you set your product price?
I haven't yet
I looked at what competitors charge and went similar or lower
I calculated my production cost and added a margin
I calculated my full cost to operate, my profit target, and priced from there
Question 6 of 11
Where does most of your business knowledge come from right now?
YouTube, podcasts, and social media — mostly overseas content
NZ business workshops and government programmes
Other business owners I know personally
Paid mentors or programmes run by proven operators
Question 7 of 11
What does your ideal working week actually look like — and is your business currently enabling that?
I haven't thought about it in those terms
I've thought about it but my business is nowhere near that yet
I'm getting closer but there's still a real gap
My business mostly works around my life, not against it
Question 8 of 11
How do you currently make business decisions?
Mostly instinct and gut feeling
A mix of gut and whatever data I have available
Primarily from data but I'm not always sure I'm reading it right
From clear data against set targets and benchmarks
Question 9 of 11
How often do you compare your business to others on social media?
Constantly — it's hard not to
Sometimes — I try not to but it creeps in
Rarely — I've learned to mostly block it out
Never — I'm clear enough on my own direction that it doesn't affect me
Question 10 of 11
If your business stayed exactly the same size for two years but became significantly more profitable and significantly less stressful — would that feel like success?
Yes — absolutely
Maybe — I'm not sure what success looks like for me yet
No — I need it to grow to feel like it's working
I've never thought about it that way before
Question 11 of 11
When you imagine this business in ten years, what does that picture look like?
I honestly haven't thought that far ahead
I want to hand it to my children or whānau one day
I want to build it to a point where I can sell it
I want it in retail — nationally or internationally distributed
I want it to stay small, profitable, and completely mine