Leaving your professional occupation behind to focus on more relaxing activities such as fishing or touring the country is not as straightforward as it used to be. The fact is that whether we'll be able to lead a comfortable lifestyle once we've put the 'closed for business' sign up is less than certain. Do you really think that you will be able rely on your Superannuation only? How about Kiwisaver? Here are the bleak facts as well as some good news for those who want to retire happy.
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After reviewing staffing levels in Hawkes Bay, with the possibility of making the local Audit Team redundant, the IRD has announced that they are retaining the Napier team. Their Compliance Advisers are also  continuing their watch locally in Hawkes Bay. In fact, they queried me recently about a client's business who had shut down their premises yet was still filing GST returns. Watch out, the IRD are out and about!

- Client Profile -

Already well established despite being in the signs market for only 13 months, the Cheep Azz Signs team is making good business and taking a lot of pleasure from it. In fact, with a lot of big names on their books, they're already so successful that they are now opening another branch in Napier, on Kennedy Road.
“We need more space, says Tony Bestel, owner, and we can no longer meet the demand from these premises only.”
So here is another business which doesn't seem to feel the pressure of the recession and is thriving instead. What's their secret?
Maybe the huge amount of knowledge they bring into the market married to their good spirit.
“We're all family here,” comments Tony. It's really obvious that they really enjoy working together. Although hard at work, it seems like they're just having a good time, loving the teamwork as well as their product. The company may not have been established for a long time, but they bring over 15 years of experience into the Hawke's Bay market. Having someone who is able to tell you how long your new sign will last for and what type of support you need for its location is precious to any customer. Surely, that accounts for the excellent word-of-mouth that got them started and is keeping them going.
What about the competition? “What competition?” Tony asks back. “There's plenty of other companies around, doing the same thing as we do,” he admits. “In fact, some of them even helped us at the beginning, getting us on the right track and doing some of our printing for us before we purchased the right equipment.”
With such a positive attitude, no wonder they're breezing through the hard times.
“It's also great having Nick on board,” comments Tony.
“He's taking a lot of pressure off us,” adds business partner and brother-in-law Mervyn.
“He's patient with the paperwork, which is always late,” laughs Tony. “He did all our training on Myob and then when our computer systems crashed, he came out himself to sort it out. That kind of help is priceless.”
Well, trust their accountant when he tells you that they're going to be hugely successful – which is exactly what we heartily wish them.

With a car being stolen every 30 minutes in New Zealand only, finding your car where you parked them is not always a certainty. Since only 20% of stolen cars are recovered, your first choice should be to prevent theft in the first place. Car manufacturers try to sell us more and more ellaborate, high tech gadgets. Do they really protect your car or make car thieves' life easier?
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