Summary: What you missed at the E.A.T. Breakfast and 2016 BOP ExportNZ Awards Launch
17 March 2016
Couldn’t make it along to our recent E.A.T. breaky?
Don’t worry – because we've got you covered (but you'll have to cook your own bacon & eggs this time)
Here’s a short summary of what you missed, including highlights from our 3 guest speakers.
Passion drives success
The theme for the event was passion drives success – and the event was made possible thanks to principal sponsors Southern Produce and Dominion Salt.
We heard 3 inspirational speakers share their stories of passion for what they do, and how they have developed leading businesses and products from this passion.
Shane spoke about the passion at Dominion Salt – describing the organisation as one of the oldest manufacturing businesses with one of the brightest futures.
Three highlights from Shane's talk:
- Dominion Salt was founded in 1946 by George Skellerup, who notably said "I am doing this because I believe it's worth doing, and I have what it takes to do it".
- Passionate about Mt Maunganui, Dominion Salt is a super-star team, not a team of super-stars – with the business having the mantra 'do what we say, and say what we mean'.
- Fact: Salt in salt-shakers make up only 1% of the 200,000 tonnes of salt that Dominion Salt produce each year.
When Shane grows up, he wants to be a rally car driver (true story!)
Rebecca from Chaos and Harmony has the best job in the world, because she has the privilege of helping women look good and feel amazing.
Three highlights from Rebecca's talk:
- One of the best decisions of Rebecca’s life was to move to Italy in pursuit of her passion – to study shoe design.
- A profound moment: At 8 years old on a flight to the states with her parents, Rebecca remembers grabbing the seat and thinking – this is going to be my life! I'm going to be traveling the world and doing what I love!
- When overwhelmed by the challenges of being in business, Rebecca looks at her shoes, and watches customers in her retail stores (seeing their faces light up!).
If Rebecca wasn't a shoe designer, she'd be a Zumba instructor – or likely follow another creative pursuit.
Brent from Volcanic Hills Winery spoke about not what they do, but why they do it – also noting that he and his co-founders were initially considered crazy to start their winery in Rotorua.
Three highlights from Brent's talk:
- Passion isn't about getting out of bed and having Weet-bix or a Berocca. It’s the difference between doing it and being it.
- Passion isn't a thought, it's a feeling – and it's intoxicating, because you can't get rid of it. If vision is your ultimate end-goal, then passion will get you there.
- Passion will take your product to a different level. After all, anyone can make wine – the difference is passion.
If Brent wasn't in the wine game, he'd be involved in the next best thing – food.
Drum roll please... the theme for this year's Export Awards was revealed as '1950s – The Golden Age of Air Travel'!
If you haven't already, check out the sponsors video on our home page.
Southern Produce has won 3 export awards previously, and Director Tony Ponder has the following advice for potential entrants…
Enter the awards, because you'll get:
- Learning
- Networking
- And you'll strengthen your business potential
So what are you waiting for?
Enter the awards now, or nominate a high-flying business or individual you know should be involved.
About Priority One's Instep Programme
For this E.A.T Breakfast, we were joined by 50 local year 12 and 13 high-school students – all thanks to Priority One's Instep Programme and a group of fantastic supporting businesses (Beca, Page Macrae Engineering, Southern Produce, Priority One and BNZ Partners).
