NZE Test 1 | Page 15

“ For an entrepreneur it is important that you have sound financial understanding and excellent business What do you think are the things New Zealand needs to improve upon when it comes to creating more successful businesses? I think a key challenge for New Zealand businesses is achieving scale. I often find that New Zealand business people are stuck in the ‘self-employed’ rut where you don’t have the ability to step away from your business. Often this means working much harder – and often for less (at least initially) than what you would have when working for someone else. Therefore I think the key to success is being able to scale your business and make yourself redundant (or replaceable)! I also think that we need to make sure we think big and understand the total opportunity when identifying a business idea both in New Zealand and overseas. You’ve already achieved so much in terms of business success. What’s next for you? For My Food Bag we have a very exciting period ahead of us where we are introducing more products and diversifying our offering significantly. In addition to this we are on the cusp of launching our new website and expanding our business into new areas. For Au Pair Link, we are just about to launch a massive piece of technology which is a New Zealand first and will revolutionise the way au pairs and families find each other. In addition to this we are at the start of introducing a couple of new services as well as some exciting new early childhood projects. Other than that, my big focus is on our family and my 14 month old son. We have a family vacation planned over the Christmas break and I can tell you we surely are in need of a break! For more information about Cecilia and her businesses visit www.myfoodbag.co.nz and www.aupairlink.co.nz 15