I read a lovely story earlier this year that reminded me of two things: why I’m so very fortunate to live in our neck of the woods, and how, when I moved here, the community promptly jettisoned any notion of “once an outsider always an outsider”.
In deciding to choose Wanaka – over every other place in New Zealand – as home base until his visa expired, it was clear international blogger and photographer Johan Lolos was as taken as I was, and continue to be, by not only the aesthetic beauty, but also the unique community spirit that’s a hallmark of our Central Otago lifestyle.
I still remember, on arriving, the warmth of the welcome mat that greeted me, and being struck by the resourcefulness, cohesion and get-up-and-go of the business community. Even more than a decade after opening a law practice here and making the Upper Clutha home, I regularly give myself a good old pinch. This really is The Life.
When fellow director Mike Toepfer and I launched Aspiring Law in late 2011, two of the key planks of our ethos were educating our community on all things legal and finding other innovative ways to “give back”, sharing both our expertise and good fortune. We had a light bulb moment … and the name came right on the heels of it: BizClub. Since then, we’ve thrown around ideas and concepts, and developed what we think is a pretty awesome framework – so, very shortly, BizClub moves from a long-held vision to reality.
Pick our brains – for nix
At its heart, BizClub is just what its moniker suggests – a club for businesses, designed to be inclusive, fun and dynamic; it’s raison d’être: to benefit and enrich all members. While BizClub – not surprisingly – offers free legal advice and education, we’ve been determined to make it so much more.
So, for starters, everyone who signs up as a member will have monthly access to free personalised, one-on-one legal advice every month … around the equivalent of $2000 every year. You read right. For nix. Why? Informed decision-making.
They talk about the “golden hour” in medicine, that crucial initial phase where quality decision-making and care can make all the difference to the outcome. In law, the same principle often applies; early intervention and timely, informed action can save the day. Better result, less cost and way, way less stress.
When I have a desperate, frustrated person in front of me jointly surveying what’s evolved into a right old mess, I routinely ask the question: Why didn’t you seek help earlier? The answer is inevitably the same: I thought it would cost too much. Commonly, that proves a painful, false economy. What often gets me quite exasperated in these cases, when I’m reviewing what’s gone down, is a “quick steer in the right direction” would have made all the difference, often with absolutely minimal professional fees. So, one of our aims in providing the regular, free sessions to BizClub members is to take the financial fear factor right off the table.
Seek and ye shall find
Another challenge is business people reluctant to bother us with what they think are “silly” questions. If it’s playing on your mind, then we want to know about it. By asking the question you win either way. If your concern isn’t an issue, we can give you peace of mind and reassurance. If it is, we can help you cut off your concerns at the pass, and show you how to fix or mitigate it.
Remember, too, caught early, legal challenges often don’t require an expensive repair bill and, better still, can be avoided all together by asking all those questions - no matter how daft you think they might be – from the get-go. We want to see you proactively and cost-effectively safeguarding and growing your business, as opposed to managing the damage and loss that comes with failing to do so.
In all there will be three memberships ranging from a free three-month trial, which includes free, personalised legal advice, training and networking opportunities to two paid packages with further benefits. We’ve kept the paid subscriptions really low to cover some of the basic administration costs, but we’ll be picking up the tab for everything else.
Every BizClub member, whether with a free or paid membership, will have access to a whole range of free help, insight and support in many forms. We know how expensive and time-consuming it can be keeping abreast of everything, so we’re aiming to do our bit to bring down some of those barriers.
We’ll be holding regular networking functions for members, a chance to get together, share ideas, showcase your business and swap contact details. They’ll feature guest speakers, experts from right across the business specialties, ready to share golden nuggets of information and insight. We’ll also be putting on more in-depth free workshops and seminars – not just on legal matters, though; specialists from here and further afield will be covering “hot topics” to help keep our business community up with the play.
Thriving together
We’ve been careful to design BizClub to be a nimble and fluid platform, so nothing’s too fixed and it’ll grow along with our membership’s needs and the business environment. Whether you’re a client of Aspiring Law’s or not, you’re more than welcome to come and share in what BizClub has to offer.
We’re really excited and raring to go. Through running our own business, being deeply involved in many of our clients’ operations and with our connections to a wealth of community organisations, we’ve seen time and again the strength of collective, collaborative knowledge. Sustained progress and innovation doesn’t happen in a bubble. We reckon by supporting and encouraging businesses through BizClub, it paves the way for a stronger local economy and community – each individual success becomes everyone’s success.