Juliette Hogan, Juliette Hogan

“I’ve been working with Zac since 2014. Back then, we were a much smaller company and at a really different stage to what we are now, with maybe 2 or 3 retail stores and a tight team. At that time, I was looking for a business mentor because, like many small businesses, I was doing everything myself and only knew what I knew. When you are in that position, the right advice is so beneficial and pivotal to success.

In the early years of launching my business, I began to realise how much I didn’t know. Sometimes it’s hard to allow yourself to be vulnerable and actively seek guidance, but for me and my business I definitely think it has been critical to our success. I looked to business people both in and out of our industry for advice and guidance. When looking for an ongoing mentor, I interviewed a few different people, and found I got on really well with Zac and appreciated our synergy.

For the first 5 years I worked with Zac on an ad hoc basis, as and when I needed him, which was usually around big decisions. Financial literacy hasn’t always been my strong suit but Zac enabled me to understand what the business was doing and what it needed to be doing and how we could make adjustments to get those wins. He taught me to get really close to my numbers to truly understand what’s going on, and to use the data that I’ve got. In 2019 we formed an advisory board that meets bi-monthly and it was a no brainer to make Zac part of that. He’s really helped us with our strategy and forward planning for the company.

Zac’s also taught me so much about who I am as a person and who I am as a leader. Working with Zac has given me the confidence to be able to make decisions in the business and to back myself in that decision process. Between him and my HR advisor, they’ve really contributed to my personal growth, which in turn has contributed to the growth of the Juliette Hogan business.

Today, we have 5 stores, 2 ecommerce stores and a team of 40. Earlier this year we were thrilled to win the overall Westpac Business Awards Supreme Award for Auckland. We wouldn’t have applied for the awards without Zac’s encouragement – he gave us the confidence that we were up there with the best and spurned us on to enter.

For us, working with Zac has been a valuable investment of both our time and resource. I would hand on heart recommend working with him or doing one of his workshops to see if he’s a good fit — if he is, you’ll get so much out of working with Zac. We have.”