The Role: Operations & Strategy

At the age of 20, I moved from Tauranga to Auckland to help my Aunty and Cousin run their 15-year-old family business, Magnets NZ, after my uncle had a stroke. The business was NZ's only wholesale magnet supplier, a key supplier of fridge magnets, and the only manufacturer of magnetic door catches.

Upon arrival, I found a business struggling with significant operational inefficiencies. It was running on a single, archaic computer, causing accounting and invoicing bottlenecks. Staffing was inadequate, production processes were outdated, and inventory management was non-existent, leading to missed deadlines and lost revenue. My role was to step in, identify every pain point, and systematically overhaul the company from the ground up.

My 13-month strategic overhaul resulted in annual turnover growing from $750k to over $2M. The foundations I implemented allowed the company to continue scaling, peaking at $3.5M. When I left to pursue my next venture, my multifaceted role had to be filled by four new staff members.

Core Expertise & Services Delivered

Initial Triage & Operational Stabilisation

• Immediately identified and began triaging critical bottlenecks, working from 6 am to past midnight 5-6 days a week to clear backlogs.

• Implemented new systems for invoicing and order processing, pushing for the adoption of new computers, printers, and software to track orders and eliminate missed invoices.

• Personally modelled a new standard of professionalism in a lax environment, which helped shift the company culture.

Fridge Magnet Production Re-engineering

• Solved a major production crisis by pushing for and engaging a new, more professional offset printer. While slightly more expensive, they guaranteed quality and turnaround, often working overnight to fix errors and meet tight deadlines, saving the company from significant delay penalties (tens of thousands of dollars) from agency customers.

• Implemented faster magnet processing techniques, pushed for and sourced an upgraded clicker press to cut larger sheets, and brought on more on-call staff to meet demand and eliminate missed deadlines.

Inventory & Supply Chain Management

• Fixed the constant stock-outs and late shipments for the magnetic door catch division, which supplied major hardware chains.

• Implemented manual stock counts and set minimum stock levels for all raw materials.

• Created a strategic reserve by having staff (including work-from-home) produce excess product, ensuring popular items were always ready to ship.

• Established a new, direct relationship with a Hong Kong magnet supplier, resulting in significantly better pricing, faster shipping, and favourable payment terms.

Strategic Expansion & Rebrand

• After proving the success of these new efficiencies, we quickly outgrew our original building. I sourced a new, larger location and convinced my cousin of the benefits, executing the company's first move in over 10 years.

• Managed a full company rebrand, designed and set up an expanded product display showroom, and hired additional staff and sales reps to actively chase new business and service hardware stores.

• Oversaw the Yellow Pages advertising, which was the major advertising medium at that time. I pushed for increased advertising, resulting in a full-page ad in the main directory and several smaller ads in other sections (e.g., engineering), which brought in a significant amount of new inquiries. Also managed the early adoption of a basic company website.

• Expanded into industrial magnet production, engaging with local engineers to manufacture magnetic sweepers and commercial sorting equipment.

Identifying & Launching a New Market

• Identified a major, unserved gap in the market: small businesses that needed fridge magnets but couldn't meet the 10,000+ unit minimums of our offset-print process.

• Pitched the idea to add in-house digital printing for small runs, but was denied.

• Convinced of the opportunity, I sold my personal sports car to purchase a high-quality graphics laser printer, computer, and design software. I taught myself graphic design and digital printing.

• This new division, offering small-run fridge magnets, business cards, and other printed media, was an immediate success and took off in popularity.

The Catalyst for Entrepreneurship

• The success of this self-funded digital print division gave me the confidence and the foundation to take the next step. I purchased a local sign-writing business, merged it with my digital print operation, and branched off to form Albany Sign Studio.