Z Business partners with The Icehouse to support New Zealand small businesses

Z Business, New Zealand’s leading fuel supplier, is kicking off its partnership with The Icehouse this month by offering scholarships to seven of its small business customers to attend Icehouse workshops.

Marie Fryer, Z’s Head of Small & Medium Enterprise, says the scholarships are being offered to support Z’s small business customers, and help build capability in a critical sector of the New Zealand economy.

“We know that small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Many of our service station owners and suppliers are small businesses and we have more than 30,000 small business account holders. These scholarships are a way for Z to support their success.” 

Fryer says that Z has admired the work of The Icehouse, so a partnership was an easy decision. “The Icehouse does a huge amount to lift small-medium business leaders’ capabilities.”

She points to Pipe Vision as an example of what can be achieved. Pipe Vision is one of Z’s customers and also an alumnus of The Icehouse. 

Peter Knight, Managing Director of Pipe Vision says The Icehouse experience was transformational for him as a small business owner and for the business as a whole. “I would compare it to discovering that you’re driving a car around the track with no training,” says Knight.

“The car feels fast and so do you but not always in control and you don’t always know when to break or when to accelerate. With training, suddenly the car feels more stable and there is a calmness behind the wheel. This is what The Icehouse did for me. 

“The Icehouse has given me the ability to rise above the day-to-day pressure, and work on the business, not in it. And the networking is superb. I’m still in a What’s App group with my cohort, who are not just mates but real peers who give great advice,” says Knight.

The Icehouse chief executive Gavin Lennox says the partnership with Z reinforces both brands’ commitment to small-to-medium sized enterprises. “New Zealand needs its SMEs to flourish. When they succeed, we all succeed.

“My thanks to the team at Z for joining The Icehouse in our mission: to help business owners and managers reach their extraordinary potential,” says Lennox.

Training doesn't always reach the top of a business to-do list. But done well, training sharpens skills, boosts potential and unlocks opportunity. The Icehouse and Z Business are mutually delighted to announce this new nationwide partnership; two organisations that keep New Zealand moving by giving Kiwi businesses the support, resources and clarity they need to meet their economic potential.

As a partner of The Icehouse, Z Business stands for a sustainable and flourishing New Zealand that empowers Kiwi businesses and our communities. Together, we’ll be driving a range of exciting and collaborative initiatives; including scholarship opportunities for Z Business customers for our ‘Knowing Your Numbers’ and ‘Building Sales Structure & Skills Workshops’, and special Z Business offers for alumni of The Icehouse.

For information on how capability building programmes, workshops and advisory can help your business, click  here. 

For more business ownership and leadership advice, check out more of our blogs.

Icehouse Alumni? For exclusive content on Icehouse Central, register now. Follow this link.