Sunday nights used to mean one thing at our place: a mountain of clean laundry dumped on the lounge floor, and all of us rifling through it looking for our own socks. 😅

These days my laundry pile's a lot smaller (thank goodness), and I've upgraded to the "fancy" wash cycles — including Persil's quick-cycle option. And look, it's probably just clever packaging around the same formulation... but it feels like I'm saving on power. And that feeling? That's smart marketing.

As a marketer, I keep a close eye on the thinkers who genuinely move the needle, and Rory Sutherland is right at the top of that list. As Ogilvy's vice chairman, he's spent decades proving that the most rational marketing decision often isn't the best one — and that the real growth opportunities are usually hiding in plain sight, dismissed as "too obvious" or "doesn't make sense on paper." For Northland business owners chasing growth, this is a masterclass in the craft of marketing: how understanding customer psychology, not just logic, is what actually moves the needle.

It's 6.15pm, your newsletter's overdue, and AI whips up a gorgeous image and a tidy paragraph in seconds. Magic! Mostly. But AI got that clever by quietly borrowing millions of other people's words, photos and designs — so every now and then it hands you something that isn't actually yours to use. And it's not just a big-brand problem. Accountants, retirement villages, builders or any business owner can all land in hot water without meaning to. The good news? It just takes a little checking.

We've all had those days — let's be honest, sometimes whole weeks or months — when you'd give anything for a 'do-over'. Maybe a piece of software has pushed you to the edge, a mistake slipped through on a job, a client walked, or someone decided to be thoroughly stroppy that day. It's the hard stuff that comes with running a business: the bits you have to face, make peace with and, with any luck, learn something from.

Lately, my own do-over has been about time — hours sunk into trialling shiny new technology that ultimately led nowhere. In the AI era, with something new to test every other week, it's a trap we all need to watch for. So I've made myself a rule, and I'll share it here.

I'll also let you in on my slightly petty secret for surviving a rough day, and a surprisingly powerful exercise we tried at a recent networking group: what would you tell yourself a year ago? It's a good one for taking stock of how far you've come — and deciding where you're headed next.

Have a read, and see what resonates.

Two questions are on the minds of business owners in 2026: how do you get your business into a Google AI Overview, and how do you control what it says about you? The good news is the answer is simpler than the hype suggests. Here's the plain-English version — what actually matters, what to ignore, and the one quick email you can send today.

Ever scrolled through your phone in the evening and felt that pang of envy at a competitor's polished posts and helpful resources? That used to be me too. The truth is, consistent marketing doesn't come from inspiration or willpower – it comes from systems. Drawing on James Clear's Atomic Habits, this blog shares five small, repeatable habits that will keep your business top of mind without consuming your week. From annual foundation messages to a weekly content rhythm, each tip is designed to make marketing feel less like another item on the to-do list, and more like a satisfying habit you genuinely look forward to.

When was the last time you paid extra for a takeaway delivery, tried a new AI tool, or asked around for a cheap accountant?

Every one of those decisions was you running the Value-Price Equation in your head — quietly trading cost against what matters most to you in that moment. Your customers are doing exactly the same thing.

And right now? They're doing the maths more carefully than ever.

This week on the blog: why value just got more important, and how to make sure your marketing speaks to what your customers actually care about.

Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Google decide who sees your content, when, and for how long. In a sense, you're a guest in someone else's house — and the house rules can change overnight. This can explain why sometimes you get no traction with an Instagram post that really is Insta-worthy.

When most people say "brand," they mean their logo. Maybe their colours. But a logo doesn't make a brand — it's just decoration without the thinking behind it. A brand is a promise. It's the reason someone chooses you over a competitor who looks just as good on paper. Here's how to build one that actually does something.

People don't buy from businesses – they buy from the person behind the business. And in 2026, they're making up their minds long before you ever speak to them. Here's what the latest data says about building a personal brand as a service provider, plus seven simple steps you can take this week to shape how you show up.

Every AI tool being pitched to businesses right now is being sold on exactly the same promise. Efficiency. Do more with less. Cut the overhead. Automate the repetitive stuff. Reduce headcount.

And that's where it gets interesting — because efficiency is only one measure of value. And it's not always the most important one.

Earlier this year, LinkedIn quietly replaced its entire content ranking system with a new AI algorithm — and most business owners have no idea it happened. If your posts have felt like they're disappearing into a void lately, this is almost certainly why.

Here's the thing: with 3.35 million New Zealanders now on LinkedIn — that's 63% of our entire population — the platform has never had a bigger, more business-ready audience. Your ideal clients are on there every week, in work mode, thinking about exactly the kind of help you provide. Ignoring LinkedIn right now would be a bit like opening a shop on the busiest street in town and forgetting to unlock the door.

The new algorithm is smarter, more selective, and it rewards businesses that understand how it works. The good news? Once you know what's changed, adapting isn't as hard as it sounds — and most of your competitors haven't bothered yet.

In this post, we break down the seven moves that are actually working on LinkedIn in 2026: from fixing your profile, to the content formats that get results, to turning followers into paying clients.

Read on — and download the free one-page infographic to keep handy.

The business owners I worry about aren't the ones whose traffic is down. They're the ones who've quietly stopped posting, stopped updating their Google Business Profile, stopped asking for reviews — because they looked at their numbers and thought "what's the point?"

The point is that it's working. You just need different eyes to see it.

If SEO is about getting your website to show up in Google search results, AEO is about getting your business to show up in AI-generated answers. Think ChatGPT, Google's AI Overviews, Perplexity, and the growing list of tools people are now using to get answers without clicking on a single website.

That last bit is the important part.

My head is spinning (and not because of menopause)! Well it might be menopause, but the reality is A LOT is changing with how Kiwi business owners are marketing their businesses - and it’s a lot to keep up with.

If you read my last blog, you’re probably already thinking about how you can make your brand more trustworthy. If you missed it, here’s a brief recap: AI is turning search behaviour on its head by presenting answers to prompts directly within the platform — no need to click on links or visit websites. We’ve all been watching this happen over the last couple of years and have been rushing to optimise our sites for this new age.

But things have gone one step further. Transactions are now taking place within AI platforms themselves — this happened in New Zealand for the first time last month. No visit to a beautifully branded, engaging user experience. No clicks at all. Welcome to zero-click commerce.

For an AI platform to serve up reliable, accurate information — and now, to facilitate a transaction on your behalf — it needs to be confident that your brand is trustworthy. So what signals is it actually looking for?

You've probably heard a lot about AI writing blog posts or generating images. That's generative AI, and while it's useful, it's a bit like having a very capable intern who can only do one thing at a time and needs to be told every step. Agentic AI is something altogether different. It's AI that can pursue a goal autonomously, work through multiple steps, learn from feedback, and keep improving — more like a proactive digital team member than a tool you prompt.

And here's the number that stopped me in my tracks: the agentic AI market is projected to grow from $7 billion today to over $93 billion by the early 2030s. Gartner predicts that 90% of B2B buying will be AI-agent intermediated by 2028. This is not a slow-burn trend. This is a step change.

It's that time of year again. The pressure is on to file your end-of-year accounts. Nothing like a deadline to get things done, right? With today's tech, most business owners will already have a good idea of their annual sales and profit. Your end-of-year accounts will be no surprise. And for those SMEs that use forecasting, hopefully your forecast matches your actual financial performance and position. But hope isn't a great strategy unless you enjoy the thrill of the unknown.

The secret to promoting your business with confidence? Getting crystal clear on what makes us different in ways that actually matter to our clients.