Kiwitax delivers on everything you’d expect from a professional accounting team, and they specialise in the areas of small business and property investment. Essentially, they will ensure you are 100% compliant with the Inland Revenue, whilst also ensuring that you don’t pay a cent more tax than you need to. Because they specialise in small business and property investment accounting, you can be sure they really know their stuff in these areas, and more importantly, no matter how small your business, this is their niche, so you won’t get passed over for bigger business clients.

Kiwitax’s best feature in my opinion is their fee structure. Their rates are capped, based on the size and turnover of your business. These are listed on their website and can be confirmed before you commit to working with them, so you know what your costs will be upfront and ahead of time – no nasty surprises! And, talking with them is always free. So you can phone or email them anytime with questions, and you don’t get charged extra for this.

The world has become flat. The Kiwitax team is actually based in Hawke’s Bay. I have been using their services for my businesses for 6 years now, and I’ve never actually met them in person. However, they are always readily available by email or on the end of the phone, and, of course, they are always happy to see you, if you do happen to be local!

Accountants are not always known for their innovation, but the Kiwitax team likes to stay up with the play. As well as keeping abreast of legislative changes in the tax realm, they are also very much in the 21st Century in their application of available technology and software. They have a great website, with loads of useful information, and even Tweet, if you are that way inclined. They are certified Xero advisors and also use Banklink software and other, more traditional, accounting packages.

In a nutshell, the team at Kiwitax know their stuff, but that’s to be expected. The added benefits of working with Kiwitax are:

•  They’re friendly and accessible and don’t charge extra to answer your questions.

•  Their fees are set up front so you know exactly what their services are going to cost you – no nasty surprises!

•  They specialise in small business and property investors, so no matter how small your business is, you’re their important client.

For more information contact Kiwitax directly:

www.kiwitax.co.nz

Free phone: 0508 KIWITAX (549-4829)

A great movie!  So refreshing to see an original storyline – probably because it is true.  It brought back fond memories of my travels off the beaten track in Asia, and also reminded me how precious our freedom is, and how lucky I am to be born in a country where we simply take this for granted.

A moving true account of the life so far of Li Cunxin – a Chinese born ballet dancer of international acclaim, currently living in Australia.  This movie managed to make me laugh AND cry – the measuring stick of a good movie in my book.

The woman behind showing me that successfully creating a website IS actually possible is the fantastic Belinda Duffy of Duffy Design.  Belinda was recommended to me by a friend who had endured three years of my website woes over numerous coffees.  And bless her, Belinda took it upon herself to personally guarantee that I would have a positive website experience, resulting in a fantastic website.  And she certainly delivered.

I have had many web companies tell me over the years that I couldn’t have cool design AND functionality, that I would have to choose which was my strongest priority.  I could never understand why I couldn’t have both and Belinda confirmed my gut instinct, that this is utter hogwash.  If your web design company is telling you this – RUN!  Yes, you can have a website that looks good, and also works.  No, it is not an unrealistic expectation!  If your company is telling you this, then it may be that they have staff that specialise in one or the other.

In Belinda’s case, she is primarily a designer.  She did all the design work for my brand and website www.jacquithomas.com from the overall layout down to individual little buttons and design features.  Belinda also works closely with a web development company that she uses to create the back end / functionality of the website, ie the code.  This can be where it all falls apart if the design team clashes with the development team.  As well as designing my site, Belinda project managed the complete website development and ensured that all aspects of functionality were covered off, as well as making sure that the design was fully implemented as she had intended.  

Belinda’s attention to detail and photographic memory is amazing.  No matter how stressful the project gets (and given my website history, it didn’t take much to push my buttons!) she manages to remain calm and good humoured.  I’d go so far as to say, she’s quite unflappable.  She really went the extra mile for me and for this I am extremely grateful.

As an aside she also is the parent of a small child and can be found working at strange hours of the night.  If you have weird  nocturnal habits like me, these crazy extra working hours can be an added bonus.  I am delighted to be able to recommend Belinda Duffy – Duffy Design to my clients, colleagues and friends.  If you would like to know more about her business and what she can do for you, check out her website or contact her directly at:

www.duffy.co.nz

Written by Jacqui Thomas, 2010 © All rights reserved.

I have used many professional photographers over the years and Fiona Tomlinson is by far the best of them, hands down, in terms of both her photography and her personal and professional approach.

I first met Fiona through the Woman’s Day when she photographed me for my new magazine column. She has since done five shoots for me: a mix of magazine shots, professional branding photos and portraits of me and my daughter, Samantha.

If I had to sum up Fiona’s talent in one sentence, it would be her unique ability to get the best out of people. Fiona is very friendly and down to earth, which makes you feel relaxed and at ease, because let’s face it, most people don’t like having their photo taken! From that very first photo shoot, I quickly learned that I could place ultimate trust in Fiona to ensure that I looked my absolute best. She knew all the tricks to maximise my best features and to hide or minimise the fat rolls and extra chins!

Fiona does a range of photography work covering magazines, commercial, babies, weddings and pets. She is based in Auckland, New Zealand but happy to travel with her work.

Fiona took the photos used in my branding above. If your business is about you, and/or “you” are integral to the products or services you offer, I thoroughly recommend having a professional photograph of yourself incorporated into your branding. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words…. a potential client can tell a lot about you by seeing what you look like.

You can check out more about Fiona and her photography at

www.fionatomlinson.co.nz

Amber Haldane is a professional makeup artist. She has done my makeup now for several photo shoots. As well as working a lot with magazines and TV, she also is a popular choice with brides wanting their makeup to be perfect for their big day.
So where do us mere mortals fit in? I’ve often thought I’d like some professional advice on my makeup, but I don’t like the idea of sitting in the middle of a mall somewhere having my face done in front of everybody. I also don’t want to be restricted to one brand, or to feel pressured to buy whatever the sales person chooses to use on me. Amber has responded to numerous requests by now offering Makeup Lessons and a Makeup Audit, in the comfort and privacy of her own home, to people who want to know how to get the best out of their makeup and learn how to apply it properly themselves. I went along to get my makeup sorted and here is what we did:
First up we had a look at how I currently do my makeup and did a Makeup Audit, which entailed tipping out the contents of my makeup bag(s). We went through this so we knew what I already had, what could be improved on, any colours that don’t suit me, or colours that we could include in the future. The focus is on making the most of what you already have, rather than needing to ditch everything and completely start again.

Then we took my own makeup off and started again with how Amber would do my face. She opened up her entire professional makeup kit so there were all sorts of different products to play with. We started with the basics, and compared these to the products I was currently using, enabling me to see the differences / benefits. Moving onto the eyes, Amber showed me a couple of different looks which were simple to create, but very effective. For each look, she would do one eye, then I would practice doing the other.

At the end, Amber wrote me up a personalised face chart with suggestions of different products that would be useful for me to use. Amber doesn’t have any affiliation to particular brands so there was no favouritism to any brand in particular. In fact, I ended up with a range of products on my list incorporating five different brands. Also, Amber doesn’t sell any makeup so there was absolutely no pressure to buy anything. Although I now have my wishlist of new makeup, I didn’t feel that I needed to rush out and buy everything, or indeed anything – I simply know what I will be replacing my current makeup with as it runs out.

I happily recommend one of these sessions with Amber. It was relaxed and fun, but I learned a few things. Amber was honest but not brutal and made me feel comfortable. And best of all, there was no pressure or sales. I also definitely recommend having your makeup done professionally if you’re doing an important photo shoot. The end result is so much more polished looking and knowing that you look your best is a real confidence boost for the photo shoot itself.

You can contact Amber at

www.amberhaldane.com

I absolutely adored this movie when it came out on the big screen in 2003, and continue to love it today.  I bought the dvd over the holidays and have taken great delight in sharing this movie with overseas visitors and now my own daughter.   It is the favourite dvd at our place at the moment for both of us.  I’ve probably seen it at least 20 times now and it still brings tears to my eyes.  A very special movie and thoroughly deserving of the international acclaim it received at various film festivals around the world.

A lovely, no brain power required, chick flick.  Heart warming, light entertainment at its best.  A friend gave me this movie for Christmas on dvd.  One of those movies you can watch again and again.  Best enjoyed with chocolate biscuits and a snuggly rug.

This didn’t rate very highly with me, I’m afraid.  Trying to mix reality and animation doesn’t work in my book, I like a movie to be one or the other.  So when I took Samantha to the movies for a rainy day holiday treat, I was hoping for The Princess and the Frog, but I got vetoed.  It was supposed to be her treat, after all.  The chipmunks, and the chipettes, were cute and the music was cool, but the accompanying storyline and cast was disappointing in my opinion.  To be fair, though, Samantha really enjoyed it.

I have to admit to having a bit of a soft spot for George Clooney, so any movie with him in it has a head start in my book.  An interesting, and I guess timely, look at issues of company restructuring and redundancy.  The makers of the film took  interviews of Americans who have been made redundant in the last year, which gave the movie genuine authenticity.  It also takes a look at individuals who bury themselves in their work at the cost of having real relationships.  I’ve made it sound like an intense documentary, but it still falls in the light entertainment category, albeit touching on real issues.

I had been wanting to watch this movie for ages.  It’s a lovely story illustrating many life messages such as the importance of being true to yourself,  celebrating our differences, as well as standing up for what you beleive in and that no matter what, no matter how small we are and how big the challenge, our actions can make a difference.   Fun viewing for all the family.