Gerard Casey EBOP Chamber of Commerce CEO

The Eastern Bay of Plenty Chamber of Commerce hosted Rachel Taulelei and she spoke about marketing as an art. Rachel is the founder of Yellow Brick Road, a company demonstrably invested in New Zealand's food culture.

Yellow Brick Road works with fishermen and chefs, taking those who cook closer to those who catch; and is motivated by provenance, ethics and a desire to further the conversation around sustainability.

Rachel established Yellow Brick Road following eight years in the US with New Zealand Trade Enterprise as trade commissioner and North American regional manager, food and beverages.

She is co-founder of the City Market, chairs the Wellington on a Plate Advisory Board, is a director of Grow Wellington, an associate director of Wakatu Incorporation, and a member of the Le Cordon Bleu Advisory Board.

In 2009, Rachel was bestowed with the New Zealand Restaurant Association's Innovator Award. In 2010, she was a finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Awards, and the winner of Emerging Gold, Wellington Gold Awards. In 2012, Rachel was named as a Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader.

Yes, an impressive list of achievements and a high achiever. However, she had simple messages to give people in business

Sustainability – not only of the environment but of your business.

It is not enough to survive – you need to grow and be sustainable. You need to make money. Don't be scared of this.

Have discerning clients; be close to your customer, listen to your customer.

Yes, surprisingly, business is about people. You should know their needs, wants and what their problems are and how can you solve them. Maybe even make life easier for them.

Tell a story.

Make sure when you are telling the story of your business it is strong, relevant, robust and relatable. If you want a great example of a story check out http://story.newzealand.com/#

It should make your spine tingle.

Who provides the leadership and vision in your business? Is it you? Are you an example to those in the business and do you encourage leadership and vision among your team.

Culturalise your commerce. Business culture is essential. What are you about? What is your culture like?

Also check out this video for a short interview, I did with her.