"The hardest thing about setting up business in New Zealand", says Mallie (Malcolm McDonald), formerly of South Africa, "is being unfamiliar with the plethora of rules/regulations, as well as resource and other consent requirements that come into play". Mallie approves of the stringent requirements applying to food outlets. "Because New Zealand is so small compared with South Africa it is far more susceptible to damage and destruction." His theory is that the vulnerability of the environment might have something to do with the lack of porosity of the soil which, in turn, is due to the lack of humus, New Zealand being a relatively new land mass. The ancient and rugged continent of Africa, we agree*, is in a far better position to withstand the ravages wrought on it
by man.

Mallie started off his career in New Zealand in the refrigeration business in Nelson. He had chosen this pristine natural gem to be his future home because "my son, Zane, was a star at ice hockey and we saw in the brochure that Nelson had an ice-rink. Little did we realize that the rink in question was a natural one and therefore not available all year round."

The McDonalds had some adapting to do. Zane took up a new sport – snowboarding - and Mallie decided to relocate the family from Nelson for the greater growth prospects offered by Auckland. He bought the Bays Ice-Cream Parlour in Browns Bay from its youthful proprietors with their youthful clientele, revamped it and renamed it Penguino, and selected families with young children as his
target market.

Asked why he chose to open an ice-cream parlour, he replied: "I knew the technologies involved as that is what I had been involved in for all those years back in South Africa, and in Nelson, and I was inspired by the vivid memory I had of ‘the ice-cream man’ of my youth.

"I remember going into an ice-cream parlour when I was all of three years old and being warmly welcomed by a friendly man wearing white dungarees and a chef’s cap on his head, who made such a fuss of me that you would have sworn I was the only three year old lad ever to enter his parlour. Not to mention the delicious ice-cream decorated with hundreds and thousands and Smarties, which was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted.

"I love children and the prospect of those little faces lighting up at the sight of an ice-cream inspired me to adopt the role, 37 years later, of the ice-cream man who was the highlight of my childhood."

One of the most gratifying aspects of running Penguinos has been the opportunity to build a long term relationship with his customers, says Mallie.

"I have had the privilege of watching mums about to go into labour enjoying an ice-cream at Penguinos, only to return for another one a few days later with a tightly wrapped bundle in their arms and a proud looking father at their side. And I have enjoyed watching those ‘littlies’ progress from all fours to darting around kamikaze style on two chubby little legs, filling the shop with laughter."

Of his first Kiwi business venture Mallie says "it was hard work to start with. I had to make the ice-cream at three am and then serve in the shop until six at night. Now Zane has taken over making the ice-cream, freeing me up to expand my business."

Penguino produces a variant of Gelato ice-cream with a fat content of a mere four percent. It also produces six sorbet flavours containing only natural fruit and no preservatives, colouring or dairy content. Mallie is thrilled that, with ice-creams costing $1.50 each, he is able to offer a family of three a real treat for less than five dollars.

In October 2004 he set Zane and daughter Taryn up with their own business, Waffle In. He then set up Select A Sub next door for himself. Today his wife Anne runs Penguino and he runs Select A Sub. Mallie attributes his success in business to the support of his wife. "I could not have done it without her unstinting encouragement – she was always the first one to commiserate with me or to congratulate me, depending on the situation. She has maintained the sanity of the family throughout."

Yolanda Alba from the Philippines is cultured, sophisticated, educated and well groomed. Her English is impeccable, albeit she has a distinct Filipino accent. She has a degree in economics and political science and worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Manila. If someone as articulate and presentable as this couldn’t find a job here, what hope is there for the rest of us?" I, as a fellow immigrant, couldn’t help asking myself.

The constant rejections Yolanda had to endure were all the more bitter a pill to swallow as unemployment in New Zealand at that stage was a mere four percent. Coming to New Zealand with a Kiwi husband, from a country where unemployment was rife, it had not even occurred to her that she would have trouble finding employment here.

By 1988 Yolanda (who had arrived in New Zealand in 1986) had reached an all time low as her marriage teetered on the brink of collapse. She was homesick and cold (it was a particularly wet Auckland winter), child-care was exorbitant, and she was stuck at home in relative isolation minding her young daughter. She missed the familiar sights and smells of Manila, the delicious Asian/Filipino food and, above all, the tropical vegetation and flowers that had always been part of her life, thanks to the passion for gardening she’d inherited from her mother.

The final straw came when her application to work as a waitress in an Indonesian restaurant was rejected. "That was the moment of reckoning," recalls Yolanda, who partially blames her negative attitude for the predicament she was in.

Taking herself firmly in hand she told herself she was in New Zealand to stay and that it was futile and self-defeating to continue comparing Auckland with Manila. She decided to take up her interests where she’d left off and opened a store to sell the small collection of antiques she had brought from Manila. The antique shop proved to be a vital stepping stone to her next business – a gardening maintenance business, Blooming Garden.

"In retrospect", says Yolanda, who has been running Blooming Garden for about 10 years, "it is not really surprising that I thrive on running a business. Along with my passion for antiques and gardens which I inherited from my mother, I have obviously inherited a nose for business from my dad who ran a successful trucking business in the Philippines for many years."

Yolanda runs Blooming Garden from her home in Epsom, and has a staff of 10 in Auckland and four in Hamilton.

"What I love about gardening in New Zealand is the fact that the moderate climate here allows a huge variety of gardens to suit all tastes - including English, sub-tropical and even ‘dry bed’ gardens."

Yolanda is enthusiastic about her staff and clients – stating that in all her years in business, no-one has ever been dishonest in any of their dealings with her. But by far the best part, she says is the fact that Blooming Garden does not take her away from her family. She has not missed a single soccer match played by elder daughter Ayla since she was nine years old, she says with a discernible swelling of the chest.

But without the support of second husband, Max, who teaches at nearby Auckland Grammar School, she readily concedes that she would not have been able to build the business to where it is. Max makes younger daughter Iza’s school lunch and takes her to school. He takes both girls to soccer over the week-ends and managed Ayla’s soccer club for
four years.

"Between Max and the cleaners, my household ticks over smoothly and this gives me the peace of mind to focus on my business," says the lady who has managed to overcome defeat with her passion for gardening.

"From door to door salesman to 50 percent owner of a multi-million dollar company in just three years", this is how Steve de Souza’s meteoric rise to commercial success in New Zealand is summarized in Kalamazoo News – his company’s official newsletter.

Born into a poor family of five children in Mumbai, India, Steve overcame humble family circumstances to build a successful career with international company Technova, a major manufacturer of plates and chemicals for the printing industry. He then moved on to head the sales and marketing division of W J. Towell, a major conglomerate in Muscat, Dubai.

But in May 2001 Steve’s high powered career came to an abrupt halt when he and his wife Odelia decided that New Zealand had more to offer in the way of a quality long term future for themselves and their children than either India or Dubai.

Steve kicked off his career here with door to door selling and modest earnings. His persistence won him a sales position with Kalamazoo and within weeks he became Kalamazoo’s top salesman. He caught the attention of group owner, Terry Teoh, who realized Steve had the drive to take Kalamazoo’s Auckland and Christchurch based operations to the next level and offered him a partnership in the business.

Referring to the New Zealand business environment, Steve says: "There are opportunities here for everyone. You just have to grab them and if they don’t come to you, go out and find them. This country has given me far more scope and more time to be with family and friends than I ever had in the 30 years I spent outside it."

Describing his role as head of Kalamazoo, New Zealand, he says – "it’s my job to dig holes (create posts) and then to find others to fill them".

Like Mallie and Yolanda, Steve states categorically that he would not have got to where he is today without the love and support of his partner. When he got married at the age of 24, he couldn’t afford the kind of wedding he felt was worthy of Odelia. He promised her then that the day would come when he would re-do their wedding in style.

This day arrived 15 years later. Under the impression that the family was on holiday at the Shangrila Resort in Fiji, Odelia burst into happy tears when Steve showered her with one lavish gift after the other – a diamond ring and necklace, and a pure silk wedding dress from Bangkok – all the trappings required for the surprise vow renewal ceremony he had planned.

This was the perfect time for a father to give a gift to each member of the family, Steve reckoned. When he asked 13 year old son Dayne what he’d like as a special gift, the boy’s reply was that he had all he could ever want and that his greatest gift was knowing that his father loved his mother enough to renew his vows to her.

So you’ll forgive NZBusiness if we advise readers to fall in love if they want to succeed in business. This advice is not, after all, as corny as it sounds.