Mark Graham started a kitchen design business in Auckland
Mark Graham came to New Zealand in 2006 with his wife Judy, a midwife, and infant daughter Jorja on a Skilled Migrant visa to work as a bathroom designer in Auckland. After contacting every Auckland-based bathroom and
interior design firm he could find online, Mark interviewed with Elegant Bathrooms over the telephone and was later hired via email.
Getting started in New Zealand
After working for Elegant Bathrooms for nearly eight months, Mark moved to Matisse, a specialist kitchen and bathroom design firm based in the Auckland City suburb of Parnell, extending his work beyond bathrooms to wardrobes, as well. While keen to move into the kitchen side of the Matisse business, the opportunity did not present itself. But as Mark and Judy set about designing and renovating their own kitchen, he became sure that he wanted to focus his talents and experience on kitchen design.
It was at this point that Mark began to explore the possibility of working for himself, taking advantage of the Kiwi spirit for small business and innovation. After a stint working as Hacker’s senior kitchen designer for Auckland, Mark and Judy decided it was time for Mark to go it alone.
“The beauty of this country is – and you just have to look at the cars – people are working for themselves.”
Composit Kitchens Ltd was born
Mark contacted Composit Spa in Italy and secured exclusive distributorship for New Zealand and Australia, under the company name of Composit Kitchens Ltd. “Because I’ve been here three years, I know the developers and architects. I know the affluent areas,” explains Mark.
Mark and Judy both marvel at how easy it was to put their business idea into action. “We’ve registered the company. The beauty of the Kiwi way – you do it all online. There’s no paperwork, no offices. Just find a name, pay a deposit to hold it for 18 days, and then register it. Then you apply for an IRD [tax] number. It’s very straightforward, as things often are in New Zealand.”
Flexibility and lifestyle were two major factors that led to Mark’s decision to run his own business in New Zealand. “Everyone talks about coming to New Zealand for the lifestyle, but we just wanted a nice place for Jorja to grow up. We liked London; it paid off our student debt, but then the terrorist attacks made a lot of our friends move. London’s fantastic and we loved it, but it was too much.”
“In the UK,” continues Mark, “it would be so hard to try to start your own business up. It would take so much work, whereas here, the Kiwis are so keen to help you. As soon as I started my business, my neighbour started telling everyone he knows.”
A permanent home in New Zealand
For other business-minded migrants, Mark says the most important step is to find a good accountant. “When we first started on the road to being self employed, we had to sort out our budget, bills and income protection, as well as get our own personal finances in order.”
Several relatives have visited from the UK, and their reaction to Mark and Judy’s new home country has been a collective and resounding “Wow”. “Just being able to see the sunset is wonderful,” says Mark. “And on the way to work, the water is so still it’s like a mirror. I see all the houses huddled on the harbour and I say to myself, ‘Wow, I live here’. Being here is, quite simply, good for the soul. You can go out and do anything.”
Mark suggests that anyone thinking of making the move should give themselves at least a year: “Rent out your property. At least if you find out it’s not for you, you can go back to your old life. But I knew within days I was in New Zealand to stay.”
Mark also suggests that potential migrants do a lot of research to “familiarise” themselves, adding that the Working In expos and seminars should be “first port of call”.
