Waikato Business News August/September 2023

29.09.2023 Views
WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 Grayson Clements associate thrives on simplifying the complex for clients Grayson Clements’ Associate Lawyer, Philip McHugh, thrives on complexity and the challenge of navigating uncertainties. What sets him apart, however, is his ability to put the individual, his client, at the center of the issue and develop bespoke legal solutions to protect them, their interests, and their families. Philip was recently promoted from lawyer to associate at Grayson Clements, a law firm based at Hamilton’s Innovation Park. The firm was established in 2008 by directors Michael Grayson and Andrew Clements with the desire to grow a firm that was “a little bit different” in its value-driven, client-centric approach. It now employs 26 legal professionals across a wide range of areas. Philip’s love of learning is clear, and it’s an approach that he carries into his interactions with clients. He has a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in philosophy and political science, another Bachelor of Arts, majoring in history and religious studies and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Religious Studies from Victoria University in Wellington. After forging a successful career in retail, including a stint in the complaints department for a small ship cruise line in London, Philip went back to university to study law in 2015, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours in 2018. He has been practicing as a solicitor since then, reaching associate level after only four years of his admission to the bar. He is also passionate about developments in emerging technologies, including blockchain, encryption, and AI and the developing legal framework to regulate it. At his best in complex situations, Philip is passionate about helping his clients achieve their goals with simple legal solutions. “Just because your life is complex, doesn’t mean your legal structure has to be,” he says. When I’m working with a client, I start by getting to know them, what drives them, what their internal motivators are. By knowing this, and building a great relationship, we can come to a legal solution that best suits their needs and can grow as they grow. It’s no surprise then that Philip thrives on making his clients feel comfortable with their legal structures and explaining complex legal terms in plain language. His specialty is in helping individual and corporate clients structure their relationships with deeds, agreements and other documentation, and he has a particular interest in the interplay of legal persons (companies, trusts, Limited Philip McHugh Grayson Clements – Design, Deliver, Protect Partnerships, etc) to protect, preserve and commercialise his clients’ potential. “As a lawyer, I love exploring the ‘what if’ scenarios with clients, going down rabbit holes and getting to the heart of a situation and exploring the opportunities from there. It’s really satisfying when you’ve explored all the options available and come to a solution that is beneficial for the client, not just in protecting their assets, but also in knowing you have looked at Grayson Clements was established in 2008 by lawyers Michael Grayson and Andrew Clements, who both had a desire to grow a firm that focused on designing solutions, delivering results and protecting people. Their work and reputation have gained traction and their client base has grown organically to a point where they now have a team of 26 staff across a range of practice areas. every possibility and come to the best solution based on their needs. “I’m particularly interested in the technology space as it relates to the law, especially as so much of it has not been legislated and there’s no right answer. There’s a huge amount of work to be done in that space and that can only come through us, as legal professionals, learning more and doing more work in the field to establish some best practices.” At Bayleys, we believe relationships are what businesses are built on and how they succeed. We understand that to maximise the return on your property you need: Professional property management A business partner that understands your views and goals Contact the Bayleys Waikato Commercial Property Management team today. Jan Cooney Head Commercial Property Management - Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki 027 408 9339 jan.cooney@bayleys.co.nz David Cashmore Bayleys Commercial Manager - Waikato 021 943 305 david.cashmore@bayleys.co.nz Gert Maritz Senior Facilities Manager - Waikato 027 230 2514 gert.maritz@bayleys.co.nz Darren Rule Senior Facilities Manager - Bay of Plenty & Taranaki 027 214 1631 darren.rule@bayleys.co.nz SUCCESS REALTY LTD, BAYLEYS, LICENSED UNDER THE REA ACT 2008 ALTOGETHER BETTER Residential / Commercial / Rural / Property Services

WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 3 Sally Valentine, Lydia Henderson, Lucy Donaldson and Loren Hickman-Mabin Lucy earns her gluten free daily bread FROM - PAGE 1 Lucy’s gluten free bread is now stocked in stores across the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Auckland, and she’s churning out around 1200 loaves a week. It was while breastfeeding her third child and watching him struggle with colic that prompted Lucy to cut gluten and dairy from her diet to give him some relief. It worked for him and Lucy also noticed that her eczema and stomach pains also eased up. “I was originally an operating theatre nurse and I used to think the eczema was due to washing my hands with surgical scrub so often. But now I think I may have had an underlying gluten intolerance.” Lucy says like many people on a gluten free journey she struggled to find bread that didn’t compromise on taste and texture in comparison to normal bread. No stranger to baking, Lucy had been making traditional sourdough for many years and decided to experiment with making gluten free sourdough. “I couldn't find any bread that I actually liked so I started on a mission of making Ed Hemming, Lucy Donaldson and Ryan Simmons my own. And then I became super obsessed with it until I got it to the point where I was like - man, this is a better than anything I can buy, I wonder if anyone else would enjoy it,” she says. Lucy had always been a fan of bakery Volare sourdough so she decided to make a cheeky call to co- owner Ed Hemming. “I wondered why the biggest bakery in the Waikato wasn’t doing anything gluten free so I tracked down Ed’s number and gave him a call.” The call couldn’t have come at a better time for both parties; Volare owners Ed and Ryan Simmons were keen to do a gluten free range but didn’t have the time and they were happy to support Lucy to make a go of baking and selling gluten free bread. “They had lots of people asking about gluten free bread so they knew there was a demand. But they wanted to do it right with a purpose-built bakery to make sure that if you're calling it gluten free there's no possibilities of cross contamination. I wasn't sure at our first meeting where it would go or what would come of it, but after a long chat we decided to start a business together.” With her youngest only 18 months old at the time Lucy wasn’t sure how she would manage but the decision was Sally Valentine, Lucy Donaldson and Lydia Henderson taken out of her hands a short while later when New Zealand went into its first COVID lockdown. Not wanting to take the risk in uncertain times, they decided to put the business idea on the backburner. And, like so many of us during lockdown, Lucy got her bake on and set about perfecting her sourdough. “We kept in touch. But it was all up in the air of whether we should be doing this. I was still quite driven about it, even though I didn't really know whether it would happen or not.” Two years later in April 2022 after lots of baking trial and error, and several lockdowns, they opened a purpose-built bakery in Grasslands Place in Hamilton. In the first three months Lucy worked really long hours five days a week trying to keep up with the production. “I’d get up super early to head to Hamilton to bake the bread, drive back to Raglan, pick up the kids and take them into Hamilton. My husband would pick them up and then I'd slice all the bread, pack it, take it down to Volare and then go home.” Having been a theatre nurse helped with the stamina off pulling such long shifts and being on her feet all day. “Ed and Ryan were instrumental in getting someone to help. They said this isn't sustainable. Yes, you’ve got to do long hours when you first go into business, but it’s not sustainable when you’ve got a young family. To be honest we weren't expecting it to be so popular, so quickly.” Ed’s business mind and Ryan’s baking expertise coupled with the thousands of hours of Lucy’s gluten free baking experimentation was the perfect storm for a successful business. “I couldn't have done it without them and they say the same about me. It was a perfect combination of the three of us because we all have different things to offer,” Lucy says. It’s still hard graft but she now employs five staff who help her get the bread to market. As well as being stocked in every Volare store in the Waikato and Auckland, lots of health food stores now stock the gluten free range. Lucy’s bread is also sold on the Volare stand at the Hamilton and Cambridge Markets and is sold online and delivered direct to customers nationwide. The range includes a sourdough, a fruit bread, a seedy loaf and a tradition white loaf which, Lucy says, will work perfectly at a sausage sizzle and ideal for the kids’ lunchboxes. Having grown so quickly, Lucy is now focusing on expanding the Auckland market. “We're just trying to perfect our systems at the moment and trying to increase our Auckland client base. Logistic for us is really hard being a fresh product. So we’re just trying to fine tune those kind of practices to make it more accessible for people.” Having grown up in Raglan, Lucy credits the entrepreneurial and spirit she experienced in the small surf town to giving her the confidence to start a business. “Raglan has changed a lot and the community size has grown, but I still think that it is full of people supporting new ideas and each other, which is probably why it continues to attract so many new people - nothing to do with the surf of course. Having that support behind me I think really gave me the confidence to put myself out there and give it a go.”

Page 1: AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 VOLUME 31 ISS

Page 5 and 6: Company-X Innovation Award finalist

Page 7 and 8: WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, AUGUST/SEPTE

Page 9 and 10: Get connected to Electric Vehicles

Page 11 and 12: ey Toyota whats u with your used ca



Page 17 and 18: There’s an audience for every bus



Page 23: WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS, AUGUST/SEPTE


Page 29 and 30: WAIKATO WAIKATO BUSINESS BUSINESS N

Page 31 and 32: Nick Juett has had an exceptional c

Waikato Business News August/September 2023

Delete template?

Save as template ?