Whanganui Business Chamber

Business After 5 at J Thain Foundry - Whanganui's Premier Co-working Space
2025-11-27 17:30 - 19:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | J Thain Foundry, 31 Taupo Quay, Whanganui, New Zealand
Join us and hosts Mark and Maddy for Business After 5 at the inspiring co-working space in the historic J Thain Foundry building. Nestled between the river and Taupo Quay, this unique venue blends heritage character with a fresh, creative energy. Come along, connect with others, and experience for yourself what makes this space so special.
About the J Thain Foundry
Set in a beautifully restored heritage building, J Thain Foundry blends industrial character with modern functionality. With high ceilings, exposed brickwork, and light-filled communal spaces, it’s a workplace designed to inspire.
Whether you’re a freelancer, start-up, or established business, the Foundry offers flexible short- and long-term workspace solutions to help you separate your home life from your professional pursuits. Just bring your device and choose a space that suits—no complex leases, no hidden fees.
Find out more on their website: www.jthainfoundry.co.nz
BA5 no charge thanks to our hosts.

Problems to Progress: Continuous Improvement in Action
2025-12-04 09:00 - 13:00 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
Continuous Improvement for Productivity — with CILab
⚙️ Continuous Improvement Training
A practical session focusing on process mapping, root-cause analysis, and problem-solving.
This training is conducted using a live simulation, so the continuous improvement tools introduced in the session are applied in real time — giving participants practical experience in using the tools and understanding their impact.
This session complements the earlier Unleashing the Improvement Mindset 2-hour workshops, though you don’t need to have attended those to participate (doing so is helpful).
🎯 What You’ll Learn
A comprehensive overview of the essential mindset, steps, and tools of a continuous improvement initiative, with a particular focus on:
💡 Customer ThinkingUnderstanding how to view processes and outcomes from the customer’s perspective.
🧭 Framing and Articulating ProblemsLearning how to identify, describe, and communicate problems effectively — especially when raising issues with leaders.
⚙️ Core Improvement ToolsUsing process mapping and root-cause analysis to identify performance gaps and opportunities for improvement.
👥 Team and Leadership RolesClarifying how individuals can participate in and contribute to improvement initiatives led by others.
🧠 Outcomes
Participants will leave with:✨ A strong understanding of their role in continuous improvement.🔍 The ability to map and analyse how a process performs and where it can be improved.🧩 The capability to take part confidently in improvement initiatives across the organisation.
🔧 At a Glance
⏱ Duration: 4 hours📍 Format: Simulation-based, practical, and hands-on👥 Audience: All team members and leaders🎯 Outcome: Practical capability in process analysis and improvement💰 Cost: This is a funded learning opportunity – No charge to attend🗓 Booking: Essential — spaces are limited (max 20 participants)

Business Whanganui Christmas Lunch
2025-12-16 12:00 - 13:00
Solopreneur? Part of a small team? Or just keen to break free of the office or workshop and mix it up with other business owners and professionals?
Join us at FRANK on Tuesday 16 December for a relaxed Christmas lunch with good company.
Buy your own — order on the day or check out their menu HERE and order ahead — either way, let us know you’re coming and we’ll save you a seat.

Brains! and Business for Breakfast
2026-02-10 07:00 - 08:30 | FRANK., 60 Ridgway Street, Whanganui, 4500, New Zealand
Business for Breakfast is a monthly event featuring a guest speaker from business, speaking on a topic of interest to the business community. Each session is paired with good food and coffee, and time to connect with other local business owners and leaders before the workday begins.
Food and drinks can be ordered in advance at the time of registration, or on the day. Buy your own breakfast. No charge to attend.
In February, we welcome Melita Farley, Learning Director at Double Farley Creative Partners, as our Business for Breakfast guest speaker. Melita has more than 25 years’ experience developing people and building capability in workplaces, and has trained hundreds of workplace trainers across New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific.
This month’s topic: Brains for Breakfast! Supporting your brain — and your team — through change.
Drawing on her extensive experience leading learning and change projects, Melita explores the intersection of human behaviour and biology, and what this means for leading change at work.
Bring your questions — whether you’re working through a specific challenge or simply curious about how your brain responds to change. This session will unpack how insights from neuroscience can be applied to everyday workplace and leadership challenges.
Choose your breakfast from FRANK.’s delicious menu — pre-order (recommended) or order on the day.📋 Pre-orders: Let us know your food and drink choices in the booking form – drink and food☕ Please note: Food and drinks are at your own cost.
Take a look at the FRANK. breakfast menu here: https://www.mintasfrank.co.nz/frankmenu
Reserve your spot below and order online or on the day.
AND Bring your business cards and make the most of the opportunity to connect with others and share what your business has to offer.

Book Club for Business
2026-02-19 10:00 - 11:00 | FRANK., 60 Ridgway Street, Whanganui, 4500, New Zealand
About Book Club:
Book Club for business is a relaxed, facilitated space for business owners and leaders who value connection, ideas, and thoughtful conversation.
Shaped by member feedback, the Book Club continues in 2026 with a clarified purpose and a light structure that supports inclusive, purposeful discussion while keeping the focus on books, ideas, and meaningful conversation.
Sessions are theme-led rather than book-led. We’ll explore one theme at a time, drawn from topic areas such as Leadership, Strategy, Customers, and Workforce, using a range of ideas, readings, and perspectives to prompt discussion.
Reading is always optional. There’s no set text and no expectation to prepare. What matters is showing up, listening, and engaging in a respectful, well-facilitated conversation with peers who understand the realities of business.
If you value time to step back from the day-to-day and think alongside others, the Book Club will be a good fit.
What to expect:

Theme-led discussions, not a single set book
Light facilitation to ensure everyone has a voice
Optional reading — no homework pressure
A focus on ideas, perspective, and conversation

Book Club is a good fit if you:

Enjoy thinking about leadership and business beyond the day-to-day
Value discussion, listening, and learning from peers
Like structure without formality
Want ideas and perspective rather than problem-solving

If you’re after space to pause, reflect, and engage in good conversation with other business people, you’ll feel comfortable here.
It may not be for you if you’re looking for:

A mentoring programme
Hands-on business troubleshooting
A purely operational or technical session

Contact us for more information about this type of business support
Time and date:
Meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 10.00am-11.00am (1-hour)
Where:
Note: the venue for the February meeting is FRANK. 60 Ridgway Street, Whanganui.
Subsequent sessions will be held at Business Whanganui, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui (limited parking in the Courtyard, otherwise on-street parking please)
Register:
To join book club or sign up for book club updates, register below.

Attendance is complimentary and included as part of Business Whanganui membership.

Safer Business Forum Q1 2026
2026-02-23 17:30 - 19:00 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
Retail and Business Owners and Managers Forum: Stay connected, informed, and ahead of emerging issues facing our business community. These short quarterly sessions focus on practical conversations – sharing what you are seeing on the ground, understanding current trends, and strengthening clear channels for reporting concerns and accessing support. Practical insight, not politics.
Delivered in partnership with Police, Safer Whanganui, and Mainstreet, the Forums bring retailers and the wider business community together for open, two-way discussion.
2026 dates – Mondays, 5.30 pm at Business Whanganui:• 23 February• 18 May• 17 August• 16 November
Contact us for more information: events@businesswhanganui.nz

Employment Relations Act Changes - what you need to know
2026-03-05 12:15 - 13:15
Recent changes to the Employment Relations Act took effect on 21 February following the passing of the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2025.
If you want to understand the practical impact for your business, this session will give you a clear overview of what has changed and what action is required.
Join Robyn Young from RYHR for a practical, plain-English briefing designed to bring you up to speed quickly. We’ll cover the key updates, what to review in your workplace, and what to do next, with time set aside for questions at the end.
Tea, coffee and snacks of dubious nutritional value will be available. Please feel free to bring your lunch with you.
Attendance is complimentary, thanks to the support of Robyn Young HR (www.ryhr.co.nz)
Places are limited. Register to reserve your spot.

Business for Breakfast
2026-03-10 07:00 - 08:30 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
​Business for Breakfast is a monthly event featuring a guest speaker from business, speaking on a topic of interest to the business community. Each session is paired with good food and coffee, and time to connect with other local business owners and leaders before the workday begins.
Food and drinks can be ordered in advance at the time of registration, or on the day. Buy your own breakfast. No charge to attend.
Choose your breakfast from FRANK.’s delicious menu — pre-order (recommended) or order on the day.📋 Pre-orders: Let us know your food and drink choices in the booking form – drink and food☕ Please note: Food and drinks are at your own cost.
Check out the menu here
Whether you’re growing your network, swapping ideas, or simply enjoying a relaxed start with like-minded local businesspeople, this is your place at the table.
Voice of Business – Guest Speaker
Real people. Real businesses. Real experience.
Each month at Business for Breakfast, we shine a spotlight on local business leaders who share their stories, insights, and lessons learned from real-world experience. Our Voice of Business speakers bring practical tips, personal stories, and inspiration you can take back to your own business.
Coming along? Give us a heads-up so we can save you a seat — and start your day with good food, good company, and great conversation.

Unleashing a Productivity Mindset: Manufacturing & Product-based Businesses
2026-03-12 09:00 - 11:00 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
Improving Productivity through Continuous Improvement
This two-hour training session provides a practical introduction to continuous improvement for manufacturing and product-based organisations. It helps teams step back, look critically at how work is done, and identify opportunities to improve performance through small, practical changes.
Continuous improvement is not limited to managers or specialists. It is a shared approach that enables people at all levels to contribute to better ways of working, every day.
What Participants Will Gain
Participants will leave with:

A clear understanding of continuous improvement principles
The ability to identify problems, inefficiencies, and opportunities
Practical tools to support meaningful and sustainable change

What the Session Covers
Lean and Continuous ImprovementAn overview of the two approaches, why businesses invest in them, and the outcomes they support.
Four Key Steps to Better PerformanceA simple, proven framework for improving processes and productivity.
Leadership and Team CultureHow effective leaders enable improvement, and how to build a culture where improvement is part of everyday work.
AI and the Future of ImprovementAn introduction to how current AI tools can support smarter, more efficient ways of working.
Who Should Attend
This session is suitable for all team members and leaders, from the factory floor through to management. It is ideal for organisations that are:

New to continuous improvement
Looking to refresh or strengthen existing knowledge
Seeking practical ways to improve how teams work together

We recommend multiple people from the same organisation attend. Shared learning helps embed the mindset, create a common language, and support progress back in the workplace.
At a Glance

Duration: 2 hours
Format: Interactive and practical
Audience: Manufacturing and product-based teams and leaders
Outcome: A motivated team equipped to identify, solve, and improve
Cost: No charge to attend
Booking: Essential — places are limited

Unleashing a Productivity Mindset: Offices and Service-based Businesses
2026-03-12 13:00 - 15:00 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
Improving Service Performance through Continuous Improvement
This two-hour training session provides a practical introduction to continuous improvement for service-based organisations. It helps teams step back, look objectively at how work is done, and identify opportunities to improve productivity, service quality, and customer experience through small, practical changes.
Continuous improvement is not limited to managers or specialists. It is a shared approach that enables people at all levels to contribute to better ways of working, every day.
What Participants Will Gain
Participants will leave with:

A clear understanding of continuous improvement principles
The ability to identify issues, inefficiencies, and opportunities in service delivery
Practical tools to support meaningful and sustainable improvement

What the Session Covers
Lean and Continuous ImprovementAn overview of the two approaches, why service organisations invest in them, and the outcomes they support.
Four Key Steps to Better PerformanceA simple, proven framework for improving service flow, reducing friction, and lifting efficiency.
Leadership and Team CultureHow effective leaders support improvement, and how to build a culture where everyone contributes to better outcomes.
AI and the Future of ImprovementAn introduction to how current AI tools can enhance service delivery, streamline processes, and support smarter ways of working.
Who Should Attend
This session is suitable for all team members and leaders, from frontline staff through to management. It is ideal for organisations that are:

New to continuous improvement
Looking to refresh or strengthen existing knowledge
Seeking practical ways to improve service delivery and consistency

We recommend multiple people from the same organisation attend. Shared learning supports a common language, strengthens understanding, and makes it easier to embed improvement back in the workplace.
At a Glance

Duration: 2 hours
Format: Interactive and practical
Audience: Service-based teams and leaders
Outcome: A motivated team equipped to identify, solve, and improve
Cost: No charge to attend
Booking: Essential — places are limited

Mindset to Method: Continuous Improvement Workshop
2026-03-13 09:00 - 15:00 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
NOTE: NEW DATE 13 March 2026
Continuous Improvement Training: Process Mapping, Root Cause Analysis and Problem Solving
This full-day training session provides a practical introduction to the core tools and mindset of continuous improvement, delivered through a hands-on simulation. Participants learn key improvement techniques and apply them directly within a simulated process, reinforcing learning through practice.
The session is designed for those who have not previously attended Business Whanganui’s continuous improvement workshops. It brings together all essential content from earlier sessions into one comprehensive programme, with the added benefit of simulation-based learning.
A Shared Learning Requirement
To support effective adoption back in the workplace, participants must not attend as the sole representative of their organisation. At least one other person from the same organisation must have either attended previous training or be attending this session. Shared understanding is critical to embedding continuous improvement practices and sustaining momentum.
What the Session Covers
This training focuses on the foundational elements of a successful continuous improvement approach, including:

Understanding the continuous improvement mindset
Process mapping to make work visible
Root cause analysis to identify what is really driving issues
Practical problem-solving techniques

A strong emphasis is placed on customer thinking and on improving how problems are framed and communicated — particularly when raising issues with leaders. This helps ensure improvement conversations are constructive, clear, and solution-focused.
Outcomes for Participants
Participants will leave with:

A clear understanding of their role in continuous improvement
The confidence to contribute to improvement initiatives led by others
Practical capability to analyse process performance and identify improvement opportunities

At a Glance

Duration: 6 hours (morning and lunch breaks included)
Format: Interactive and practical
Audience: All inclusive manufacturing, product, office and service-based teams and leaders
Outcome: A motivated team equipped to identify, solve, and improve
Cost: No charge to attend
Booking: Essential — places are limited

Funding
This session is fully funded through the Productive Whanganui partnership with Whanganui District Council.

Business Whanganui Book Club
2026-03-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
About Book Club:
Book Club for Business is a relaxed, facilitated space for business owners and leaders who value connection, ideas, and thoughtful conversation.
Shaped by member feedback, the Book Club runs a light structure that supports inclusive, purposeful discussion while keeping the focus on books, ideas, and meaningful conversation.
Sessions are theme-led rather than book-led. We explore one theme at a time, drawn from topic areas such as Leadership, Strategy, Customers, and Workforce, using a range of ideas, readings, and perspectives to prompt discussion.
Reading is always optional. There’s no set text and no expectation to prepare. What matters is showing up, listening, and engaging in a respectful, well-facilitated conversation with peers who understand the realities of business.
If you value time to step back from the day-to-day and think alongside others, the Book Club will be a good fit.
What to expect:

Theme-led discussions, not a single set book
Light facilitation to ensure everyone has a voice
Optional reading — no homework pressure
A focus on ideas, perspective, and conversation

Book Club is a good fit if you:

Enjoy thinking about leadership and business beyond the day-to-day
Value discussion, listening, and learning from peers
Like structure without formality
Want ideas and perspective rather than problem-solving

If you’re after space to pause, reflect, and engage in good conversation with other business people, you’ll feel comfortable here.
It may not be for you if you’re looking for:

A mentoring programme
Hands-on business troubleshooting
A purely operational or technical session

Contact us for more information about this type of business support
Time and date:
Meets monthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 10.00am-11.00am (1-hour)
Where:
Note: the venue for the February meeting is FRANK. 60 Ridgway Street, Whanganui.
Subsequent sessions will be held at Business Whanganui, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui (limited parking in the Courtyard, otherwise on-street parking please)
Register:
To join book club or sign up for book club updates, register below.

Attendance is complimentary and included as part of Business Whanganui membership.

Business for Breakfast
2026-04-14 07:00 - 08:30 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
Join us at Business for Breakfast — where the coffee, food, and company are all excellent. Whether you’re new to the business community or a familiar face, this is your chance to connect, share ideas, and build meaningful relationships.
Bring your business cards and make the most of the opportunity to connect with others and share what your business has to offer.
Choose your breakfast from FRANK.’s delicious menu — pre-order (recommended) or order on the day.📋 Pre-orders: Let us know your food and drink choices in the booking form – drink and food☕ Please note: Food and drinks are at your own cost.
Check out the menu here
Whether you’re growing your network, swapping ideas, or simply enjoying a relaxed start with like-minded local businesspeople, this is your place at the table.
Voice of Business – Guest Speaker
Real people. Real businesses. Real experience.
Each month at Business for Breakfast, we shine a spotlight on local business leaders who share their stories, insights, and lessons learned from real-world experience. Our Voice of Business speakers bring practical tips, personal stories, and inspiration you can take back to your own business.
Coming along? Give us a heads-up so we can save you a seat — and start your day with good food, good company, and great conversation.

Safer Business Forum Q2 2026
2026-05-18 17:30 - 19:00

Safer Business Forum Q3 2026
2026-08-17 17:30 - 19:00 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand

Safer Business Forum Q4 2026
2026-11-16 17:30 - 19:00 | Business Whanganui – Chamber of Commerce, 139 Guyton Street, Whanganui, 4501, New Zealand
