Business Mentors New Zealand is the only independent national mentoring service to the small business sector in the country. Sarah Trotman was CEO for three years in the early 2000s and is back in the role for a second time. Trotman grew up in Wellington, where she attended St Michael's Primary School and St Mary's College, but moved with her family to Auckland when she was 18. She has lived ever since in the city of sails, where her roles have included director of business relations at Auckland University of Technology Business School, chair of AUT's Women on Campus group and a trustee of the Sir Peter Blake Trust and Leadership NZ. Now an elected local authority politician, she has two children, Tilly and Elliott. In the 2017 New Year royal honours, she was appointed an officer of the NZ Order of Merit.
When I was young, my father used to say to me, "Sarah, never take for granted the environment you've been born into." And when we were walking to primary school every morning, he would say, "Be nice to somebody who doesn't have any friends, and try your best."
Growing up, I never really had any grand ambitions, even when I left school at 15, which was interesting because I come from a family where education was very important. I've got four siblings, and they've all got double degrees. One sister is a world-leading haematologist and a professor. Another is a global CEO in the media industry based in Australia. I have never worked outside of NZ, and you'll never get me to. I'm NZ-born and bred, and I plan to stay here. I love it.
What made me leave school at 15? My mother. She was a school principal, and she said to me, "If you don't get school cert, you're leaving school." So I studied for about half an hour, and I got school cert, and I thought, I can cruise into sixth form. And then my mother said, "No, you're leaving. You're totally not cut out for the education system." And she was absolutely right – I learn in a very different way, as many young people do.
When I left school, I was basically the receptionist at a credit management company, and I ended up running the place. By 26, I had 30 staff and a multimillion-dollar turnover. What's interesting is I'd go to parties when I was 23, 24, and feel slightly embarrassed that I was a business owner.
When did that embarrassment go away? When I went to be the chief executive of Business Mentors. Suddenly, I learned there were 400,000 other business owners. As a country, we need to embrace entrepreneurship.
Earlier, when I was 18, I muttered to somebody very senior in the army that I might join the forces one day. He looked at me in the most scathing way and said I wouldn’t last five minutes. So, I joined the territorial army and the military police, and I was there for five or six years until they promoted me to acting sergeant, and I thought, well, this is getting a bit serious, so I left.
I went to a reunion recently, and my commanding officer asked me if I enjoyed my time in the army. I said no. "I'm not surprised," he said. "We always gave you the hard jobs because we knew you'd never give up. And if you didn't give up, the boys would never give up." It explained so much in hindsight. It was almost a sense of relief in him telling me that because I’d always thought, why was it so hard?
Sarah Trotman during her time in the territorial army. (Image: Supplied)
I'm the chief executive of Business Mentors again for a second time, and I'm also on Auckland council's Waitematā Local Board. And every day, somebody asks me, "Why do you do it?" And I say it’s my community service. I think more people with governance and professional skills need to be stepping up into political roles.
In 2021, I got arrested at a protest over the Western Springs forest project. An important point is that the day I was arrested, I sat on a digger to protect an elderly constituent who felt very strongly about the issue. I said to her, "You’ve got to come down. I want you to come down. Let's just get on with our day and do things the proper way." And she rightly pointed out that the proper way actually leaves communities disillusioned and on their knees. As I sat on that digger with her for about five hours, I came to learn the depth of passion that communities feel on issues, and they can feel immobilised because the council has all the money and all the power.
When I was arrested, I had a choice. I could have gotten off that digger and protected my professional reputation, or I could have done what was right and continued to protest the manipulation of my community. And I chose to do the latter.
I've been approached for the mayoral role a few times. I don't think I have the patience for it. Plus, getting arrested, put in a paddy wagon, and taken to Mt Eden Prison for processing is a walk in the park compared to a day in council.
My biggest business regret: sinking half a million dollars into an online offering, which was a complete dog. When an IP company gives you references, always ask for two more. If they give you two references they don't want to give you, that speaks volumes of their own credibility.
If I had a dollar for every time I've said to a business owner in start-up mode that it will take you three times as long and cost you three times as much as you expect… Entrepreneurs, by their very nature, are optimistic people, and that's a good thing. But they underestimate what they can achieve in the long term and they overestimate what they can achieve in the short term. The blood, sweat and tears it takes – it's not for the faint-hearted.
It sounds cheesy, but the best bit of business advice I've ever been given is to get a mentor – someone to walk alongside you, someone who's a sounding board. A lot of people speak to their friends and families who’ve never experienced a business and never had to ring a friend and say, "Mate, sorry I haven't chatted to you for the last year; I've been a bit heads-down in my business. Do you mind putting the payroll on your credit card?" Having someone who has empathy and a true understanding of what you're going through is incredibly important.
The worst piece of advice I’ve received? I haven't been given bad advice. I've been given advice I haven't taken.
As told to Ella Somers.
My Net Worth profiles may be edited for clarity.
