Event Reports
10 days event

Christchurch

Helping people startup and make money doing what they love

Event Overview

People
66
Active attendees (3+ days)
76
Show-ups
Out of 68 Sign-ups
Average at Rebel events
Days
8.4
Average days attended
Out of 10 day course
Average at Rebel events

Where did people come from

For 10 days the Rebel Business School ran at , Salvation Army Corps
to help people start businesses and make their own money doing what they love.

Who came to the event

28%
72%
27.6%
71.9%
0.5%
Average at Rebel events
Male
Female
Other

Event promotion

A huge amount of effort and work with our partners went into promoting the event and getting the message out to Christchurch and the surrounding areas.

How did people hear about us?

12%
11%
10%
x9%
x8%
x5%
x3%
x2%
Facebook
Community group
Growth Advisor at Regional Business Partners
Ministry of Social Development
Word of mouth
Friends/family
Eventbrite
ChristchurchNZ
Radio
Start-Me-Up
Work and Income
Business Mentors NZ
The Networkers
Health navigator
Eventfinda
Te Puni Kokiri
Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce
Ministry of Ethnic Affairs

Attendance

This Rebel event had a variety of different workshops over the days we were there. But how long on average did participants stay for?

Average show-up

On average, we had 57 participants each day of the Rebel Business School course, most attended every day with some dipping in and out.
75%
25%

People stayed for

8.4
out of
10
active days
day course
84%
16%
% of our active attendees per each of 10 course days.

Employment status

32% of the people who came along to the event told us they were unemployed at the time the event started.

There was a high number (35%) of self-employed people who came to the event.

32%
Unemployed
35%
Self-employed
8%
Full-time employed
17%
Part-time employed
8%
Other: Volunteer - 5%, Student - 3%

Start-ups & Sales

One of the key points on an entrepreneurs journey is the first sale. The first time you hold that $10 profit in your hand. This can turn out to be the catalyst that drives you forward to build your business.

We do everything we can to help people reach their first sale with 8% achieving this during the course!

+ 58% almost ready & 34% traded before
incl. 9% Māori businesses
incl. 33% during Trade Show

Business structure

32%
6%
47%
15%
58.2%
18.6%
5.6%
1.3%
16.3%
Average at Rebel events
Sole Trader
Company
Partnership
Charity
Yet to be decided

Types of businesses created

3.8%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
1.9%
Manufacturing
1.9%
Construction
9.4%
Retail trade
7.5%
Information media and telecommunications
3.8%
Financial, admin and insurance Services
5.7%
Professional, scientific and technical services
1.9%
Administration
1.9%
Craft business
5.7%
Food services
17%
Education and training
9.4%
Health care and social assistance
13.2%
Arts, entertainment and recreations
5.7%
Human health and social work
1.9%
Pet care
1.9%
Professional cleaning services
1.9%
Digital design/ technology/ IT
1.9%
Language industry

Impact on capabilities

At the Rebel Business School we track four main figures for people before and after the event. We ask people to rate where they are on a scale of 1-10.

COVID-19 impact

14%
20%
27%
12%
8%
19%
Being your own boss
Sensing opportunity in the market post COVID-19
The chance to be financially independent
Helped to crystallize my business idea
Seeing how New Zealand had responded to COVID-19 gave the confidence to give it a go
Other

Websites

Here are samples of the websites that were built, launched and developed over the course.

It is amazing how having a website so quickly helps people to feel that their business is more real.

15%
9%
17%
55%
4%
14%
25.3%
51.6%
9.1%
Average at Rebel events
Published before
Improved during
Launched during
Soon to launch
Not building

Business support

Connecting attendees to the local business ecosystem

At the Rebel Business School Aotearoa we make sure new businesses stay connected by providing awareness of business network support in specific areas as needed. These connections are all about enabling business sustainability. Being aware of the Bookkeepers Assn NZ or Business Mentors NZ, for example, can provide business input allowing the business to strengthen its foundations and/or its direction.

Daily Speakers

Economic development

Why does ChristchurchNZ value economic development and business support and growth?

ChristchurchNZ’s statement of intent states that we work with industry and other partners to support businesses to improve their resilience, sustainability and ultimately their competitiveness at any stage of their operation and growth. A key focus will be to support businesses starting up, surviving and retaining jobs. The delivery of Rebel Business School in Ōtautahi is one project that supports these regional intentions.

Small Business is the backbone of Aotearoa and is the first step in the journey to create Frontier Firms, both knowledge intensive and not. ChristchurchNZ has a range of small business supports including support of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, Innovation Challenges, Start Me Up! With MSD, Hosting Business Mentors and others including Rebel Business School.

Rebel Business School is delivering to ChristchurchNZ’s intent to support non-knowledge intensive start-ups from the moms, dads and others with a good idea. Supporting this cohort is often overlooked, and RBS’s commitment to the market is admirable.

Some statistical breakdowns of the Canterbury economy

In 2021, there are just over 74,000 businesses in the Canterbury region, up from 73,119 in 2019.

  • 20% of businesses fall under the Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services sector,
  • 12.8% of businesses fall under the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector,
  • 12.6% of businesses fall under the Construction sector,
  • 9.4 per cent of businesses fall under the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services sector.

The unemployment rate in Canterbury in the September 2021 quarter is 3.4%.

In 2020, Canterbury’s contribution to national GDP was $39.9B, which represents 12.4 per cent of contribution to national GDP.

Attendees’ feedback

We asked the participants what their Lightbulb moments were at the event. Also they left the messages for our partners and assessed our team’s efforts.