Born in Sydney, raised in the Barossa Valley, Tom has always been interested in
helping people. It underpins his involvement in community, social networking
and business development.
Tom graduated from Flinders University in South Australia, with a double major
in Sociology. Afterwards Tom worked in local government. This was followed by
period in advertising examining the broad trends impacting on consumers and
clients' advertising strategies.
Tom was raised in a community where "Work Hard and You Shall Achieve it" was
the mantra of his community. He is fascinated with small business. His father
was self-employed. Not surprisingly he formed his own consultancy, Business
Research and Development, and consulted to government departments, local
development agencies and private enterprise. Small business i.e. micro
enterprise and its development became his focus in local and regional economic
development contexts.
When he moved to NZ in 1995, he established his own consultancy and continued
to assist small enterprises with planning, marketing and growth strategies. He
became the Manager of the East Coast Business Development Board and after that
retained a strong involvement in the delivery of the BIZ programme before
becoming a lecturer in small business management at the Open Polytechnic. He
returned to South Australia with his family in 2008.
Tom is an excellent mentor. Personable and knowledgeable he is well liked and
respected by his clients. He brings considerable management experience,
especially social connectivity, lateral thinking and practical business skills
to his clients. As in all things he takes on Tom has embraced mentoring with
enthusiasm and commitment and his knowledge has been particularly valuable for
various clients seeking his help.
Tom Laing
