Starting a business in New Zealand is more accessible than ever, especially with the right digital foundation. New Zealand is one of the few countries which makes starting a businesses alot easier, especially for first-time business owners. As of 2025, there are 612,417 businesses in New Zealand.
Whether you’re building an ecommerce store, a service-based brand, or a small business that needs a strong online presence, this guide walks you through each step, from various business structure types, to building a digital presence and even how to market your business.
At Sundeck Studio we help businesses across New Zealand launch with professional web design, custom development, and end-to-end ecommerce solutions. And yes, we offer free consultations NZ-wide.
Contents of this guide:
We will delve into the following topics:
- Business ideas to start in New Zealand, especially as a solo-owner
- How to start a business in New Zealand: Step-by-step including the differences being a Sole Trader vs LLC
- How to build your online presence with expert web design partnerships
- How to brief a New Zealand web design agency
- Digital marketing tips small business owners
- Small business accounting softwares that work in New Zealand
What is the best Small business to start in new Zealand
The second question that comes our mind after “how to start a small business in NZ” is which business exactly to start. It doesn’t have to be a high-end office or a multi billion dollar business idea. Many successful New Zealand entrepreneurs started from home, especially in creative industry, ecommerce and other digital fields.
Here are some of the most popular home-based businesses ideas among Kiwi and Aussies:
Copywriting and content writing
You can offer copywriting and content writing services to businesses that need help with their websites, blogs, or marketing materials. All you need is a laptop, solid writing skills, and a clear understanding of tone and audience. You can work from Rotorua, Queenstown, Bali or anywhere, set your own hours, and build a niche in industries you enjoy.
Market your services via social media and a small website. Further down this article we discuss more in detail on how to marketing for a small business
Voice-over artist
You can work as a voice-over artist from home with just a decent microphone, some soundproofing, and basic recording software. You’ll lend your voice to everything from ads and audiobooks to explainer videos and e-learning content. The demand is growing, especially with the rise in video content and podcasts.
In New Zealand and Australia, businesses are increasingly looking for local voices to connect with domestic audiences. According to industry data, Australian and Kiwi accents are considered trustworthy and relatable in regional marketing. Voice-over rates typically range from NZD $100–$500 per finished minute, depending on the project and experience.
You can target clients through platforms like Voices.com, Fiverr, or directly reach out to agencies and production houses looking for fresh voices.
Graphic designer
In New Zealand, creative industries contribute over $3.8 billion to the economy and demand for freelance designers in NZ continues to grow with the rise of startups and e-commerce. You can start graphic design services from home, offering logos, branding, social media content, or marketing materials.
Your business model doesn’t have to be limited to just New Zealand or Australia, you can work with clients anywhere, even as a Freelance graphic designer in New York while living in New Zealand.
Freelance web designer in New Zealand
If you have Figma and web design skills, you can offer Freelance Web Design in NZ, craft visually compelling and conversion-focused websites for small businesses.
As a freelance web designer in New Zealand, you’re tapping into a market where 97% of businesses are small and need a strong online presence. Whether you’re based in Auckland or working remotely with clients in Australia, demand for web design and development is strong, especially for small business websites and ecommerce.
Web developer in New Zealand
You can work as a freelance web developer in NZ, building websites, online stores, or custom platforms for clients. There’s strong demand for web design and web development services across New Zealand, especially from small businesses looking to grow online.
Whether you’re based in a major city or working remotely as an Auckland web developer, you can offer services like responsive website builds, ecommerce development, or ongoing maintenance, all from home, on your own schedule.
There are plenty of free web developer courses in New Zealand and online that you can benefit from to learn the web development skills.
Ecommerce business
Running an ecommerce business from home is one of the fastest ways to build something on your own terms. In New Zealand alone, online retail spending hit $6.07 billion in 2023, while Australia’s ecommerce market is expected to surpass $70 billion by 2025.
Whether it’s drop shipping, handmade products, Shopify store or curated goods, there’s room to carve out your niche. Set up a store, sort your logistics, and start building a brand that sells while you sleep.
Pro tip: Need help building your ecommerce website? Our New Zealand-based web design team offers free consultation to New Zealand businesses.
Business for sale NZ
You don't always have to reinvent the wheel. Perhaps if you can find a great business already established and has roots here, you can always buy an existing businesses.
There are always business for sale in nz. If you are wonrdering where to buy businesses in NZ, there are plenty of NZ Business brokers and websites where you can easily buy an existing business that's for sale in NZ.
How to start a business in New Zealand: Step-by-step
1. Choose a business idea
Pick something you’re good at and people want to pay for. If it solves a real problem, even better. Ideally a good business idea is an overlap between a solution and where your skills are.
2. Choose a business name
Use the ONECheck tool to check name availability across domains, social handles, and trademarks.
Very important: A lot of first time business owners get stuck here thinking what if their business name is not available as a domain or on social media, do you have to have the exact same business name across all social media channels?
The simple answer is: No you don’t. Check for other domain suffix such as .com, .net. co.nz
For example: we started Sundeck studio with a .studio domain suffix which is still our primary domain. For New Zealand we now also have .co.nz domain.
The same applies to social handles, you can add underscore, hyphen or other characters to get the handle closest to your business name.
3. Pick a business structure (Sole trader vs LLC)
What is better for small businesses, Sole trader vs LLC.
This depends on your business type and persional circumstances.
Decide whether to operate as a sole trader, company, or partnership. Use this tool: Choose your business structure or compare through the following pros and cons to understand the difference between NZ Sole Trader vs LLC
Sole Trader | LLC | |
Business setup cost | Easy to start with no registration fees, send invoices using your own name or your business name. Easy registration as a sole trader | Upfront registration fee to Companies office close to around $200 |
Legal identity | You and the business are the same | Separate legal entity so your business and personal assets are seperate |
Liability | Personal liability | Limited liability – personal assets protected |
Tax rate | Your Personal income tax rates apply | Fix company tax rate (28%) |
Tax benefit | If earning under a $100K | If earning above ~$120K per year |
GST registration | Required for revenue above $60,000 | Required for revenue above $60,000 |
Ongoing compliance | Minimal | Annual returns, company records required. Best to hire a tax accountant for this |
Business name protection | Not protected | Protected upon registration |
Pay tax on | Full earning (claim expenses later) | On earning minus business expenses |
We recommend to get advice from a professional accountant on which business type might suit you better. This table is not a business advice.
4. Do market research
Identify your audience, pricing, and competition. This helps define your brand and positioning. Look at the competitors and see decide on how will you make your service or product stand out.
5. Register your business
If you’re setting up a company, here are the simple steps:
- Register it at the Companies Office.
- While setting up the company you can also: Apply for an NZBN by following this link
- In parallel register at IRD to get your IRD number. The overall process should take about 2-3 business days.
Once you have an IRD number and a Company registeration number, next step is to register for GST, which is optional as far as your yearly revenue is under $60K.
6. Register for GST
Registering for GST is mandatory if you expect to earn over $60,000/year. Voluntary registration is also an option for expense tracking and credibility. This also gives you a GST number which you might require when making international purchase as a business.
7. Open a business bank account
Keep your business finances separate for easier tax filing and bookkeeping. Most NZ business bank accounts are easy to open. Some of the most common ones are ANZ, WestPac, Kiwibank among others.
What are the best banks in NZ for business?
Our experience: We also worked with Emerge as a new digital bank, for our Corporate bank account in NZ, the onbaording was easy but Emerge does not accept international payments as of yet. Later we went with ANZ, the overall process was about 3-4 business days including verifications.
8. Set up your business email and website
Get a domain (e.g. sundeckstudio.co.nz), a branded email (e.g. hello@sundeckstudio.co.nz), for a professional website. You don't have to buy a domain from a NZ based company and a domain can be purchased from anywhere that you get the best price from.
Working with a professional web design agency would mean that the team will help you with consultation on where and how to buy a domain.
Build your online presence with expert web design agency
A website isn’t just a digital business card, it’s your 24/7 sales tool. Partnering with the right web design agency will save you time, hidden costs, and get you a professional business website that converts not only looks pretty.
Web design for small businesses in New Zealand is one of our primary service where we help small businesses get the initial digital boost by offering:
- Web Design and web development for an on-brand website
- Understand your business goals and do a competitor analysis
- Make a SEO-optimised website so you rank well on Google
- Offer additional SEO services in New Zealand if you really want to over-take your competitors
- Include booking forms, ecommerce features, and lead generation tools
- Reflect your brand and build trust
- Free consultation (Book here)
- On-going and in-person (if you are in Auckland) support whenever you need
Ecommerce development in New Zealand
Selling online? You’ll need more than just a shopping cart and a standard website. An Ecommerce business requires more than just the website, it requires an inventory system, shipping integrations, payment integrations. For running Meta ads, additional approvals and much more. But it doesn't have to be overwhelming if you are new to Ecommerce business, we are always here to help Kiwi businesses like you with our consultation and support.
When getting your Ecommerce business website we need to ensure that the Ecommerce store is:
- Mobile-friendly and lightning-fast
- Supports secure payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal, Afterpay)
- Easy to manage so you can make changes as you need
- Convert visitors into buyers with well written copy, on-brand design and SEO optimisation
From Shopify to WooCommerce and custom builds, our Ecommerce development service in Auckland is about working closely with businesses across Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and beyond.
Web design for small businesses: How to brief your NZ web design agency
Clear briefs = better results.
Include the following:
- Your goals
- Must-have features
- Visual inspiration
- Budget and timeline
Remember, the better the brief the better the results. Avoid leaving anything to guessing game for the agency, instead help them help you.
We have prepared a complete free guide on How to brief a web designer or a web design agency even if it's your first time.
Digital marketing tips small business owners
Your business will only do as well as your marketing efforts. A great website won’t convert if nobody knows it exists.
Social media marketing
Choose one or two platforms your target audience actually uses, and show up consistently. Post real content — behind the scenes, product demos, client results. Use social proof and tell your story, not just sell.
Get a local SEO service in NZ
Search engine optimisation helps your website show up on Google when people search for your services. Focus on adding helpful, location-based content to your site.
Look for Keywords that users are looking for and use them where they naturally fit in content or blog posts.
Ideally, hire a local SEO service provider. A local SEO specialist in NZ will know of culture, locality, slangs, and general search behaviors of your NZ audience.
Tip: Save time searching across the internet for a SEO specialist and book a free chat with us. As part of our digital marketing services in NZ we offer SEO optimisation, keyword research and a lot more. If this interests you and you'd like a bit of help, checkout our digital marketing services including our SEO services in New Zealand or book a free chat.
Set up Google My Business profile
If you’re targeting local NZ customers, this is a must. It makes you show up on Google Maps and lets people see your reviews, hours, and website quickly. Make sure your info is up-to-date and ask happy clients to leave reviews.
Setting up Google my business is easy and free. If you need help with this, feel free to ring us or book a free 15 min session with one of our consultants.
Attend business networking events in NZ
Get in the room, not everything happens online. Attend business networking events in Auckland, Wellington, or wherever in NZ you live. If you live in any of the rural parts of cities where there are not many networking events, then opt for online events for NZ business professionals.
Events like Business North Harbour, BNI, or Startup Weekend help you meet potential clients or partners. Even one connection can lead to repeated work.
(P.S: If you run a New Zealand based networking event and would like to list it here for free, email us at hello@sundeck.studio)
Accounting softwares for small business accounting needs
Track income, expenses, and invoices from day one. Even if you are not making any profit yet, track your business expenses, setup an invoicing system and basic accounting functions.
Here are some most popular small business accounting apps that are widely used in NZ and across the world.
- Zoho Books - Affordable, offers free forever tier, globally recognised cloud-based and feature-rich - Free forever tier available or starts from $16.5
- Xero - Used by many businesses across NZ. - Starts from $35
- MYOB - Originally from Australia, widely advertised in NZ too - Starts from $27
- HNRY - Popular for sole traders and small businesses - 1% + GST or minimum fee of $0.50 + GST per payment <$50
Use data to make smarter business decisions.
Here is some interesting data and insights that may help you understand the trends shaping the industry
According to Business Demography Statistics, Statistics New Zealand, 2024, there are 612,417 businesses in New Zealand and 97% of them are small businesses. The definition of small business is a business having less than 20 employees. Only 6,360 of these businesses have 50 or more employees.
Small businesses dominate the rental, hiring, and real estate sector, making up nearly all businesses in the industry at 99.79%. Financial and insurance services follow closely, with 99.45% of businesses in that field classified as small.
Other useful resources you can thank us later for
- Business resources by the government (https://www.business.govt.nz/)
- Data for businesses (https://www.business.govt.nz/data-for-business)
