I started my first business at age 11 breeding and selling budgies to my local pet shop. I've lost count of the number of different jobs I've done from selling ice creams on the beach in Cape Town to guiding rafts down the Orange River in Namibia.

I moved to NZ in 1995 having spent a few years traveling around Europe and the USA. I think New Zealand is one of the best places in the world to start a business and the support network is fantastic.

I started Monty's Promotions in 1999 and registered as a limited company in 2003. Every day is different as we can be asked to source anything from custom branded wooden spoons to cow humping stickers (which in case you're wondering are a type of scratch and win sticker thing which go on the backs of cows so the farmers can tell which ones have been serviced by the bull which has been let loose to play the field).

Our product range covers pretty much anything we can put your company or team logo on like pens, bags, caps and clothing.

Since 2012 we have been running something we call our 1+1 Philosophy where we donate 1% of our turnover to charities chosen by our staff and 1% as staff bonuses. We've had fantastic feedback from our clients, staff and of course the charities that we support and would love to see more businesses engage in this sort of thing.

In 2009 I completed the Landmark Forum, Advanced and SELP course which has made a huge difference to the way I do business and my view of the world and that one person actually can make quite a difference in the world.

Since 2009 we have collected over 30000 knitted beanies for babies via a project I set up called "Beanies for Africa and NZ". We receive parcels from knitters around the country every week which we send off around the world via various travelers'. This has been a very rewarding project.

In 2010, I started The Foster Hope Charitable Trust. We now have 8 branches around NZ and rely on donated products and money from businesses and individuals to make packs to give to children going into foster care in New Zealand. We have a number of Facebook pages for both our national and local branches.

In 2016 I was honoured as an inaugural Denizen Hero for my charitable work.

I love my life and get a real kick out of giving back to my community.