Isaac Gommers

DESCRIBE A TYPICAL DAY AT (OR OUT OF) THE OFFICE

I wake early to clear my emails. And then I’m on the road – meeting customers, on the phone, in a café or heading into the Auckland office to work with the team, then back to the home office in the afternoon to tidy up and prep for the next day.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB?

Seeing a customer ‘click’ after offering some advice. It’s great to see their perspective change, then their behaviours and decision making as a result. And then seeing those changes lead to better profits, which in turn improve their lives in some real way (like less financial stress, more time with family etc).

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO RIGHTWAY?

It was a toss-up between starting my own business from scratch, or joining a team of people who were already heading in the right direction. In the end, I chose RightWay, as it meant I could get out from behind the desk and in front of customers more often – to discuss the real issues and the things that matter (instead of just talking tax).

DESCRIBE A TIME WHEN YOUR ADVICE AND SUPPORT REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE FOR A CUSTOMER

A recent example is a customer in a high-end industry under pressure from cheaper alternatives offshore. They’d been running at a small loss for the last few years. When we started talking, they had no clarity on where the money was going, what was going wrong, what their strategy should be, or how to improve their cash flow. Through a few meetings and some forecasting work, we came up with a short-term financial plan that they are working towards. There are still challenges ahead for the customer, but having a road map has taken away some of their stress.

PRESUMING LOVED ONES AND PETS ARE SAFE, WHAT THREE THINGS WOULD YOU SAVE FROM A HOUSE FIRE?

My phone, computer, and some pants to preserve my dignity.

YOU'RE THROWING THE ULTIMATE DINNER PARTY. WHAT'S ON THE TABLE, AND WHO'S ON THE CHAIRS?

Jesus, Muhammad, and Buddha - over a couple of hours, pretty sure the four of us could sort it all out.

WHAT IS THE BEST PIECE OF BUSINESS OR LIFE ADVICE YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN?

You can never get around what you've got to go through.