“You know, the IRD's not as scary as you think they are,” says Stefan Sinclair, 35, owner of Two Hands Tattoo in Auckland.
When he started the parlour in 2005 he “just wanted to make art and hopefully stay on top of the bills”. But he says "I love [running a business] now, it’s actually one of my favourite parts of it".
Stefan says it’s been important to start small and build from the ground up. It’s given him a stable base to invest in other businesses.
Last year he opened Flash City, a barbershop and tattoo parlour that specialises in predesigned tattoos, next to Two Hands on Ponsonby Rd.
Stefan says he has plans to create more businesses and currently he's working on a food project.
An International Finance Corporation/World Bank survey in 2012 rated New Zealand as the easiest country in the world to start a business.
“Just do it with like a punk attitude you know, like just do what you love doing and if you're really passionate about it, it should work out, if you haven't thrown your whole life savings and your family's house into it, then you know, it'll work out,” Stefan says.
Video shot by Luke McPake and edited by Aleyna Martinez.
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