Proving life is what you make it, I walked into a local restaurant over the holidays.

It's Italian and very good, and they have a new owner.

Who was this person, I inquired?

He came from hospitality, had worked in the city, but he and a mate had decided to, as he put it, take a punt. "It's better to be an owner than work for someone," he said.

I immediately admired him.

The restaurant had been put up for sale because it wasn’t making any money.

That's a familiar story in hospitality and yet I can tell you why this place hadn't made any money.

It was because it was only open five days a week. For dinner. For limited hours.

The first thing our new owner did was open seven days a week and open for lunches.

He even opened on Christmas day and did 20 covers on short notice.

By the time we left town he was more than happy with how things were humming.

So, is hospitality in trouble, or are there too many owners who don’t want to do the work?

Over the holidays I noticed too many people who weren't open, or weren't open long enough, then the cafes that close at 4pm and when you walk in at 3.40pm they say "sorry, the kitchen is closed".

Sorry, the sign on the door says, we are having a well-earned break. "Back on the 3rd of January", or the 6th of January or whenever. This was in tourist country and, let's be honest, I thought all of New Zealand was supposed to be tourist country.

So how much pain is real and how much of life is made harder simply by not trying hard enough?

Is David Seymour right? There are two camps these days - the change makers and the ones who sort of open, but not really, then wonder why things are a bit slow.

Our mate at the restaurant, my bet is, will make a good go of it because he is invested and he is determined and he did a couple of simple things the others could have done but didn’t, so they had to bail.

Winners and losers. Most of it is about choice.

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New Zealand remains in the dark about Donald Trump's tariff plan, as new data shows the US has overtaken Australia as our second largest destination for exported goods.

Business NZ Advocacy Director Catherine Beard told Andrew Dickens blanket tariffs wouldn't have the same impact as targeted tariffs.

She says it would mean the cost will be passed on to the US consumer rather than having to be absorbed by exporters, and we would still be competitive against other markets.

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FIRST WITH YESTERDAY'S NEWS (highlights from Thursday on Newstalk ZB) Why Else Would They Turn Away Business/How To Succeed In Business/Mark the Week/Cheating Old Musk/Coffee Isn't Going Anywhere

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There's been plenty of volatility in the tech market this week off the back of the recent DeepSeek fiasco.

Despite things picking up after this week's crash, experts are still wondering what's set to happen next.

Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds explains further.

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Kāinga Ora has announced it will allow wool carpet providers the chance to tender for supply of carpet and underlay in its homes.

The agency has spent the last few years using nylon carpets - citing durability and cheaper prices.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explains further.

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The US Federal Reserve has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, due to stubbornly high inflation.

US President Donald Trump has voiced his disapproval with this move and accused the central bank of mishandling the economy.

NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann unpacks this result - and explains why it's unsurprising rates were left on hold.

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Growing demand for burger meat has super-charged New Zealand's exports to the United States.

The US has recently overtaken Australia as New Zealand’s second-largest export market last year, according to new Stats NZ data.

ANZ economist Henry Russell says this is good news for New Zealand's beef industry, which has been hit hard by decreased demand from China.

"The US market has actually overtaken China for meat exports in the past year, so that's a very positive story in the sense that we've been able to pivot away from that market."

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Experts are warning things are set to get 'very scary' for New Zealand's coffee and café industry.

Global supply chain disruptions and worsening climate conditions have been driving up production costs - and one leading presence in the coffee world warns that these costs will be passed on to businesses.

New reports show the average green coffee price had lifted from $3.76 a kilogram in 2020 to $10.18 a kilogram in 2024 and was at $13.97 so far in January.

Richard Corney, the managing director of Flight Coffee, says consumers will need to be prepared to cover these costs.

"We're looking at some pretty significant reductions in growth margins or operating profit for coffee roasters, and the fact of the matter is - they cannot afford to wear those costs and they will need to pass them on."

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