Aman
I moved here as a student initially, so I’ve done my post graduate diploma in Business Management here. In India, I did a Bachelor’s in Commerce. The whole time in New Zealand, it’s always been on my mind to start something of my own. I wanted to start a business.
I’m very lucky that I was born in a family where they supported me. My father showed confidence in me when he decided to send me over to New Zealand for study.
Back in 2011 after the earthquakes, I was living in Tauranga. I always want to go to a place where I can see more opportunities, that’s why I’ve decided to move to Christchurch. I think that’s one of the best decisions I ever made. When I picked Christchurch, I considered a lot of different factors, like raising a young family. I have experienced a lot of good things, like the people are welcoming and really friendly.
When you live in a society, I think it’s everyone’s duty to give back. For example, when I came here, I was in my twenties, I learned a lot of different things. I’ve seen Christchurch rebuild after the earthquakes. All these things encourage me to do business for my family. I took over the Nottingham Convenience store in September 2024.
I’ve worked in hospitality, worked in retail, and worked in other jobs too. I’m a social person. I feel comfortable while I’m around people. I feel whenever I’m talking to someone, I just feel like I’m connected. For example, if I ask someone ‘how is your day going?’ Sometimes the person is going through a rough patch in their life. Unfortunately, some people don’t have anyone to share with. That one slight word of confidence can change their whole day and their mood.
There are a lot of families around in the community. They trust in us. I’ve got a lot of customers of different age groups. There’s kids, there’s adults. There are old age people (I call them experienced people). I always treat everyone with respect, I don’t like to talk about negative things, life is too short.
Like any any small business, you definitely need the support of the locals to make it successful, I’m very thankful and very grateful to the locals for this support”