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In these days when you can hardly sneeze without resource consent and it requires a billion forms just to get permission to do anything -- are we truly over-regulated?

Is it somewhat paradoxical that, while Telecom is free to plunder the DSL market, seemingly without fear of any form of official intervention, the average Kiwi is mired in an ever-increasing sea of rules and regulations that affect almost every aspect of their lives?

And most of us in the IT industry are not exempted either.

Want to export hard encryption software? Well you'll probably have to fill out a raft of forms and beg for permission.

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In fact, if you want to export *anything* you'll be faced with a potential mountain of paperwork. Now isn't that an incentive to all our budding entrepreneurs looking to give a boost to our balance of payments?

And what about all the other ridiculous rules and regulations that cover things seemingly as simple as employing someone. It's no wonder that contracting is still a popular way to hire programming resource -- have you seen the onerous liabilities associated with taking on an employee these days?

So just how much work is it for a kitchen-table entrepreneur to start up a little enterprise and make some money?

The government claims that NZ is one of the easiest countries in the world in which to start a business, and I strongly suspect that this might be true.

However, the problem isn't so much as setting up a business as it is in wading through the masses of ancillary bureaucracy and regulation.

IRD, ACC, OSH, Statistics NZ, Customs, MAF, local and regional Councils, the Commerce Commission, the Companies Office, the Department of Labour, GCSB, the Human Rights Commission, the office of the Privacy Commissioner, etc, etc; all of these different departments oversee or enforce a raft of regulations that may affect any business.

It is clearly impractical for any new entrant into the self-employment market to familiarise themselves with all these rules and red tape. What's worse is the fact that ignorance is no defence, should you fall foul of the multitude of laws and regulations that may apply to your activities.

Obviously most of these rules and regulations re in place for a reason and it would be folly to claim that they should all be abolished in the name of small business -- but couldn't government come to the party a little and provide some single point of help?

Here's an idea -- why not create a business support department (yes, more bureaucrats I'm afraid) which will allocate a consultant (for a period of say 12 months) to all new business startups that request one.

This consultant could provide advice, assistance and help decipher the masses of legalese and hogwash that most laws are wrapped up in.

Most of those who start new businesses are pretty good at their chosen field, but few are experts in the areas of tax-collecting, accounting, law, labour relations, environmental impact, or the raft of other disciplines that the government expects new businesses to undertake.

Instead of handing out technology grants to those who are best able to fill out forms and "spin" a business case -- why not put some of that money into helping the self-employed meed the burden of compliance with the raft of regulations under which they must all operate.

Have you started your own business in recent years?

How easy or difficult have you found it?

Did you use a mentor? If so, who and how much help were they?

What advice would you give to others contemplating the same course?

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