Taupō Local: So what is it, exactly?

A few months ago I left my job, not entirely sure what came next. I knew I wanted to get better at marketing and website design, and I wanted to learn AI, but I hadn’t quite worked out which direction to take.

Some of my best thinking happens when I’m out for a run, so that’s exactly what I did. I ran past The Steaming Bean, popped in for a quick chat, and it got me thinking. There really are such nice people out there. If you’ve been in, you’ll know what I mean when I say they’re just lovely. They all take a genuine interest and stop to chat, and I always see regulars in there having a good laugh with them. It made me think: there are so many good people in this town, and most of the time we don’t know their story. How they started. Why they do what they do.

Business goes up and down, and most local businesses have their quieter times. That’s when our support really matters, and when you know a bit about the people behind a business, you’re more likely to go that extra mile for them.

I’d been looking for a project to practise my skills on, and suddenly I had one worth doing. That’s how Taupō Local started.

So what is it, exactly? Taupō Local is a website and podcast (not because I love the sound of my voice, but to make it easier for you guys) that shares the stories behind the businesses, volunteers, and everyday people who make our town tick.

It’s not really a website for visitors to Taupō, although they’re more than welcome. It’s for locals. Maybe you’ve just moved here, or maybe you’ve been living under a rock for a while, like I have at different stages of my life. It’s about locals supporting locals. Do you know a good local tradie? I do; we recently had our driveway and fence done. Where’s a good place to eat? To be fair, I don’t eat out a heck of a lot, but when I do, I want it to be nice and good value.

Did you know there’s a local brewery? Of course you do, it’s no small enterprise. But what’s their story? And there’s a local gin maker too. I had a taste at the market; it was a little early in the day, but it’s pretty damn good. Have any of you tried the sauna in Kinloch? Why is it worth going all the way out there, and what makes it so different from your gym sauna? Who’s the man who picks up the litter around Taupō? We’ve all seen him. What drives this guy? He’s amazing, right? And whatever happened to the old Spa Hotel site on Spa Road? Apparently it used to be bustling; now it’s like a ghost town, quite freaky actually.

These are just a few of the things I’m planning to write and chat about.

From nervous to (mostly) confident

My very first real interview was with Blair from Taupō Timebank Community Gardens, and I was quite nervous. But I learned so much from that first one. He was really interesting, and once I got caught up in how he got started, I relaxed heaps. Since then I’ve sat down with business after business, and every conversation has taught me something. I’ve loved hearing each person’s reason for starting, and somewhere along the way I noticed the same threads running through them all.

Just start. Don’t take criticism personally. And more than anything, people want to bring back real human connection: to get us off our devices and into our community.

A few of my favourite things people have told me along the way:

When I asked Blair what he’d build with unlimited money, he pushed back on the question itself. “It would almost defeat the purpose if we had the money to do it that way,” he said. “It needs to be something that’s able to be done without a whole lot of money. That’s the whole point.”

Cath from Kids Bike Taupō, on what this work has taught her: “He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. It is the people, it is the people, it is the people.”

Jen and Sofia from Misfit Garden: “Everyone’s got a skill. It’s about figuring out their individual skills and using them to the best of their ability.”

Life at the dining table

These days, Taupō Local runs from my dining table. It’s not glamorous, but it’s where I get my work done, often before the kids are up or after they’ve gone to bed.

I’m a mum to two older kids, so Taupō Local fits in around school and everything else that comes with family life. I try to stay involved at school and get the kids outdoors as much as I can, especially in the holidays. These holidays alone we’ve done mini golf, fed the ducks, visited the library, played disc golf and hiked from Kinloch to Whakaipō with about 13 kids in tow. Next up is an overnight hike, staying in a hut. It’s busy, but a lot of what ends up on Taupō Local comes from exactly these kinds of days out.

I’d love to tell you I’ve got it all streamlined. I don’t, not yet. Right now everything is done by hand, and a lot of it is learning on the job. One day Facebook somehow created a random extra page through Meta, and I’m still not entirely sure how. Another day I spent a good few hours just trying to get my email talking to my mailing program.

Then there’s the podcast. The intro music I’d chosen was fine on other platforms, but not on Spotify. So if you’ve noticed the intro changing from episode to episode, that’s me still hunting for music I love that I’m actually allowed to use.

During one interview, I apologised for my photography, explaining I was a bit of a jack of all trades at the moment, trying to do everything myself. Jen from Misfit Garden stopped me straight away. Don’t apologise, she said; did you know there’s more to that saying? I had no idea. “Jack of all trades, master of none, but often better than a master of one.”

That’s stuck with me ever since. I’m very much a “do it and figure it out as I go” kind of person, which is probably why I love this project so much. Every hiccup teaches me something. And I’m so grateful to all the businesses who’ve come on board while I’m still working it all out. They supported the idea before it was polished, and that means a lot.

The funny thing about social media

I must admit, I’ve found social media pretty overwhelming. It’s so easy to lose hours scrolling, and in marketing there’s always pressure to come up with the next big thing. If I’m really honest, I don’t even like social media. I didn’t have it on my phone for ages. Now I catch myself on it far more than I’d like (for research, I tell myself), and I can totally see the damage it can do. I don’t love being part of it, but it’s necessary, so I’m trying not to get too caught up in it all. That probably means slower growth, and finding a space and a style I actually feel comfortable with has been one of the hardest parts of all this.

Here’s what keeps nagging at me. So many of the people I talk to are trying to get us off our screens and connecting face to face. But to help people find them, I need to share their stories, and the main way to do that is social media, the very thing that keeps us all scrolling.

It can feel a bit counterproductive, and I haven’t solved it. For now, I’m focused on reaching people organically and making Taupō Local somewhere you come back to because it’s genuinely useful, not just another thing to scroll past.

Where it’s headed

Taupō Local is still evolving, and honestly, so am I. I’m working out what you actually need and what you’re interested in: the stories, the podcast, where to take the kids on a rainy day, who’s a good local tradie. I really do want to hear what you’d like to see, and I’ll get to it all. At this stage I’m trying to cover a real range of stories, so it appeals not just to mums like me but to people like my husband, other dads, business owners, tradies, people of all ages. I haven’t quite won him over yet, but challenge accepted; I’m going to get there. This site will keep growing and changing as I learn what’s most helpful.

Over to you

So, do you know someone whose story deserves telling? A business, a volunteer, someone quietly doing something great around town? I’d love to hear about them. Get in touch

And next time you’re in one of these local spots, say hi. You might just hear a great story. After all, as Cath says, it is the people.