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Franchise New Zealand Summer 2025 Year 33 Issue 04
cabins. In the South Island, double glazing is installed to increase
winter and summer comfort, and air con/heating cabins are also
available for hire.”
Full time, semi-retirement or side hustle
“Currently, there are 73 cabins spread over our southern territories. All
are on our minimum six-month lease at around $85, and up to $185
per week for the 2.4m x 4.8m Mizin cabin. Territory investment is from
$275,000+gst, which includes 10 cabins and the custom-built, remote-
control trailer that makes delivery, site set-
up and pick-up a breeze, plus also admin
and accounting training.”
Whitney adds, “If you share our family
values and, whether as a full-time, semi-
retirement business or side hustle, you can
appreciate the huge semi-passive income
potential of Mizin Cabin Hire, we want you
to call us to chat.”
t could be the storyline for a romance novel: Aussie boy meets Kiwi
girl. Boy eventually asks girl out. Love grows. With girl, boy returns
to Australia. Girl gets call to please come home with her now fiancé to
work in the family business. Girl and fiancé learn a lot and buy the South
Island arm of the family business. Covid curtails wedding, three times.
The couple welcomes Harvey, three, into the world, and Austin, six
months ago. And that’s just the beginning of the story.
Boy – Cody McCallum and girl – Whitney Green are owners and vendors
of all South Island territories under the Mizin Cabin Hire franchise. Both
only recently turned 30.
“In 2015, my mum, Mary, and dad, Gordon, used their many years of
business experience to identify and then launch Mizin Cabin Hire to
fill a large gap in the affordable accommodation and temporary space
sectors,” explains Whitney.
“High demand changed their plan to manufacture and hire out a total
of 100 cabins initially, as a way of topping up their pension fund.
Competitive benefits such as construction quality (certified compliant
with NZ Healthy Homes Standards) and living comfort contributed
to making Mizin a popular choice. We’re also a WINZ-approved
accommodation provider” says Whitney.
“In 2019, about six months after Cody whisked me off to Australia to
work in the accounts side of the earthmoving company that had brought
him to the Wellington Transmission Gully, Mum and Dad asked us to help
with restructuring Mizin Cabin Hire as a franchise system.
“It was an offer we couldn’t refuse. Just as I couldn’t refuse a date with
Cody once he’d spent six months plucking up courage to ask me out.
One date. Surely that won’t interfere with my OE plans, I’d thought? How
wrong I was!”
Fair and sustainable franchise model
Professional consultants at The Franchise Coach helped create a fair
and sustainable franchise model to give Mizin Cabin Hire franchisees
a comprehensive package. This includes online and on-site training,
ongoing support, and tools for routine maintenance. Mizin Cabin Hire
also became a member of the Franchise Association of New Zealand and
the Hire Industry Association of NZ.
Mizin’s franchisor credentials were further strengthened by winning the
Hire Industry Association of NZ 2023 Hire Company of the Year in the up-
to-$2.5 million turnover category. It also received a HIANZ Merit Award
for Innovation and Technology.
“My experience with heavy machinery was put to good use in areas such
as cabin construction and routine maintenance,” says Cody. “Whitney
was doing a great job in admin and franchisee recruitment, with Mary
providing franchisee support.
“By 2021, there were 350 Mizin Cabins out there, mostly in the North
Island. That number is now closer to 800. With Whitney keen to relocate
to Christchurch, where she and Mary were born, we negotiated to buy the
eight South Island territories and are now looking to sell them on to the
right buyers. To give franchises equal opportunity, these territories are
based on population.
“Our growth strategy is to maximise the appeal of Mizin franchise
territories by establishing regular hire customers. Already, near
Cromwell, a large packing house is a regular customer. While, over recent
seasons, NZSki have been accommodating many Mount Hutt staff in our
South Island the focus for industry
leading Mizin Cabin Hire.
CABIN
FEVER!
Opportunity: Home & Building
Mizin
www.mizin.nz
Contact
Gordon Green
0274 373 441
gordon.green@mizin.nz
Advertiser Info
Mizin Cabin Hire
couple Whitney Green
and Cody McCallum