George Deans: Running two companies while earning a Massey degree

“When the hours went over 90 hours a week, I realised something had to give.”

For George Deans, earning a business degree in accounting from Massey University was never going to be a straightforward journey. While studying online, he was simultaneously managing family life, working up to 30 hours a week and running two companies.

Rather than giving up, George learned the importance of balance, determination and pacing himself, lessons that ultimately helped him cross the graduation stage with pride.

Originally from Darfield, a small rural town west of Christchurch, George chose to study through Massey’s distance learning programme while continuing to work and manage multiple businesses.

“Before enrolling, I did quite a bit of research and decided Massey had the best business school options at the time,” he says.

Studying online gave George the flexibility he needed to work and run two businesses at the same time.

“It was always going to be an online experience, and it worked well.”

However, balancing study, business and family commitments came with challenges. Early in his degree, George quickly realised the workload needed to be manageable.

“In the first two semesters, I tried doing four papers each semester, but when the hours went over 90 hours a week, I realised something had to give.”

He adjusted his workload to two papers per semester, extending his degree over four years while maintaining balance across all areas of life.

“I think you can’t overdo it. You need to be realistic about the level of performance you want, especially when you’ve also got family life and business life happening at the same time.”

Graduation day was a meaningful moment for George, who says the ceremony highlighted not only his own achievement, but the sacrifices and determination shared by fellow graduates around him.

“It really comes home to you that you’ve achieved something that gives you a lot of options going forward. When you see everybody else here and realise what some people have sacrificed to get to this point, it’s a special day. Everyone has a story.”

Now, George is already putting his qualification into action. Having always been self-employed, he has launched a new business focused on certifying and auditing farm environmental plans.

“With all the water management changes happening in agriculture at the moment, there’s going to be a real need for assurance and auditing work in that space,” he says.