Many of us want to start the path to success but most of us stagnate and let fear dull our enthusiasm. These are some of the personal stories of those that have dared to dream and through the struggle have achieved and prospered.
Let these stories guide your own journey and give you the inspiration to carry on.
Back to the top
CHRIS MENE - THE ACTIVE ROOM
In just over a year, Christchurch businessman Chris Mene has successfully established two businesses.
The former police officer launched The Active Room last spring and the business is now gearing up for the winter season. At the same time he has taken Mene Solutions from being a sole trader consultancy operation to a partnership and now a limited liability company.
Mene Solutions works with government agencies, private companies and not-for-profits around community development and community engagement. More specifically, he helps businesses and agencies better respond to Pacific staff, clients and the wider Pacific community.
It is something Chris says is a very logical response to the growing Pacific population.
“The launch of the government’s Pacific Wave strategy in 1999 to reduce Pacific unemployment put the spotlight on the Pacific population. Government agencies started engaging better with Pacific people and now this awareness has extended to the private sector.
He says it is about businesses better understanding their employees’ clients and customers and their history and identity, particularly for mainstream organisations.
“The people operating at a strategic level are looking 5 – 20 years ahead and realise the Pacific population is growing, especially the youth population. We know the Pacific youth population bubble is following the general youth bubble so we know that 5 – 20 years from now a significant proportion of the 17 – 25 year old population is going to be of Pacific heritage.”
The needs for each client vary depending on factors like the area, for example in areas where there are larger Pacific populations more businesses are eager to respond and engage. It also depends on the business, industries like seafood, meat works and secondary manufacturing industries that involve a large Pacific work force are also now more aware, he says.
The analogy he uses to describe his journey to date is crawl, walk, jog then run. He has also had some really good business mentors, friends and colleagues who have helped him.
In 2003/4 he received a Social Entrepreneurs Grant, which enabled him to do a Diploma in Executive Management and he will complete his advanced diploma in July this year.
The journey started in April 2005 when he took unpaid leave from the police force to do a five-month contract.
“It was a baptism of fire, my apprenticeship. I was regularly on the phone to people saying ‘this is what I think I should be doing but what do you think’?”
He left the police force and on 30 March last year formed a business partnership with his wife so they could work from home.
Chris has attended some of the evening courses the Pacific Business Trust runs and has used the QUANTEL business tools for both the fitness centre and the consultancy.
He says the decision to start his own business was inspired by a deep desire to have flexibility and control for the sake of his family and to make the most effective change possible in his community.
”In Christchurch there are very few people who can work the way I am. It’s a niche market and I am currently working across a range of government agencies, private sector and not-for-profit organisations. This is a vibrant space to be working in and its very rewarding to be contributing in so many ways.”
“One of my mentors is Glen Senior who has a company that contracts to Microsoft. He is working on a global level with online and blended training and is doing something for small business that I would like to see happening for Pacific business. He is in mainstream and I’m working in the spaces in between and around the edges. I find it a really exciting place to be.”
Chris shares some of his lessons learnt
Listen and have an open mind: Ask the people who have been there and done that a lot of questions, and listen to the answers. It is the listening that is the hardest thing to do because you might have preconceived ideas about what you think the answers are or what you think you should be doing.
Read widely: This is a part of the nature of the work Chris is now doing and he is an avid reader. He also recommends talking books for those times when you are driving home in the car, doing a work out at the gym or when you get home from a long day and are exhausted, you can put a talking book on the CD player.
The biggest lesson learnt: “It’s OK to make mistakes. Just don’t do it again! Mistakes are lessons to be learned and always be open to learning. There is a Maori term “ako” that means the learner and teacher. It is respectful approach and a very Pacific way of living and it nurtures a love for life long learning.
Back to the top
JOHN OYAGAWA - OYAGAWA CATERING
There are not many caterers who specialise in bringing the flavours of the Pacific to functions large and small around Auckland. Fijian-born John Oyagawa is one of the few and has seized this niche opportunity and three years later he leads a team of six in his thriving catering company.
It’s a far cry from a degree in business and a career in banking - which is how he started out.
“All through my studies I had worked in hospitality to pay my way. I loved the energetic environment and being able to create something special and unique for customers.
It was this inspiration that prompted him to do a chef’s course at AUT after moving to Auckland aged 22.
“I always wanted to have my own business and control my own destiny – I just hadn’t decided in what. During my studies and after I finished my chef’s course I continued working in the industry but started focusing on catering. It just caught on really and I found myself getting busier and busier."
It was after doing a business start-up course at the Pacific Business Trust that John decided to specialise in Pacific food – which is currently around 50% of his business.
“A friend of mine told me about these courses and about the Pacific Business Trust and it was around that time I was thinking of starting a catering business. I found there was a definite gap in the market for a caterer who had specialist knowledge and a love of Pacific cuisine. I am passionate about the seafood, tropical flavours and fruits of the Pacific. Increasingly it has become easier to source the ingredients as the New Zealand population becomes more diverse and demand for the products has grown.”
His clients run the full spectrum – from providing the catering for large corporates such as the new Villa Maria Estate in Mangere to private functions.
John has developed a close working relationship with the Trust which regularly refers him work. He also provides the food for the Trust’s regular business networking meetings.
“..catering for the business networking evenings was an important turning point for me. Being new to the business it gave me an opportunity to expose and demonstrate to a large network of business people what I could do. The Pacific Business Trust as a whole has been very helpful and supportive of my business over the years by using my catering services regularly and most importantly referring me on to other clients.”
He says one challenge he has faced is trying to keep on top of all the paper work.
“My passion is cooking and that’s what I want to be doing because I’m very hands-on. But I know it’s critical to keep up with the admin.”
John’s next step is to grow his business further. He also has aspirations to open a restaurant in Fiji at some stage in the near future.
Johns Tips:
- Perseverance is key. You’ve got to keep at it and not give up. Things will start to happen.
- Don’t forget to keep up with the paperwork
Back to the top
A struggling boy from Tatakamotoga contradicts Massey University Lecturer’s claims that immigrants are a drain on NZ economy.
The recent release of the discussion paper stating that Pacific migrants were a drain on the economy was a huge disappointment. Particularly when Pacific immigrants like Christchurch Businessman, Paula Vakapuna show strong profit margins in the small business sector.
Five years after migrating from Tonga to New Zealand in 2000, we featured Paula in the Winter 2006 issue of Business Pasifika. He was in the early stages of business start up and says that setting out on his own was quite daunting, but it was a challenge he welcomed.
“…when I met Paula he was working for his wife’s uncle doing Block laying and he was confident in his trade. The idea was already there and he’d already gathered a network of clients it was just a matter of him stepping out on his own and us supporting him with business management advice.” Says PBT Business Advisor, Maliepo Toma.
Paula comes from the village of Tatakamotonga, from a family of five older sisters and one younger brother. They relied on support from his older sisters who’d moved overseas. “Life was not always easy with a big family and little money.” He says. “At the end of my fifth form year my father became ill. I left school to care for him. The loss of my father gave me a different view of the world.” The late Mr Vakapuna had gifted his son with inspiration. The inspiration to adapt to suit changes in his life.
Paula has worked tirelessly to grow Maka Lelei Brick, Block and Stone Laying. It seemed like an impossible task for a one man operation but that has only stimulated his desire to keep moving forward.
From playing the primary roles of agent, sales rep and labourer, to now, also playing the role of Employer. The reputation that he has strategically built for himself in the Christchurch and Canterbury region has seen the need for Paula to employ more staff. He has carefully selected a team of eight people and says “it was necessary to get people both with the right skill and the right work ethic.”
What is impressive, –and most probably depressing to his competitors are the amount of contracts that Paula has received simply through referrals. His integrity has been pivotal to the success of a healthy advertising budget.
The business has shown sustainable growth over the last three years. “From the start I was clear about one thing. That I needed to be strategic in managing the business so that it would provide the income needed to support my family, cover the wages of staff and maintain a personal cash flow.” Says Paula.
PBT Advisor Maliepo says “Paula is a hard worker and passionate about his business. He employed an accountant early on in the project which was a smart move on his part. Business management and personal development will definitely place him in good stead if he fully embraces it and I think he is doing just that.”
Notably the most rewarding change for the Vakapuna family has been the arrival of baby Sophia in December, 2007. Paula proudly adds that “becoming a father to Sophia has made me want to work harder to achieve the lifestyle I would like for our family in the future. At the same time I love spending time with my daughter and I’m working on creating a balance between work and home life” and says “now that Francine is a stay at home mum, she has been able to take over the weekly wages, paying accounts and PAYE requirements.” So it is definitely a team effort at Maka Lelei.
“I am fortunate to have a great team working with me. I now employ eight permanent staff and have a few sub contractors for bigger jobs when we need them.”
Steadily growing his business while carefully managing its expansion, Paula and Francine have seen the need for personal development and put themselves through training to learn about wages, staff taxes and how to manage staff. The addition of his daughter Sofia and running a business has seen the new parents’ time management move to a different level. Paula is realistic about the hard road to achieving his business goals and is positive that together with Francine they have access to the tools to support their efforts of providing Sophia with a robust future.
Baby Sophia, like her late grandfather further inspires Paula’s ingenuity of adapting business to suit the changes in their lives.
Paula’s tips: Think positive and work hard towards your goals. Stay focussed. I have worked hard to make a name for myself by providing high quality workmanship, sticking to my word and communicating well with fellow trade’s people, clients and my staff. Also by working gradually. So remember that good things take time don’t expect things to happen overnight.”
Back to the top