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.
- Gerardine Clifford - Taeomanino Trust
- Ronnie Matafeo - Matafeo Group Ltd
- Chris Mene - The Active Room
- Frank Koloi - Ethnic Communications Ltd
- John Oyagawa - Oyagawa Catering Ltd
- Paula Vakapuna - Maka Lelei
Let these stories guide your own journey and give you the inspiration to carry on.
GERARDINE CLIFFORD- TAEAOMANINO TRUST 
The belief of her parents that the mainstream system wasn’t meeting the social service needs of Pacific people is what prompted the beginning of Gerardine Clifford’s Wellington based Taeaomanino Trust. “My parents wanted to provide Pacific people with a choice in terms of meeting their social service needs. Now if Pacific people want advice, support and assistance, in their own language using cultural methodologies they are familiar with, they have that option available,” Gerardine says.
Taeaomanino Trust, established in 1993, offers a range of services to improve the social and economic development of Pacific people. Today they are considered one of Wellington’s most popular Pacific providers and their work has been well recognised. In 2004 they won a Wellington Regional Award in the Educational and Child/Youth Development category. In June 2005 they were the winners of the Pacific Business Trust (PBT) Pacific Community Enterprise Award.
It has been a busy time at Taeaomanino Trust since the 2005 Pacific Business Awards with staff receiving numerous requests to speak at conferences, participate in external working parties and advisory groups. The recognition has also lead to the formation of some new relationships that has lead to new audiences, new funding opportunities and greater exposure of some of the challenges and issues Pacific people face in improving their lives.
Gerardine says winning the PBT award had a major impact on staff morale with a sense of shared ownership of the organisation.
“I think most feel the pressure to prove they deserve this award so they have been really proactive in looking at how they might change and improve the way they deliver to clients. Feedback from the awards has been positive and supportive,” Gerardine says.
Establishing the needs of the community and following up with strategies to address those needs is an effective form of change and one that Taeaomanino is serious about. “We feel the pressure to be good at what we do and to provide leadership in terms of the Pacific social service delivery. A decision by the board of trustees was made to focus on consolidating our services and focus on improving the quality and cost effectiveness of our existing services,” Gerardine says.
This decision saw a number of staff members complete degrees last year while seven others are currently in the process of completing further qualifications. Other areas of focus for Taeaomanino Trust is building the management capability and succession planning of the organisation to create more balance in their knowledge management.
With her eyes set firmly on the future of our Pacific community Gerardine has just returned from a four month Winston Churchill Fellowship in Europe studying issues like family violence and alcohol and drug abuse in third and fourth generation Caribbean and Bangladeshi communities.
“These migrant communities are a lot more established and mature then the Pacific community in New Zealand so this research gave me some insights into what New Zealand might expect in the next 10-15 years as the Pacific community matures. I will be writing a report of my findings but it is safe to say that there is likely to be improvements in some areas and greater risks and challenges in others,” Gerardine says.
It has been a demanding 13-year journey for Taeaomanino Trust but an effective one that has continuously focused on improvement in areas from child care to the parallel between Pacific and Western cultures. Their success and tireless effort to improve on the delivery of these services is admirable.
“My parents are perfectionists, they will only ever truly be happy when there is no further need for Taeaomanino. In saying that, my parents have seen success in the families that have accessed our service and this keeps them going.”
Gerardine’s Advice:
• Whatever the type of business you have, I think it’s very easy to let it consume you, you normalise it and you don’t realise when you are run down or tired, so we need to get better at recognising the signs and doing something about it straight away.
• Get hold of the community liaison people who work for IRD, even if you have an accountant, it is always good to understand your basic statutory obligations in relation to, things like paying GST and PAYE.
• On a personal level, when you mess up and do something that makes you cringe every time you think about it –don’t ignore it and pretend it never happened, talk with people you trust about what you did wrong, understand why it happened, learn from it and move on. You’ll learn more from getting it wrong then from getting it right all the time.
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RONNIE MATAFEO - MATAFEO GROUP LTD
After nearly 30 years in the industry, 14 running his own business, Ronnie Matafeo could be forgiven for getting ready to hang up his hat.
Instead this quantity surveyor is finding new ways to inspire, mentor and help young Pacific people start their working lives, whether it is quantity surveying or any other aspect of the building and construction trade, or in his role on the Ministry of Economic Development’s small business advisory council.
A finalist in the 2005 Pacific Business Awards Ronnie runs Matafeo Group Ltd, a small consultancy providing quantity surveying and project management. He set the bar in the 1970s as the first Pacific Island Registered Quantity Surveyor under the NZ Institute of Quantity Surveyors.
Ronnie came to New Zealand from Samoa in the 1970s to train with a scholarship from the Samoan Government. The plan was to return home once qualified but he never quite made it back, instead he married and settled down in New Zealand. A decision he now realises has led him to helping more Pacific people in their businesses.
“The experience I picked up in New Zealand has been far more valuable in terms of the many more Pacific people I have been able to help in small business. I have been able to help a lot more of our people here than I could have at home.”
In those early days Ronnie had the help of several very well respected specialists in the industry Tony Dean, Jeff Jefferson, Barry Baines, Ian Fletcher and Ray Bennett.
“When I came here in the late 70s there was still a lot of stigma from the early days of dawn raids. Looking for work was hard and those gentlemen were very good to me, they took me under their wings as mentors.
Coming to New Zealand, leaving his family and home, studying hard to qualify and even working on building sites outside in winter, his first experience of winter, did little to ease the load for Ronnie as a young student new to the country.
“Today quantity surveying at Unitec is one of the hardest and probably the most expensive course to get into. It has one of the biggest intakes and one of the biggest drop out rates. I am trying to help our people doing this course now because I know exactly how they feel and what they are going through. If you have people who have been there and done that it make it a lot easier,” he says.
Despite the loneliness, the shock of living in a new country and the pressures of study he never once considered giving up.
“You have to remember in those years studies were paramount, especially when you had a scholarship, you had to pass. There were never any second thoughts. I was determined I was going to get it.
“You came here for your family and country and you had to do it. You knew it would make your family and country proud. I guess it is a little bit about being a patriot.”
What drives Ronnie today is helping others succeed, which he says is a lot more satisfying than chasing the dollar.
“ I feel that I am building the foundations for my children to pick up where I leave off so they can take what I have done and go even further, paving the way for future generations.”
In addition to mentoring young students through his business Ronnie has been selected as member of the Ministry of Economic Development’s small business advisory group, which had its first meeting this month.
The group is made up of representatives from all industries around the country and is charged with reviewing all of the programmes the Department of Labour and Inland Revenue develop to help small business.
For Ronnie it is an important task that is taking his mentoring role a step further. Not only is he a voice to the Government on Pacific business he also has the task of ensuring all strategies and programmes that do get developed are going to benefit his people.
With a lifetime of experience behind him the best advice he has for someone thinking of starting up their own business today is to go for it.
Fourteen years ago, while he was deciding whether to go out on his own or not, someone said to him “it is always better to try something out and fail than to never try and regret it for the rest of your life”.
“The Business Trust is there to help you, just give it a go. I went ahead and did it and I’ve never looked back.”
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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.
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FRANK KOLOI - ETHNIC COMMUNICATIONS LTD
As a Tongan-born boy who moved to New Zealand at the age of 13, Frank Koloi had a burning ambition - to go home to Tonga and join his family’s public transport business. It was that, or become a pilot.
But nearly two decades later Frank is now based in South Auckland and is the founder of Ethnic Communications - New Zealand’s only advertising and branding agency targeting the Pacific market.
Family has always played a pivotal role in Frank’s life and it was his mother who gave him his first taste of the communications industry.
“She was always extremely involved in the community. She belonged to a community group that received funding to produce language programmes on the then newly formed Access Radio. It was through her that I started producing radio shows for Tongan radio.
“I went on to produce and distributed the Times of Tonga newspaper. By that stage I was hooked on the media.”
In 1990 Frank returned to Tonga to find the family company had wound up. So instead he started a small communications company which offered a wide variety of services including advertising, signwriting, desktop publishing and even translation services.
“What I found in Tonga was that advertising was all about status and there were no real concepts and thought behind it.”
After nine years in Tonga building up the business he decided it was time to return to New Zealand.
He began work for a design company in Ponsonby.
“It quickly became apparent to me that a lot of the resource material designed specifically for Pacific Islanders needed drastic improvement. There seemed to be two extremes of communication to this audience.
“It was often something pulled together quickly by the receptionist and photocopied. This material was often carrying life-changing information for people like my relatives but it was a totally ineffective form of communication. I felt there was no respect for the people it was trying to communicate its message to.
“The other form of communication was a ‘big agency’, heavily designed poster, with a piece of tapa or other Pacific motif. Not only was this hugely expensive but again it was ineffective. I saw a clear gap in the market and realised I could do a better job.” So he resigned. “It was hardest thing I have ever done. But I have a huge community obligation I can’t get away from and an untold supply of passion for what I had to do. I knew I would be doing something I truly loved and that I could see was making a difference. “The Pacific community has developed into a more sophisticated part of the population and is continually growing in complexity, status and sophistication. They are demanding better material. And I have a tangible connection to that community at a grass roots level.”
He set up Ethnic Communications in 2003 to produce brochures, posters and put together advertising campaigns for the Pacific community. His first step was to identify the work that big agencies wouldn’t be interested in and set out to win that work.
“We’re now doing a lot of conceptual design, layout, printing and distribution work for government departments, local councils and district health boards. We’ve never had to do any active marketing. The volume of work is that significant.”
Frank’s first major client was the Pacific Business Trust and Ethnic Communications now rents space from the Trust in its Otahuhu headquarters.
“The Trust has been an incredible support. I’ve made extensive use of the Trust’s mentoring services, which are incredible. They have provided us with a loan and helped us set up accounting processes. We have regular meetings with them to set milestones and goals, bounce ideas off them and they refer a lot of work to us as well.
“And being based here makes all the difference. There’s a lot of foot traffic in the building – including people from government and business – who are potential clients for us.”
Frank now employs five fulltime staff and has six freelancers on the books.
“I like the size we are now – we’re able to keep it real and competitive and are continually solidifying our position as ‘go to’ people with a positive connection with the community.” In addition to the client work, Frank firmly believed the company needed to create something of its own.
“So we developed the first Tongan and Samoan phone directories which we distribute through churches. This resource clearly defines the roles of government departments and social services. It’s been very well received and is now part of the resettlement pack given to recent immigrants.”
He also has plans to create directories for the US and Australia as well as an online version.
And what is his advice to aspiring Pacific business owners?
“80 per cent of success is due to proper planning, such as putting together proper structures and accounting systems, before even registering the company. Enrol in courses the Trust holds for new business owner. They do this for free and is an enormous help.
“And don’t go into business if you don’t truly believe in your service and product. It’s not easy, it’s not about status, it’s about filling a need on the marketplace. You simply have to be better than everyone else.
“I believe my generation has a huge obligation to lift the game for the Pacific community. We’re not going to get anywhere as a group if we stay with a traditional ‘Island’ mindset. It is crucial businesses have proper branding and a professional office set up.
“If all new Pacific businesses lift the game, collectively we lift the game. Then the expectation of customers change.”
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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
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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.”
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