From benefit to business owners: Reporter Jenny Ling talks to five enterprising Northlanders who have created three thriving businesses from scratch and are now giving back to their communities.
Getting off the benefit and starting up your own business isn’t easy – but it’s entirely possible for those with the drive and determination to do it.
It also helps to have the support of programmes like The Generator, a Ministry of Social Development-funded initiative that provides seed funding and mentorship to help people on low incomes kickstart their business ventures.
The online platform backs eligible Kiwis – usually those with a community services card – who have bright ideas to improve their financial situations for themselves and their families.
The Generator national manager Therese Ireland said most people who go through the organisation don’t want to be on a benefit.
“They do everything within their power to become independent and create a better future for themselves and their whānau.
“Self-employment for many is the only option.
“They work extremely hard to get their start-up enterprises to a point where it can not only sustain their family but also help others in their community who are struggling.”
Tavita Salu: Tavita & Sons Automotive Mechanics
Tavita Salu’s dream has always been to create a family business that would be a legacy for his seven children.
Now, after years of hard work and facing some tough times, the father of six sons and one daughter has achieved his goal by setting up Tavita & Sons Automotive Mechanics in Whangārei.
“I’ve got a workshop now and this dream is coming true,” Salu said.
“I look at my seven kids, and I know I’m going to create a platform for them in the future.”
Salu migrated to New Zealand from Tuvalu in 1999 and moved to Whangārei in 2012 where he worked as a corrections officer for several years.
After resigning when the shift work became too much, he was temporarily unemployed on the jobseekers benefit while searching for more work.
Salu held down a few random jobs before realising he wanted to run his own business.
The 41-year-old began working out of his home garage while undertaking a three-year automotives course at NorthTec.
When he qualifies in June, he’ll have a New Zealand certificate in automotive engineering level 4.
With help from The Generator, Salu set up his business last August, offering comprehensive and affordable vehicle servicing, maintenance, and repairs.
His business is now a Winz-approved provider offering mechanical services to low-income families in the area.
Salu’s eldest son, 17-year-old Salu Esela, has come on board the business as an apprentice, and he also has another full-time apprentice.
“Mechanics is my purpose, I’ve been hands-on tools without qualifications, but this is something I’m so passionate about,” Salu said.
“Now my son is with me, and I can see myself in the next 10 years, I give praise to myself and thank God for this opportunity.
“Being a new business owner, I feel like a leader because I lead by example.”
Salu said he was grateful to “the people around me who helped make this happen” including his friends and workmates who gave him support and advice.
He is also thankful for The Generator who helped him buy tools and grow the business.
Being a business owner is a mindset, he said.
“You’ve got to see yourself as a business owner.
“If there’s something you want in life, and you feel in your heart and mind that you can do it, there’s a great chance you’re likely to achieve it.
“Put aside those negative thoughts that try and pull us down, and use the good advice and things that will help you achieve in having a business, especially if it’s something you really want.”
David Croft had been helping his dad build houses on his ancestral land near Towai in Northland for many years when he came up with an idea for a new business.
Croft had suffered a heart attack and was having to take things a bit easier when his father, then 80, mentioned he was building coffins for himself and his wife.
Croft could see the value in what his father was doing.
With help from The Generator, Croft and his partner Jess Henson established Moe Mai Ra, which means rest in peace in te reo Māori.
The whānau business, building and supplying ply coffins to the community, is based from the couple’s home on Ruapekapeka Rd and began in December.
Croft builds the coffins, Henson does the marketing, and her son Christian is also involved.
By keeping overhead costs low, Moe Mai Ra is now a Winz-approved provider of affordable coffins, keeping whānau from getting into debt when death comes knocking.
The custom-built coffins start at $600 and include wooden handles, and there are also urns and caskets for pets to choose from.
“David’s concept started out being a plain box, and he created it into such a beautiful waka,” Henson said.
“He fell in love with the concept of doing an original coffin for each individual.
“Dad’s sister rang him and said, ‘can you come and build our one’.
“They knew how expensive coffins could be.”
Croft had also lost a couple of close cousins unexpectedly and knew the financial stress funerals could put on families.
“We started thinking ‘what could we afford?’ so we weren’t caught in that financial stress at that time,” Henson said.
“When death comes unexpectedly, whānau have to come up with a lot of money.”
Croft and Henson had been on the benefit for over 10 years when their lightbulb moment for the business struck.
Before then, it was difficult to get jobs, with travel costs a big factor in getting to work.
Croft had suffered depression in the past, and his heart condition came with the realisation he was limited for future work.
The couple both wanted to work from home.
The business idea “came at the right time”, Henson said.
“Being on the benefit long-term isn’t what we wanted to do.
“We went on a business course to become more independent and self-employed, and heard about The Generator.
“When you get on a platform like that ... you can get the tools you need.”
The couple are exhibiting at The Generator Expo on March 15 and 16.
For Val Jefferson and her daughter Amy Low, establishing a beauty business they could run together in Dargaville has meant more than making money.
Not only has it given the former beneficiaries financial security, but it’s also given Jefferson a sense of purpose and a reason to get up in the morning.
Jefferson and Low now run Nia’s Beauty Room by Amy from a studio room in the Dargaville community hall.
Low was working part-time at the former Blush Beauty salon while receiving supplementary income from Winz when the opportunity arose to buy the business.
Low and her mum worked with The Generator and sold an inherited caravan to get the funding they needed to buy the client list and equipment.
They rebranded and launched their business in September – 39-year-old Low as the qualified beautician, and Jefferson as the salon manager taking the bookings and taking care of the administration.
As well as doing affordable facials, waxing, tints and massages, they also sell a couple of different skincare ranges.
“It’s given Amy financial security, and for me it’s made a huge change to my life,” Jefferson said.
“I’ve got a reason to get up in the morning.”
The enterprise has been so successful that Low has transitioned off Winz support and Jefferson, who was on the benefit since she moved to Dargaville five years ago, is now only partially supported by Winz.
The aim is for Jefferson to transition off the benefit altogether.
Renting space in the community hall is affordable and the pair managed to set up their business without going into debt.
“It’s going really well,” Low said.
“The clients love our little room here.”
Jefferson said she’s had a range of health problems including depression which meant she couldn’t work for the last few years.
The beauty boutique gives her social interaction with others, and she’s able to do some tasks from home.
The 63-year-old couldn’t be happier.
“Doing this with my daughter is the best,” she said.
“We live next door to each other and we work well together.
“Now I’ve got my smile back again.”
Low and Jefferson thanked The Generator and the Kaipara community for their support.
“I never thought we’d own our own business but here we are,” Jefferson said.
“They help you in so many other ways.
“Without their support, it wouldn’t have happened.”
For more information about The Generator visit www.thegenerator.org.nz.
Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.
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