Female entrepreneurship: How Jacinta Vaise has improved her Samoan business in times of hardship
There is no limit to what, we as woman, can accomplish,” Michelle Obama #IWD2021 #ChooseToChallenge
International Women’s Day may have past but for the month of March, we’d like to continue highlighting some of the incredible women leaders, business owners and entrepreneurs in the #BLPNetwork.
In today’s blog, we talk to Jacinta Vaise about her business, Talanoa Fales, in Samoa. Jacinta tells us why and how she started her business, how she juggles both work and family commitments and why she worked with BLP to improve her business in 2019.
Talanoa Fales is a small family business located in the quiet suburb of Moamoa, Apia. Managed and owned by Jacinta Vaise – a mother of 6 children (2 are currently in Samoa and 4 living overseas in NZ), the business has been operating for 13 years and has grown from one to six self-contained unit fales with five employees.
Jacinta standing in front of Talanoa Fales
The name ‘Talanoa’ is a combination of Jacinta’s mother (Talaleu) and mother in law (Saunoa), Tala & Noa, Talanoa which means connecting and communicating in Samoan. Her youngest son ‘Ikenasio’ came up with this idea to honour their grandmothers for both their hard work in raising the family and for inspiring them to start the business.
Jacinta started the business in 2008 after the family was given two acres of land as a token of gratitude for long services to the landowner over the years. The idea was to start a tourism business that would give tourists a real insight into Samoaon culture with lots of added value like Samoan Koko making demonstrations and experiences.
When asked how Jacinta balances work and family commitments Jacinta says:
During the early stages of the business I got a great amount of support from both late mothers in taking care of the family.
My husband passed on in 2012, which was extremely hard for the family and myself. During this year, and to this day, we’ve relied on close family and good staff to look after the business while I am away with kids and vice versa.”
Jacinta adds that in 2019 she discovered BLP and a business advisor who has also contributed to sharing the workload with compiling business financials, tax reports and marketing support.
Improving the operations of the business has always been a goal of Jacintas’ and by working with BLP Advisors, SYNBIZ Financial Services, Jacinta has been able to undertake two major projects with the help of BLP subsides.
The first project, which addressed Business strategic and marketing planning provided Jacinta with a clear direction of business goals, and a timeline of events to be completed throughout the year. SYNBIZ Financial Services also assisted in updating marketing collaterals which started off with upgrading the Talanoa Fales signage with up to date contact details.
The second subsidy applied for, covered up to 100% under the BLP COVID-19 subsidy package. The work under this project included business continuity planning and setting up QuickBooks software with accounting support work, which has allowed Jacinta to spend less time on the financial records and books and more time focusing on improving the efficiency of the business.
While tourism has been non-existent during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jacinta has been able to utilise the fales as a quarantine site for repatriation flight passengers on a 3-week isolation cycle.
ENDS
If you’re interested in gaining cost-effective access to quality financial advice like the type that SYNBIZ Finacial Services offers, but are not sure where to start, take the free online Business Health Check. The Business Health Check has a section that specifically addresses finance and accounting for growing businesses, and will help you identify where there are gaps in your business that could benefit from business advice.
Alternatively, to arrange a face-to-face consultation with our BLP In-Country representative in Samoa, John Lemoa, email [email protected]