“If you have a passion for something, if there is something that you really enjoy. Go for it. And the money will come.”
Those are the words that entrepreneur Vivienne Wade lives by.
Ms Wade is the owner and director of The Attic.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Wade decided to pursue her passion and love for classy furniture pieces.
She started selling online using Instagram as her main platform for marketing her products, and the response, according to Ms Wade has been “fantastic”.
“Sales have highlighted that there is obviously a need in the market that we have pinpointed. Now basically the challenge is to grow it from where we are.”
Eight months ago, Ms Wade scaled her business to the next level by opening a brick-and-mortar store to meet the growing demand of her products.
One of the key ingredients of her success can be attributed to focusing her efforts on sourcing out “quality” products.
“I have flown to New Zealand and hand-picked every item, (and) flown it back.
“I try and source some things locally if I can.
“But I am always on the hunt for new and good quality stock.”
While business is booming, it also comes with its own set of challenges.
At the top of the list is supply chain issues.
“Because every single item we have at the shop is a unique one-off item, keeping the supply chain strong is always an issue.”
Ms Wade is one of 21 business owners who had joined Fiji THRIVE, a program supported by the Australian Business Volunteers, the British High Commission and BSP.
“Fiji THRIVE is really phenomenal.
“Glad to have the Australian Business Volunteers help us.
“They’ve shown us ways to look at our business in a different light.
“It was nice to actually step out and look at your business from an outside perspective looking in.”
The 21 business owners in the program will receive mentorship that will help improve financial management, marketing and customer service.
