Growing up as a farm girl in the Manawatu NZ and selling eggs at age 8 as my first business should have been a clue to my entrepreneurial spirit. I am also a people person, to me relationships in life are most important and I love investing in them.
Qualifying as an Occupational Therapist and working for a few years in Mental Health, I set up my own private rehabilitation practice Pacifica Plus for Maori and Pacific people when I was 24 years old. Within two years the business had grown to fifteen staff and I loved managing a team as well as providing professional supervision.
In 2005, my husband John and I made the decision to start the next chapter and so we sold Pacifica Plus, packed up our 2 children, rented our house out, and moved our lives to Vanuatu.
Fast forward 13 years and two cargo passenger ships later, we now operate an interisland shipping business that connects a number of the islands of Vanuatu and enables subsistence farmers to trade and improve the lives of their families and communities. We proudly employ forty staff.
Along the way I managed a Day Spa, worked as a Life Coach, facilitated parenting courses, ran a Vegebox business sourcing produce from the Port Vila local markets and had a contract as Operations Manager for World Vision Vanuatu, … (not all at the same time …but just about). I love being a mum and nurturing and raising our 4 gorgeous children.
Last year I felt it was time for some more formal study to enhance my credibility as a Life Coach and the Diploma in Life Coaching through NZIBS suited my needs perfectly. The design of the course enabled me to live in Vanuatu and complete my diploma remotely which was fantastic. With Internet technology we can communicate across the world and I realize that my coaching business does not have to be limited to face-to-face clients here on the island but I can coach people in NZ and other countries as the opportunities arise.
My friends and clients have always appreciated my pragmatic “dive on in” approach and I hope to keep applying it to my coaching business. I plan to build my practice, get blogging and make short videos and keep my “just do it” approach which has brought me this far.
I want to continue to encourage and inspire people and share their journey as they walk along this road called “life”.
