Temesia Tuicaumia: Marketer, Fashion Designer, Educationalist
With an upbeat personality Temesia Tuicaumia is a humble individual, an entrepreneur who owns his own consultancy firm.
His clothing brand Temesia.Co was developed during his travels when he realised he needed to wear something warmer than a “sulu vakataga” during New Zealand’s winter.
Mr Tuicaumia said he started his clothing brand because of his dear friend Samson Lee.
His label, Temesia.Co, is now stocked at the Wearing Fiji boutique in Butt Street, Suva, and he plans to open a shop in Toorak, Suva.
Mr Tuicaumia said when he first started, he had to focus on what his clothing brand identity is, what it stands for.
“So, I made a plan that only designs showcased on the runway for people will be made no custommade ideas because I cannot physically or financially support them,” he said.
Mr Tuicaumia has built a good relationship with a factory in Fiji that now manufactures his clothing. As a start-up business, he has faced some challenges at the start of his entrepreneurial journey. He said consistency is important, finding the right people to work with, and separating your personal life and business.
Mr Tuicaumia said the biggest challenge is consistency in the quality of product he sells. “Irrespective of the industry you are in, you need to be consistent, “Second is finding the right people that can motivate you, encourage you and offer sound advice I didn’t have that in the beginning, and they made me feel worthless.”he said.
Return on Investment (ROI)
In his capacity as an educator and an entrepreneur, Mr Tuicaumia talks about the importance of getting a return on investment (ROI) on business ventures.
He said as a Pacific Islander, we struggle with return on investment. One of the most important lessons we all learn is that we need to get ready to spend money when you start your business.
A Marketing Strategist
Mr Tuicaumia also helps upcoming SMEs with their marketing strategies, with a client list that includes big companies like the Intercontinental’s Grand Pacific Hotel, to upcoming SMEs like Star Jewels and Tumeric and Layalaya Care.
Tips for SMEs
Relationships forming a relationship with your client’s builds trust and can help grow your referral business and retain clients for future transactions.
By doing this you’re forging longterm business relationships that can lead to brand advocates and successful outcomes.
Keep learning professional development
Professional development help to bolster employees’ in their work.
Greater confidence can, turn, translate into higher overall job satisfaction, employee performance, productivity, and overall morale.
Know your weakness
Weakness a business.
Identifying these can help identify areas of improvement.
Doing this lets organisations design measures to rectify and control their weak points, which in turn helps the company grow. are internal factors in
Quality over quantity
can confidence
Mr Tuicaumia said going into this business can be emotionally, physically, and spiritually draining, so keep in mind that the product you sell is of quality and not just quantity, because a bad review of an SME can be very damaging to a brand.