I’ve always had a passion to do business...
Michael Mausio is a young entrepreneur with a name popular in the fashion industry While running our engineering and construction business, I took a keen interest in fashion and started doing it as a hobby on the side until I realised there was market for
A fashion designer at heart with engineering background, Mr Mausio established the House of Mausio in 2018 who specialises in tailor made garment as well as well as corporate uniforms.
His collections have been showcased at almost all of Fiji Fashion Week shows.
The 32-year-old has achieved a lot for a man his age, he has two other businesses apart from the House of Mausio.
Also, Pacific Voyagers a travel agency that specialises in travel-related services and primarily focuses on private Charters and special packages in both the education and medical sector.
Here is a snippet for an interview with Mr Mausio:
Tell us about your educational background?
I studied in various primary schools as I was growing up, in Fiji and aboard, and did the better half of my high school at Marist before moving on to USP and then to Fujian University in China. I studied various programmes in law, sociology, management as well as fashion and textile, and engineering.
Can you tell us about your role and experience in your role and if you could also share with us your experiences before starting the business?
I’ve always had a passion to do business when I was growing up. I remember in primary school I used to buy lollies on wholesale price from the Chinese shops and resell them in school and started making money. From then on, I’ve always had a love to sell and be in the business of service and providing service for people.
As I was growing up, I worked with my grandfather in the engineering sector in his business (WABS Pacific), which dealt with the oil industry, primarily focusing on building oil tanks and pipelines in Fiji and the Pacific.
I was doing this while also studying at USP. I then took over the business and kept it running until today, where we have expanded into the construction sector.
While running our engineering and construction business, I took a keen interest in fashion and started doing it as a hobby on the side until I realised there was market for my products.
And so started the House of Mausio Brand and it has since been running and thriving in the Pacific. On the other side of things as a result the pandemic we got involved in the airline industry and ran private charter flights and providing repatriation flights during the boarder closure period.
We worked with various governments and airlines in the Pacific to run these flights and once the boarders opened, we then moved into providing travel services to our clients all under providing our company Pacific Voyagers.
Why did you name the business Mausio, WABS and Pacific Voyager?
House of Mausio is name after me; WABS Pacific stands for (Welding and Blasting Services) and Pacific Voyagers is named after us as Pacific Voyagers on a Journey.
How do you manage the demands of professional and personal commitments?
Having good time management and a great team to lead each sector is key to helping our business grow and having excellent communication skills with customers is paramount for any business.
Did your family background or where you grew up have an influence on your career choices?
Yes, it did! My constant movement in the Pacific opened my eyes to a lot of things in the Pacific and gave me that edge. Also, my grandparents were gogetter’s and always encouraged me to keep pursuing whatever I wanted and to follow my passion. My family have always been very supportive of my business ventures and very encouraging.
What are some of the challenges faced?
One thing about doing business in the Pacific and Fiji is the red tapes that a lot of business face when starting up.
When I started a few years ago, there were no one stop shop like what we have now with various organisations that help new start-ups.
We had to find about things the hard way in regard to requirements, respective policies to follow, FRCS laws, etc.
Funding has always been an issue in Fiji for people who are wanting to start up a business.
The banks and financial institution are really not that supportive towards start-ups. This, however, has changed in recent years, with more support to the MSME sector.
What is the most rewarding thing about your job?
He also owns Welding and Blasting Services, an engineering firm that specialises in working in the oil and petroleum industry primarily building oil tanks, pipelines as well as other civil works.
Seeing the satisfied smiles on our clients faces.
What is the most rewarding thing about your job?
Seeing the satisfied smiles on our clients faces.
What have been some of the highlights of your business so far?
There have been many highlights of different business. One of the most memorable ones is with our travel business, where we were able to reunite families that were stranded in different parts of the world.
Many others include seeing our bridal customers in our fashion business in their custom-made bridal wear.
When at home, what do you like to eat?
I’m very particular, I only eat boneless Meat and only eat Chicken Breast, Steak and Beef Mince, so my diet is very limited as I don’t eat seafood as well. So, I usually eat pasta or something like that.
What is your motto in life?
Do good, receive good.