Sigavou Studios works towards fiNANCIAL INNOvAtIvE sOLutIONs
Sigavou Studios Pte Ltd is a locally owned visual art studio based in Nadi. From its kitchen-table start-up two decades ago, they have grown into a premier source of FijianMade art, sought after by a wide range of major tourism industry clients, as well as individual art collectors’ eager to take a piece of authentic, international-quality Fijian art back to homes and offices around the world.
Creative & Managing director, Maria Rova said Sigavou Studios started 25 years ago and they did what most small businesses do to survive.
“As a creative person with a teaching background, I am not excited about sitting down with a calculator and spreadsheets, projecting cash flows and devising business plans,” she said.
“In fact, we looked out for gaps in the market, and experiment with innovative solutions to fill them,” she said.
Ms Rova said there were many lessons to learn, especially when it came to key business tools like written contracts with clients and careful management of their cash flow.
“When the curved balls came our way (and there have been many: floods, cyclones, coups, and pandemics to name a few!) we would have at least a small safety net of savings to help with running costs while keeping our heads above water,” she added.
She also said their Fiji-inspired art started flowing in as they took on more staff, and it became important to formalise their operating systems and share the workload of managing a small business.
“We have found awesome advice and guidance on the financial aspects of our business from friends, mentors, various programmes run by development NGOs, and from networking with other SME’s in online forums and in person,” Ms Rova said.
“I have been a member of Women Entrepreneurs Business Council for several years now, and more recently joined a boot camp for women entrepreneurs working in the tourism sector.
“The support, training workshops, and information-sharing that is part of these networks of change-making business women have had a really positive impact.
“Sometimes it’s just reaching out to others and realizing that you are not alone in dealing with a stressful situation that gives one the energy and inspiration to keep going.” Ms Rova advised those wishing to build a business from scratch like she did was to make sure that the product or service you are offering to the world was something you are passionate about.
“Start small and re-invest a portion of every sale you make into your business, spending within your means so that you don’t run up debts through hire purchases or loans that end up being a heavy burden on your cash flow,” she said. “And remember that the seemingly glamorous success that others might see as your business takes off, is just the tip of the iceberg. “Under that are many long hours of hard slog and determined problem-solving. A can-do attitude and a resilient, creative mindset end up being much more important that any formal qualifications when it comes to being a Fijian entrepreneur.”
Maria Rova is an award-winning visual artist and arts community activist who draws inspiration for her art from the rich cultural heritage of her Fijian family, and the dramatic natural beauty of Fiji’s island environment – her home since 1991.
Her art is experimental in nature, making use of modern acrylics on traditional Fijian barkcloth, as well as dyes on silk, sculpted concrete, and other mixed media.
The rhythmic, geometric patterns and earth-tones of Fiji’s ancient barkcloth art find an echo alongside the dynamic, joyful colours and abstract forms that characterise her growing body of work.