GROW 2023 Seamstress & Baker BUSINESS, IDEA & ORGANIZATION INCUBATOR

October 14, 2024 4:26 am | Posted in Business Profiles | Share now TwitterFacebook

Program: GROW 2023 Seamstress & Baker
BUSINESS, IDEA & ORGANIZATION INCUBATOR
V-LAB
V-LAB ALUMNI PROFILE.

My name is Annette Abel and I am a mother of 5 children. I have a passion for sewing and originally worked as a seamstress to pay for the expenses and my children’s education. My mother worked as a tailor and when I was younger I would get the fabric scraps and make clothes for my dolls. I was never trained as a seamstress but learned step by step from scratch with a machine Mum bought me in high school.

When my children were younger, word got around that I could sew and I was sewing for places like Casino 21, Jill’s Cafe and Marine Motel in Efate which would help me pay for school fees. However, when my husband died in 2017 and Covid-19 came along, business dwindled and backyard gardening became a new means to provide for the family.

I participated in the GROW program in 2023. My idea when I joined the program was to have a table near the entrance of my yard and sell cucumbers and other vegetables. The GROW program was practical focused and we went on field trips where they showed us how to feed the soil, and compost and exposed us to ideas such as hydroponic farming. My Coach, Uncle Joe, had a wealth of knowledge and would never spoon-feed us but directed us on the right path and encouraged us to problem-solve. It was with his guidance and the one-on-one mentoring that I learnt to pursue unique ideas that differentiated us from the competition. Here, I was able to discern market needs and identified that a vertical cucumber and strawberry garden were the best options for the limited space I had.

One of the most important lessons I learnt from the program was financial management. There is a saying here in Vanuatu ‘brekem bush’ meaning that you should do anything you want or think and that there is no set way of doing anything. Before the program, that was how I operated, I would never pay myself, earning just enough for the essentials; to go to the market, pay school fees or pay the electricity bill and I was never able to hold or save any money. However, V-lab taught me that there is a set way to
organize business finances; the trick is to separate business and personal finances, and once separated, to not misuse the business money on other expenses.

Recently, I have applied this financial knowledge to another opportunity that came before me. It started with my daughter telling me that people at her office were tired of walking down to the shops for food and I saw the business opportunity to bake scones and banana bread for office staff in the mornings. I always loved baking but never knew it could be a way to generate money. Then another baking opportunity followed the first when the cafe that supplied V-lab was not faithful one day, I received a call on whether I could assist and have been doing so ever since. So now I am baking every morning for the finance department, and meetings at ANZ and V-lab, slowly building up a sustainable business.

My plan this year is to experiment with my products with current clients and bake unique goods that differentiate my business from other caterers. So far I have not yet branched out or advertised my services apart from ANZ and V-lab and realized after losing my income stream for two weeks during the Independence Day holidays that I need to expand my clientele. Luckily, I was able to resort back to my sewing to pay for expenses during that time but I will need to secure orders from other sources to grow the baking business.

An important lesson I have learned is never to give up even if others doubt you. There are millions of ideas out there but work on one until you know you are successful. Time is limited and prioritize your time to what is important. Family is important for me and I always make time for my children and grandchildren. So at the moment, it is the vertical garden and baking that I am focusing on and I plan to step out of sewing slowly. However, I never limit myself and will keep expecting the unexpected.

“Set a goal and persevere. Expect times when things may not be successful but it does not give a reason to give up because when you persevere you will learn things and knowledge from people along the way and opportunities will come. Be independent, not
dependent”