RUNNING one’s own business is never an easy feat. Viliame Turuva, 27 and Samuela Koroinamara, 26, know this well. The pair run Repent Enterprises, a small but growing earring-making and jewellery repair business in the heart of Suva.
Mr Turuva, who hails from Vuda in Ba said the business idea came about because they had grown tired of working for others. “We were tired of working everywhere,” Mr Turuva said. Mr Koroinamara, who hails from Rotuma, said they previously worked at Nu-Look, a second-hand shop, “We were working at Nu-Look, and there was this Indo-Fijian boy who was staying with us,” Mr Koroinamara said.
“We helped him out because he’d been chased away from home.” In August 2021, before their friend returned to Nadi, he gave $70 to Mr Turuva to help get his business off the ground. “From that $70, we began making jewellery, and displayed them on top of a small carton and a small box,” Mr Turuva said.
“From there, we kept going. We moved to two tables which were donated by my aunty and Samu’s brother.” “So, how did the name Repent Enterprises come about?” Mr Turuva said the inspiration came from two places.
“We chose the name Repent Enterprises because the word repent comes from the Bible. It also came from the dictionary.” Mr Koroinamara said the inspiration behind their jewellery was simple.
“We would go to second-hand shops, and we would take a look around to see what we liked,” he said. Mr Turuva said the main challenge they .