FINDING a woman at the helm of a mechanic workshop is rare enough. Finding one with plans to become a parts supplier to other businesses and the region is rarer still. That is where Anita Wati is headed.
She owns and runs Aaron Auto Spares and Repairs in Laucala Beach. Her husband has more than 30 years of experience as a mechanic and ran the business with their son. As the business grew, Anita stepped in to take ownership, with her husband encouraging her and their son continuing to assist.
The business had been struggling in the wake of COVID-19. Using the same budgeting discipline she had long used at home, Anita applied this approach to the business to cut costs and stabilise cash flow. It was not glamorous work, but it kept the operation alive during a period that saw many small businesses across the country collapse due to unsustainability.
Access to finance proved to be the next turning point. Through Business Link Pacific, she secured a loan that allowed her to purchase a vehicle for the business. The new set of wheels was an enabler she needed – she could collect spare parts, visit clients, and manage daily operations without the transport costs that had been cutting into her margins.
“The car really assisted us with our day-to-day business,” she said. “Saving on transportation costs and an increase in savings meant an increase in cash flow in the business.”
The customer base has grown since. Anita, a mother of four, says she is managing the increased demand. She has identified bookkeeping as an area she wants to develop and has agreed to attend upcoming training. Her husband has been supportive of this, keen to see her attend more training activities.
For Anita, the parts problem remains the most pressing challenge she faces. Purchasing quality components for repairs is central to what the shop does, but the cost consistently eats into profits and limits what she can offer her customers.
“Parts are just too expensive,” she said.
“If I could just get access to these parts, it would be better for us and our customers.”
It is a problem she has thought through carefully, however. Her longer-term plan is to accumulate enough capital to buy spare parts in bulk and supply them to other businesses in the region. It would reduce her own costs, open a new revenue stream, and make Aaron Auto a resource for the wider community – not just a place to bring a broken-down vehicle, but a hub that other small operators can depend on.
She may have come into all of this later. For many years, home and family were her focus while her husband ran the workshop. It was his encouragement, and eventually the financial tools made available to them that gave her the opening she needed.
Bookkeeping remains a challenge, and the cost of parts is a ceiling she has not yet broken through. But Anita speaks about these things the way someone does when they have already decided they will not be permanent obstacles. She has a plan, she has a business that is growing, and she has proven, in an industry that rarely makes space for women, that she belongs there.
*This story was first published in The Fiji Times in March 2025. Original content was supplied by Business Assistance Fiji and has been edited for the 2026 International Women’s Day series.
