When Valeli Nathan Lemalie (Ngāpuhi, Tūhoe, Whakatōhea, Samoa) met Te Huia Paniora-Hepi (Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Porou, Te Rarawa, Ngāi Tahu) through his cleaning job at BNZ Whakatāne, he went from self-doubt and anxiety to starting his own business in a few months. And it all started with a simple hello.

When Nathan arrived at work, he was always greeted by Te Huia, a Senior Partner personal banker who had been transferred from an Auckland branch. Te Huia often worked after hours, and the pair quickly struck up a friendship. “He was the first Māori I’ve seen working at the bank,” Nathan laughs. “He introduced himself, and we hit it off from there.”

A couple of months into Nathan’s role, Te Huia noticed he didn’t seem his usual self. “If I ever worked late and Nathan was coming in to clean, then I’m in his workspace. So, I would apologise if I was ever in the way and lift my feet up, that kind of thing.

“One day I asked him, ‘Are you alright?’ And he pulled up a chair and said, ‘Nah, I’m not alright.’ So, we had a good kōrero about what had been going on, and I just listened and helped him process what was happening at the time. Afterwards, I said, ‘Anytime you need a kōrero, I’m here.’”

Nathan says it’s not easy to win his trust, but Te Huia is always supportive. “It’s good to talk to the bro because he’s really open, and I know he won’t judge me. He’s always there, and it’s been a bit of a lifesaver to be honest. I think it was meant to be that we crossed paths.”

Born in Wellington, Nathan has lived in Whakatāne most of his life, apart from a stint in Australia. He started cleaning six years ago after experiencing some mental health difficulties. “It’s been a bit of a journey. I was suffering from depression, and my health wasn’t doing too well with my diabetes. So, after working on that for a while, I was trying to build up my CV and joined an employment agency.”

Nathan enjoys the autonomy of professional cleaning and was looking for a second cleaning contract to supplement his income when Te Huia suggested he start his own business. “I said, ‘Hey bro, have you thought about doing your own thing on the side as well? Not competing with your current employer, but maybe going into private residence cleaning?’”

As Te Huia got to know some of Nathan’s backstory and the challenges that had led to some of his roadblocks, he also started informally mentoring him. “There was a lot going on, so I said, ‘Let’s work on that first, to make sure you have the foundations in yourself—then we can look at the other stuff. Because if you don’t have this, then this isn’t going to happen.’”

He coached Nathan on internal work so he could better manage his own mental health, including focusing on small wins and practising daily gratitude.

Growing up, Nathan was taught to ‘soldier on,’ harden up, and not talk about feelings, so he has found changing his self-talk challenging at times. “Compliments are hard for me, complimenting myself or when someone says ‘good job’ it doesn’t sit right, it’s something I’m not used to.

“But one of the things I’ve learned is that if you ever have a problem, just talk to someone. When I talk to the bro, he’s not gonna tell me how to fix it or to just harden up. With this fella, he’ll say, ‘Bro, I’ve got your back.’ I don’t like talking about my feelings, but because he reached out, I can talk to him.”

Te Huia grew up in Auckland and was in the military for six years before getting into banking. After finishing university, he was offered a role with the bank where he had completed an internship. When the Whakatāne role came up, he was managing both his Auckland and Tokoroa teams, and he is now managing the Whakatāne and Rotorua branches.

While Te Huia had some management experience in terms of military leadership, he says starting his banking career when he was a bit older was beneficial. “I was 28, so I was a bit more mature, and I’m not sure I’d be in this position if I had started at 18 years old.

“At the moment, I’m taking advantage of these learning opportunities to become a better leader and a better person, which is really important to me. It’s great because in this role I’m learning how to do both.”

Te Huia studied psychology and social science at university, where he learned about practising mindfulness. “I didn’t think gratitude in general was worth anything, but I gave it a go, and after sticking to it for two to three months, I noticed a huge change in how I think. I put it into practice in my own life first, then brought it to my teams, and now we share our daily gratitude together.”

After about two months helping Nathan put some actions into place and stay consistent, they revisited the business idea. Nathan decided he wanted to go for it, and the next step was landing his first client. “I said to Nate, ‘This is not my dream, it’s yours, so if you want me to, I’m here to keep you accountable,’” says Te Huia. “We can do this in bite-sized chunks and celebrate the small wins. It also made me realise…am I celebrating my small wins too?”

Nathan says sending the first message to his first client was the hardest. “I made it hard on myself with overthinking, but it wasn’t that hard. That’s why it definitely helps to celebrate your small wins. It was a win to send the initial text, then the follow-up, do the quote, and then the clean. They are a repeat customer too, so it was a huge win.

“Te Huia taught me it’s the little wins throughout the day that matter, and when I wake up each morning, I think about what I’m grateful for. This has also helped my brother who is going through some stuff, and every time I see him, I ask, ‘What are you grateful for?’ And he always tells me a list of things.”

Nathan’s next goal is to land another two or three clients. “When he first mentioned starting my own business, I thought, that’s not a bad idea, why didn’t I think of this? Haha. But leading up to it, I had to keep resetting myself when I started going backwards. There’s still work to be done, but I’m just glad Te Huia believed in me, and I followed through with something that wasn’t the plan at the start of the year.

“I don’t usually toot my own horn, but I’m quite proud of myself. I’m turning 40 in October, the second half of my life, so I’m very grateful to have someone who didn’t even know me, help me out, and truly believe in me. Who even cares about the cleaner who comes into your work? There are not many people out there who think about ideas for other people or who even care about what you’re going through.

“It’s amazing what a simple hello can do. Or even just a smile.”