Our Stories: Kiwiroa Marshall

Written by Amelia Murray. Posted in Our Stories.

From a young age, Kiwiroa Marshall has stayed true to her high school motto - Summa Pete, Seek Thou the Highest. As head girl atKiwiroa photo square 1 Papakura High, this has been a value which has resonated with Kiwiroa (known as Kiwi) and one which undoubtedly has been applied throughout various aspects of her life.

Kiwiroa describes herself as being from a true blue-collar background. Her father, who spent most of his life in the freezing works, always championed her progress. “Dad wanted more opportunities for me than he had, so he would go into school and talk to the careers advice officer and my teachers." It was an accounting teacher that said she should be going to to university that lead to her completing a four-year Bachelor of Management Studies (majoring in Accounting) at Waikato University.



During her third year at university Kiwiroa became pregnant. She explains: “Well, I had a choice... I could either go home, have this child and give up on my higher education, or I could stay committed to a better future. I was determined to go forward, and my mother willingly stepped in to raise my daughter so that I could finish my degree.”

Kiwiroa’s desire to travel to the UK was sparked in the 1970s, when she waved goodbye to cousins moving to the Midlands with their Yorkshire born father and Maori mum. She remembers saying to herself at the time “one day I’m going to go there too.” It wasn’t until she was working with Oracle NZ as an Oracle Applications Consultant, an opportunity presented itself and Kiwiroa, along with her husband at the time and daughter, decided to take the leap.

Arriving in London in the Summer of 1991, Kiwiroa worked at Oracle UK for three years. She had become a single mum and decided to stay in the UK, rather than return home. She moved into the world of IT contracting and then sales. 

However, Kiwiroa explains, “It got to the point of well I’ve got the money, but I don’t have the time to spend with my daughter." Kiwiroa had her first taste of multi-level marketing in the early 1990s, and worked for the personal development franchise, Action International (now Action Coach).

She says: “I was the first person to get a client in the whole of the UK and Ireland - my first client being a dentist who opened a third business as a result of the coaching."

She then took on other sales jobs, becoming one of the top 10 sales reps for Dolpin Bathrooms in the UK, before going back to accounting. Like many of us Kiwiroa was still questioning what she was really passionate about. 

"I wanted to create a lifestyle that gave me an income and the flexibility to work remotely.” This eventually led to launching her own personal development business in January of 2020 - Prosperity for You.

Kiwiroa built this up part-time while still working as a full-time consultant for the NZ owned consultancy business – Sysdoc Ltd.

“The products are personal development courses, because we need to tend to our mindset in order to grow. The money comes as a result. Money brings choices, and when we have more choices, we have more freedom to design a lifestyle that suits our desires and enables us to contribute to society in a way that we are inspired by and passionate about."

The core of the business consists of both self-help online courses on mindset and live events on wealth creation and influence. Kiwiroa has a strategic alliance with a company who deliver the courses, while she markets their business and content on their behalf.

Outside of work, Kiwiroa has had a strong passion for the performing arts, having travelled Europe with London-based Māori cultural group Ngāti Rānana, been a lead singer in the Rock Choir, and throughout lockdown reigniting her long-term relationship with the piano by taking on an eight-week piano course via Zoom!

Kiwiroa joined Ngāti Rānana when she first moved to the UK in the 1990s, performing with them on stages across Europe and in South Africa, working with NZ government and commercial organisations, as well as at cultural festivals, promoting New Zealand culture.

Kiwiroa is also a member of CAANZ (Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand) and has been a longstanding member of the NZBWN, joining the network 6 years ago. “NZBWN has given me opportunities to contribute, meet other people, hang out and it’s great to be able to contribute again.”

She says: “I never saw myself as an entrepreneur until recently. But I realised it’s not about how many times you succeed, it’s about how many times you get up and get going again. I am grateful to be a Kiwi and grateful to be Māori for everything that it gives me. There is something in us as Kiwis where we are brought up to be creative, resourceful and resilient. Those traits are inherent in us and it’s what carries us through."

Kiwiroa will be running a Money Mindset Mentor Group in September. Express your interest here to be the first to get the application when they open in July. You can also connect with Kiwiroa on LinkedIn.