• Have you always been entrepreneurial? What led you to take that first step and set up your own Travel business, especially during a recession?

I have a strong family background in business from my father’s side, so I was surrounded by that entrepreneurial spirit all my life.  I have always been in travel but from a corporate perspective in my other business SevenEvents (www.sevenevents.co.uk) which is about curating reward and incentive trips to help business motivate their employees. The passion for travel was always there but the idea for SevenTravel came to me during the coronavirus pandemic when I noticed how booking a trip had become a quick and mindless decision. I wanted to bring more of a mindful approach to travel – from choosing the destination, the experience, and learning about local traditions and communities. This was my opportunity to create a real disruptor business that would highlight a new type of travel – one that’s more considered, sustainable and designed for the future. SevenTravel was born as a positive-impact, luxury travel company. We specialise in tailor-made milestone trips that are ten days or more and designed to expand travellers’ worlds, through unique adventures and authentic experiences across the globe. Just like fast fashion was becoming ‘out of fashion’, fast travel was a concept that just didn’t make sense to me anymore. This is a type of travel that is disposable, unsustainable, bad for the planet, and often lacks the enrichment that travel should have. Each time we book a trip with a client that encompasses these fundamental principles, we experience our next big success!

• If any, what challenges have you experienced as a woman entrepreneur during your career?

I experienced many challenges throughout my career, especially as an entrepreneur and woman of colour. One of the biggest challenges I faced, like many others in the industry, has been the pandemic. I felt a huge responsibility to protect my team while navigating the insecurities brought by the unknown of the situation. I am also a mum and raising a family at the same time as growing a business brought its fair share of sleepless nights. Thankfully, I am naturally a positive person and take each challenge as a learning opportunity to grow as a businesswoman. Confidence and believing in yourself and your dreams are key factors in overcoming hurdles. You need to switch to a creative mindset to find solutions instead of letting challenges drag you down. I also realised the value of being surrounded by supportive people. From my small team to my husband and children, they are a big driver of my success, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.

• What are the most important values and skills to lead a business such as SevenTravel?

To be able to find our niche in the market and offer a consultative approach to travellers, the main values and skills required are to be selective and targeted. It is tempting to disperse our focus far and wide hoping to reach the right people, but it is key to have a targeted approach and be smart with the time, team, and budget that we have. We have decided to be a digital first company for the next three years whilst we build our team of experts and make a name for ourselves in the market. The vision in the long term would be to have specialists across the globe with plans to open an office in the USA in 2024. Our Travel Designers go above and beyond to create bespoke itineraries for each client which very few luxury tour operators offer. They really listen to what our clients like on a holiday and shape every minute of the trip until it becomes their perfect holiday. We add private and exclusive experiences to each holiday as we believe these are the key for travellers to get under the skin of a country. 

Another value that we all share and cherish at SevenTravel is giving back. We support local partners and ensure that our clients lean towards hotels and resorts that are sustainably focused and independent. Our mission to design luxury milestone trips that help lift the lives of future generations, means that we want to harness the power of travel to have a positive impact. We have launched a Positive Future Fund, which supports a trio of charities: Go Beyond, Project Rhino and Upaya Social Ventures. We also donate £50 per person for each trip booked with us to the fund, which is shared equally between our charity partners. We’re also gunning to be net zero by 2035 and are working with a consultancy to help us achieve our goal, focused on reduction strategies first and offsetting only the emissions which are unavoidable.

• What piece of advice would you give any aspiring female business leaders reading this?

I would sit back and take the time to plan how you are going to achieve your goals and set out an ambitious but realistic roadmap that will help you get there.  Goal setting and having a master plan are what help to stay focussed and to remind yourself of why and how you will get there.  I also believe that everyone possesses leadership qualities and just need a bit of confidence to unleash them.  Never give up, believe in yourself and your dreams, and surround yourself with positive like-minded people who also want you to succeed.