The word “Safari” comes from the Swahili language and means “journey.” For the past 10 years, in partnership with a fantastic friend and sister-in-law, Sandy Salle, we have had the pleasure of sending many, many people on safaris,  through our travel business, called Hills of Africa Travel, www.hillsofafrica.com.  What we have learned is that owning our own business and following our passion for travel and Africa has been an adventure of its own.

A defining moment in my business life occurred in July of 2007. I had just given birth to my third child.  I was knee deep in responsibilities:

• brand new baby
• mom to 2 other deserving kids
• trying, but failing, to turn my passion into profit
• a wife to a neglected husband and
• business owner working from home.

I had no help, no time for myself, no time for my family and Sandy, my business partner, didn’t either, whose responsibility list looked very similar.  We were 2 lone rangers with no weapons, and very big hearts.

Thank goodness that despite the complete chaos going on around us, we had the clarity of vision to hire a “marketing” coach. The word marketing is in quotes because she taught us much more than marketing.  The defining moment came when she said to us:  “You two need to stop treating your business like a hobby and embrace the magnificent corporation that it’s meant to be.”

That was the turning point in our business. Within one year, we hired employees, we put our marketing into high gear, and our revenues doubled.  We finally took responsibility for creating the business of our dreams.  In the 2 years since, we have successfully created a shining star of a corporation and are incredibly proud of the business we have built.

When we started Hills of Africa Travel, almost 10 years ago, we began as travel agents. The business evolved into a specialized tour operator, and now, we sell our product through them.   The more I work with travel agents, the more I feel a yearning to “pay it forward” and help them turn their passion for travel into a successful, thriving, profitable and meaningful business that it’s meant to be.  I want them to see that they can have their cake and eat it too, follow their passion for travel and make a fantastic living.  I want them to see the importance they play in the lives of others, inspiring their clients to travel more.

All travel agents have one thing in common:  a passion for travel. However, many, many travel agents never signed up for entrepreneurship.  Rather, the travel industry changed, almost overnight, thanks to airlines eliminating commissions and the emergence of online travel.  These changes have left most travel agents working on an “independent contractor” basis relying solely on commissions for income.  If you are a travel agent…whether you still work in a brick and mortar agency, or work from home, you are essentially a solo entrepreneur, which means wearing many hats.  But you were never taught how to market and run your own business.  I want you to embrace the corporation you are meant to be, and the amazing possibilities that come with that.

I want to inspire you to take your passion for travel and channel it towards the marketing of your business so that you can make more money, have more free time, travel more and make a name for yourself in the travel business.

The purpose of this blog is to lead you down your journey or safari to success, using the most direct paths that we learned on our journey, at Hills of Africa Travel. This blog is your helping hand.  It’s your compass, it’s your guide.  Finally, you have someone that is going to show you the steps to take as an entrepreneur.

Success is a very personal thing.  It means something different to everyone. Most of us would agree that success is not just about being financially free – this is a big piece of it, but not the only piece.  So, you will find great, practical, business advice on this blog, but you will also find personal development advice on this blog.  I invite you to read, enjoy and take what helps and leave what doesn’t.

There’s one more thing – the word safari is intended to remind you to ENJOY the journey!

To your success!

Meredith Hill