We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kim Giovacco a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kim, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I think when you are fortunate to become your own boss, everything changes. Before owning my business, I was very much a 9-5 person, never needed to take my work home with me, and never needed to work overtime. The first couple of years that I owned my business, I probably worked 70 hours per week and was jumping out of bed every day, anxious to begin working. There was just so much to do, and lots of hope and optimism. When it’s your own venture, there is no choice but to plow through full speed ahead, and hope it will all be worth it a few years down the road.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My company Veg Jaunts and Journeys shows travelers the world with a vegan focus. We take small groups of travelers on tours to vegan-friendly destinations around the world. Traveling as a vegan can be difficult without advance preparation, and we do all the planning so our guests can thoroughly enjoy themselves and travel with like-minded folks.
For me I’m most grateful that we have so many repeat travelers, including some who join multiple tours with us each year. There are also so many friendships made among our travelers, and many guests have become close friends of mine.
I have made many connections around the world with other vegans, and am so happy for the opportunity to support their businesses by having my groups take part in their activities and services.
After five years of running the business alone, I now have three assistants helping me lead tours, and that has allowed us to increase the number of tours we offer each year.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My work is extremely detailed-oriented, and my last corporate position prepared me for that very well. I am also very customer-service focused, and my clients constantly remark on how quickly I get back to them. I do feel that I am “on call” all the time, but for me, having the chance to be my own boss and set my own schedule is completely worth it.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Several years ago I came across a fellow tour operator in a Facebook group. I adopted him as my mentor, and am eternally grateful for the guidance that he has provided to me and others as well. We have never met in person, but he is always quick to answer my questions and I knew I wanted to emulate his business, and I feel I have just about reached that point. And now I am so honored to serve as a mentor for someone else who is just starting out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vegjauntsandjourneys.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vegjauntsandjourneys
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vegjauntsandjourneys
