Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Destiny Gray. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Destiny, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Growing up I’ve always knew what my journey would be. I’d finished high school go to college get my degree and work my 9-5 and live a typical normal life. I didn’t think that after graduating college that I wouldn’t want to be a social worker or have anything to do with my degree for that matter. I decided to purse a career in the dance industry and start my own travel company. In the beginning stages of starting my own travel company it took me a while to create a logo, a website, build a following on social media because it gave me so much anxiety that I was getting a step closer to my goal of releasing a group trip. It took me two years to release my first official trip under my company name because i honestly thought i couldn’t do it. I thought who am I to have my own business? Who am I to plan a trip out of the country? Who am I to have a business? I leaned on my friends who were also starting their 1st travel business for encouragement. We constantly checked in with one another to make sure we were executing our plans. After 2 years I decided to release my first trip to the public and own the fact that this is the lifestyle and job I want to live and do even though it’s not the normal 9-5.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My 9-5 is in health administration. However outside of that Im a cheerleading instructor, vogue dancer and teacher. I also have my own travel company called Black Travel Vibes. I plan group trips for melanin travelers. Black Travel Vibes is a black owned travel company curating exhilarating group trips. Our group trips are packed with excursions and adventurous experiences. We take pride in bringing our Melanin Kings and Queens across the globe, having fun and immersing ourselves within the culture. We are planning to take travelers back to the motherland. We have group trips to Zimbabwe, Zambia Botswana and Namibia lined up for 2024 for more information go to www.BlackTravelVibes.com
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three Qualities I felt were most impactful in my journey is leadership, organization and execution. I felt like I’ve always ran away from leadership roles even when I may have been the best person for the job for the fear of failing. However if I wanted to start my own business I would need to pull on my background of being a cheerleading instructor and the ability to manage different personalities, delegate and managing time. As far as organizing I’ve always love researching and planning trips, whether if was for myself, my family or friends. I love being responsible for the turn up and the reason why people are having a such a memorable time. For execution i realize its not enought to dream it, its not enough to say what you want you have to create a plan of how your going to make it happen and hold youself accountable. Sometimes the plan isnt perfect either but you got to do it anyway to make progress. My advice for folks is to find your passion and suuround yourself with like minded people in that industry. Also to be an executor no matter how big your dream is start with small goals to achieve those. In no time youll be living your dream.
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?
Deirdre Amola has been the most helpful in my journey to become an entrepreneur. She created a weeekly program for those who wanted to start their own travel company. We met every week on zoom and built our companies from scratch. My biggest struggle was creating my website because that is not my forte. However the community Deirdre created helped me with my own confidence and ability to figure it out and execute it. Within that group she helped us grow our following on our social media pages, logos, websites, itinerary planning, and finances. With all of this help I was able to lauch and have my first group trip.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blacktravelvibes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blacktravelvibes?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Blacktravelvibes
Image Credits
Black Travel Vibes
