 Y254. Imagine. Welcome back to entrepreneurship Tuesday. My name is Michelle Ashira. You can follow us across all our social media platform. That is at Y254 channel and we are on our next segment. Before I give you the question of the day, we are looking at how to restore confidence post COVID-19 because we all want to travel. I'm all about planning my next vacation and if you're planning also, I will tell you who the person to talk to when it comes to matters of tours and travel. So my guest, the person I'm talking about is the founder of Tukio Ventures and she's been into commercial experience of product and service industry for 10 good years. Waringa Kimani. Hi. Hi, how are you? I'm fine. Thank you. Thank you very much for coming through. Sante Sana. Thank you for hosting me. All right. So if I've missed anything that I like to call a serial entrepreneur. Because I've learned such a couple of projects that you do when it comes to looking for money and also definitely inspiring young people into business just as an entrepreneur. You're not just into tour and travels. You, Waringa, you will deal with so many other ventures. So I like you to probably tell our viewers if I've missed anything that Waringa does. Let me just say apart from tours, I do some nice fruity yummy jumps. Yes. And this is a COVID baby that was born. Yes. Okay. So guys back at home head on to our Facebook page and you have a question for you right there. Remember, you can reach out to us. That is as simple as Y254 channel that is on Facebook and also on Instagram that is Y254 underscore channel. And we have a question for you and you're asking how often do you buy new clothes and where do you get them? Because you're looking at good quality at an affordable price. So coming back to tour and travel because most of us are looking forward to just going back to the new normal and the aspect of just gathering with family and friends in a safe way. We look, we look into that. So I'd like to find out, can we restore confidence in Kenyans when it comes to going back post COVID-19 when it comes to travel? Yes, we can. But I guess what COVID has done to us, it has taken us back to that commode of restore factory, that is what it has taken us back to. We think outside the box, what if COVID doesn't go, what next? So we all have to think outside the box on what next. But yes, there's restoration at the end of the day. There's light events of the day. Yeah. And we look forward to, we just hopeful where we are right now. We just hopeful that things will get better. But what if they don't? Have you thought about it? Because it seems it will be the new norm now, living with masks, keeping that, you know, and all that. But we just have to be focused and keep it sane as the best way we can. All right. So we'll get to look into a couple of ways where we can actually restore confidence from Kenyans, just to get back to the new norm of just vacation, to and travels, just enjoying themselves with family and friends. But right now, let us to find out about 2Q Adventures, the reason why we are here, the tour travel company. So tell us more about 2Q Adventures. 2Q Adventures is a tour and travel company. We sell experience, adventure, and the whole journey from when you start your traveling to the last day. That's us and we are more of personalization, key on personalization. I want to just tell you, have a package tomorrow. Can you buy it? I want to hear from you. What do you want? What do you expect? Is there anything extra you want in that package? I listen more to my clients, then I'll give ideas and yeah, that's what we are about. And for corporates, we do team building. Basically, we do employee engagement programs. Okay. Yes. So for how long have you guys been into business? As 2Q Adventures since 2017, but personally I've been in it since 2013 with a different company. Yes. So for someone who is watching and here she just, she's just come across 2Q Adventures right now. We like to give them a feel of what exactly happens if they come to your office and let's assume the client here. I want to travel to probably seashells, Maldives or wherever that I intend to. Does the company, the tour and travel company of international travel? Yes, we do both local and international. Yes. So from when you enter to the office, I'll definitely want to listen to you. What are you looking at? What is your budget like? Yes. And then I'll cater for your needs. I'll listen to you more than what I'll tell you. And then from there now we can da, da, da, da. I'll tell you for your budget maybe of 10,000, 20,000, I can give you this. Yeah. It's basically that. During this time of the pandemic where we are minimizing movement and gathering, are there some of the packages that the company has that we can probably spend more time with the family and friends maybe during the weekend and yes, yes, yes, yes. We are selling the Nairobi National Park and it's really selling. Yeah. What are the packages? How are the packages looking like? The packages like, the packages start from around 1800 to 3000, but a minimum of six people per vehicle. Those are the restrictions and the day it's a six hours experience from when you're picked from home, get into the park, have your game drive, do your picnic, then you're dropped home. At the end of the day it's about the people you're with, what you want to feel and that's what will give you. Yeah. So for someone who is watching this particular conversation and they love the idea of venturing into the tour and travel. So Leon, we're having a conversation about shifting from one career to another. Yes. Probably they develop this interest. What type of background do one needs, do one actually needs to start off a business in tour and travel? You have to have a background in tourism. Yes, you have to. For your own business, you also have to have some management skills and all. Yes. You just don't wake up one day. Actually it's in every career, you just don't wake up one day and just say, I want to do this. You have to go learn it. It's not like when you're producing something which you can't be taught. Like if I'm to make chicken, you can go through YouTube, you can go through whatever, whatever and get the skills from there. But some things you have to learn. You have to learn how to make an itinerary. You have to learn how to do those calculations. You have to learn how not to backtrack. You have to learn so many stuff. You have to know the animals. If you're a guide, you have to know so much. Yes. But it's not an easy industry but we strive. Okay. So allow me to take you back to 2017 when you started this particular company. Yeah. What was the initial capital? My capital was my clients. I like that. Yes. Okay. So how did you gather about just your clients to just invest in your business? From where I was working, I was a director but the company had to stop and I had to restart again. So I can say to cure is so new. Like I had to restart from scratch, like trying to win my clients why I'm not in this company, why this company had to be closed and why to cure. So I had to gain that confidence that you can, we can still go with to cure. You can still travel with to cure at the end of the day. It's only the name has changed or but I'm still Waringa. Providing the same services. Yes. All right. So I can say I started a capital but my clients, they also pushed me. You can do this. They believed in you. They believed in me. Yes. Looking at probably a reference of your project that you actually done and they were involved. Yeah. Okay. So you have a test of a little bit of the both side of the world employment and entrepreneurship. Yeah. What's it take? For me, entrepreneurship any day. Why? Any day. Okay. Why? Being my own boss has really toughened me like big time and knowing how to juggle business, myself, my children and all that. It has really toughened me. At least where I am today, I believe it's, if it were not of entrepreneurship, I don't know. I don't know if I'll have grown this much. Yeah. But it has really toughened me and I love that about it because attempt employment might put you in that comfort zone and you're like, I'm not growing here. I need to keep, keep, keep doing this and that for me to get that promotion for me to maybe try another field or something. But with entrepreneurship, you're their content. When you start, you're their content, you're the messenger, you're everything in that company when you start. Yeah. So you get, you get all the experiences at the same time. Yeah. I love the fact that you point across a very important aspect where you spoke about when it comes to employment, there's a certain of being comfortable because at the end of the month, you're sure there's a certain of, you know, the salary. So a check will be coming through. So, but when you venture into entrepreneurship, it's all yours. It's all yours. Especially when you're just starting up. I like to find out what motivates you, what makes you like wake up every single morning and be so much dedicated to your ventures. Oh, my kids. Because at the end of the day, they depend on me. And I'm a single mother. So you just have to at the end of the day. So my kids really motivate me. The other thing that keeps me going, rejection. When you reject me, I'll show you by the, I can do it. Oh, why? Yes. That's a different angle. And I, that's a very impressive angle. Yeah. When you try to tell me by the orega, you cannot do it. Imagine, I'll show you, I'll do it. So for me to prove that point, that I can do it, yeah, that motivates me. And also the girl I want to be, you have that picture of you, Michelle, that one day one time I'll have this and this. And when you don't, when you're not there, you have to keep going. So for me, I look at that girl I want to be that successful lady in all aspects. When I'm not yet there, it really pushes me and wakes me up and all that. Yeah. That motivates me a lot. Yeah. So I look up to myself. That's future Waringa. Impressive. Very impressive. So there's so many two and travel companies out there. So what's your value proposition? For us, how to put it, we invest in our clients. Yes. I may have two clients and have those two clients for the longest, but the experience we give will be something different. So for me, I really don't rush to numbers. I grow with my clients. Today we started just within Nairobi. Tomorrow we'll go to Nairobi National. Okay. Tomorrow we'll go to Naivasha. After a few years, we are going to Maldives, seashells, you know. Yeah. I like, we believe in working with the clients and giving them a different taste, a different touch. Even when they are so broke, I'll still tell you, we can still do this. You don't have to run away because you can't afford this and that. Yeah. So you work with my budget at the same time? Exactly. Plus the personalization is key. Every client wants to feel special. Yeah. I like that. So a huge number of Kenyans have been laid off during these hard economical times. And I would like to find out probably post COVID-19 when we zoom normal, say, and just probably the two key adventures are hiring, right? What are some of the skills that you people are looking out for? We'll be looking out for, for people who want to get into the tour and travel kind of business. I'm that person who looks for someone who is willing to learn. If you're not willing to learn, we cannot gel in. Whether you've been a professional in that field for the longest, but if you can't, if you don't have that chemistry, I can't, I can't just deal with it. But definitely you have to have a tourism background in it. You just don't want to employ an accountant, come and guide my clients, make our package, yet they don't know what that's all about. But if you're an accountant and you're willing to learn and you're willing maybe to get this skill from a certain place, why not? Yeah. So just the willingness to learn? The willingness to learn. Yeah. That's quite a good proposition there for someone who wants to get into this plane of business. It's quite, quite very simple. Just learn how to be in a position to, to learn something new. Yeah. So to love, to, to and learn the culture of tours and travel, you know, you have to gel in. Absolutely. I like to find out the revenue. How does the revenue look like for the company since 2017 till now? Like how many tours do you guys do in a month? It depends with the seasons. Yeah. It really depends on the season. You look at, at a good, let's say, like a good month, like a good month. On a good month you can do even more than 20 clients or 30 or even 50 because at the end of the day we look at clients either as a group or as an individual or as a family. Yes. When it comes to corporate, that's you're talking of 50 to 100 guys. Yeah. So it depends with what you're looking at because for me when I'm dealing, I'm dealing with both corporates and both local, more Nainchi. Yes. All right. So I wouldn't tell how many clients do you expect, blah, blah. Today I can fail like, let me put it like this. Today I'll have, I won't have any business coming in, maybe even for a whole month. Then a good month comes in and it covers those two months. And that's the beauty about business at times. The flexibility. Today you have, tomorrow you don't have. And that brings another challenge. Yes. Which is how do you ensure like the managing aspect of it? Because I am absolutely sure like you have people who work for 2Q Ventures, your employees. So especially during these hard economical times, during this pandemic, how are they coping and looking at the aspect of it's not always a sure deal that every single month that you're going to heat a certain numbers or probably sale on the packages. So how do you cope with that? How do you manage that? They all understand the state we are in. So I'm very lucky they have ventured into something else. They're also doing their side hassles. But they can't wait to come back to it. Yes. Let me just say I'm blessed to have good employees who understand what's going on. And anytime they may be having any gig, I'm willing to support all the way. Yeah. It's a nice boss there. So when it comes to young entrepreneurs, and you can second me into this, they struggle a lot to just execute an idea which is on paper. I'd like to find out how is it for you? How are you able to create from an idea on a paper to QV Ventures to just bring it to real life? And how would you go or maneuver through the fear and the child that the aspect of just feel starting something new? You just have to be a risk taker. Tomorrow I'll come to you. I have everything in my mind. What I'm going to sell, blah, blah, and then you just reject me. I don't feel you. I don't feel your vibe. I don't feel your tours vibe. But will you go back to sleep? We'll just have to hit it. Yeah. You just have to be a risk taker the end of the day. We all survive by risking. Yeah. Speaking about risking, because when it comes to an entrepreneurship journey, it always feels like you're jumping out from the edge and you will just have to create a parachute down there. I'd like to find out some of the challenges that you'll face as QV Ventures will starting off the business that is. Winning the client's trust. When it comes to travel, any service you give you have to win your clients and trust is how will I give you money? How will I know you won't bail me out last minute? I won't come to be picked from my house. So you have to win their trust. That is challenge number one. Challenge number two would be the people you're working around and trusting your clients with their driver and trusting your clients with your colleagues. So you have to really be confident again, take the risk and just hope for the best. But at the end of the day, it's the chemistry. If you're my employee and you spoil this business, trust me, it will affect you as well. Because at the end of the day, clients will bring their complaint here and it will affect both of us. This client will never come back again. You need to be paid. So more of it is trust issues. So you have to win. You have to win it from the clients. Why should I travel with you next? The experience we sell, did I have a blast? I don't know if my driver will go and abuse them at their park because most of the time, we don't make it for all the trips. I cannot divide myself. Today I'll go with you, but tomorrow I won't make it. You understand? So at times, it's all about trust. That's the number one challenge. It's all about teamwork, trust, and building the credibility for your clients. Exactly. Okay. So just as we wind up, I'd like to find out, what does the future for theCUBE Avengers look like? Wow. We believe it's bright. For me, it's all about winning more clients, creating a certain niche because every day we grow, you don't headache as your business grows. You don't headache. So for me is to just win a certain clientele that I want. That is what I see for myself, for the company that is, yes. And to grow, when it comes to team building, to grow more clients, to grow with them because I really love team building, personally. It's a journey. It trains me as an individual how to grow with my employees and all that. So I want to win more corporates. I want to gel in. I want to grow with them. Like why should we choose you again? Yeah. Absolutely. This conversation was very much informative and very much entertaining. So I would like you to use this particular time to just give us your website and how people can reach out to you, your social media hand also so that they can keep tabs on new projects coming up because we all about going on vacation, planning to travel as you resume normalcy. Yes. You can find me on Facebook, Insta, or there, Facebook, Insta, Waringa to Kill, for 2 Kill Ventures, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at 2 Kill Ventures. All right. There you have it. Thank you very much. We'll probably definitely have you over again as you look on matters pertaining to and travel. And guys, make sure you follow up on 2 Kill Ventures and keep you up to date on matters of to and travel. So follow us across all social media handle that is at Y254Channel, reach out to me at Michelle Ashira. And we have a question for you on our Facebook page. We are asking how often, how often do you buy new clothes and where do you get them? How often do you buy new clothes and where do you actually get them? You're looking at quality at an affordable price. Head on to our Facebook page that is at Y254Channel and for now we'll be going to a short musical break and we'll be right back.