by Dr. Ada Chime

I failed in business before, but failure doesn’t define you…here’s why I started another business and am finally succeeding.

From the experience of my father’s death when I was in my twenties to the experience of becoming a single mum to 3 children that were all under the age of 8, I had to come to realise the importance of having an extra source of income and had spent many years trying out a series of businesses without success. These included network marketing businesses, an online African grocery store and a greeting card making business.

So, when I came across the travel business, Dezy Tours and Travels, it appealed to me for many reasons - the first being, that I loved to travel, and I saw this as an opportunity to be able to do so. The investment in the business was affordable and I could get started without having to save up a big lump sum as in traditional business. 

As a first-generation immigrant from Nigeria who has experienced racism in the UK and also as a woman, who has experienced various forms of sexism in my NHS job, it was also very exciting for me to see the diversity of the people in this business - realised that there were no barriers to success or glass ceilings (bonus point…it is also predominantly women in this business 🤫😅).

I had realised from my previous failed attempts at business that it’s important to have support and mentorship when starting out in business. 

The travel business provided me with a turnkey to understanding how to succeed in business. I was given training, marketing materials, websites, business insurance/protection, all of which helped me to get started immediately without having to sort these out myself.

Moving forward 18 months, I am still in this business - the longest I have ever lasted in any business! I am enjoying the journey and meeting like-minded, positive people and learning basic business skills and also behaviours required for success in business such as persistence, consistency, focus, confidence, strong dreams, setting goals, etc. I am also helping people get started in the business and mentoring them, which is also contributing to my own personal development. For example, I have learned how to use social media to market my business; this includes creating posts, reels and stories. I have also learnt how to use Canva to create some of my social media posts. I have read books written by successful entrepreneurs to learn the key ingredients that led to their successes. I am also doing travel business presentations, which I had at first found very daunting. In addition, I am supporting my team of travel business partners with their growth and providing them with mentorship. 

 In order to be successful in business, I had to step out of my comfort zone. 

PS: To hear more about my travel business, join me and my mentor - Dr Ola Abbas, for a webinar on 20th March 2025 at 8pm. Please email me at dezystours352@gmail.com to request the link to join.