Today we’d like to introduce you to Nasha Pace.
Hi Nasha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Our story is one that is growing right along with us.
Today, we’re both 55 years old; we met 9 years ago in 2016 and started the business one year later in 2017. What started as a leap of faith to help people travel, change pace and do something different, which has turned into a reality of curating international travel that enables travelers to fully immerse themselves in-destination while simultaneously revitalizing their sense of well-being.
Prior to meeting, I had a career with government entities and worked in the areas of organizational leadership, marketing and event management; and I am also an author. Being laid off in 2009 gave me an opportunity to reinvent myself and I found my passion as a creative entrepreneur. From planning a multitude of events, and community programs to assisting entrepreneurs with actualizing their dreams, my journey amongst other things, led to the development of a retreat business for professional black women to replenish, so that soaring in all areas of life was more obtainable. Purpose-driven projects that enrich “our” community is where I thrive. So, it’s no wonder that today, curating travel itineraries and traveling with black and brown professional women is one of my greatest joys.
Steve, while working mostly in Corporate America in Commercial Finance, has always had an entrepreneurial mindset. He once had a candy vending machine business, sold satellite television and home security door to door. He even had an online shopping site (affiliate marketing), which included a web page specifically for people to book travel. There was a time when he dabbled in Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) and found out quickly that it was not for him. For a long time, Steve has been a budding entrepreneur seeking to use his selling abilities while finding his sweet spot in building a business that was purposeful, successful and would allow him to leave Corporate America. Today, Steve is full-time in the business, and he lights up when clients divulge their dream trip requirements and he’s able to meet and/or exceed their vacation vision and bring it to life.
The synchrony came when together we combined our entrepreneurial spirit and what we learned from Corporate America to create Changing Pace Travel, LLC. More than a travel business, we aspire to help our clients see the world and live out their travel dreams.
As a full-service black-owned travel company, we offer a collection of immersive life-changing international travel experiences that we host as seen on our website: changingpacetravel.com, in addition, we plan international group travel experiences for others. Furthermore, our travel management services include vacation planning for others. From accommodations, reservations, tours, processing secure online payments, creating itineraries, and preparing travelers for departure, we handle both large groups and solo travelers.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The process to get to where we are was not smooth. The “travel” business is not as easy as it looks.
We found that having the right mindset and attracting the ideal client were some of our greatest challenges.
– We made a shift in our thinking from trying to pull and convince people to travel to being there for people who want and need travel in their lives,
– We went from attracting people who were not ready, to those eager, mature and ready to experience new places with an open mindset.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Changing Pace Travel, LLC
We’re a married couple. Both full-time owners.
Nasha is the Creative CEO of Changing Pace Travel and builds relationships with our group-travel clients. Steve is a Certified Travel Associate (CTA) and works as a business development officer building our global relationships with tour operators, travel suppliers and hotels. He also works with clients on independent travel requests.
Brand wise:
We are a grassroots business built from travelers’ referrals. We have grown by word of mouth and being able to connect newcomers to past and present travelers lets us know that we are doing something right! Trust and excitement are most often our starting point.
Our travelers are predominantly black professional women ages 45-73 in leadership roles with professional experiences in the military, government careers, retirees or near retirement with businesses. Most are seasoned travelers that enjoy the group travel experience and friendships that evolve. While we continually encourage more men to join us, most often it’s the woman in a relationship or an already established friends circle that gets them to come.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
For both of us, travel was not always a priority in our lives. Both of us have experienced the importance of taking time to tap out of daily life duties and challenges. Travel has helped us with keeping balanced while assisting others who need the same. We find a special joy in helping people see the world, for whatever their reasons are.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://changingpacetravel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changingpacetravel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/changingpacetravel
