-Life as an Entrepreneur: Tour Company-
Entrepreneurship in its truest sense is ultimately about the recognition of opportunity. Every and all businesses, successful or otherwise, begin with the identification of a perceived gap and then a derived service or product is slotted in to fill that need.
Yeah, that is obvious. What isn’t so clear is the visioning or projecting of trends well enough in advance, so as to take advantage of opportunities before others do.
On this episode we have a guest who not only predicted opportunity in a certain sector far before others, but also did so in a country far different than her own as far as culture, language and customs go.
Introducing
Nicki van Ingen Schenau is the owner and founder of Tokiotours, a Japan based and TripAdvisor awarded private guided tour company she established there in 2013.
Equipped with a bachelors’ degree from InHolland in Asian Pacific Management and with 10+ years of experience in the travel and tourism industry, she has built a thriving business serving the needs of both domestic and international tourists.
Scale and Reach
Her tour company impressively boasts a network of 50+ local guides spread out all over Japan, who conduct private guided tours across the nation.
The guides employed by Tokiotours speak multiple languages including and not limited to English, Japanese, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. Beyond that, the business also offers LGBTQ+ guides for clients interested in exploring that aspect of Japanese culture.
Trust and Notoriety
Now, in serving within the Japan travel and tourism market for multiple years and in addition to her well-established quality of service, Nicki has managed to build an impressive social community and network of followers.
For example, she has nearly 20,000 followers on Instagram, over 30,000 on Facebook and nearly 500,000 in one FB group alone!
Other Activities
Beyond her tour company work, Nicki is also engaged with consulting and helping those interested in entering the often, murky business waters of Japan.
In her free time, she volunteers as president of the Japanfans foundation. This newly founded non-profit aims to strengthen the mutual understanding and cultural exchange between Japan and the Netherlands.
Through this foundation Nicki plans various events, such as workshops, trainings, events complete with keynote speakers and presentations that connect and add value to those looking to better understand Japanese culture.
Reasons to Listen
The conversation will be of great assistance for:
- Those wishing to learn more about the mindset of starting and running a company for the first time
- How the combination of various skills, passions and experiences can amount to a rewarding life and business
- Those wishing to learn more about Japan travel and tourism from an entrepreneurial standpoint
Listeners will gain insights on the following:
- The essential elements of social marketing in running a tour company (specific tips on what to focus on most)
- What sets her offering apart and has helped her company gain recognition and win a TripAdvisor award for exemplary service
- Why she strategically went for a business model based on consulting, customization and personal touch
- The value of having a strong business partner that compliments you as an entrepreneur
- Her pathway leading up to establishing a tour company
- Inspirational entrepreneurial stories
- How she navigated the Covid travel business crisis
- What skills and mindsets are essential in running a travel business
- Opinions on the ‘passion vs money’ debate when it comes to careers and work
- The future of the travel and tourism industry in Japan
- + Much more!
A Memorable Quote from the Episode:
“Your work should be your passion. If it is not, then you are going to go to work with lead in your shoes and it’s going to be an uphill struggle.”
-Nicki Van Ingen Schenau
Check out the Video Conversation:
For those who desire to view the full video conversation of this discussion, you can do so via Youtube.
Words of Wisdom:
Hear from Nicki as she shares some of her own career advice.
Discover More
For those interested in learning more about Nicki and her work, you can check her via her company Tokiotours or on the following social platforms:
Keep Listening!
I hope you enjoyed the episode. For more, check out additional episodes here!
