A thing I am quite vocal about is that entrepreneurship was never something I imagined would become me. I saw myself strictly going the 8-5 route for many reasons: 

1. I have never found myself to be an entrepreneurial person

2. I have a quiet, shy, almost invisible demeanour. I felt that would count against me in the entrepreneurial world

3. I did not want the struggles, the problems and the responsibilities; it all just seemed too heavy a load to carry.

Yet, here we are – me, an entire businesswoman.

So, how did we get here? Believe it or not, we got here somewhat accidentally. 

I started my travel journey because I wanted to see and know more about Namibia. 

I wanted the first-hand experience of climbing Dune 7. |

I wanted to take boat cruises and see as many crocodiles and hippos as humanly possible. 

I wanted to take in the fresh air of the desert, experience the climb to Deadvlei, and see lions, giraffes and elephants. I wanted it all, and I think I did well.

A blessing I do not overlook is meeting someone who has the same interest in travel as I do. After a few months of planning, we got up and started what would become our journey around Namibia. 

I remember our first real trip to an NWR resort, called Popa Falls Resort. For the first trip, not much went wrong. We had no car issues (Namibian travel experiences come with a prerequisite of at least one tyre puncture, but none of that happened on this trip). We got to our destination quite smoothly and had a pleasant three-night stay.

I shared quite a bit about my travel journey – from transport needs and estimated costs to the general experience of the place.

This is where things began to align.

Not too long after our third trip around the country, brands began to take notice and reached out here and there. 

I was not getting regular calls and most jobs were not paying yet, but barter agreements worked just fine for me. 

I wanted to travel, and they wanted documented experiences.

I picked up very early on that I needed an outlet, outside of social media, where I could build a community of my own, so I went live with my blog soon after. 

The blog brought about opportunities of its own:

1.  I was head-hunted to write for this publication.

2.  I finally started getting actual paying gigs.

3. There is consistency in the gigs. 

4. My social media following grew.

Although I was having fun, it was not all sunshine and rainbows. 

Like many things under the sun, social media has a side many would never want to experience. 

You can get mean-spirited comments, degrading comments and invasive questions, but the trick is to use the tools these apps give you to protect your peace. The block sign will help you; the mute sign is heaven-sent – use them. 

With the success of my travel blog, I decided to venture into travel consultancy; it just felt like the next step, you know? 

I very nervously registered my company and saw it pick up in ways I did not imagine possible. 

I have, in that capacity, planned multiple honeymoons, more baecations than I can count and family trips – both domestic and international. I am quite proud of that.

I have slowed down on day-to-day consulting though, because of the direction in which I want to take the business, but we will talk about that another day.

Here is a direction I did not see my life taking: Going live with my media agency. 

Like the travel consultancy, Ninga Media felt like another natural progression. 

Social media management and content creation crept into my life, and I was happy to embrace them. 

With Ninga Media, I currently manage several companies’ social media accounts in different industries, two personal accounts and one NGO.

So, if you want to take the leap, please do so! The possibilities are endless.

For any questions or collaborations, do not hesitate to contact me.

Email: ndapandahaininga@gmail.com

Instagram: @__ndapanda

Twitter: @__ndapanda