Three words: Foresight. Optimistic. Accommodating.
Makiyah Moody (MM): What is your name and what does it mean?
Edna Boateng (EB): My name is Edna Gyasiwaa Boateng. The meaning of Edna is pleasure. That is the meaning of Edna. Gyasiwaa is a strong person in the Akan language and then Boateng is my father's surname given to me. So, it's somebody who pleases and then a strong person at the same time. And that's my name.
MM: Where were you born and where do you currently live?
EB: I was born in Cape Coast, Central Region because my daddy is a Fante. I currently live in Accra in the Greater Accra Region.
MM: What's the name of your company and when did you start it?
EB: Okay. The name of the company is Willeds Travel and then I started not quite long…somewhere January. But it's been in the process, but it just came out in January. And the reason for me to start my own company is because I love helping people. I love meeting new people and I felt that because of the way I relate to people, I have been in the business before so I felt I can come up with my own ideas and then help people also when they come around to see Ghana. So, that's the reason why I came up with my own company.
MM: Tell me a little bit about what Willeds Travel does.
EB: Willeds is a travel company, so we take people on tours within the country. Currently we are doing the country. Maybe as time goes on, we will start doing other West African countries. What we do is we take people on tours during…. maybe people who want to know their background like cultural heritage, or they just want to do nature…. Ghana, anything nature in Ghana, and also anything coastal like the beaches that we have in Ghana. So that is basically what we do. We do tours for people who want to know their roots. That’s what we do.
MM: What's one thing about being a business owner that you didn't expect?
EB: Pressure. That is one thing that I never expected, and it comes when you need to get the best out of the tour for your clients and you’re not getting. Especially with nice hotels. And then maybe there’s a tour site that you feel would be okay for them and you are not getting and time is running out. That is when you feel it. Now you have to do it. You just have to do it, but it's not coming. But at least at the end of the day you tried to get it done. But it [the pressure] goes beyond your expectations. Yeah.
MM: What is the best advice you’ve received as a business owner and the worst advice?
EB: The best is go for it, girl, you can do it. Just go for it. You know you can do it. I listened to this over and over again on my last tour with these two good ladies, Makiyah and Danielle. They kept on saying you can do it; you can do it. Even though I had the idea of coming out on my own, but they really gave me the best advice that anybody could give me and I felt it was something coming out from one sister to another and I took that advice well.
The worst advice is that it’s too early for you to start your own. You can’t do it. But I just didn't listen. I felt it was demotivating, but I just didn’t listen.
MM: Well, good, because now you have your own tour company.
EB: Mmm hmm, yes.
MM: Tell me where Willeds Travel will be ten years from now in 2033?
EB: 2033. Ten years from now Willeds Travel should be on the world map. And my world map means that I should be able to tell the whole world about Ghana. That is my goal -- to tell everybody that Ghana is beautiful. Ghana has this. Ghana has that. And also, to bring those who are lost. I know I have a lot of brothers and sisters who are out there who want to know their roots…where they are from. My company should be the one to bring everybody home. That is my goal. And so, by ten years from now, I should be able to do that. Yes.
Email: info@willedstravel.com
What’s App: + 233 244 74 7356
Website: www.willedstravel.com
Instagram: willeds_travel