We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Daniella Chase. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Daniella below.

Hi Daniella , thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

At the beginning of 2019, I sat on my bedroom floor, with the overwhelming conviction that I was created and capable of more. I wasn’t certain what that entailed but I desired more joy and fulfilment yet the longer I stayed at my work desk, the more my frustration grew. While my job gave me a sense of financial security, there was no joy for me from my everyday tasks. As I mapped out my vision on that sheet of cardboard, I listed quitting my job, learning a new language, and travelling the world. In the centre of all the aspirations, I wrote, “if it’s going to be, it’s up to me”.

I drafted an undated resignation letter and began learning Spanish on Duolingo with two of my colleagues. By July of that year, I had resigned from my job and left Guyana to pursue a backpacking adventure. When I announced my plans to my friends, some of them were ecstatic and some of them thought I was losing my mind. Who leaves their job to backpack? How are you going to earn money? What if this doesn’t work out? I didn’t know of anyone who had left their job to backpack. I did not even how I was going to earn while I travelled. But, I believed that what I desired was on the other side of my fear, and I was eager to discover what that more was.

I joined Workaway, a platform that allows travel members to arrange work stays and exchange visits, and connected with a hostel in Bogotá, Colombia. Through the program, volunteers or ‘workawayers’, contribute a pre-agreed amount of time per day in exchange for lodging and food, which is provided by their host. I arrived in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, at almost midnight and took a taxi to a nearby hostel and then to Tunja a few days later.

I volunteered as an English Teacher for three months, and then the Covid-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. Ultimately, I could not return to Guyana since the international borders of Colombia and Guyana were closed. Like everyone else, I assumed that we would soon return to normalcy and travel would resume. My classes became virtual and I watched the calendar. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Quarantine in Colombia dragged on.

Eight months later on my quiet drive to the airport, I took in the views and sounds of the city for the final time. I hadn’t got a chance to experience Colombia the way I planned to, but I experienced it in a way that was challenging, impactful and necessary. The previous eight months were nothing like I — or any of us — had imagined it would be. I was leaving Colombia knowing that all of it happened just as it was destined to, to me and for me. In the same way the plane took off from the runway for its destination, I was taking off for the chapter of my life.

All those experiences had prepared me, and I didn’t need to worry about being ready. If anything, I just needed to remind myself that I am capable. The capability of the girl who quit her job and left Guyana sixteen months ago. The capability of the girl who went to Colombia without knowing to speak Spanish and left rolling her r’s expertly. Certainly, that same capability would be enough for the girl who is being propelled towards what is ahead of her. Certainly, it has been my biggest leap of faith, this far.

Daniella , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Guyanese author, blogger and entrepreneur whose life lessons are a testament to my fearlessness and faith in the divine plan. I launched my women’s retail shoe store at eighteen years old. Through the store, Stiletto Fetish, I aim to empower women to take bolder steps.

I left my hometown, Bartica, to pursue my Secondary Education at President’s College and later read for a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies at the University of Guyana. In 2019, I took the bold step of quitting my job to fulfil my dream of backpacking across South America.

The results of my adventure have been an amazing journey on the path to self-discovery and receptiveness to all that the universe has to offer. I share my life experiences through my blog-“Learning, Being, Becoming Daniella-enough”.

I am currently publishing my debut novel, ‘Becoming Bolder With Every Step’, a front-seat ride through tunnels, winding paths and roundabouts. In the novel, I tell of the blessings and wisdom I gained along my journey and hope to inspire others to let go of fear and embrace the bold person they were created to be.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

My social media audience grew when I started showing up as myself beyond perfect photos, videos and story highlights. My online audience was less interested in curated travel content and more interested in how I managed my business as a young, female entrepreneur, navigated challenges and overcame fear and failures.

My advice to anyone just starting to build their social media presence is to be yourself and allow your online presence to be an extension of who you are offline. In that way, you create a community of people who share and respect your values. More than that, it allows you to engage with your community or online audience authentically. Everything else that you hope to achieve can be built on the foundation of authenticity.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

When I started my women’s retail shoe store, it was my side hustle. It was shortly after completing High school, that I was driven for independence. The first shipment from the United States of America was only fifteen pairs of shoes. My excitement quickly dissipated when the shoes arrived and the taxes exceeded the cost of the merchandise. I realized, then, there was so much to learn about business and becoming an entrepreneur.

The greatest factor in scaling Stiletto Fetish from a side hustle to my main business was believing that I was capable of creating and growing a successful enterprise. The principles and strategies that I learnt from books and other entrepreneurs were of course helpful, but I needed to first believe in myself.

Two key milestones are
1. Providing an extensive range of shoe styles and sizes that cater to our growing community. We have grown beyond fifteen pairs of shoes to an inventory of hundreds of pairs.
2. Creating a bold community of bold, confident women who are empowered to take bolder steps; in and out of the shoes I sell.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://daniellaenough.wordpress.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniella_enough/
• Facebook: Daniella Chase

Image Credits
Image credit for Feature photo Trevor Smith, Smithen Photography