We were lucky to catch up with Tina Travis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tina , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Since the start of my career, I have had amazing opportunities to work for game changing companies such as Home Shopping Network, Shop at Home Entertainment, and Performance Cycling Company. The merchandising experienced at each of those companies influenced and grew my expertise in the clothing industry. I started at Home Shopping Network in the beginning stages of shopping for clothing on TV. A huge part of my job was confidently explaining to executives in the clothing industry there was a new innovative and profitable way a consumer could shop for clothing. I took the risk of working for HSN because I knew America needed a fresh, lively, convenient way to shop. Taking that risk paid off in so many positive ways. Developing powerful and fruitful relationships in the clothing and accessory market paved the way for me to travel internationally, eat great food etc. I loved merchandising and developing products lines. Clothing/Textiles and Fashion Merchandising was my college major at North Carolina A&T State University. At that creative and youthful age, I was going to work in the merchandising field forever. Well that is what I thought until time after time the travel and the seasons started blending together and it was no longer exciting to travel 2.5 weeks out of each month. My needs and desires started to change but all I knew how to do was product development. Most people don’t want to walk away from the travel, money, food and connections but wanted to do so. I was experiencing a great deal of success but deep down inside I wanted to own a business. So I kept that yearning bottled up and continued to work for companies. Any department I managed, my team and I bubbled up profits and turn inventory efficiently. I was on the corporate treadmill. Doing my job well. Each day I entered the office at 9:00am I was already looking forward to 6:00pm. I had an enormous skill set. I simply could not figure out another way to utilize those skills creating a business of my own.

An unexpected event happened, I GOT LAYOFF of my job! The first two weeks I panic! I was excited and scared all at the same time. I did recognize this moment of my life to be a shift in my atmosphere. I did my research, reviewed new emerging industries, possible franchise opportunities. Conducting all of that research I found NOTHING created a passion, NOTHING I would enjoy working on for eight hours a day.

My neighbors knew I was unemployed. Slowly they asked me if I could drive their children to school because they had to report to work ugly early in the mornings. One neighbor asked If I would house sit while she was traveling, another asked if I would unlock their home and accept a furniture delivery. All of them were so grateful and graciously gave me a gratuity. This pattern continued and all of a sudden the requests started surging. I was having so much fun I didn’t realize I was making some decent money HELPING people with their pain points. One day a neighbor made a joke and said to me” you just need to be Errand Girl for our neighborhood” . It was like a BOLT of lighting HIT my HEART. I boldly smiled and responded I’m gonna be ERRAND GIRL for the entire CITY of DURHAM NC. That is the moment Errand Girl of Durham Concierge Services was created. Joyfully, I took the risk of creating my company. Since 2009, Errand Girl Of Durham Concierge Services has assisted busy families and businesses with pain points. We have a fully trained staff of concierges ready to assist in a moments notice. Throughout the years we have assisted companies such as Revlon, Pepsi Bottling Ventures, Raleigh/Durham International Airport with corporate events, employee appreciation, customer service projects and more. Families love us because we’re parents and we have a strong understanding of filling in the gap when they can’t make it to pick up their children on time etc. It is so rewarding knowing by helping with a small or large project it MATTERS. I LOVE what our diverse concierge team has mange to GIVE of their talents and knowledge over the years. The risk I took was stepping out of my comfort zone. I prayed and stepped out on faith. I bet on myself and the enormous skills and talents I developed over the years of my career. 14 years later owning my own company I continue to learn, grow and know life is more fruitful and rewarding when you take risks big or small.

Tina, 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 CONCIERGE. I manage and lead a professional team of Concierges in the Research Triangle Area of North Carolina. Our team can help clients who have too many projects or tasks to manage. Errand Girl of Durham Concierge serves as a reliable resource a leader can confidently delegate a project or task. My small circle of neighbors and friends started demonstrating a need for assistance with the pain points, stress, overwhelmed, increasing responsibilities the average adult manages on a normal basis. Their hearts desire to do all duties well but time runs out, energy runs out yet the responsibilities remain. That’s where our Concierge Service can help. We are an extra set of hands needed sometime to get things done! We are a diverse group of trustworthy, consistent, smart, reliable people to help with any project or task. What sets our services apart from others….We listen, We Care, Customer Service is Paramount. Our goal is to develop fruitful lasting relations with our clients. We opened our doors in 2009 with the goal of removing stress from our clients lives. Over 14 years later Errand Girl of Durham Concierge Services have amazing reviews on Yelp and Google. Our clients share their satisfaction with our diverse smart and caring team of concierges over and over again. We always say Errand Girl makes life easier ONE errand at a time!

One of my goals of enormous priority is to now sell Errand Girl Franchises. Over the years my team and I have developed successful systems and data that would allow a concierge company to THRIVE with profit and success. We created a business in a box. A straight forward method of owning and managing an Errand Girl Concierge business in any major city. We are so excited to offer franchises to that business leader who wants to experience financial freedom and step into the concierge and hospitality business world. Being concierge is one of the most rewarding careers in todays market.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Covid 19 and the UNSTOPPABLE desire to keep my concierge business open. What a scary time for our world. In the last 100 years few had experienced a circumstance like Covid 19. My lanes of revenue came to a sudden halt. Our concierge team managed events at RDU International Airport along with transporting children to school and extra curricular activities as the majority of their services. Due to lack of travel our contract with the airport dried up. Remote schooling was emerging. I had to PIVOT and develop new services that our clients needed. Contactless courier service was created and my clients LOVED it. We delivered EVERYTHING to our clients so that they could stay safely inside of their homes.

I continued to keep my enthusiasm, by aligning with a business networking group BNI. All members goals were the same as mine to keep working and remain positive and strong. It was a great group to be apart of because it kept my thoughts focused, positive and we all shared any opportunities we knew for grants, business loans, how to navigate PPP and more.

Thinking out of the box and deciding to connect with business networking groups that were focusing on a solutions kept my doors and mind OPEN.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I have learned that CHANGE is GOOD! Change should be constant and we should al be willing to change and grow. When I was younger I HATED change. I would always frown or resist. As I reflect on my life experiences, CHANGE is what made me grow. Change forced me to take risks. Changing circumstances required me to THINK. Change allowed my creativity to blossom. I am a better person because of the amazing agent of CHANGE.

Contact Info:

• Website: errandgirlofdurham.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-travis-36aa5939/

Image Credits
Kevin Seifert photography