By: Joshua Finley

The travel industry is not so much a business of selling travel as selling an opportunity to explore a new location, interact with different people, and create memories. For Michelle Nohotima, the founder of Always Able Travel, it signifies a way out from bondage and a voice for those who are otherwise neglected. Michelle’s business is not a conventional travel agency but a light at the end of the tunnel for persons with disabilities who would otherwise not have a chance to travel as others do.

From Necessity to Innovation

Michelle first realized her desire to be an entrepreneur when she worked at a disability service organization and realized there was an untapped opportunity in the market. She could not remain a typical employee in the old company as her creative juices demanded her to chart her course of action. “I decided I was going to start my own business and take them away on holidays,” Michelle recalls, since no creative approaches were available at work. This decision was not made lightly; there was a year’s worth of work across three jobs, representing sheer determination and commitment to a plan.

A Closer Look at Always Able Travel

Always Able Travel is not a mere travel agency – it is an experience where everyone is part of the action. Michelle was quoted as saying, “We take people with disabilities away on holidays just so they can see the life experiences that everybody else does.”  Her agency serves an exclusively high-care need with the guarantee that each trip is not only feasible but also meaningful. This might include wheeling a racing fanatic in a wheelchair around the track or guaranteeing a wildlife lover that they feel the salty sea mist on their face.

Michelle’s agency remains a significant community asset, especially cherished by many of her elders who like interacting through facial features. “They rely on us heavily as a walk-in face-to-face travel agency,” says Michelle, insisting that person-to-person contacts are the foundation of her business. This strategy improves overall customer satisfaction and makes Always Able Travel an essential part of the community.

Navigating Challenges with Grit and Grace

Enterprise creation and management are riddled with risks and perplexities, even more so if the enterprise operates in the travel industry. Michelle has not remained idle during the pandemic, and she has proved resilient. Recalling the specifics of the pandemic, she notes, “During the pandemic, we were actually very busy with our disability service because our workload increased three times.” She has had adequate preparation for the unpredictability and rising pressures in the travel business due to her experience.

Deepening Community Ties with Innovative Services

As much as Michelle is passionate about making travel affordable, her giving spirit extends in other ways to the community’s needs, which makes her connected to the people. Others include newer ventures such as a mobile dog wash service business initiated for elderly and disabled persons in her neighborhood who cannot seek dog washing services. Michelle gives a clear example of how the many people who do not drive because of their age are accommodated, focusing on the new business plans. Besides catering to a specific market, this service positively impacts the standard of her client’s lives, proving that Michelle also cares for the community’s well-being outside of tourism. Every new business opportunity is among the threads in the large garment of the entire community development, making her business an important one in her locality.

Empowering Others Through Entrepreneurial Spirit

Michelle’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is as straightforward as inspiring: “Just go for it.” She personifies this value and teaches that difficulties become a stairway to success if more creativity and effort are applied. She has more than just traveling; she has a pet boarding business and a soon-to-be local news agency business that is meant to ensure that essential services are provided for her community.

A Visionary’s Future

Moving forward, Michelle is not limited to this and actively develops her entrepreneurial activity, which will create value for the community. “My aim is to build my wealth so that I can not only help my family but also help friends, community members, and other businesses in the community,” she says, demonstrating a more encompassing view of business prosperity. She does not have self-entitlement but seeks to give back to society and contribute to its growth through her business ventures.

Conclusion

Michelle has ongoing business ventures, including plans to launch a new website for her disability service. She continues to be an active participant in her community and change-maker, bringing the message of inclusion to people during the holidays and beyond.

Hearing Michelle Nohotima’s life story is a success story of a businesswoman, but it also shows how positive changes can be made through business. In this realization of unfulfilled needs, driven by a genuine entrepreneurial drive and a powerful sense of inclusion, Michelle is not simply existing in the travel sphere but transforming it.

Discover your next adventure with Michelle Nohomita. Visit Always Able Travel to start your journey today.

Published by: Khy Talara