There’s no other way to put it: when Dina Simon launched her firm MyHaitiTravels Global, LLC in 2013, she stepped out on faith. Simon had an impressive and long-running career as a civil servant, but always wanted to start her own travel and tours business with Haiti as a destination. But the country was still experiencing disaster vertigo from an earthquake three years before. Could her concept work? From the success that Simon has enjoyed in her first year of business, the answer to that question is a loud and firm, “Yes”. Two trips and counting with Haitians and non-Haitians discovering and rediscovering the country, MyHaitiTravels has become more than a business venture for Simon. It’s been an outlet to show others—as well as herself—a Haiti beyond Port-au-Prince, a Haiti more beautiful than a Google Image search could ever fathom.

MyHaitiTravels is a year old. What have you learned regarding Haiti through this venture?

Haiti is complex and I’m still trying to better understand her. Yet, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

What are some the hardest-hitting lessons you’ve learned regarding entrepreneurship and owning a travel and tourism business your first year of business?

Don’t rely on anyone for your success. Take a lot of risks. Last year when we planned our first annual tour we had no idea how it would turn out. We did not meet our goal, but we knew we had a good formula so we made some tweaks. We learned how to better position our message and how to engage our potential clients across all platforms.

What are your thoughts on the current state of Haiti’s tourism industry?

Haiti’s tourism industry has tremendous potential. We’re starting to hear and see more positive things about Haiti and we have a government that is highly engaged in making tourism a success. My company is doing a tremendous job in showcasing Haiti as well as securing key partnerships to enable more people to see Ayiti through our eyes. Haiti is rebuilding its tourism industry by investing in infrastructure, training, and ensuring that tourism is sustainable. I’m very excited about that. There are also a lot of individuals working on behalf of Haiti to make sure that the tourism industry becomes successful for the people of Haiti.

I think a lot of people reading your story will become really inspired. Here is this professional woman, who left Haiti when she was about nine, and who returns to create a travel tour firm built around it.

Well, I feel it’s simply my duty as a Haitian person educated in the United States to no longer be a bystander but to actually be proactive in finding a way to do something to advance Haiti and benefit Haitians, specifically the youth. During our last tour this past January, we had a “Real Talk” forum at a school with some 9th grade students on our volunteer Project Day. We were supposed to tell them about our careers and answer any questions that they had. One young lady stood up and asked “How do you keep going. How do you maintain hope?” Her question shook us, because no child should have to ask that. Hope shouldn’t be a concern at fourteen years old. So, when I think about what I’m doing, it’s not worthy of praise. Those kids sitting in the classrooms trying to learn despite their circumstances is an inspiration. The machann waking up at 5 a.m to set up her stand to sell her merchandise so she can send her kids to school is an inspiration.

Dina Simon flanked by tourists on her ImpactWeek tour in front of a hotel in Petionville.

If you were to give readers advice about establishing their own business, what would you tell them?

Make sure you are passionate about your venture. You are your biggest cheerleader. Have a good team and people who believe in you and what you are doing. Be prepared to financially invest in your business. Find a successful entrepreneur whose experience and knowledge can help you avoid mistakes; maybe that person can be your mentor. Prepare for disappointments, but never let it deter you.

Now, I know you have a Management certificate from Cornell, and a Bachelor’s and Masters degree. Out of all the things you learned in college, which have proven to be the most helpful in terms of taking you to the next level, business-wise?

I think what college prepares all of us for is the ability to discern information, being able to meet deadlines, and the ability to analyze and to be a thinker. College taught me how to function in a group. It also gave me the opportunity to interact and work together with different people which is beneficial in the business world. While I don’t think there’s anything specific in relation to my course work, I do believe that those fundamental skills have helped me on the business level.

Out of all the sites and places on the My Haiti Travels itinerary, which drew the most oohs and ahhs from your tourist-clients?

I think it’s different for everyone. I had one client who was amazed that the school we volunteered at had a wheelchair ramp. Another could not believe we were at a restaurant smoking hookah. I think others are always amazed at Arcadins Coast and the mountains behind mountains everywhere you turn.

Where do you hope to take your venture?

That’s a good question. We just finished a hugely successful 2nd Annual ImpactWeek tour during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. With that behind us, we’re launching our first annual Memorial Day Weekend tour called Jacmel Getaway on May 22 – May 26. We’re also constantly visiting and reviewing establishments in Haiti for our “mango reviews” to help people choose where to go when visiting Haiti. We’re also building our Travel Stories Blog. We remain committed to showing the authenticity of Haiti, supporting local businesses and giving back directly to the Haitian youth.

Thank you for chatting with me again. Always a pleasure

Visit the Impact Week Haiti Website | Jacmel Getaway | MyHaitiTravels | MyHaitiTravels on Twitter

A pleasure indeed.

Haitian cuisine would have made it to California, but it wouldn’t have made as big of a splash had it not been for Georges Laguerre, better known as Tigeorges. Laguerre is the owner of TiGeorges Restaurant, one of the few Haitian restaurants in California, and one of the most celebrated restaurants serving international cuisine in California. After decades of owning the landmark restaurant, running his own non-profit organization and selling his branded Haitian coffee, Tigeorges is telling his story in No Man Is An Island: A Memoir of Family and Haitian Cuisine, co-written with Jeremy Rosenberg.

Above: Chef Tigeorges! Photo Credit: Tor Johansen/TorPhoto

TiGeorges nearly died at birth and had to be revived. His restaurant got burned down at the height of success, only to be moved elsewhere and be more popular than ever. Can this book be categorized? No Man Is An Island is a foodie memoir, it’s an autobiography, and it’s a cookbook. It’s a love letter from a man who loves Haiti, Haitian cuisine, and the kitchen.

Above: Chef Tigeorges and co-writer Jeremy Rosenberg inside Tigeorges Chicken in California. Photo Credit: Fabrice Cazeau.

Kreyolicious: When you were little, did you ever imagine you’d get this far in life?
Yes…My dream was to become a camera man in Hollywood…So far, that dream has not been materialized.
[But] for sure I knew from the education that I had received from my parents I will play a very important role in society.

Kreyolicious: No Man Is An Island. I think this title is so appropriate for your book. So many ways you could interpret it. Did you consider other titles?
Tigeorges in the kitchen…Because cooking was always my passion.

Kreyolicious: So you worked with Professor Jeremy Rosenberg on the book. What was the collaboration process like?
It took us seven years to make this book. Always have been fun to work with Jeremy.

Kreyolicious: How did you ever get the courage to make the move to California, when you had been living in New York for so long?
Never did like the cold…I remember during winter time, I always had the blues. Could not see myself back in NewYork again—although my entire family is in New York.

Kreyolicious: Do you see yourself writing another book after this one?
The answer is yes…Because I have so much more to say about my life experience in Los Angeles.

Above: Tigeorges Laguerre (left) and co-author Jeremy Rosenberg at an event promoting the book No Man Is An Island. Photo Credit: Gary Leonard.

Kreyolicious: At one point, you were really into filmmaking. Do you ever think about having a cooking TV show about Haitian cuisine?
A TV show is a great idea. That will give me a chance to show to the youth interested in Haitian cuisine how much
passion exists in the Haitian culinary [arts].

Kreyolicious: I have heard that some Walmarts around the country are selling “griyo” in their deli. Only, they don’t call it griyo. Do you think that as the decades go by, Haitian cooking will become more mainstream…like griyo will become the new taco, and diri sòs pwa will become the new chow mein?
Anything coming out of Haiti is hard to sell. Somehow, the rest of the world feel the originality of our cuisine should change so that Haitianty can be accepted and I refuse to sell Haiti on that level. No deformation if you come to patronage my business. I am going to say that Haiti[‘s] cuisine is among the ten best cuisines on this planet. And us Haitian restaurateurs have great responsibility not to combine the name of our restaurant with the name of other countries—that is Caribbean Haitian, French Kreyol etc.

Kreyolicious: What else can we look forward to from you?
Soon to open up a TiGeorges Kafe in my home town Port-De-Paix.

CLICK HERE to purchase his book on Amazon.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE TIGEORGES RESTAURANT WEBSITE.