Enpak Adventure: Pursuing passions can lead to success
Megan Meadus is a graduate of the Bachelor of Commerce Co-operative program at Memorial University. Megan is a social entrepreneur and founder of Enpak, a tourism company that creates valuable and purposeful work for at-risk youth. Before starting her current venture, Megan had started an outdoor clothing company called Authenticity Clothing. Megan closed that business in early 2018 having learned that pursuing a business in a way in which you are passionate could make all the difference in terms of success.
Enpak Adventure is a non-profit adventure tourism business creating meaningful employment for at-risk youth in Cap Haitien, Haiti. They run snorkeling, hiking, and fishing tours for volunteers visiting Streethearts. These tours allow customers to experience everything from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the mountains in the most beautiful tropic weather.
Interview
Q1: How do you feel you have grown from your Authenticity Clothing business to where you are now? Do you believe this venture allowed you to grow into what you are pursuing currently?
I think the biggest thing I have learned since running my clothing venture was the importance of being passionate about what you are doing. Being an entrepreneur is not easy; it involves putting in endless hours and skipping many of the fun things most people would rather be doing. If you are not fully invested in your business you will find yourself unmotivated and uninspired which is what started happening to me. I had a passion for the problem my business was solving but wasn't overly thrilled on the way I was doing it. Anyone who knows me will tell you fashion is not my forte and after a while, I started to realize running a clothing line wasn't something I really wanted to be doing.
My experiences through Authenticity most definitely led to the success of my current business, Enpak Adventure. After two weeks into the validation of my newest idea, I quickly identified that my passion once again was not in the process, but in the main result. My new business in Haiti has a main goal of creating meaningful employment for at risk youth, and I first tried to solve this problem by teaching coding to the youth in Haiti and then connecting them with jobs online overseas. Instead of taking three years to admit it, I identified the problem in two weeks. I realized that my passion is for finding these youth employment, not in coding. I have no experience in coding nor do I have any desire to learn it, so I was finding myself unproductive and unmotivated. With this in mind, I did what all entrepreneurs do - I pivoted! I am now working on the same result (providing meaningful employment), but I am achieving this by adventure tourism - hiking, fishing and snorkeling tours. I have finally started developing a business where my main goals and passions both align and make sense.
Q2: What inspired you to get involved and start your social enterprise?
After volunteering in Haiti a couple years ago, I developed a strong connection with a shelter called Streethearts in the city of Cap-Haitien. Streethearts provides young street kids with shelter, education, and finally access to meaningful employment that will help the kids lead self-sustaining lives on their own. After spending some quality time with the shelter it quickly became clear that one of the components was lacking and that was the part that provides the young men with fulfilling work. These kids come a long way from living on the streets to being fully educated and independent but it leaves them at a standstill if they are unable to find a job to remain self-sufficient. This realization is what sparked the need for this social enterprise and I've been working on solving this issue ever since.
Q3: Who is/are the target population(s) for your social enterprise?
We have a unique target market that works cohesively with the shelter’s volunteer schedule. During busy months, 1-2 groups of 15-20 people visit Streethearts for a 7-day volunteer mission and pay a base rate that covers the whole week. We have designed a model where tours are built into the tourists’ 7-day itineraries and have increased the cost of the mission by a certain percentage to cover the cost of the tour operations. The increase in mission cost will now pay the wages of the tour guides employed by Enpak.
Q4: How important are partnerships/collaborations when starting a social enterprise?
Partnerships and collaborations are probably one of the most important parts of starting a business. That is another huge lesson I learned from Authenticity - ask many questions and accept as much help as possible. There are mentors available for a reason and they are usually equipped with a lot of entrepreneurial experience. I think one of my biggest pieces of advice to any new entrepreneur is to ask questions. Someone may be able to get you a discount or introduce you to the right person. It is very beneficial to seek advice from seasoned entrepreneurs because we all usually face the same issues at one point or another and having a mentor can get you through these productivity blocks much faster than figuring it out on your own.
Q5: What kind of support have you received through the Centre for Social Enterprise? How has that helped?
While doing my entrepreneurial work term last year the Centre for Social Enterprise provided me with a lot of knowledge on the social aspect of my business. I had only run one business at this point and was not familiar with how non-for-profits operated. They were a great asset that helped me see my business from different angles. Working an entrepreneurial work term meant you were giving up an opportunity for a well-paid internship with some big companies in the province. I knew it would be tough but like any dedicated entrepreneur, I followed my passion. After the Centre for Social Enterprise started mentoring me, they realized that my focus was not fully devoted to my business because of other distractions such as working part time jobs while pursuing Enpak full-time. Because of this, they decided to offer me a very generous grant that alleviated my stress and allowed me to focus on the development of my social enterprise.
Q6: What has been the most difficult thing about running your social enterprise? What do you think the biggest issue facing your social enterprise is now?
One of the biggest challenges about running my social enterprise is the external factors - the things I am unable to control. Haiti has a history of government corruption that often leads to residents fighting back for their rights. This develops travel warnings throughout the country that leads to a decrease in volunteer trips. As our business model relies on visitors, sometimes operations can come to a halt and leave us without work. We are currently working on ways to stabilize income for our tour guides so that they are able to stay self-sufficient even in down periods. It can be an intimidating problem at times because there is not much I can do to change it, but no one starts a business in a developing country and expects it to run smooth. When times get tough you just need to improvise and stay optimistic.
Q7: What has been the most rewarding thing about running your social enterprise?
The most rewarding part of running my business is seeing the growth in our kids. It is so empowering to see where they started and compare it to the things they have achieved. Finding employment in Haiti is hard and majority of the job opportunities there are very repetitive (hairdresser, driver, cook). Enpak is something new and exciting and we have allowed them to have something to be proud of and to make it their own. Seeing them host a tour so proudly is what makes all the hard work worth it. They are creating hope for other street kids and showing them that it is possible to find purpose in their country.
Q8: What does success/the end goal look like for your social enterprise?
Eventually we would like to branch out and create more jobs within Enpak so that new kids can come into the business and those that have been running tours for a while can move on to bigger responsibilities such as marketing, financial responsibilities, and other management roles. This creates room for growth and equips our employees with a range of skills.