Keisha Martinez

Keisha Martinez is a Washington, DC native and Certified Travel Consultant. She is the owner and founder of Tickled Pink Travel Agency where her focus is creating done-for-you trip planning without the hours of research or stress while infusing fun. Keisha prides herself on delighting her clients in the details so that they never have to worry about the intricacies of the itinerary. She is especially passionate about helping women entrepreneurs plan and achieve business growth through travel retreats worldwide. Having traveled to over 17 countries and speaking two different languages, Keisha has often experienced most destinations first hand. She is certified in many destinations and products including the popular island of Jamaica. In her spare time, Keisha loves to experience new destinations with her husband and two daughters, have Sunday dinners with her extended family, do brunch with her friends, shop, read and workout. One of her favorite quotes is “the world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page” by Saint Augustine. Keisha is on a mission to empower others to travel more and elevate the travel experience, one client, at a time.

LM: Tell me a little bit about yourself.

KM: My name is Keisha Martinez and I am a wife to 1, mom to 2 daughters (Kennadi- 6 and Averi-2), entrepreneur. Besides traveling I love to experiment with cooking even though half the time I feel like I am on the television show Chopped. I’m always on a time crunch to get dinner on the table. I enjoy spending time with my family, brunching with my girls, reading, shopping, and working out. My family is from Trinidad and Tobago but I was born and raised in the Washington, DC area.

LM: Tell us about your business.

KM: Tickled Pink Travel Agency focuses on creating done-for-you trip planning without hours of research or stress while infusing fun. We love to create group travel experiences and often times offer payment plans to our clients. I am especially passionate about helping women entrepreneurs plan and achieve business growth through travel retreats worldwide.

LM: What prompted you to start your business?

KM: Travel has been a love of mine since a little girl. My mom would take me everywhere she went and I essentially grew up traveling internationally. From an early age, I learned how fortunate I was to have those experiences. What prompted me to start my business was the fact that I was planning trips anyway. I was that friend that planned our girl getaway trips for years. So when I learned more about the tourism space and how I could make money from doing what I loved. I was on a mission to get certified as a travel consultant, obtain my seller of travel licenses, obtain destination specialist certifications and create what is known as Tickled Pink Travel Agency.

LM: Have you always aspired to be an entrepreneur? Why or why not?

KM: ALWAYS! There are two things I have always known I wanted to be….that is a mom and an entrepreneur. I have had many great ideas and know-how to make money but I wanted to do something that aligned more to my lifestyle and didn’t necessarily tie me to a location. Additionally, I am a hard worker and if I was going to be working hard ultimately I wanted that hard work to manifest my dreams, not someone else’s.

LM: What’s the best part of being an entrepreneur?

KM: For me, the best part of being an entrepreneur is having an impact on someone’s travel experience. As the saying goes you never forget your first and I enjoy when my clients tell me they enjoyed their first time to their selected destination. It empowers them to see more parts of the world they haven’t seen before.

LM: What’s the worst part of being an entrepreneur?

KM: The worst part of being an entrepreneur is like being that circus clown. There are so many balls in the air and you have to wear many hats. At one point in time, you are the visionary, the accountant, the social media manager, customer service, etc. In my opinion, it’s also the best part because the results are from everything you did. It is also a bonus because when outsourcing you know what it takes to get the results you need.

LM: Name a time when things didn’t go right. What happened and how did you get past it?

KM: There was a time when my clients were delayed returning home from Hawaii. They were in need of additional accommodations, food, clothes, and not to mention the money lost for not being able to return to work on time. Because I always advise my clients to purchase travel insurance I was able to coordinate for them the items they needed all reimbursable due to their travel insurance policy.

LM: Where do you see your business in 3 years?

KM: In 3 years I see my business thriving by servicing more clients, entrepreneurs, and influencers. I see my brand getting more publicly known and featured in various platforms.

LM: What advice would you give a new entrepreneur?

KM: Before launching, have your standard operating procedures documented. It is a great exercise to go through your potential customer’s journey and tweak items accordingly.