# Follow Your Passion: Dominic shares his entrepreneurial journey of turning a passion for travel into a successful business.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 1 Oct 2026, 27 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/a220964b-c197-43d1-ab69-b4e000e03f6a/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and three-time NAACP Image Award-winning television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Summary of the Dominic Adams Interview with Rushion McDonald Dominic Adams Founder of Plane James & Janes Travel Agency and creator of Black to Zanzibar, shared his entrepreneurial journey of turning a passion for travel into a successful business. The conversation explored travel entrepreneurship, cultural tourism, African investment opportunities, community impact, and the importance of creating memorable experiences rather than simply booking vacations. Purpose of the Interview The interview was designed to educate and inspire listeners by demonstrating how passion, planning, and customer service can be transformed into a thriving business. Dominic discussed how traveling the world helped him identify opportunities to connect people with meaningful cultural experiences while also creating opportunities for economic growth and community engagement. The discussion focused on: • Building a successful travel-based business. • The value of working with experienced travel professionals. • Connecting the global Black diaspora through travel. • Exploring Africa as a destination for tourism and investment. • Using entrepreneurship to create both profit and purpose. Key Takeaways 1. Curate Experiences, Not Just Vacations Dominic emphasized that his company does more than arrange flights and hotels. His goal is to create seamless, memorable experiences that allow travelers to enjoy every aspect of their journey. Lesson: Customers value expertise, convenience, and peace of mind. 2. Business Opportunities Come from Solving Problems The idea for his travel company emerged after organizing group trips and realizing that many travelers needed assistance navigating the travel process. What started as helping friends evolved into a successful business. Lesson: Great businesses often begin by solving everyday problems. 3. Travel Professionals Deliver Unique Value Online booking platforms cannot replace local knowledge, destination expertise, travel planning, and personalized service. Dominic stressed the importance of having trusted advisors who anticipate challenges before they arise. Lesson: Expertise remains valuable in an increasingly digital world. 4. Safety Is a Top Priority Dominic discussed the importance of vetting accommodations, transportation providers, and local partners to ensure travelers feel secure and comfortable throughout their journey. Lesson: Trust and safety are essential components of excellent customer service. 5. Africa Offers Incredible Opportunities A significant theme of the interview was challenging misconceptions about Africa. Dominic highlighted the continent's culture, business opportunities, tourism growth, and economic potential. Lesson: Travel broadens perspectives and challenges outdated stereotypes. 6. Black to Zanzibar Creates Cultural Connections The annual Black to Zanzibar experience was presented as much more than a vacation. It provides networking, education, entertainment, cultural immersion, and opportunities to connect with the African continent. Activities include: • Investment summits • Cultural celebrations • Networking opportunities • Local community engagement • Historical and educational experiences • Safari and tourism excursions Lesson: Meaningful travel should inspire, educate, and connect people. 7. Travel Can Lead to Wealth-Building Opportunities Dominic…

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show. I'm Rashawn McDonald, the host of
[0:03] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass, where we encourage people to stop
[0:06] Speaker 1: reading other people's success stories and start planning their own. Now,
[0:11] Speaker 1: you don't want to miss an episode of Money Making
[0:13] Speaker 1: Conversations Masterclass. So right now, follow or subscribe to Money
[0:17] Speaker 1: Making Conversations. It's free and you can find it on
[0:20] Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get
[0:25] Speaker 1: your podcast.
[0:26] Speaker 2: Now, sit back and listen.
[0:28] Speaker 1: As we unlock the secrets to their success on Money
[0:31] Speaker 1: Making Conversations Masterclass. My guest is a travel and lifestyle
[0:35] Speaker 1: content creator and the co-founder of Black2Zanzibar. His brand is
[0:40] Speaker 1: Cultural Travel, connecting the global Black diaspora to the world.
[0:45] Speaker 1: We just talked off air. He said Black people still
[0:47] Speaker 1: traveling in the summer. That's when they love to travel.
[0:49] Speaker 1: But again, you have a 12 months you can travel.
[0:53] Speaker 1: He's going to tell you where to go. I interviewed
[0:55] Speaker 1: his brother in three years. We connected when we was
[0:58] Speaker 1: in Martha's Vineyard in the month of August. I was
[1:01] Speaker 1: so happy to see him. He tapped me on my shoulder.
[1:02] Speaker 1: He go, what up, man? We're done. I said, well, brother,
[1:06] Speaker 1: all you have to do is tap me on the
[1:07] Speaker 1: shoulder because we are going to talk because I love
[1:10] Speaker 1: talking about travel. I love letting black people know there
[1:13] Speaker 1: are other options out there. And nobody does it better
[1:16] Speaker 1: than Dominic Adams. Please welcome to Money Making Conversations Masterclass,
[1:21] Speaker 1: the one and only Dominic Adams. How you doing, sir?
[1:26] Speaker 2: I'm doing well, man. I appreciate the introduction. That was
[1:28] Speaker 2: a very warm introduction, so I appreciate it.
[1:31] Speaker 1: Well, you know, it's like, you know, on this show,
[1:32] Speaker 1: it's about entrepreneurship. It's about small business owners. It's about
[1:37] Speaker 1: people who are not doing traditional small business entrepreneurial tasks.
[1:43] Speaker 1: And in the travel game, you know, that's where you're at.
[1:46] Speaker 1: That's where you're winning. Tell us about your business.
[1:49] Speaker 3: Yeah.
[1:49] Speaker 2: So the name of my company is Plain James and
[1:52] Speaker 2: James Travel Agency. We've been in business for five years now.
[1:57] Speaker 2: I've booked over 700 trips, which accumulates for over a
[2:02] Speaker 2: million dollars in sales. And we had about seven, almost
[2:06] Speaker 2: 700 travelers that have came through Plain James and James
[2:09] Speaker 2: since our existence. So our motto is we don't book trips,
[2:14] Speaker 2: we curate experiences, right? And so You know, a lot
[2:17] Speaker 2: of times people say, well, why do you got to
[2:18] Speaker 2: use a travel agent? Well, we're the trusted advisors, right?
[2:22] Speaker 1: Right.
[2:23] Speaker 2: We vet the companies out on the ground, all the
[2:25] Speaker 2: tour operators. We built relationships with the local people in
[2:28] Speaker 2: the countries that you're traveling to, which makes your ultimate
[2:31] Speaker 2: experience better. And if you think about it, the majority of,
[2:36] Speaker 2: I can speak for myself, my business comes from female travelers, right?
[2:40] Speaker 2: And so I'm a male travel agent. And the reason
[2:42] Speaker 2: why they trust me is I've already vetted out the safety, right?
[2:46] Speaker 2: So when you get these solo travelers or these females
[2:49] Speaker 2: who travel in small groups, they want to know, is
[2:52] Speaker 2: where are you sending me to going to be safe
[2:54] Speaker 2: for me as a female?
[2:56] Speaker 1: Yes.
[2:56] Speaker 2: You don't get that by booking Expedia on your own, right?
[3:01] Speaker 1: Absolutely. And I think that's important that people understand that
[3:04] Speaker 1: because I myself, with the world that we live in,
[3:07] Speaker 1: you know, war breaking out, you know, visa issues. You know,
[3:13] Speaker 1: I'm born and raised an American, but I want to
[3:16] Speaker 1: make sure when I leave the country, I can come back.
[3:19] Speaker 1: And these are the type of things that you bring
[3:21] Speaker 1: to the table that reassure travelers that you appointed in
[3:24] Speaker 1: the right direction, not only spending the money, but come
[3:28] Speaker 1: back with a great experience. Talk about that.
[3:31] Speaker 3: Yeah, so it's all about the experience, right?
[3:33] Speaker 2: And so what I do and what we do in
[3:35] Speaker 2: terms of travel agents, right, in general is making sure
[3:38] Speaker 2: that you are very informed before you board that plane. Yes.
[3:43] Speaker 2: Whether or not that country has visa requirements, whether there's
[3:47] Speaker 2: mandated vaccine requirements, whatever it is that you need to know,
[3:51] Speaker 2: we want to make sure that you're well informed. And
[3:53] Speaker 2: then the experience, that's the icing on the cake, right?
[3:56] Speaker 2: Because we're going to vet everything for you. We're going
[3:58] Speaker 2: to understand your travel style. We're going to interview you
[4:02] Speaker 2: and understand what you like, what you don't like. And
[4:05] Speaker 2: we're going to tell and curate that experience. For you
[4:08] Speaker 2: and you only, no trip looks the same.
[4:12] Speaker 3: Right.
[4:12] Speaker 1: Now let's talk about the trip. Because, you know, I've
[4:17] Speaker 1: been fortunate this year. I went to the cruise outside
[4:21] Speaker 1: of Spain. So I went over there and then I
[4:23] Speaker 1: just came back from Cancun this past. And of course,
[4:28] Speaker 1: the cruise was an all experience because, you know, cruise experience, food, lodging, everything.
[4:33] Speaker 1: In Cancun, it was the same thing. And I went
[4:35] Speaker 1: to a hotel, an adult hotel that had all-inclusive, which
[4:39] Speaker 1: was really great. The food, everything was, I did not
[4:42] Speaker 1: have to worry about pulling out any extra money because
[4:45] Speaker 1: it was built into my overall room rate. What are
[4:48] Speaker 1: your thoughts on the Alicat hotels and the experience I
[4:52] Speaker 1: just did, which is the all-inclusives?
[4:56] Speaker 2: I think to each its own, right? And so I
[4:59] Speaker 2: like the all-inclusives personally for two reasons. One, when you
[5:04] Speaker 2: get there, You don't have to think about it, right?
[5:06] Speaker 2: Your meals and your beverages are already included. And, you know,
[5:10] Speaker 2: one thing we like to do when we travel is
[5:11] Speaker 2: we like to eat and we like options, right? And
[5:14] Speaker 2: so that's why I like the all-inclusive experience. However, the
[5:18] Speaker 2: a la carte experience is for those travelers who I think,
[5:22] Speaker 2: in my opinion, have, they've done the all-inclusive experience, but
[5:27] Speaker 2: now they're looking for something a little more. So once
[5:30] Speaker 2: you get into that a la carte realm, right? You're
[5:33] Speaker 2: not looking for it's not necessarily like the cookie cutter
[5:36] Speaker 2: experiment where come one, come all. No, it's everything is
[5:40] Speaker 2: really specifically tailored to what you want. So, for example,
[5:44] Speaker 2: if you go to go stay at a la carte hotel,
[5:47] Speaker 2: they may only have one or two restaurants on the premise.
[5:50] Speaker 2: To me, that's my dream. Right. From a client perspective,
[5:53] Speaker 2: someone to call me and say, well, I want a
[5:56] Speaker 2: la carte hotel. I don't like all inclusives. So now
[5:58] Speaker 2: that lets me get into what we say, uh, our
[6:01] Speaker 2: bag of, um, jewels and be able to pick restaurants,
[6:06] Speaker 2: unique restaurants, unique experiences based on that client's palate. So
[6:11] Speaker 2: whether you're a vegan, right, whether you don't eat, uh,
[6:14] Speaker 2: you know, you have specific dietary restrictions to say, let
[6:19] Speaker 2: me find you the best of what that location has
[6:22] Speaker 2: to offer you and give you that true local experience.
[6:25] Speaker 1: That, that, did you come up with the name? Plain
[6:28] Speaker 1: James and James. James and James.
[6:30] Speaker 3: Plain James and James. So it was a name, it
[6:32] Speaker 3: was a play off of the name Plain James.
[6:35] Speaker 1: Right, right.
[6:35] Speaker 2: So too many times, right, I think especially in the
[6:37] Speaker 2: black community, we heard Plain James, we're thinking like a
[6:39] Speaker 2: boring female. But when I did my research, I found
[6:42] Speaker 2: out that Plain James James was actually a pilot who.
[6:46] Speaker 3: Loved to travel and fly. And I said, wow.
[6:49] Speaker 2: But I needed to add another component on there because
[6:51] Speaker 2: I got some fellas that like to travel. And so
[6:53] Speaker 2: it's plane like the airplane, James and James.
[6:57] Speaker 3: And that's it. Males and females who like to travel.
[7:00] Speaker 2: Now, when people reach out to me, they always call
[7:02] Speaker 2: me James because they think I incorporated my name in
[7:04] Speaker 2: the business.
[7:06] Speaker 1: But you roll with it, Dominic.
[7:08] Speaker 3: I'm rolling with it.
[7:09] Speaker 2: You call me whatever it is, we're going to do
[7:11] Speaker 2: good business together.
[7:12] Speaker 1: Okay, let's talk about travel theory. I'm going to tell
[7:14] Speaker 1: you something. Give me your top three. I won't put
[7:18] Speaker 1: too much pressure. Your top three that people contact you
[7:22] Speaker 1: about all the time.
[7:24] Speaker 3: The Caribbean, especially for group trips.
[7:26] Speaker 1: Okay, what about in the Caribbean? Because there's a lot
[7:29] Speaker 1: going on down in the Caribbean.
[7:30] Speaker 3: There's a lot going on.
[7:31] Speaker 2: I mean, I would say your standard, my standard three, right? Mexico,
[7:34] Speaker 2: they're going to call you about. Mexico, Jamaica, and the
[7:37] Speaker 2: Dominican Republic.
[7:38] Speaker 1: Okay.
[7:39] Speaker 2: Three are your constant.
[7:41] Speaker 1: Why has the Dominican Republic just jumped off the charts now?
[7:45] Speaker 1: Because I've been hearing that a lot. I've been hearing
[7:47] Speaker 1: that a lot.
[7:48] Speaker 3: I mean, the people are good.
[7:50] Speaker 2: You know, Dominican Republic, just like the other countries, they
[7:52] Speaker 2: have a lot to offer is beautiful. And then I
[7:55] Speaker 2: got a certain fan base who like to go over
[7:58] Speaker 2: there for the cigars as well.
[8:01] Speaker 3: And so and it's just beautiful scenery over there. And
[8:04] Speaker 3: the people are nice.
[8:05] Speaker 1: Right.
[8:05] Speaker 3: I think when we travel, we forget about the people.
[8:08] Speaker 2: Right. The local people make your experience what it is.
[8:11] Speaker 2: So whether that's your waiters and waitress on the resorts
[8:14] Speaker 2: or your housekeepers. The staff make your experience what it is.
[8:19] Speaker 1: Okay, cool. Now, you said the Caribbean. What were the
[8:20] Speaker 1: other two?
[8:22] Speaker 2: Yeah, so the Caribbean would be your number ones. The
[8:26] Speaker 2: other things that I get called about right now is
[8:29] Speaker 2: people that want to travel to Africa.
[8:30] Speaker 1: Right, right, right.
[8:32] Speaker 2: So they want to go to Ghana. They want to
[8:33] Speaker 2: go to Nigeria. They want to go to Kenya, et cetera.
[8:36] Speaker 2: And then my ultimate favorite right now is Zanzibar, right?
[8:39] Speaker 2: So they want to go there. And then the last
[8:43] Speaker 2: place I would say is I get a lot of
[8:44] Speaker 2: people who are just saying, They want to do something
[8:47] Speaker 2: in the States, but they do not want to go
[8:50] Speaker 2: to Florida anymore, right?
[8:52] Speaker 3: They're like, my family, we've been to Florida.
[8:54] Speaker 2: Everyone doesn't have a passport or they can't get a
[8:56] Speaker 2: passport for whatever the reason is. So what are the
[8:59] Speaker 2: other options I have for families? And I got two
[9:02] Speaker 2: that I go to. I'm going to say Phoenix, Arizona,
[9:07] Speaker 2: because they have the big houses there, the big vacation houses,
[9:10] Speaker 2: just as they do in Florida, and there's a lot
[9:12] Speaker 2: to do there, as well as people keep forgetting about Hawaii.
[9:16] Speaker 2: I don't know why we forget about Hawaii. Hawaii is
[9:19] Speaker 2: a part of the United States. It takes a little
[9:21] Speaker 2: time to get there, but Hawaii is pretty popular as well.
[9:24] Speaker 1: Well, before we get to your popular Zanzibar, let's tell
[9:30] Speaker 1: everybody how to reach out and touch you, my friend.
[9:32] Speaker 1: How do we contact you?
[9:34] Speaker 2: Yeah, so the website is planejj.com. That's it, plane like
[9:39] Speaker 2: the airplane. jj.com uh instagram playing james james that's like
[9:47] Speaker 2: the airplane james like james brown jane like the female
[9:51] Speaker 2: but plural it will come right up for you and
[9:53] Speaker 2: we're on facebook as well same thing Plain James James.
[9:56] Speaker 1: Let me ask you this. When one goes to plainjj.com,
[10:00] Speaker 1: do you have specials that you offer on your website
[10:03] Speaker 1: or you notify people by group opportunities or? seasonal travel
[10:08] Speaker 1: cruises what do you specialize are you a cruise guy
[10:11] Speaker 1: are you a hotel guy a package guy what's your
[10:15] Speaker 1: specialty dominic i.
[10:17] Speaker 2: Am a swiss army knife okay i don't mean boxed
[10:20] Speaker 2: in all i care about is curing your experiences okay
[10:23] Speaker 2: so whether it's a cruise whether it's a hotel whether
[10:27] Speaker 2: it's a resort I'm going to put together everything for.
[10:30] Speaker 3: You so you don't have to think about anything. It's simple.
[10:34] Speaker 2: We make sure we take care of everything up front.
[10:36] Speaker 2: So when you get there, you literally don't think about anything.
[10:39] Speaker 2: Everything's thoughtless. You're just going to go and enjoy your vacation.
[10:43] Speaker 1: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[10:45] Speaker 1: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Now I need for you to
[10:48] Speaker 1: do me a favor. Right now to follow or subscribe
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[11:02] Speaker 1: me a favor. Follow or subscribe Money Making Conversations. Welcome
[11:09] Speaker 1: back to Money Making Conversations Masterclass with me, Rashawn McDonald. Well,
[11:13] Speaker 1: you said five years. I met Dominic when he just started.
[11:18] Speaker 1: I think you said that what inspired you was a
[11:21] Speaker 1: group of guys going to Miami or something like that.
[11:24] Speaker 1: That was the inspiration. They didn't know what they were doing.
[11:29] Speaker 1: And they asked you, tell them the story, how you
[11:32] Speaker 1: got started.
[11:34] Speaker 2: So I started out traveling by putting together group trips
[11:37] Speaker 2: with my uncles to take them and their friends to
[11:40] Speaker 2: go see their favorite NFL teams. And so it kept
[11:44] Speaker 2: getting bigger and bigger. In 2019, I took 50 men
[11:48] Speaker 2: to Miami for an Eagles-Dolphins game. And as we were
[11:53] Speaker 2: on board, like just getting on a shuttle to get
[11:55] Speaker 2: to the airport, I realized a service need came up.
[12:00] Speaker 3: The gentleman didn't know how to check into their flight.
[12:03] Speaker 2: When we got to the airport, they didn't know how
[12:04] Speaker 2: to put on the tags that you put on for
[12:06] Speaker 2: your bags.
[12:07] Speaker 3: Right. So you can drop your bags off.
[12:09] Speaker 1: Right.
[12:09] Speaker 2: And then when we got to Miami, I gave them
[12:12] Speaker 2: a high level itinerary. And it was like, it basically said, hey,
[12:16] Speaker 2: this is like the main thing we're doing today. And
[12:18] Speaker 2: here's some recommendations throughout the day. And they wanted me
[12:21] Speaker 2: to plan out every.
[12:22] Speaker 1: Hour on the hour.
[12:25] Speaker 2: I was emotionally drained when I got done that trip
[12:30] Speaker 2: because I just wasn't prepared for the men. I didn't
[12:35] Speaker 2: realize how much that group of men in particular, not
[12:37] Speaker 2: all men, depended on their female companions that travel with
[12:41] Speaker 2: them and.
[12:41] Speaker 3: Do all the work for them.
[12:42] Speaker 2: And so I came up and said, there's a need
[12:46] Speaker 2: that I'm missing out on and I need to go
[12:48] Speaker 2: serve the people. And so I was already doing it,
[12:50] Speaker 2: but now I said, now let me go get compensated.
[12:52] Speaker 3: For my time and effort.
[12:54] Speaker 1: Yeah. Great story.
[12:55] Speaker 3: Travelers still follow me. And they said, okay, you charging?
[12:59] Speaker 2: No problem. You, you should have charged us then. Uh,
[13:02] Speaker 2: and they have no problem taking it because they realize
[13:04] Speaker 2: the amount of effort that goes into coordinating group travel.
[13:06] Speaker 1: Absolutely. I, I would tell you this. Um, you know,
[13:09] Speaker 1: I think, uh, I've, I've been, I've been really in
[13:11] Speaker 1: a good spirit traveling lately and, you know, coordinated with
[13:15] Speaker 1: a good travel agency. Uh, I do a lot of
[13:18] Speaker 1: stuff through my Centurion, which is on American Express, so
[13:21] Speaker 1: I get a lot of high-level concierge service tied to that.
[13:26] Speaker 1: So I know what you do, Adams, is undeniably a
[13:32] Speaker 1: special skill that needs to be paid for and compensated
[13:35] Speaker 1: properly because you can make a person's life going through,
[13:39] Speaker 1: even though you're not there, you can set up concierge
[13:43] Speaker 1: to get you through TSAs in these various countries and
[13:46] Speaker 1: know you have car service waiting on you, and you
[13:48] Speaker 1: might not understand the language. Don't matter. My man, he'll
[13:52] Speaker 1: take care of you. Planesjj.com. Go there. They'll take care
[13:55] Speaker 1: of you. That's why I know people need to understand
[13:57] Speaker 1: you don't have to travel in fear if you got
[14:00] Speaker 1: the right person. Talk to them, Dominique.
[14:02] Speaker 3: Yeah, that's it, right?
[14:04] Speaker 2: So my job is to make your life easier. So
[14:06] Speaker 2: is everything you said. And then, again, we have the trustee.
[14:11] Speaker 2: tour operators, right? So when you land in that country,
[14:13] Speaker 2: I got a driver that speaks English, ready to take
[14:17] Speaker 2: you wherever you need to go. Or if you're one
[14:19] Speaker 2: of them people that want to get out there and
[14:20] Speaker 2: explore off the resort, because I highly encourage doing what
[14:24] Speaker 2: the locals do and exploring the culture and the people
[14:27] Speaker 2: and the food outside of the resort. We have the connections.
[14:31] Speaker 2: We have the relationships. You're not getting that on Expedia.
[14:34] Speaker 2: You're not getting that on, what is it? Get your guide.
[14:39] Speaker 2: because people don't have the relationships. And you hear about
[14:42] Speaker 2: those larval experiences. Yes.
[14:44] Speaker 1: Yes. And that's important. So now let's go to, let
[14:47] Speaker 1: me rub my hands together. Zanzibar. Zanzibar. Okay. Tell me
[14:52] Speaker 1: about how it all got started. And now we're at
[14:55] Speaker 1: this big moment that is your baby, as you say.
[14:58] Speaker 3: And Zanzibar is my baby. So Zanzibar, so it's myself.
[15:02] Speaker 2: Along with two other travel agents or group trip hosts.
[15:06] Speaker 2: And so, When I started the travel business, I didn't
[15:09] Speaker 2: know anything about the travel business, right? My background, I'm
[15:12] Speaker 2: 20 plus years in the healthcare industry. I'm a healthcare executive.
[15:17] Speaker 2: And so when I started this, I said, you know what?
[15:19] Speaker 2: I got to get out there and meet my people.
[15:21] Speaker 2: So I attended a travel conference. I built some relationships.
[15:24] Speaker 2: And the next thing you know, I attended one of
[15:26] Speaker 2: the young ladies group trips to Cuba because I wanted
[15:30] Speaker 2: to learn more about Cuba. And so while we were there,
[15:33] Speaker 2: we sort of formed a bond and a relationship. And
[15:35] Speaker 2: they were like, well, hold on, Dominic. You do know
[15:37] Speaker 2: your stuff. And so the three of us decided we
[15:40] Speaker 2: want to work together. We want to do something, but
[15:43] Speaker 2: it has to be big. It couldn't just be just
[15:45] Speaker 2: another group trip. And in Cuba, we birthed Black to Zanzibar.
[15:50] Speaker 2: which is basically a Juneteenth company, right? And so Black
[15:56] Speaker 2: to Zanzibar, and the reason why we chose Zanzibar, we're
[15:58] Speaker 2: very intentional. There's a lot of focus on Ghana. There's
[16:01] Speaker 2: a lot of focus on Nigeria, South Africa, et cetera,
[16:04] Speaker 2: in terms of where the festivals are going.
[16:06] Speaker 3: And we said, let's put the focus on the East.
[16:08] Speaker 2: So if you think about Black Americans, and I told
[16:10] Speaker 2: you what people always call me about, they call me
[16:12] Speaker 2: about the Caribbean. They love the islands, right? Well, Zanzibar
[16:16] Speaker 2: is an island in Africa. And a lot of people
[16:20] Speaker 2: don't know that. And so it's our job to tell
[16:23] Speaker 2: them about that. And so what we said is, again,
[16:25] Speaker 2: not another group trip. And so we said, you know what?
[16:28] Speaker 2: Let's do it on Juneteenth and let's create our own
[16:31] Speaker 2: festival in Zanzibar. So this is what we do. We
[16:35] Speaker 2: have a Juneteenth celebration where we bring and we connect
[16:39] Speaker 2: the diaspora and we really celebrate Black joy, Black freedom,
[16:44] Speaker 2: in the motherland, where our ancestors are from, and we
[16:47] Speaker 2: really have a good time. And why is it a
[16:49] Speaker 2: festival and not a group trip? Simply because we also
[16:54] Speaker 2: partner with other group trip hosts and we say, come
[16:57] Speaker 2: join us. We build it all out. Remember what I said,
[17:01] Speaker 2: we don't book trips, we curate experiences, right? So this
[17:04] Speaker 2: is not, so Rashaun, I would tell you, your average
[17:07] Speaker 2: client is not going to be able to get to
[17:09] Speaker 2: Zanzibar and do what I'm about to explain, right? So
[17:12] Speaker 2: the June team celebration, We kick it off with the
[17:15] Speaker 2: Zanzibar Diaspora Investment Summit. So what I started realizing while
[17:19] Speaker 2: we were traveling is the Russians, the Europeans, the Chinese,
[17:23] Speaker 2: et cetera, they were buying up all of the land
[17:25] Speaker 2: over there. And I was like, well, what is going on?
[17:28] Speaker 2: Come to find out, it's very affordable. So this past
[17:31] Speaker 2: June 2026, when our travelers came, I said, hold on,
[17:34] Speaker 2: we got to be able to educate the people about
[17:36] Speaker 2: the opportunities here. So we created the Zanzibar Diaspora Investment
[17:40] Speaker 2: Summit where we educated people on how affordable the land
[17:44] Speaker 2: and the opportunities are over here in the motherland. And
[17:48] Speaker 2: more importantly, we told them, let's help identify what the
[17:51] Speaker 2: needs are. Because once you identify what the needs are
[17:55] Speaker 2: for the island, you could bring that service here, right?
[17:58] Speaker 2: And then that'll pay for any of your long-term investment opportunities.
[18:01] Speaker 2: So we told them about money-making conversations here, right? And
[18:06] Speaker 2: on top of that, right, we have a gala. So
[18:08] Speaker 2: this year's theme was think coming to America, Eddie Murphy, right?
[18:12] Speaker 2: meets the Met Gala, so the Coming to Africa Gala.
[18:15] Speaker 2: So think big, bold, inspired African print. Everyone's formal, where
[18:20] Speaker 2: everyone understood the assignment and we enjoyed it. And then
[18:25] Speaker 2: we take it to Juneteenth, Yacht Day celebration, right? And
[18:29] Speaker 2: I got the actual visuals on the Instagram and the website.
[18:32] Speaker 2: So on a yacht day, it's actually Juneteenth. Each yacht
[18:36] Speaker 2: is color coordinated and the guests on the yacht wear
[18:39] Speaker 2: one color of the Pan-African flag. So one boat's wearing
[18:42] Speaker 2: all black, one boat's wearing all red, one boat's wearing
[18:45] Speaker 2: all green, right? And before we set sail, right, we
[18:48] Speaker 2: hold our fist up in the air, right, as a
[18:50] Speaker 2: salute to our ancestors.
[18:51] Speaker 3: And we let them know, yes, we're here. We're in
[18:54] Speaker 3: the motherland. We're on this Indian Ocean on the Swahili Coast.
[18:57] Speaker 3: And we are living it up.
[18:58] Speaker 2: And we are on a yacht.
[19:01] Speaker 3: We got chefs on board. They're preparing fresh food.
[19:03] Speaker 2: Seafood lunches for us we're jumping in the indian ocean
[19:07] Speaker 2: we go visit a sand bank we got a dj
[19:09] Speaker 2: and we just are living it up and saying yes
[19:11] Speaker 2: freedom freedom freedom here we are look how far we've
[19:14] Speaker 2: came as a culture right um And we just keep
[19:19] Speaker 2: it going, right?
[19:20] Speaker 1: How many days is that? How many days? When do
[19:22] Speaker 1: you arrive and when do you depart?
[19:23] Speaker 3: So it is a sort of festival. So for 2020,
[19:26] Speaker 3: I'm going to just jump into 2027, right?
[19:27] Speaker 2: Come on now. 2027 is an eight-day experience. Okay. Highlighted
[19:33] Speaker 2: by a five-day festival.
[19:34] Speaker 3: Okay.
[19:35] Speaker 2: So we give you the five-day festival. So it's what
[19:37] Speaker 2: I just described in addition to a large beach club
[19:40] Speaker 2: celebration where we take over a beach club.
[19:43] Speaker 3: We got dancers, performers.
[19:46] Speaker 2: We got the African twerkers doing a whole cultural ceremony,
[19:49] Speaker 2: fire dancing.
[19:50] Speaker 3: It's awesome.
[19:52] Speaker 2: We got an in the wild pool party, which is
[19:54] Speaker 2: a nighttime pool party. This year's theme is animal print, right?
[19:58] Speaker 2: So think about leopard and zebra swim attire. We're living
[20:02] Speaker 2: it up. But not only are we going to give
[20:03] Speaker 2: you the festival, right? We got to give you the
[20:05] Speaker 2: cultural experience. Zanzibar is known as a spice island. We're
[20:08] Speaker 2: going to visit a spice farm, right? We're going to
[20:10] Speaker 2: take a traditional Swahili cooking class. We're going to visit
[20:13] Speaker 2: a safari, right? We got it going on. We're going
[20:16] Speaker 2: to have a private dinner with the Maasai tribe. We
[20:19] Speaker 2: give you the true experience. Again, You can't get this
[20:22] Speaker 2: on Expedia or anywhere else on what we're doing. So
[20:25] Speaker 2: it's a Juneteenth celebration and Zanzibar. And for our customers
[20:30] Speaker 2: that are going to listen to this podcast, I just
[20:32] Speaker 2: went ahead and threw in a $ 250 discount code today.
[20:36] Speaker 2: So if they go and you can go on my website, plainjj.com,
[20:41] Speaker 2: you'll click on a link and you'll see the Black
[20:43] Speaker 2: Zanzibar celebration. If you go to checkout, you put in
[20:46] Speaker 2: a code M.
[20:48] Speaker 3: MMC. Money Making Conversations.
[20:50] Speaker 2: MMC. You'll get $ 250 off and that code is going
[20:54] Speaker 2: to last from now until 11.59 p.m.
[20:58] Speaker 3: Next Friday. So I'm going to give you a whole
[21:00] Speaker 3: week at it.
[21:00] Speaker 1: Okay, cool. Okay, cool. I got to get this out
[21:02] Speaker 1: for you. I got to get this. Give me two weeks.
[21:04] Speaker 1: Give me two weeks. Give me two weeks. Give me
[21:05] Speaker 1: two weeks?
[21:06] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[21:06] Speaker 1: I'm going to make the extension. I got a couple
[21:07] Speaker 1: people on vacation. Okay, give me two weeks.
[21:09] Speaker 3: I'll drive.
[21:10] Speaker 2: You know what?
[21:11] Speaker 3: We're going to go to, what's that, October 2nd, whatever
[21:13] Speaker 3: that Friday is. I'm going to push it.
[21:14] Speaker 1: I got you covered. I got you covered. I got
[21:16] Speaker 1: you covered. It's really great hearing this. But let's talk about,
[21:19] Speaker 1: before I get off Zanzibar, what is the travel? Is it,
[21:23] Speaker 1: do you, Leave the States, you connect to where to
[21:26] Speaker 1: get into Zanzibar. Help me there.
[21:28] Speaker 2: Yeah, so you get to Zanzibar a number of ways,
[21:30] Speaker 2: depending on where you're at in the country, right? The
[21:31] Speaker 2: most direct route is JFK has a direct flight on Kenya.
[21:35] Speaker 3: Airways that takes you to Kenya. Okay.
[21:37] Speaker 2: It's a nonstop 14-hour flight. And then from Kenya, it's
[21:41] Speaker 2: a one-hour flight over to Zanzibar.
[21:42] Speaker 1: Okay, okay, okay.
[21:44] Speaker 2: Now, again, I'm a traveler. I'm a real traveler here, right?
[21:47] Speaker 2: And so I tell people, you can go that route,
[21:50] Speaker 2: or if you'd really like to explore Zanzibar, Take a
[21:52] Speaker 2: layover in Paris. Take a layover in Turkey.
[21:55] Speaker 3: Get you a 10 to 12 hour layover.
[21:57] Speaker 2: Get over there. Get up. Get off that plane and
[21:59] Speaker 2: go explore. And I can help you build that itinerary.
[22:03] Speaker 2: And so you get to see a multitude of countries
[22:05] Speaker 2: on your journey. Don't go anywhere.
[22:08] Speaker 1: We will be right back with more insights from Money
[22:11] Speaker 1: Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to Money Making Conversations Masterclass
[22:20] Speaker 1: hosted by me, Rashawn McDonald. Let's get back into it. Now,
[22:24] Speaker 1: let's talk about it. As we close out, again, it's
[22:27] Speaker 1: going to www.plainsjj.com to look at this 2027 Zanzibar Juneteenth celebration.
[22:37] Speaker 1: It's eight days, five days of the festival. Look at it.
[22:41] Speaker 1: The man just pitched it to me and it's sticking
[22:42] Speaker 1: in my head. That's how good it is. Now, the
[22:45] Speaker 1: beauty of this is stereotypes. and how social media is
[22:49] Speaker 1: helping kill a lot of stereotypes. And I tell people
[22:53] Speaker 1: always my story, my first time I went to Africa
[22:56] Speaker 1: in 2007, I believe. And I couldn't believe that they
[22:59] Speaker 1: would be able to do a live broadcast of the
[23:01] Speaker 1: Steve Harvey Morning Show over there. I didn't believe they
[23:03] Speaker 1: had the technology. Because guess what? I bought into the
[23:08] Speaker 1: lack of technology, the commercials of homelessness, of racial fighting, wars.
[23:19] Speaker 1: That has been the image that has been produced of Africa.
[23:26] Speaker 1: How is social media helping us change the tides of that?
[23:29] Speaker 1: And you as well, because you're promoting the positive values
[23:33] Speaker 1: of African travel.
[23:35] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[23:36] Speaker 3: You know, it's funny. Everything that you said is going
[23:38] Speaker 3: on in America.
[23:39] Speaker 2: Right.
[23:40] Speaker 3: Everything you said is going on in America.
[23:42] Speaker 2: However, we kept the media kept depicting Africa as if
[23:46] Speaker 2: it was something different. Right. You'll have your places that
[23:51] Speaker 2: are really thriving, right? From a technology and business standpoint, infrastructure.
[23:56] Speaker 2: And then you'll have your areas that are still developing.
[24:00] Speaker 2: And so what I would tell you is everything is
[24:04] Speaker 2: just like America. We got our pockets that are poverty,
[24:07] Speaker 2: but then overwhelmingly, you also got your areas that are
[24:10] Speaker 2: doing very well. Zanzibar is an island. So let's talk
[24:13] Speaker 2: about Zanzibar. They thrive on tourism, right? And so- The
[24:18] Speaker 2: resources are there. The support is there. Are there, you know,
[24:21] Speaker 2: are the locals, are there still locals that are struggling?
[24:25] Speaker 3: Absolutely. But are there locals that are thriving? Absolutely. And
[24:30] Speaker 3: then you also have a nice pocket of.
[24:33] Speaker 2: Americans that have migrated over to not just Zanzibar, Tanzania
[24:36] Speaker 2: or Tanzania in general. Right. And who have started businesses
[24:40] Speaker 2: and are really helping to grow and they're bonding with
[24:44] Speaker 2: the people. We were intentional while we were there. about
[24:48] Speaker 2: supporting the locals. We did a couple of give back
[24:50] Speaker 2: drives and that's very important. I don't know how I
[24:52] Speaker 2: forgot that, right? We did a period poverty drive, right?
[24:55] Speaker 2: Where we, you know, collected and donated pads and show
[25:00] Speaker 2: young ladies how to, you know, handle themselves during their
[25:02] Speaker 2: menstrual periods. And we also raised enough money on that
[25:06] Speaker 2: particular school to build a well and give them running water.
[25:11] Speaker 2: We also partnered with Zanzibar's only school for the disabled,
[25:14] Speaker 2: which is about a hundred kids.
[25:16] Speaker 3: We were able to pay for the tuition for 16 kids.
[25:18] Speaker 2: And then they also have a clinic on the property
[25:21] Speaker 2: that takes care of the local villages. And so we
[25:23] Speaker 2: were able to bring over medical supplies to take care
[25:25] Speaker 2: of the.
[25:25] Speaker 3: Local villages as well.
[25:27] Speaker 2: And so it's all about pouring in and giving back. So, again,
[25:30] Speaker 2: not just the vacation, but again, it's they have it's developed.
[25:34] Speaker 2: They have all-inclusive resorts over there as well. When you
[25:37] Speaker 2: go over to Zanzibar, our trip in 2027, you're staying
[25:40] Speaker 2: at a five-star all-inclusive resort. So we're going to give
[25:43] Speaker 2: you everything, and we're going.
[25:44] Speaker 3: To help you understand.
[25:46] Speaker 2: Africa has it going on just like Europe, but they
[25:48] Speaker 2: don't paint that picture of our people.
[25:50] Speaker 1: Well, I'm going to tell you something, brother. It got
[25:53] Speaker 1: me excited. You got me excited. Let's stay on that radar.
[25:56] Speaker 1: Thank you for the MMC 250 discount. For the listeners
[26:00] Speaker 1: of my podcast, we're going to help get the word out. But,
[26:03] Speaker 1: you know, I got major love for you. But I
[26:07] Speaker 1: also want to bring you back probably like in January
[26:10] Speaker 1: so we can talk about the festival and get more people.
[26:13] Speaker 1: If you're not sold out already, we're going to push
[26:15] Speaker 1: it to get you sold out. Because, again, this is
[26:18] Speaker 1: not a one-stop shopping. It won't be five years again, Dominic.
[26:22] Speaker 3: Okay? Yeah. I appreciate it.
[26:23] Speaker 2: I look forward to seeing you in January. And if
[26:25] Speaker 2: you want me to come down to Atlanta, just send
[26:28] Speaker 2: me the date.
[26:28] Speaker 3: I'll be there.
[26:29] Speaker 1: Okay.
[26:29] Speaker 3: That's right.
[26:30] Speaker 1: You're a travel guy. What am I talking about? He travels.
[26:32] Speaker 2: I'm traveling. I don't like to do virtual.
[26:33] Speaker 3: If I had to, I'd get on a plane and come.
[26:35] Speaker 3: I'll be with about two. I'm in Philly, right? Give
[26:38] Speaker 3: me about two hours. I'll be there. Okay.
[26:39] Speaker 1: I appreciate you, brother. Thank you, man. And thank you
[26:41] Speaker 1: for tapping me on my shoulder, man, because I missed you, man.
[26:43] Speaker 3: I appreciate the time and the platform. Thank you very much.
[26:46] Speaker 1: Because I love bringing back people I saw in a
[26:48] Speaker 1: certain period in their brand or their career development or
[26:50] Speaker 1: their small business development. And say, there is a future.
[26:54] Speaker 1: These stories that we repeat really inspire people to know that.
[26:58] Speaker 1: Just stick with it and have a plan. And also,
[27:01] Speaker 1: wake up working hard. Thank you.
[27:03] Speaker 3: That's it.
[27:03] Speaker 1: I appreciate you. Thank you for listening to this episode.
[27:07] Speaker 1: Now I need for you to do me a favor.
[27:09] Speaker 1: Right now, to follow or subscribe to Money Making Conversation.
[27:13] Speaker 3: It's free.
[27:14] Speaker 1: And you can find it on the iHeartRadio app, Spotify,
[27:18] Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Please do
[27:22] Speaker 1: me a favor. Follow or subscribe Money Making Conversations. Keep winning.

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