Juliette is an active, energetic person with a background in social psychology and an interest in sustainability and making positive changes in the world. She started with the social enterprise World Experience Philippines, which Smokey Tours is a part of.
Entrepreneur Interview Q & A
1. What is the name of your business? What does your business do?
World Experience Philippines, with the Tours & Training Department branded as Smokey Tours. Our goal is to exchange skills, knowledge and experiences. We do Talent Development in the slums of Metro Manila. We educate poor people to become professional tourleaders, we give eye-opening tours for our guests from all over the world and bring back the money to the community. In the slum community we do projects together with local NGOs, with the focus to help people who want to help themselves.
2. Why did you get into this field? What opportunities did you see?
I want to bring worlds together, so people can meet, interact, and learn from each other. Through our tours poverty gets a face and people are moved\ and inspired to make positive changes.
3. What have been your biggest challenges? 
Biggest? We have challenges all the time. My personal challenge is to keep having energy, to keep on going and to motivate myself, even though things don’t go as planned. You have to stay flexible and things can’t always go your way.
4. What has been your greatest reward?
My greatest reward is to see that people gain confidence through our trainings, the tour leaders can make their own living, earn money, and have grown their talents. They become leaders in their community, who help and support others.
5. If you could change something, what would it be?
I would like to change that all people where ever you are from, will get the same opportunities.
6. What advice would you give to a new entrepreneur?
Start, don’t hesitate to do and be practical, focus and try to scale. Look for sources of wisdom, coaches, and ask for help and keep on going. It will not always be easy but worth it, if you keep your goal in mind and stay calm and patient.
7. Social Media. Yay or Nay?
Yay, that is life, and if you do what you do and try to do it well, all responses will be mainly positive, even though with a topic like ours, slum tours. People are moved and want to make a change. They want to share it and social media is a tool to share it.
8. How do you market your products or services?
Mouth to mouth, TripAdvisor, and other social enterprises like Quarkus and Joho help us.
9. If your business sells products, how do you handle production?
N/A
10. What is unique about your business?
Our uniqueness is that we deal with service. Tours, that is a hard product. Many aspects can go wrong.
11. Sell me your product/service.
Just do it.
12. How can people get in touch with you? What’s your website url and contact information?
www.worldexperience.ph, www.smokeytours.com.
Juliette Kwee: juliette@worldexperience.ph.
+639166436082, if you need coaching or a source or want to share ideas, email me.
