I’m Stacey Dos Santos Rahaman. I’m the Co-founder of Visit Guyana, a brand dedicated to promoting Guyana. I’m also the Co-owner of Christa Marketing Solutions, a full service marketing agency and a director on the board of Tourism. Most importantly and my most rewarding role: Mom to Emma and Anya

I’m a graduate of the University of Guyana with a degree in Computer Science and I also possess a diploma in Tourism. I initially worked in applications development and IT for a number of years, but fell in love with tourism while working at the Guyana tourism Authority. This motivated me to marry my love for tourism , Marketing and IT and along with my husband we launched Christa Marketing solutions.

Our clients hail from all over Guyana and the region. We also launched Visit Guyana, the largest social media presence in Guyana reaching over a million person a month! The Success of this initiative gave birth to two Annual publications: the  Visit Guyana Magazine and the Visit Guyana: Lime, Dine and Unwind Magazines. Visit Guyana won the Ministry of Tourism Award in 2014 for Destination Guyana promotion and The Visit Guyana Magazines won the Guyana Tourism Authority Tourism Entrepreneur of the year Award in 2017.

1. How did you arrive at the idea for your business?My Marketing business initially started from a freelance business offering social media management solutions to clients. At the time, the power of social media was growing and no one was really offering digital marketing solutions in Guyana. I had just returned from overseas where i’d just set up a digital marketing department for the agency I was with and saw a need to provide similar solutions for business owners here in Guyana.

2. What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur? When I started my business it was never because I thought ” I want to become an entrepreneur” , The key driving force for starting my company was because I was trying to to figure out a way I could work from home so I could spend more time with my newborn Daughter.

3. What is your greatest challenge being an entrepreneur?As my business  grows  the key challenge is ensuring I balance work with quality family time. As entrepreneurs we sometimes tend to be very focused on details and doing things well and we can sometimes forget to take care of ourselves and to take time away from the world of business for family, fun and friends. Fortunately my kids remind me to stop and smell the roses.

4. What has been your most satisfying moment in business? Holding my very first Magazine after it came off the printing press. Months of hard work had finally become a physical reality.

5. What piece of advice would you give to other young people who want to become entrepreneurs? 
   Don’t let money be your motivator. Instead look at the problems being faced by the world and think of how you can solve them. The money will come, but it will take a huge amount of Discipline, integrity, Focus, Hard work, positive thinking & partnerships.

6. How do you define success? 
   Success for me is being able to actively use your talents and what you are passionate about to add value to the world.

7. Who has been your greatest inspiration? 
   There is no one person who has inspired me on this journey. There have been many. From the man doing his roadside fruit and vegetable hustle to feed his family to world RenownedCEO’s around the world. From my Grandmother and mom who hailed from humble beginnings and saw the value of educating their kids to my fellow entrepreneurs. There have been and continue to be many.