EAP 188: From Fired to Founder: Sadie Jordan on Carving Space for Black Travelers

In this heartfelt episode of the Early Accountability Podcast, host Kimi Walker sits down with Sadie, founder and owner of Soul Life Travel. Sadie shares her powerful journey of resilience and purpose after facing racial discrimination in the corporate travel industry. What began as a dream job became a catalyst for something greater—an intentional, soul-centered travel business highlighting Afro-Caribbean culture and Black history in Costa Rica and beyond.

Kimi and Sadie dive into the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, from Sadie’s first $700 group tour in Cuba to the spiritual dream that reignited her focus and drive. Throughout the conversation, Sadie reflects on how her experiences shaped her mission to serve Black travelers through curated experiences that honor culture, history, and belonging. Listeners will walk away inspired by Sadie's determination, her creative vision, and the reminder that sometimes our biggest setbacks lead us to our true calling.

Topics Covered in This Episode:

• Turning racial discrimination into entrepreneurial fuel
• Building a culturally rooted travel company from the ground up
• Honoring Afro-Caribbean heritage through curated experiences
• Navigating the ups and downs of growing a purpose-driven business
• The dream that sparked focus and clarity
• Navigating the ups and downs of growing a purpose-driven business
• Embracing self-trust and community over external validation

About Sadie:

Sadie Jordan had a chance encounter at a hostel during a solo trip that exposed her to the tourism industry. She immediately enrolled in a community college with a surprisingly robust tourism program and the resources this adult learner needed—academically and personally.

Sadie became the go-to person for culturally-based experiences at the tourism company she worked for, something her Ivy League-graduate colleagues were not qualified to do. She collected research, created itineraries, and proposed countless ideas to her management on curating experiences for people of color that could set them apart in the industry. When those proposals fell on deaf ears, she knew she had the skills to do it on her own—and founded Soul Life Travel.

Soul Life Travel specializes in unique, authentic, carefully designed tours that highlight Afro-Costa Rican and Afro-Latin heritage and culture—elements often left out of typical Costa Rican travel itineraries. Additionally, they partner with locally-run providers to combat irresponsible tourism, which increasingly threatens local culture and leads to the exploitation of local communities.

Sadie’s passion for diversifying the travel community means she can remove the burden from travelers to find experiences that truly speak to them.

CONNECT WITH SADIE:

Website: soullifetravel.net

Instagram: Soul Life Travel

Facebook: Soul Life Travel 

 

CONNECT WITH KIMI:

Visit: earlyaccountability.com

LinkedIn: Kimi Walker

Facebook: Kimi Walker

Instagram: Kimi Walker

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