"Work Hard, Play Hard" a well-known quote but it is more than that for Passant Faheem, it is a life motto. Passant is not the usual 20-year-old, at such a young age she achieved what a lot of older people find hard to achieve. Not only did she manage to open her traveling agency "Stamps" at the age of nineteen, but she is also an IGCSE Sociology Teacher and a college student. It was not easy for her, and nothing was given to her on a silver plate; she had to work hard to achieve little and work harder to achieve a lot.
For as long she remembers Passant had a passion for traveling,
"I wanted to work in something that makes me feel independent and give me skills, and traveling is the best thing at that"
Passant's traveling journey started when she was around the age of 17. She applied for a job in a travel agency and faced the first barrier when they weren't convinced she can succeed due to her young age. She managed to convince them and told them she would work for free until she learns the skills.
"It's much more than traveling, I am experiencing the cultures with my own eyes"
At first, Passant thought this was a cool vacation she was going to, but her experience in the agency, besides being ultimately entertaining, held an educational aspect. The experience she gained in this agency wasn't only limited to traveling. She gained a lot of other skills through courses like first aid and developed communication and social skills with different people from different cultures, as she was one of the organizers in the trips made by this agency.
"I was a different person with a different view on traveling before this experience, I discovered also a lot about myself and saw what is outside of my thinking bubble"
Her gates for starting the agency opened when she first started traveling and backpacking abroad. Her stay would take time and, therefore, a lot of money. She started searching online on how to make money quickly and save it. "saving up didn't allow for doing luxurious activities, however, I can still manage to travel and do things even cooler. I made the most out of it."
Passant found herself already at an agency of her own. She always helped her friends and other people who want to travel through social media with tips and hacks she learned from traveling and from her searches. Passant and her co-founder Ahmed then started thinking about doing customized trips online on a small scale, not a literal traveling agency. The positive response she received led her and Ahmed to start working on opening their travel agency, "stamps". They launched it after just more than a year of hard work and paperwork.
"With my experience with people and traveling and with Ahmed's experience with technicalities, we were able to do it"
Passant didn't expect a huge response to Stamps, especially when other travel agencies were much more popular. But she succeeded and, with the help of her co-founder, built a name and earned a place between other travel agencies.
"There is so much to grow but I didn't expect that I would make deals with other travel agencies and would have a big name this fast"
The first trip she organized at stamps was one of Italy. At the time 4 people applied and paid and seeing that made her feel like her dream is getting real. She had organized a lot of trips and traveled with a lot of people, but still, having her own business and holding more responsibilities felt different to her.
"at that moment I felt the hard work for stamps paid off"
Besides all the excitement Passant still feels whenever she organizes trips, Passant carries a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders. She is a teacher, a business owner, and a student. She is still a human and sometimes faces low points in her life especially with how mentally draining the quarantine is for her.
"Honestly, I face a lot of low points in my life because of how stressful it is but I finish all my work and push myself a little bit harder before a certain break I set and my friends and family know that they shouldn't talk with me in this break"
One of the unique traits in Passant is hopefulness. She wanted to study for her bachelor's degree abroad but for certain circumstances, she couldn't. The major she wanted was only found in the AUC but it was too expensive, so she applied to another major in the GUC.
However, something unexpected happened on her first day.
"I was going to pay in the GUC and the AUC contacted me and told me that I was granted a scholarship there in the major I wanted, this showed me that rewards can be received at the last minute.
Besides all the positive vibes and the hardships, her experience held a lot of fun.
"One time I was in Bali and we only moved by scooters. I had a fever and I was sick but I didn't want to ruin the day. I and Ahmed, my co-founder, were in the countryside and there was construction on the road and we fell off the scooters. We went to the hospital and got some stitches. We rented another scooter but Ahmed couldn't drive so I offered to drive for us both even though I didn't know how to drive it. About 10 minutes away from the hospital we fell again and Ahmed's stitches reopened. It was getting darker, the hospital and the house were too far, the scooter was ruined, no one could speak English, and our phones were broken. After about an hour a man who speaks English stopped in his car and helped us get on a van that transported chicken! But at least we got home"
I couldn't stop laughing at the story of a lifetime especially since her phone's touchscreen was broken and her dad was calling a lot while she couldn't answer. Also since she was alone on the other side of the world.
"I was with the chicken thinking of everything, what would I tell my dad? is the driver kidnapping us? when I got home I laid in bed and never thought this could happen to me in one day"
Finally, I asked Passant what tips does she has for people who want to travel alone.
"I recommend solo traveling or a couple of traveling. The person you are traveling with should not be too dependent or against the idea of socializing especially since your host house friends are your new best friends, and shouldn't be against doing new things but not peer pressure you to do things you don't want to do. You have to have this flexibility to gain the best experience. One time, we changed the whole route of the trip because there were better and cheaper activities"
For everyone who wants to start a startup Passant had a few tips
"Plan everything literally, email big companies and entities for collaborations. You would think they won't reply, but they do! Write everything down on paper: what you are doing, will do, and how you will do it because in your head it might sound perfect but it might not be practical on paper."
To conclude, Passant didn't achieve little and still wants to achieve more. She didn't wake up one day with everything at her palms, she worked hard and harder and succeeded. It was a lot of fun interviewing Passant as she is one of the nicest people I've talked with. Also, make sure to check her Instagram page @passantfaheem and follow @stamps.egy for a lot of offers on their trips.
Interviewer: Habiba Essam
Editor : Youmna Medhat
