Today we’d like to introduce you to Rashida Jackson
Hi Rashida, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a fan of theme parks and I’ve always been a fan of Disney even as a little girl going to Disneyland in California. I have my first experience going to Disney World my senior year of high school. During that time I knew I wanted to pursue something in theatre arts whether through acting or stage management or backstage work. And I learned on this trip that I could explore some career options at Disney World which led me to apply for the Disney college program. I met some amazing people there, including my current agency owner, Margy Mercer, in the college program. I worked for the company on kind of an intern basis remotely in Texas.
But after that program ended, I didn’t do much other work for the company. My husband and I went on our first trip as a couple to Disney World in 2019. I thought that was gonna be a one and done trip but that trip really re-awakened my love for content, creating, my love for the theme parks, and my love for planning vacations.
My Aunt Rachelle passed in early 2020 and I learned that she was planning on starting a travel agency/travel planning business and my dad kept saying how someone should take it over. I learned my college program friend Margy has just recently started her own travel planning business and so I called her to see what all would be involved in starting one. The logistics didn’t sound like something I was interested in owning but planning vacations was an option. About a year later, in 2021, my sister asked me to help plan her vacation and she said it went really smoothly and really appreciated my help and I thought that maybe something I would be able to do. Around the same time Margy, my Disney college program friend, reaches out to me and ask if I was still interested in possibly planning vacations professionally. I told her I would think about it and see if I can drum up some interest and I would get back to her.
August 2021, I joined TikTok and started posting videos. I randomly went viral for a relatable video and from there, I knew it may be possible to monetize and get clients for a possible travel business. About seven months later, I started a signature series answering popular questions I saw asked on Facebook and TikTok videos, and that took me to the point where I could start accepting clients. I reached back out to Margy. I completed the training I needed to do to become a travel professional. From there, I continue to create content and share the knowledge that I knew about planning Disney vacations.
In 2023, I had the opportunity to plan a vacation for the now Dallas local, Keith Lee and his family. His recommendation really helped me to grow and take my business to another level! And I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to plan that vacation for their family! And it’s only been up from there!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Out of all of the times I’ve started a new journey to create content or to start businesses, this has been the smoothest.
And I can say that it’s because I truly believe this time I just completely yielded it to whatever God wanted me to do with the business. It honestly shocks me that He allows me to do this business because there was about 10 years where God told me that Disney was not something that I needed to do or focus on. It was taking a lot out of my time and I was really obsessed over it. But when He allowed us to go on vacation to Disney World in 2019 and allowed me to start building the business in 2022, I saw that I grew to a point where I could better handle the opportunities and I’ve really just been trusting Him with every step every part of the business.
I try not to stress about if it’s gonna grow, I really just do what I believe God is leading me to do and make sure I’m doing that the best that I can.
I think the biggest struggles come with going viral. TikTok is such a great platform to get discovered on. And I see a lot of people who want to get discovered on TikTok. I was one of those people as well so I can’t blame them, but you need to know what to do once you get discovered and I had to learn that the hard way. And I’m still learning and I’m still overcoming areas where videos went viral and business became more difficult to handle, but not impossible. All in all, I believe it helped me to become a better person and learn how to serve my clients and my community better and that’s something that I always want to be able to do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Travel by Rashida?
I specialize in theme park travel which includes destinations like Disney World, Disneyland, Universal Studios Orlando, and soon the Universal Kids Resort that will be located in Frisco/Plano.
My favorite thing to do for clients and something that I’m known for is creating touring plans. Touring plans for a theme park vacation basically will help you to get the most out of your time in the parks. When clients book with me, I enjoy understanding the vision behind their vacation first then giving them the best options that their vision and budget will offer them.
But also, I don’t want to stress them out so my job is an agent is to take a lot of the load off of them, do a lot of thinking for them and then also to alert them of different roadblocks that may be in a way to prevent them from having the best time with their family and I help take the stress off of them in those areas.
I’m known for helping Black families plan their dream Disney vacations, but my passion for planning Disney vacations goes beyond that.
I enjoy serving all families and setting pictures of them going on their dream vacations. Visiting Disney World with my family was always a dream of mine, and I made it happen by joining the Disney College Program. Now, I love helping others make their Disney dreams come true—no matter their background. While I have a special connection with Black families navigating the Disney planning process, I genuinely enjoy assisting people of all races and ages. At the end of the day, it’s all about creating the most memorable experiences for everyone!
I’m also expanding to include other destinations so check my social media and website for more updates!
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I’d say the biggest thing that I learned from the COVID-19 crisis was that it’s never too late for you to start on a dream. I also learned to take advantage of opportunities when you see them. Don’t wait of you have the ability to seize it.
I originally thought I waited too long to get into the space on TikTok and thought had I got into it a year earlier with the same energy and skill set that I came into it with I could’ve been successful faster. But I’m honestly glad I didn’t because going viral that quick, I don’t know that I would’ve been able to handle it.
The doors of opportunity opened for at the time it’s meant to open for me, but I couldn’t be afraid to jump at the opportunity. I thought I was late to the game in 2021 and I can’t imagine what my life would be like today if I had waited a month later or six months later to get into content creation. I wouldn’t have been able to find that the best way for me to create content was through video and I probably wouldn’t be the creator and business owner that I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ShidaJayy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shidajayy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/12HLPd46PuD/
- Threads: https://www.threads.net/@travelbyrashida
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@shidajayy
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shidajayy
Image Credits
Two of the images were taken by Jamaal Jones.
