Much like everything else in life, entrepreneurship is a not a linear journey. It comes replete with various highs and lows. One such recent challenge brought upon the entire business landscape was the COVID 19 pandemic. The global pandemic was especially hard on the hospitality industry and affected various businesses in the sector adversely. But adversity is just another opportunity for growth for seasoned entrepreneurs.

Rising up to the challenge is Mirela Jain, Founder of My Goa Villas, a property management company focused on luxury holiday rentals in Goa. The resilient business maven turned the business around in record time and today presents clients with safe and reliable holiday rental options.

Mirela leverages her decade long industry experience in leading My Goa Villas to greater heights today. In a candid conversation with the Women Entrepreneur team, Mirela narrates to us her professional odyssey and gives us an insight into her leadership philosophies. Here are excerpts from the conversation.

Introduce us to my goa villas. Throw some light on the key features about the company.

My Goa Villas (MGV) is a property management company focused on luxury holiday rentals in Goa. We manage luxury villas for the owners in Goa with an understanding to let it for short holiday rentals.

We have carefully inspected and co-ordinated the selection of villas before on-boarding them to our portfolio. All of MGV come with a private pool and are fully furnished to individual taste of the villa owners. Each villa also comes with educated and trained staff to attend to the guests.

As a complete property management & holiday rental company MGV caters to all custom need of our exclusive guests from different walks of life who visit regularly. We customize each booking based on clients' requirements providing them with the best to ensure they have a quality time while on holiday in Goa.

Take us through your educational journey. What factors led you towards the realm of hospitality?

I was born in Croatia but my mother is from Tenerife, Canary Islands which is a popular holiday island destination for Euro-peans. After schooling I completed an MBA with a specialization in Finance. After finishing my MBA I was living between Croatia and Tenerife. I realized the demand of tourism in Tenerife and the lifestyle at Tenerife; this realization helped me find my way towards starting a holiday rental company.

After getting married my husband decided to move back to India and we were living in Hyderabad. This turned out to be a big transition for me going from living on a `Holiday Island' to adjusting in city life. We eventually decided to move to Goa and I started the holiday rental business which I gradually learnt.

Tell us about your prior industry experience before founding my goa villas. What are some business lessons that you learned through your prior industry experience that are still a part of your approach to leadership?

In my prior industry experience I have worked in the insurance sector for several years. My journey began as a Sales Representative selling insurance door to door. From there I moving my way up to becoming the Sales Director for insurance companies such as Allianz and Baloise Group. I then became the CEO & Director for Ekos Holding Group in Croatia.

Having a vast work experience that spans over a decade in various companies and at various positions has taught me several important lessons. The primary one is that for everything in life it is always `now or never'.

Since MGV is an owner driven company, so I'm involved in all important decisions. I also have an `autocratic' approach to managing work which means that I monitor every component of operations and need to stay on top of everything to ensure that the company is moving forward in alignment with my vision.

“I believe that business is like an ocean and no one can drink all the water from the entire ocean alone. In essence it means that our operations and client data base is strong and external competition does not affect us in a big way”

I also believe that business is like an ocean and no one can drink all the water from the entire ocean alone. In essence it means that our operations and client data base is strong and external competition does not affect us in a big way. Yet I keep myself motivated with regular gym workout & yoga routine to stay healthy and focused.

The ongoing pandemic has been a tough journey, especially for the hospitality sector. How did you deal with the challenge to make my goa villas properties, a safe place to stay in?

As we all know the world came to a standstill when the pandemic hit. It has been quite a tough journey to let off our trusted and trained staffs during the first lockdown in 2020. It is due to the support of our repeat clients that we have been able to deal with the challenges to revive our business with ease.

All our villas are safe, hygienic and sanitized. Our entire staff has been vaccinated and follows every COVID-19 SOPs. We always leave 24 hour in between bookings to sanitize the villa and it for upcoming guests.

As a successful business leader what advice would you give to young women who aspire to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

I believe life will keep challenging you and you learn something new every day. It is important to take a risk and do what you believe in. one must also believe in themselves. Remember that no one succeeds immediately, but with consistency one succeeds SURELY! Set your goals and remind them to yourself each day. Who you are with is who you become, so chose your friends and company very carefully.

Good luck and don't give up, mistakes are only meant to be lessons giving you an opportunity to improvise.

Mirela Jain, Founder, My Goa Villas

Born in Croatia and having lived on Tenerife, Canary Islands a popular holiday island destination for Europeans, Mirela gauged the demand for tourism services thus founded My Goa Villas as a holiday rental company.