The story behind Stella

It feels surreal to be at this point. I've been working hard to bring a vision and idea to life, that quickly became a dream I never knew I had. Being vulnerable and creative through my work has been one of the most rewarding and also most challenging experiences I've been through. Naturally, I've been reflecting on the journey that's led me here, and honestly, it feels like I've been working my whole life to do this, I just didn't know it at the time.

I’ve always been good at two things: 1) planning and 2) knowing a good time when I see one. When I was a sophomore in high school, I heard about a class leadership position whose sole focus was planning events for our class, including our prom. I heard prom planning and was locked in, I couldn't run to the sign up sheet fast enough. I had to campaign and be voted into the position which was quite mortifying, but I was eventually elected and very grateful. I went on to plan all the events, with the rest of the class leadership team, for my last two years of high school. I remember doing my very first site visit to the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, CA to scout locations for our prom, and thinking how much I loved it. I had no idea then, that I would be setting the foundation for my business 11 years later. 

A few years later, I was able to land my first job at my local Yogurtland, as the event and catering manager, thanks to my experience in high school. As you can imagine, Yogurtland didn’t have too much going on in terms of exciting events, but I was able to get experience in catering and corporate marketing. A few years after this, I began working for an ice cream company (there is a frozen treat career path building). I started as an associate, then in a few years became a store manager. Shortly after that, I became the catering and special events manager.  We had booths at almost every major music festival in Southern California and catering events with major global companies, on a weekly basis. I learned about high pressure situations, how to work with clients who are paying and expecting a lot, and the attention to detail required to smoothly execute a massive production. I finally found my element!  Fast forward to about a year and a half into this job, while I was having so much fun, I was burnt out from working more than full time and being a student full time, so I left the events position shortly after graduating, and started working at the company that I'm currently still working for after 5+ years. 

Im good at the corporate life but it didn’t fulfill me. Then, when I moved to New York in 2021, I immediately realized that every time you step outside, its $100. So, I needed to find a side hustle. Enter Fora. In 2022, about a year after I moved to New York, Fora found me. No, Literally, they came up as a targeted ad on my instagram feed. Immediately, I followed the ad, found their website, did my research, and submitted and application. I became an advisor within the next two weeks. For anyone unfamiliar, Fora Travel is a modern travel agency that's “inclusive, progressive, and tech-forward,” among many other things. They have created a work model that allows passionate travelers to get paid for planning vacations, as a side hustle or as a full time career. They provide industry leading technology to its advisors, to enable them to do the best job for our clients. I could spend hours singing the praises of Fora because they really are that good. I'm lucky to have been onboarded as a travel advisor in 2022, within their first year in business. If this speaks to anyone, please reach out for more information!

Since I first joined Fora, I’ve been on a high, living in la la land, constantly dreaming and imagining all the possibilities of where travel advising can take me. I’ve been fortunate enough to see first hand what opportunities Fora has given our community and I wanted in on all of it. One of the first things they taught us as advisors was to pick a niche, a group of people or category of travel that I want to focus on. Over the past two years, I’ve been carefully thinking about what my niche was and who my target clients were. At first, it seemed so difficult to just focus on one type of travel or group. As a fresh new advisor I wanted to learn and book everything. Then, I soon realized why a niche was so important, there are just way to many areas of travel to be an expert in all of them, especially all at once. So, I stopped trying to pick, and just let things flow, and let my clients point me in the right direction. Before I knew it, it became clear to me that my target clients were couples and my niche was romance travel! Couples at all stages of their story, from engagement to anniversary. My target clients seemed to be couples, but really, what was calling me in this direction was the celebration of love. 

Rewind back to my college years, I moved back into my grandparents home and took it over to live there with my roommates. I grew up here but eventually left, and found my way back and made a home for myself for about 4 years. In that time and place, I was able to build friendships with people I now call my family. Not just my roommates, though they are included, it’s also all the friends I made during this time. This place became a home base, you know the one. The one where everyone gathered before an outing (aka pre-game, I’m trying to be proper), the place everyone crashed after a long night, and most importantly, the place where we laughed together so, so often (Instantly, the image of my roommate/best friend cutting onions with sunglasses on to prevent tears, comes to mind). This place was Stella Ave, though it was more than a house, it was an era. The time in our early 20s where we made core memories and had the time of our lives. 

We had so much fun at Stella. There was so much laughter and friendship and love and I wanted to replicate that. I wanted to take a piece of my past and take it on with me forever. It’s not only the place I grew up, it’s also where my friends and I became bonded for life. It’s where I fell in love and also where we experienced loss. Where I spent quality time with my grandparents. Where my mom threw me countless birthday parties. Where my best friends and I ordered $200 worth of McDonald’s after a big night out (painful) and ate it in my bed and laughed til we cried. Where I hosted my 21st bday, first Friendsgiving, first New Years Eve, first Halloween, first multiple-branch team party (also the first time we got a noise complaint lol). It’s where I threw countless parties and loved it. I got a rush from knowing I could throw a good party, and it looks like this is where it’s landed me.

I want to infuse the fun, the slight chaos but major attention to detail, the love, and the unforgettable memories, into Stella Ave. I want to weave together my years of experience planning events, with my passion for travel, and mix it all together with the essence of Stella ave, love. I’m so proud of this and I hope I can show you how much, through my work. 

Stella Ave is for my family. For my chosen family. For Rishi. For the Stars. For my friends. For everyone who made Stella Ave the place to be. This one’s for us. Let the party continue ~