Madame la Directrice
Mali, 2010-2021
He who has a boss is not the master of his burden.
— Bambara proverb
Even though I grew up in a business family and mainly worked in the private sector, I never desired to be a business owner myself. I had from close witnessed the many hours my dad worked and the toll it took. Being an entrepreneur was not what I wished for myself.
Destiny had other plans for me, and I decided that if I had to be a business owner, then I would do it my way.
“Monique, you’ll have to become more of a Madame”, a visiting friend stated.
Her words made me feel uncomfortable. Quite a few foreigners believe that Malians need to be treated as children. You give them orders, boss them around and if they do not well enough you get angry with them. While this may be their path, I do not believe in dealing with people this way. Every person deserves to be respected and treated well. And if someone choses to be disrespectful towards you, there is always the choice on whether or not you continue working with them.
The realization that I was about to start a business, was most certainly part of the resistance I felt after having woken up with the blueprint of a travel agency in Mali. I loved the freedom of my nomadic life and of going where the wind would take me. The nomad went into hibernation when I surrendered to following destiny and starting a travel agency in Mali.
Now I am the one working long hours to market Papillon Reizen’s services to travelers. Working long hours isn’t strange to me. I have done it before. I am an all-or-nothing person. Previously, I did it for the profits of the companies I was employed by. At least I am now doing it for my own company.
The biggest advantage is that, finally, I can do it my way and run the company in line with my standards and values. People have at times referred to them as too high and unrealistic. For me they are so natural and logical that I honestly wonder why they aren’t for others. I like to work on a basis of mutual respect and trust. I also like to give people the responsibility and credits for their work. While this isn’t even a common thing in the culture I grew up in, it is definitely unfamiliar ground for the fast majority of Malians.