Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Ripoll.
Julie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My love with San Diego started at an early age when I discovered it in 1996 by living in a host family for a month in Oceanside. I am French, and I knew America, like anybody else in my country, through movies like The Patriot or Top Gun or with series like 21 Jump Street or Beverly Hills 90210. Traveling there has been rich in cultural experiences and I loved it.
After living in Austin, Texas for a year and a half, my husband had an opportunity in San Diego, I jumped on it and said “let’s go”. The only problem was that I had an H4 visa and that means I couldn’t work… Plus we had a terrible relocation agent who didn’t help us at all to find our dream location and settle. We are in 2012 and it was hard. The San Diego I knew and remember of my youth was a place very expensive to live and where I couldn’t even work. Nevertheless, I started volunteering in a lot of non-profit organizations, and did a certificate at UCSD extension of Fundraising in Development to work into that field, as soon as I could legally. I am proud to say I ended up with a 3,97 GPA while English is a foreign language to me. In 2016 I finally had my green card and was able to start working in development.
During all those years of “unemployment” I didn’t lose my time, on the contrary, I took my time to take care of my children and develop a sense of entrepreneurship. Besides I started getting in love again with San Diego (my first blog was Sanary – where I come from, in the French Riviera – to San Diego💖and learnt a lot in museums, by meeting locals or through books, about its history.
This is how in 2018, so only two years after I worked as a successful development officer, I quit my job to create my company: San Diego, c’est beau! (San Diego is beautiful). But what is it? It’s a business that offers a wide variety of services for francophone to fell in love with San Diego as much as American name her the “Finest City”. It starts with those traveling, who will get personalized tours to get to know the city better in their language. To help families relocate from another country and culture to San Diego with a complete and dense relocation process step by step, and establish themselves, in the city, smoothly. Then, but not last, help the local francophile communities within San Diego learn more about the dense and rich history of this city. I want to help people have the best time of their lives while being in San Diego. San Diego, c’est beau! tagline is: Travel, relocate or live in San Diego.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not being able to work because of my visa was very tough. I have always been an active woman and I really had to overcome that. Regarding my company, it didn’t exist in San Diego someone who knows the history of this beautiful city like me and want to share it in French so I had to build up everything and it was pretty exciting. I am a very sociable and creative person so my nice was fantastic. I started to have clients after nine months of its creation and had a nice path ahead of me. Then came covid-19…
Embassy closed = no visa for clients in relocation, traveling banned, I had to reinvent myself. Fortunately, the part “live” in San Diego of my vision helped my survived. So, I started selling cute tote bags of San Diego designed by a great illustrator, Lucie Ledentu and giving free products like “how to engage with your teenager” during confinement time. This time of reflexion about my strategy lead me to enroll in an online Global Executive MBA to save my company by learning new tools to implement. If I can’t work, I can learn and adapt my business to this pandemic.
Tell us about your company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
My company is here to talk more about San Diego and its beauty to a francophone population. In this community, people travel to visit Los Angeles, the National Parks or San Francisco but forget San Diego. While all neighborhoods have a spirit, their own identities and activities for all! It’s a miss to travel from afar and forget San Diego.
I am proud to have made tours with San Diegans, French learners and show them details of the city they didn’t know, while learning and practice this language! It’s like doing a field trip in their own city!
What makes me different from others is that I don’t want to pretend I am a tour guide in English. I am not and don’t intend to do that as they are more people way better than me as they’ve grown in San Diego and learnt the American History while being a student here. I don’t. If my clients, in tourism, have a good understanding of English, I prefer to refer them to a great tour guide like Mark from “Mark’s Delicious Adventures”. I am bright and catch up fast, I am an avid reader as well, but don’t make tours with notes or papers. All the details, all the dates are in my head. The value I really add here is to speak French so for French learners, you can combine a tour in French and practice this language through another form of exercise than from a lesson in class, be out and speak about San Diego.
For relocation, however, I think it’s better if you come from a country different than the United States, to have someone who has been through all the struggles of getting a social security number, find the right insurance company or a good lawyer to get your visas to work here and so on. Indeed, the problematic is different and culturally we don’t necessarily have the same needs.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Being an entrepreneur means you have to deal with things you don’t necessarily like but at the same time it’s a great adventure as you touch a bit of everything. My dad left me when I was only 21 years old. His star is above me and had brought me luck. He loved America through western and be happy I live here now. When I see a colibri or little bird, I think of him as he loved them. I am grateful to have him as my Dad and knows he send me will and good wishes to have the great life I have. I love my life; I wouldn’t change it a bit. I am married with the man of my life; I have two beautiful and kind children and am able to live my dream in America. What more should I ask? My life is fulfilled and I am a happy person.
Pricing:
- Relocation package starting from $697
- Tours price starts at 35$ for 90 minutes (if allowed by the law)
- Tote bags are $20
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sandiegocestbeau.com
- Email: julie@sandiegocestbeau.com
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