A ‘self-shake’ leads former civil servant to embark on a YOLO entrepreneurial dream

Doree Kovalio credits a year of living abroad in a tranquil village nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees mountains as the catalyst for leaving her 20-year career in the public service. “It took about three months to decompress my mind from the day-to-day workload of a full-time job,” she recalls of 2022, when […]

Doree Kovalio credits a year of living abroad in a tranquil village nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees mountains as the catalyst for leaving her 20-year career in the public service. “It took about three months to decompress my mind from the day-to-day workload of a full-time job,” she recalls of 2022, when she and her husband, Kevin Evoy, made the move during the pandemic. “Once I felt like I could breathe again, I was really taking in the experience and being more present.” During Kovalio’s one-year unpaid leave, she and her husband took many road trips with their two young sons, Alex and Ethan, taking advantage of the school schedule in France, which runs as six weeks of learning followed by two weeks off. 

Kovalio reflected on how she had enjoyed her early career in the federal government; she’d worked at the Canadian embassy in Mexico City for two years, then handled logistics for the Canadian delegation that travelled to Cancun for the World Trade Organization ministerial conference.  “I loved juggling 10 balls in the air, dealing with the service providers and building those itineraries,” says Kovalio, who speaks four languages, including Spanish. “It really fed my soul.” Back in Ottawa, she signed on with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). For a brief time she flew internationally with the minister and other executives. Soon afterward, she was promoted to a commercial officer role. Although it aligned with her degree in international business and offered better pay, she says the work left her unfulfilled. “It was on the paperwork side of things, rather than the logistics management part,” explains Kovalio, 46, adding she was promoted to other roles and served as a senior programs officer during her last six years with AAFC. “People expect you to just climb that ladder, but I wasn’t loving it; there were years where I felt stuck.” With encouragement from her husband and a reignited passion for travel, Kovalio made the decision to leave her government position to become an independent travel adviser.  “As an entrepreneur, my husband exposed me to this other perspective on a life path that, as a public servant, I simply didn't have,” explains Kovalio. “When we moved back to Ottawa, I just knew I could not go back to a nine-to-five; I was not going to snuff out this momentum that I started building in pursuing my passion.” The transition wasn’t easy, admits Kovalio. She recalls doubting herself as a business owner and wondering if she could ever make a living in her new role. Then a friend and former colleague passed away, less than two years after retiring from the public service. “She always wanted to travel, she planned to travel so much after retirement,” recalls Kovalio. “Sadly, she got stomach cancer and passed away. It was just this stark reminder that life is short.” Kovalio decided to name her business YOLO Let’s Go, in tribute to the popular adage, “you only live once.” Drawing on her extensive travel experience – she’s visited more than 40 countries and lived in five – she jumped into her new business. She became a TICO-certified travel professional and joined a host agency called Nexion, where her membership enables her to provide clients with promotions and links her to suppliers worldwide.

“I've done it all, from honeymoons to trips for multi-generational families and seniors,” says Kovalio, who offers flexible, independent travel itineraries that are customized for clients. “I love putting together these bucket-list experiences for people. “If you’re trying to coordinate people coming from different destinations and looking for something that fits everyone’s needs, I offer that expertise and it’s a huge time-saver.” While she estimates she works three times as much as she did in her office job – often helping clients at all hours of the day – she has no regrets. “There are mornings when I wake up and I need to pinch myself because I get to do the stuff I love.” For others considering a career change, Kovalio advises getting out of the day-to-day routine for reflection. “Go on a vacation, go away for the weekend, just take yourself out of your current environment,” she says. “Give yourself that self-shake, that time to open your eyes and experience something different.” She says that age should not be a barrier for anyone to achieve their dreams. “It’s never too late, as long as you’re here on Earth, it’s not too late,” she says. “Those dreams that you have, if you keep pushing them to retirement, who knows what happens? It’s really about living that YOLO way of life.”