After nearly seven years at the pet store chain, Ms Cavan began to question whether it was a path she wanted to continue on, and if she was willing to dive into the unknown.
“It was a huge jump because you’re going from a very good income at the age of 23 to no income at all,” she said. “But I just wanted to do something that didn’t require me to chase a KPI.”
A year later, in 2011, she quit the store and set off on a year-long backpacking trip across several places including Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand. Her solo adventure eventually led her to Boracay, in the Philippines, where she ended up staying for more than two years.
There, she got acquainted with the owner of a dive shop, a Frenchman who offered her free dives in exchange for helping to translate for Chinese customers – a deal she readily agreed to.
