Travel Business Lounge | For Travel and Tour Entrepreneurs

I've spoken to many women at various stages of their business, but today's episode is unique. It's the first time I'm speaking to someone who literally launched their business the day before we recorded this episode.

Now you might hear that and think, why would you interview someone who is at such an early stage of their business? What knowledge can they possibly share when they're only one day into officially running it? And all I have to say to that is, please give this episode a chance because there’s so much you can learn if you want to launch your business in a really intentional way.

Lee Friedman of Mango Tree Travel, walks us through her experience launching a brand new business. She's so clever and so intentional with every step that she takes leading up to this launch that I think our conversation provides a great roadmap for anyone else who is interested in learning how to launch a business the right way.

Lee is not someone who just slapped together a website and put it online and said that her business was now alive. She was incredibly strategic and really treated this new business like it was real and had potential, even when it was just an idea in her head.

In this episode, Lee takes us step by step through her launch process. She shares how she came up with the idea for her business and the initial steps that she took. She also shares what she chose to spend money on, because of course, resources are limited in those early days, especially for the majority of us who aren't getting any kind of external funding or help.

We also talk about how she developed a very clear brand identity and clear message from the very start. I absolutely love her website and branding, so I really enjoyed our conversation about that.

And perhaps most impressively, Lee shares how she managed to build an audience and a mailing list before she even launched her website. Just keep in mind that her business officially launched the day before we recorded this episode and she already had a decent-sized mailing list at that time. Lee is not an influencer and she's not someone starting a business with a big social media following. She's a busy mom and a full-time lawyer. So it's just super impressive and inspiring to hear how she managed to do this.

This episode is one of my absolute favorites to date, it was fascinating to learn about Lee’s approach to launching her business. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it!

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

Have you ever stumbled across a business that is just so brilliant that you really stop and wonder how that concept hadn't always existed?

That's exactly how I felt when I first discovered Mini Voyager, a travel product business that sells customized travel kits for kids. I first learned about them when a friend of mine shared a photo on her Instagram of her daughter playing with one of these travel kits. My friend wrote how it had kept her daughter entertained for the full five-hour-long fight. She barely needed any screen time and it was just a super low-stress experience for her as a mom.

Even though I don't have kids, I was immediately intrigued because that’s quite the review. I looked up their Instagram and went on their website, and the more I learned about this company, the more I just fell in love with it. So I decided to reach out to the founder, Bri Hepworth, to invite her onto the podcast. She was just super lovely and agreed to an interview.

I’m excited for you to hear everything Bri shares in this episode. She talks about the ins and outs of her business, including how she came up with the idea for Mini Voyager. By the way, isn’t that the greatest name ever for a travel kit company for kids?

Bri also shares how she's grown the business so quickly in just a few years, as well as some of her plans for the future. And she gave us a real peek behind the curtain of the ins and outs of her business as well. This was one of my favorite parts of our conversation because even though Mini Voyager has grown a lot and does have quite a big following, it really is a family-run business in the truest sense of the word, which I just absolutely love.

Bri is so down-to-earth and inspirational in the way she has grown this business while also looking after her family with four young kids and seemingly always having a positive attitude. I love what she's doing with the business and the way that she approaches entrepreneurship and I cannot wait for you to hear her story.

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

Today's episode is all about travel coaching and we're hearing from no other than the woman who helped pioneer this new and fast-growing sector of the travel industry, Sahara Rose, the founder of The Travel Coach Network.

This isn't the first time we've covered travel coaching on the show. Back in episode 20, I chatted with Geneva Lutomski, the founder of Unwrap Your Map, which is a travel coaching service that specifically aims to help young adults take the plunge and travel abroad.

In today's episode with Sahara, we dive even further into the world of travel coaching and talk through what it means to be a travel coach, the different niches that you can specialize in within the travel coaching industry, how to determine which is best for you, and how to get started and land your first clients as well. Sahara also shares her personal journey as a travel coach and how she has grown her business specifically in the wellness niche.

This episode is really essential listening if you are at all interested in travel coaching, but even if you're not, I think there is still something to be learned from Sahara, as she really does have a brilliant business mind and we dive into topics around publicity and marketing as well.

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

If you've ever thought about one day starting your own travel blog, but you just haven't found the motivation, or perhaps you worry that you've missed the opportunity, this episode will surely inspire you to finally take the plunge.

Megan Singleton of Blogger at Large is an industry veteran who first began travel writing in 2006 before launching her own blog in 2009. In this episode, she shares why she believes it is now easier than ever before to grow a travel blog that ranks highly on Google, despite increasing competition. And the key is SEO.

We've talked about SEO and its importance on the show before, but what I especially love about my talk with Megan, is that she breaks down the exact formula that she uses to rank well on Google. She shares her process from start to finish, including the tools that she uses to find low competition high-value keywords, and the tools that she uses to then verify that the content that she's written is fully optimized.

Megan also reveals that she doesn't write all of her own blog posts herself from scratch. After doing the research and determining her topic and her keywords, she then outsources the actual blog writing most of the time. And then once those blogs are complete, she'll go back and tweak them and make them into her own voice.

She goes into a lot more detail about that process in this episode, which I just found fascinating because it goes to show that there are other options out there if you are short on time and can't imagine ever being able to pump out new blog posts on a weekly basis, or if you find that initial stage of blog writing really arduous.

We also touch on how she transitioned to eventually offering tours to her readers. So be sure to stick around until the end of the episode, to hear our chat on that. I loved my conversation with Megan, not only because she is super passionate and knowledgeable, but because she also makes everything sound so achievable. She has such a go-getter attitude, but also a really pragmatic step-by-step approach to success.

I'm so excited to share this episode with you. I’m sure you're gonna walk away feeling inspired and ready to finally take your blog to the next level.

Just one last note before we dive into the rest of the show notes. As always, I appreciate any feedback you have on the show. Whether that's leaving a review, giving the show a rating, or just sending me an email or messaging me on Instagram. I really love to hear from you all, so please let me know what you think of this episode or previous ones.

It also means so much if you could help me grow the podcast by sharing it with a friend, who perhaps is interested in travel entrepreneurship, or just likes to hear interesting stories on women doing cool things in the industry. Nothing beats a recommendation from a friend, so if you wouldn't mind extending a recommendation for this podcast, I would massively appreciate it.

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

An estimated 80 to 85% of all travel-related purchases and decisions are made by women, and women make up a majority of the workforce across the industry. But did you know that less than 10% of those in higher management positions in the travel industry identify as female?

Iris Serbanescu is on a mission to change the status quo and help women and non-binary folks, especially those of color or who are part of the LGBTQ community, launch and scale their own travel businesses. In January of 2022, she founded wmnsWORK, an accelerator program aimed at empowering folks with the knowledge and support to attain their goals of entrepreneurship while also furthering ownership and increasing gender equality in this sector.

There are quite a few people I've met in this industry who are educators and interested in course creation or leading trainings or workshops for newcomers in their niche. I think this is a great episode if you've ever considered transitioning out of what you're doing into a teaching role. Whether that be working as a travel agent or running your own tour company, and instead transitioning into teaching others how to essentially follow in your footsteps.

On the other hand, if you are in the early stages of your business and interested in being taught by some of the brightest minds in the industry, and you'd like to connect with people who are equally passionate about gender equality and supporting a great cause, then I definitely recommend checking out wmnsWORK. The next cohort is starting September 19, 2022, so you've still got until August 1st to apply if you're interested. Not all applicants will necessarily get a place, you do have to apply to be considered, but definitely check it out if it's something that interests you.

As I listened back to our conversation it definitely sounds like I'm an affiliate for her program because I endorse it so much. But I'm not an affiliate, I just love what Iris is doing and I'm so excited to see women helping one another achieve big goals in this industry. I genuinely believe that the more we support one another, the further we go and the more we can achieve.

I'm excited to share what Iris is doing and really believe in the mission she supports. Iris comes with a wealth of knowledge and shares some pretty jarring statistics on gender inequality in the travel industry. It was fascinating to hear how she started this accelerator program and what she's learned since it first launched earlier this year. Iris is also super charismatic, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy this episode!

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

Being a full-time entrepreneur is not for everyone, there are benefits to maintaining your full-time job while building your own business on the side.

Today's guest is a brilliant example of someone who has created a super successful side hustle doing just that. Sara Marano of the popular blog and YouTube channel ‘The Average Tourist’, aims to help others working 9 to 5 to make the most of their travels. She understands the desires and pain points of her audience because she herself continues to work at her corporate job while also making time to travel and grow her blog.

I loved my conversation with Sara because she is a wonderful example of what is possible when you are passionate and consistently show up despite having limited time and resources. She also reminds us that you don't have to want your side hustle to eventually become your full-time gig. You might be happy in your career and enjoy the work that you're doing. Maybe you like the stability that it allows, but you also enjoy putting some creative entrepreneurial energy into a side business that’s just your own. If that’s the case, then embrace that.

Regardless of what your initial intention is with starting a side hustle, and whether it does eventually become your full-time job, the skills and discipline that you learn when running a side hustle alongside a full-time job are invaluable.

Sara is extremely relatable and down to earth. Her passion is magnetic and the insight she shares on how she manages to continually publish new blog posts, create new YouTube videos and grow her following on social media, is both inspiring and super helpful. So I hope you enjoy this episode!

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

In the age of social media, it can sometimes feel impossible to grow a business without sharing your life on Instagram or spending big bucks on expensive ads. However, today's guest is proof that patience, hard work, and of course a super high-quality product, can still result in fantastic growth.

Lisa Benjamin and her husband Tom first launched Go Cotswolds, a boutique bus tour company that takes visitors around the Cotswolds, in 2014. What started as a one-man operation has grown into an award-winning business with over 900 Trip Advisor reviews. Their tours are so highly acclaimed that even Rick Steves himself paid them a visit and wrote them a raving review in one of his guidebooks.

In this episode we hear Lisa's story of how she and her husband have built Go Cotswolds up to what it is today, using organic and grassroots strategies that prove you don't need a big budget or a huge following on social media to have a super successful business.

Lisa is a breath of fresh air and learning how this tour company has grown over the years is so inspiring. So I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it.

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

Today's guest has spent the last decade traveling and working abroad and now makes a living, teaching others how to do the same. Richelle Gamlam shares the story of how a bad experience teaching abroad in China, inspired her to design a course and a coaching program that helps people avoid the same mistakes she made. However, just like her first year in China wasn't smooth sailing, Richelle's journey as an entrepreneur has come with its ups and downs.

She is super transparent about the many challenges that she's faced. Despite receiving an overwhelming amount of emails with questions about moving abroad and working in China, her first program was pretty much met by crickets. And it wasn't until she implemented this really surprising sales funnel strategy that suddenly the number of engaged paying clients began to skyrocket. And honestly, I was shocked when she told me what that strategy was.

Richelle is a bundle of energy and lots of laughs, but also super honest and down to earth about how difficult it is to be an entrepreneur paving your own way. Not only will you take away some really ingenious advice on how to create a successful sales funnel, but also you'll definitely feel inspired after hearing Richelle's story. She's proof that if you never give up and you dedicate your energy to what you're most passionate about, good things are bound to happen.

Lastly, for full transparency, after learning all about her incredible program called The Move Abroad Escape Plan Bootcamp, I was super happy to accept her offer to become an affiliate for it. So if after hearing Richelle's story, you're feeling inspired to move abroad and you wanna support me as an affiliate partner, then I highly encourage you to click through the link in the show notes. I would only ever be an affiliate for programs that I genuinely believe offer great value. And this is certainly one of them.

However, even more importantly, I just hope you enjoy today's episode. Richelle really has a fantastic story to share, and the business insights that she offers are both fascinating and enlightening. I'm so excited to share this episode with you!

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

Do you ever find yourself writing the same emails over and over again, or spending ages searching through files and folders on your laptop for documents that you use all the time? Or do you worry that you're gonna struggle to provide quality customer service as your booking numbers continue to increase?

It’s super essential to think about how you can optimize your processes, whether you're at the early stage, or a growth stage of your business. And today’s guest will help you with all of this. Korrine Johnson, Founder of the Travel Biz Boss is an experienced travel agent who specializes in helping entrepreneurs organize and automate their travel businesses. She does a brilliant job of talking through the exact steps she's taken in her business to work smarter, not harder. In addition to talking us through those processes, she also shares the tools that she uses in her business.

This is a wonderful episode for if you want to continue growing your business, but you worry that you either can't handle the increased demand and/or can't afford to hire additional help. Or you're concerned that if you do continue to take on that demand, you're going to jeopardize the quality of the customer experience.

This is also a great episode if you're just starting out because as Korrine says, the best time to implement these systems is in the beginning when you do actually have a bit of extra time. Then once your business does start to grow, you can actually handle that growth.

When it comes to business, I'm generally a very organized person. But recently I've fallen off the bandwagon a bit. But after speaking to Korrine, I literally spent about three hours reorganizing all of my folders, creating new email templates, and setting up new automations and it felt so good afterward. I’ve saved time by automating repeated tasks while getting so much more done. And when I’m not working, I can fully relax without the distraction of unfinished projects bouncing around in my head. That’s the beauty of optimization and automation and there really is no better person to talk on that subject than Korrine Johnson!

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!

What if the secret to designing great tours and running a super successful travel business, all came down to a fairly simple recipe? One that requires a lot of hard work and grit, and definitely a lot of passion, but that technically anyone could follow?

On today's episode, Lauren Hefferon, the founder of Ciclismo Classico, reveals the recipe she continues to follow for success. After 33 long years in the business, Lauren is an absolute industry veteran and I am so honored to have her on the show.

She founded Ciclismo Classico way back in 1989 and was actually the first female founder of any cycling tour company. We chat about how her business has evolved over the years, and why she thinks creativity is key to designing good tours. And of course, she walks us through the recipe that she follows for a successful business.

If you're in need of a little motivation to finally launch your own tour company, or if you just like a peek behind the curtain on how Lauren continues to grow her business, then this is the episode for you.

Find the show notes and resources mentioned in the episode here.

And if you loved this episode, please share it with a friend!