Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Mukaddam.
Hi Lindsay, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a travel writer and content creator based in Austin, TX. I actually didn’t start traveling until I was in my 30’s. It’s probably going to sound silly, but a few years ago I was in a spin class and the instructor was saying how growth doesn’t come from comfort zones. I was at a pretty comfortable place in my life and I realized I had stopped growing. I thought about what would be the most uncomfortable thing I could do and for me, that was being alone in a foreign country. I booked my first solo trip, went all out on it, and did a ten day trip to three European countries. I enjoyed my time traveling solo, much more than I could have even imagined and what I thought was going to be a one-time challenge to myself ended up just being the start of this journey. I had friends and family who encouraged me to start a blog and I decided to go for it. It’s definitely been a learning process, building and maintaining a blog and showing up regularly for my audience has been quite a bit of work but it’s also been very rewarding. I love hearing from women how my story has inspired them to take the leap into solo travel.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course not! There are definitely some days when I think about why I’m doing what I’m doing and I question myself all the time. There’s also the entire comparison game that happens, especially in travel because it is a saturated market. But I remind myself that when I started blogging I wanted to be the resource that I didn’t have when I took my first solo trip. I knew that if I could encourage and give the tools help just one woman to take the leap to try solo travel that this would be worth it. Now I get messages every day from women who are sharing their solo travel adventures with me. Every time I get a message like that it renews my purpose. I’ll take a screenshot and file it away in a folder on my phone dedicated to these messages that I get. When I’m questioning my purpose, I can go back, look at them and remember the number of women that I’ve made an impacted on.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My photography is something that I am incredibly proud of. I’ve had my camera with me since my first solo trip and I barely knew how do use it at that time, but over the years I have been developing my photography skills. I’m especially proud at how far I’ve come with photographing myself when I’m solo traveling. A lot of work goes into my pre-planning for a trip in terms of scouting locations, figuring out the best time to shoot, even what to wear. There’s a lot of work that goes into showing my travels in a way that inspires but is also realistic. I want women to feel like travel is within their reach and that it’s not something that’s only for a select few.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I’ll honestly have to say that I’ve been incredibly lucky to have such a supportive blogging and creator community within Austin, TX. All of my connections have started through genuine conversations taking place on Instagram. I am also determined to extend that same courtesy to bloggers and content creators who are just starting and reach out to me, it’s all about community over competition.
Contact Info:
- Email: lindsay@onegirlwandering.com
- Website: https://www.onegirlwandering.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onegirlwandering/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onegirlwandering
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@onegirlwandering
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