Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sam Viola. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Sam, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
After refusing to study abroad in college, I graduated in 2014 and found myself dreading my first full-time job in Chicago at the age of 23. I often thought to myself, “I’m way too young to be hating my job.” After a few lengthy conversations with my best friend, we decided to quit our jobs and take a sabbatical in the form of backpacking across Europe and Central America for 6 months. Always referred to as “the trip”, this is where Uproute was conceived.
Upon returning to the United States in 2016, I got into the non-profit space and worked on creating Uproute after-hours on the side. Uproute started as a way for me to get all of my travel recommendations and experiences onto paper for friends and family who were traveling themselves. Using Nomadic Matt’s site as my lighthouse, I created travel guides for each country and city I had visited. The creation of these guides allowed me to better help plan trips for friends and family all across the world.
After a couple of years of planning pro bono vacations for people, I finally took the old adage “if you’re good at something, never do it for free” to heart. Clients were very happy with the trip-planning process I had built and I was having a blast doing it. After a few clients told me that I should really consider doing this for a living, I knew it was time for me to take the leap. In 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, I quit my full-time job and officially launched Uproute Travel. Many questioned the decision to launch during a period when travel was non-existent, but that was precisely the point. I knew we would come out on the other side with a strong desire to get back to our globe-trotting ways and I wanted to be top of mind when that time came.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Uproute is a full-service travel agency that helps clients take the vacations and trips they’ve always dreamed of. Whether it’s sipping wine and eating pizza in Italy or walking amongst waterfalls and orangutans in Indonesia, we all daydream of the different experiences we’d like to do “one day”. Oftentimes these aspirations stop once the planning starts. It’s all just too much to juggle on top of all of your other daily obligations. This is where I come in. You do the dreaming and I’ll do the planning.
Some people love planning their own vacations and to those of you who do – keep doing your thing! For those who don’t like the headache of it all though, let’s talk. When tax season comes around, you call your accountant. When your car breaks down, you call your mechanic. When you need someone to represent you in court, you call your lawyer. Travel is no different. I work with experts in these other fields because I trust that they’ve done the job I’m asking them to do before. This is why I focus on planning trips for clients to destinations I’ve been myself. As the time of writing, I have visited 63 countries and have a goal to never be older than the number of countries I’ve visited. Work with someone who’s been there, it makes all the difference!
My innate passion for travel started as a child. Growing up, my family liked to road-trip. A LOT. Every year between 2002-2009, we did just that (and for better or for worse, we were the family in matching t-shirts). Across 8 two-week trips and by the time I was 18, I saw all 48 continental states across the US. After graduating from college, I took my travels global. By the time I turned 30, I had visited 50 countries. This travel hobby of mine had officially turned into a lifestyle.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Hike The Volcano Before It’s Too Late
Antigua, Guatemala holds a special place in my heart for many reasons, but the main reason is not what you might expect. This small town in Southern Guatemala is known for its proximate volcanos and cobblestone streets. It is a popular destination on the standard Central American backpacking route – and for good reason!
Of the many volcano hikes in town, we chose Acatenango. This hike is no joke. To climb to the top takes 6-8 hours and to climb back down takes another 4-5. Most people climb 80% of the way up on day 1, spend the night on the volcano, then summit on day 2 as the sun rises before they climb back down. The hike is steep; hikers must carry all of their items up with them.
As my best friend and I prepared for our arduous hike the following day, we walked to the local market and bartered for vegetables in our broken Spanish. Upon returning to the hostel, we saw lava spewing down the side of Volcan de Fuego in the distance. As an active volcano, this was pretty normal to locals but to us the sight of this was incredible!
As we started cooking dinner, we struck up a conversation with a couple who appeared to be in their 70s. To see them in a backpacking town like Antigua was both surprising and admirable. We exchanged in casual small talk and learned that this couple had been married for 30 years. They were enjoying retired life exploring the places they hadn’t seen in their earlier years. We then told our story as two 20-somethings in the middle of our 6-month trip around Europe and Central America. We told them of our plans to hike Volcan Acatenango the following day. At this, they were truly in awe. What the woman said to me next is something I will never forget, “I’m so happy to hear about you both taking this trip, especially while you are so young. I wish I would have done this when I was younger. Keep your adventurous spirit and continue to travel while you can. Look at us, we couldn’t dream of hiking that volcano tomorrow. Have the time of your lives!”
At first, hearing this was quite sad. I wanted to help her rationalize her thought and positively inspire her, “Well of course you can hike the volcano! Come on we can do it together.” But what it comes down to is that no – they could not hike that volcano even if they wanted to, which they clearly did.
I tell this story, because there will be a time when we are all no longer able to hike the volcano. There will also be a time when we are no longer able to tell our mothers and fathers that we love them. Do you want to look back and think “what if…” or do you want to live life like today is your last? At the time of this conversation, I was 23. Picturing the day I could no longer hike a volcano seemed far off, too far to even comprehend. Today, I am 31. Still the day seems decades and decades away. But rest assured, the day will come. Will I look back and wish I had hiked the volcano or will I look back at the memories on top of the volcanoes of life fondly?
This story in particular is what keeps me hungry to help people plan their trip of a lifetime, because as we know we never know when our time will come. Money comes and goes, but experiences live with us forever. What’s your “volcano” and when are you finally going to pack your bags? If not tomorrow, then when?
How did you build your audience on social media?
As a business, you always need to stay relevant. And to stay relevant, you need to be visible. And to be visible, you have to consistently show people what your business is all about.
Think of every commercial you’ve ever seen. Actors portray a story while highlighting the product being sold. You see fitness influencers working out in their Lululemon fitness gear. You see a family gathered around a dinner table drinking Coca-Cola. You see strangers in a fender bender while the benefits of State Farm insurance are narrated in the background.
This is exactly how I market myself and my business on social media – by highlighting the travels of my clients all over the world. The smiles on their faces and the backgrounds of their photos are my product. That’s what Uproute is all about, bringing people to the places they’ve dreamed about as they experience the time of their lives. To take it a step further, I am always sure to post about my personal travels as well. If I’m not out there traveling to the places clients want to see, then how can they trust I know what I’m doing?
It’s also helpful to review your analytics occasionally. What posts of yours do the best and what do they have in common? Do they have the same theme? What posts of yours do the worst and what do they have in common? Are they posted at the same time? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – but if it’s broke, definitely fix it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.uproutetravel.com/expert-trip-planning
- Instagram: @uproute_travel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uproutetravel/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uproute-travel/