We recently connected with Sasha Lezhnev and have shared our conversation below.
Sasha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
My partner and I had both been working for over a decade at our jobs, so it was time for a change… So we decided to take a sabbatical and travel full-time with our young son – the idea was to cross the country for a year in an RV. We did it! And then some. We ended up liking it so much that we figured out how to make it financially sustainable. So we did a second year of full-time travel by working and homeschooling out of Airbnb’s.
We’re writing a book about that now and how to do it – Travel More, Spend Less.
As we hit the road, we realized the thing we love most about traveling is going off the beaten path. Hidden gem state, regional, and national parks that very few people have heard of like Chaco Canyon, wineries with few visitors but phenomenal wines like in Walla Walla, Washington, cities like Durango, Colorado that have world class hot springs and amazing snowshoeing… And of course, off the beaten path countries like Ethiopia. We also got engaged in Bolivia.
But there was no hub for these hidden travel gems — we had to search far and wide for them, and ask tons of locals. So I decided to create Off the Beaten Travel as a go-to place if you want to go somewhere off the beaten track. I’m grateful that it’s slowly becoming that.
Sasha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I wear 3 main hats:
I’m passionate about finding hidden travel gems. I think it can be life changing to travel off the beaten track — to change your perspective and discover places that you only dreamed about. I founded Off the Beaten Travel to be a hub for hidden travel gems around the world, and we now have posts about everywhere from Ethiopia to Ecuador. I also love photographing hidden gems & have a travel and nature photography website called Image Journeys.
I’m a human rights advocate on Africa. I founded an organization that helps rehabilitate former child soldiers, the Grassroots Reconciliation Group. Since 2007, we’ve helped over 2,600 former child soldiers & refugees rebuild their lives. I’ve worked extensively on conflict minerals, giving a presentation to Steve Jobs, testified in Congress & the United Nations, fought high-level corruption, and traveled throughout the continent.
I’m a dad and family person. We travel as a family of 3, and I love doing that together. I want to show our son the magic of nature and how people can have different perspectives all around the world, especially in offbeat places.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I try to focus on 2 things on social media: being genuine and being helpful.
My main social media presence is Instagram (@sasha_traveler), and I’ve loved making strong connections with fellow travelers and travel entrepreneurs. I’ve met so many inspiring people through IG, and I’ll often send them an intro message after we follow each other to connect.
I simply try to interact with people as I would love to be interacted with – with genuine curiosity and interest. And I find that most people reciprocate that (or at least many do). Many travelers were SUPER helpful in giving feedback before I launched the website, written guest blogs, subscribed to my newsletter, etc.
With my posts, I try to ask myself, is this post actually helpful to anyone (especially travelers & hikers)? If it isn’t, what’s the point of making it? A few posts are mere entertainment, but mainly I want to try to help people get off the beaten track and get outside to inspiring places.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
This has surprised me, actually. Google! When I started the business, I thought most people would come to my website through social media. But if you look at where my traffic actually originates, it’s over 90% from hits on Google. So that helps me prioritize time — SEO, building backlinks, talking to the media, etc. IG helps with real people, connections, and list building, but the vast majority of traffic comes from Google hits.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.offthebeatentravel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sasha_traveler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/offthebeatentravel
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasha-lezhnev-073b823/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SashaLezh
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1iD4w-WfpzLD8f6EiNZCEw
- Other: Photography website: www.imagejourneys.org