Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to April Bielefeldt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi April , thanks for joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

Yes- and I encourage it!
We can share how the Idea of Vacation is often misunderstood in most USA businesses-
How Covid actually was a great reset and how you can often take some of your work with you- or plan lots of “Mini Vacations”
Setting limits on Email and phone answering- training yourself and anyone who works with you that you may not be available 24/7

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in Iowa- the Heartland of America and even though my family was on a very tight budget my family saw the benefit of travel, we took many daytrips and every summer we had a 2 week family roadtrip that has been the basis for my passion and current business ever since.
My “business” as it currently is began as a Side Hustle, using my “Vacation Time, and days off to lead small groups of photographers to places they could get amazing photos. I have a degree in Art, and have spent years in Customer Service, though the in-person tours require many skills, enthusiasm, patience, and of course some general “common sense” having back up plans to back up plans. Often the best laid plans will still have some issues, like bed and breakfasts who are short a room when you show up, restaurants with missed reservations due to driving times, and so forth- so being personable, flexible and also being very service oriented are skills that come with doing the job.
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I inspire creativity, using your camera, improving your photos with being at the right place at the right time and developing your creative eye.
The other service I am passionate about is creating Personalized Journeys to indulge in the locally owned places to stay, eat and the scenics that abound in our wonderful USA, with a focus on New England in any season but especially Autumn!
I try to only recommend places to my itinerary clients that I personally have stayed, eaten or would if I were going – I make a lot of phone calls to talk to venues, and as well pore over maps to really be able to give the best advice to customers who want to maybe book an Airbnb or Vacation property which are more recent additions to the lodging landscape.

Another avenue I have entered into is my YouTube channel where I enjoy sharing other guides who offer personalized or unique small group travel experiences, everything from Knitting Retreats, to Walking tours, Cooking and more! Along with guides there are tips to travel on a budget and just stories from everyday travelers, what they experienced, and any other information they can share. There are about 900 videos and I am very proud of the guides I curate and highlight on the channel.
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The issues I solve are – TIME- there is almost an OVERWHELMING amount of information on just Autumn Travels in New England, so if I can quickly break that into a manageable week or 2 week or even just a weekend itinerary it often saves my clients hours and hours of time, second guessing and also the back and forth if it is a group, or family trip.
By offering small group tours I often do the driving for those who don’t want to, or they are a solo traveler and want to meet others or they again just want someone else to take over and take them to the best places for photos, food and some unique places that they may or may not have thought about.
By not living in New England, I actually have to recommend places I personally stay, eat or drive to so I think it’s a benefit and time saver- not everything will be perfect all of the time but when I am in New England in October I am also able to quickly text my clients and offer suggestions in real time as well.
One of the most rewarding parts of my business is having my attendees win awards from photos they have taken on my journeys with me, or sell their photos or even print one to enjoy for years on their wall. I have had a Childrens Author join me, I have had several photographers use the photos they have taken on their journeys with me, a fine artist who produced oil paintings, and of course have met some amazing individuals who have become lifelong friends too~
Each tour or itinerary is very personal to me and I take great care in putting these together- I want my travelers to have the best experience possible while staying within their budget.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building my Audience on Social Media has kind of been 2 prong at least. I started building on Social Media by originally having an account on Flickr which was a photo sharing site similar to Instagram and also creating a prescence on Fine Art America and of course making use of IN-person gatherings such as my Local Photography Group, and Art association both which I donated countless hours of Volunteer time- finding businesses that would let us show and hang our Art, and allow us to have Art Events, partnering with local businesses brought more attention to all of us as Artists and supported these businesses too- so I think “Social Media” still needs to be a combination of in-person and online to create a Fan Base!
Using Meetup.com and hosting gathering geared to those interested in Photography and Travel with a focus on Women. As an organizer you pay to have a Meetup.com account an host 3 groups- make these count- and since Covid these groups can host online events as well.
Find a Blogger/Writer or Publication that already has a following in your topic- for me having a Blogger who focuses on New England is worth every penny- I have paid to be on websites that did nothing and that has been painful financially but when you find one that works and is a good relationship it can supply you with clients- very rewarding.
Facebook Groups giving away tips/hosting online conversations and using Facebook to gather people has worked for me- I think it depends on WHO your audience is and what it is that you do or who you serve.
Advice for social media= do what works for you- if you prefer writing – write, if you prefer making videos make video, do it on your schedule so you don’t get burnt out- it is important to try and be consistent in posting but nothing is perfect–
Use the Platforms that you enjoy – if you don’t like Facebook then don’t use it, people can sense what you enjoy doing, and what feels forced. If you prefer pinterest do that- social media changes EVERY day – so it is almost impossible to predict or get it perfect, I have learned to do what works for me. If you have extra money you may want to use a scheduling platform, I love Canva for creating simple graphics and I have the FREE version, I also use YouTube of course, and I do pay for a pro zoom account since I want to record videos and audio recordings and host sessions there.
Start with what you have- photos, or write or just speak and share live from your location or outside-be yourself!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There have been multiple times but I think COVID for many of us really was a game-changer. Individuals now did not want to travel in a group, and pair that with many states would not allow lodging in their inns etc. So I had to dig into creating itineraries for self travel and help navigate where you could stay nearby and then just daytrip into states like Vermont for example. Any in-person events I was hosting in California closed down, so starting online conversations around our Art and Travel to continue to connect and meet others was a change.
Finding a partner who also led travel meetup groups we collaborated and created the YouTube channel which was a huge plus to keeping us current and reaching a larger audience.
The itineraries was a real pivot and actually now generates more than my photography tours so I am thankful for making a change.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.yourphototravelguide.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fallphototrips/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ttravelcollective
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artapril/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8jFfZI2IWGEAgcSZ_lJEiQ
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fall-photo-trips-henderson
• Other: http://www.selfdrivenewengland.com/,
  https://open.spotify.com/show/2Fm7mF6ZxIZBTepg2cbwwZ
  https://the-travelcollective.com/
  https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g28926-d16723279-Reviews-Your_Photo_Travel_Guide-California.html
  https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/april-bielefeldt
  https://www.flickr.com/photos/artapril/?

Image Credits

Image credits to April Bielefeldt, Catherine Moroney, Kim Woods, Leslie Geffen,