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

Alright, Alexa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the most important things we can do as business owners is ensure that our customers feel appreciated. What’s something you’ve done or seen a business owner do to help a customer feel valued?

Every morning, with my first cup of coffee, I visit my Instagram or my inbox and read messages from women all over the world. Some of them are asking for advice. Some just want to be seen. Some are scared, standing at the edge of their first solo trip, wondering if they’re strong enough to go through with it.

Yes, I write books. But I’m also a 24/7 cheerleader for my readers. A friend by their side reminding them that they’re not crazy for wanting more, that they’re not weak for being afraid, and that they’re not alone on the path—even if they’re thousands of miles from home.

And the thing is, their messages don’t just make me feel useful. They teach me. Every time someone writes me from a guesthouse in Bali or a beach in Mexico and says, “I wish the book had explained this,” or “I loved that you warned me about that,” I listen. I take notes. I adjust.

Their words become part of the next edition. Their struggles become the next how-to. Their breakthroughs become the next reminder that this journey isn’t just mine—it’s ours.

That’s how I show them I appreciate them: I build the book around them. I write for one woman at a time—because I know that if I help her feel stronger, safer, and more awake in her life, the ripple effect is unstoppable.

And that’s what this has always been about. Not just travel. Not just guidebooks. But giving women the courage to go—and become who they were always meant to be.

Alexa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Alexa West. And I built my business with two things: a backpack and a breakdown.

Back in 2010, I was fresh out of college, broke, and feeling the heavy pressure to settle down, get a “real job,” and follow the life plan that didn’t feel like mine. But something in me said no. So I sold everything I owned, booked a one-way ticket out of the country, and didn’t come back the same.

What started as a personal escape turned into a global mission.

I’m the founder of The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide—a best-selling travel book series written specifically for women. Think Lonely Planet, but with real talk. The kind of advice you’d get from your smartest, boldest big sister who’s already been there, survived it, and turned it into a beautiful story.

My books are written for women who want to explore the world safely, smartly, and deeply—without the scams, the creeps, or the cookie-cutter tourist traps. They’re also written for women in transition: post-breakup, post-burnout, post-supposed-to-have-it-all-together. Because travel isn’t always just about the destination—it’s about coming home to yourself.

What sets my brand apart is that it’s not built on marketing. It’s built on meaning. I talk to my readers. I listen. I update the books based on real-time feedback from girls who are messaging me from tuk-tuks in Cambodia or ferry docks in Indonesia. My inbox is a direct line to the field—and I use it to make each book better for the next girl who picks it up.

The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide is 100% self-published and 100% reader-powered. No big publishing house. No PR team. Just me, my designer Emilia, and a deep belief that women deserve to feel powerful and prepared wherever they go.

Alongside the books, I have a podcast (True Crime Travelers), digital downloads, travel-planning services, online safety resources, and a travel-how-to book called The One-Way Ticket Plan: Find and Fund Your Purpose While Traveling the World.

What I’m most proud of? That women trust me. That they carry these books through airports, on buses, across jungles—and into brand new versions of themselves. That when they message me and say, “Your guide gave me the confidence to go,” I know they mean it. And I know I did my job.

If you’re just discovering me now, here’s what I want you to know:
You don’t need permission to live a bigger life. You don’t need a partner or a plan or a trust fund. You just need a little courage, a lot of curiosity—and a damn good guidebook.

How’d you meet your business partner?

It was spring 2020. I was living in Bali during lockdown, and the world had come to a complete stop. Travel was frozen. Businesses were crumbling. And people everywhere were having those “oh shit” moments.

So I started something called Oh Shit Calls on Sundays. I opened up my Instagram and offered free one-on-one calls with my readers—no catch, no pitch. Just a real conversation. I said, I’m not a therapist, but I’m a really good problem solver. So if you’re in an “oh shit, I lost my job / canceled my wedding / don’t know what to do with my life” moment… call me.

And people did.

One Sunday, I got a call from a girl named Emilia Igartua. She was from Mazatlán, Mexico, and like me, she was stuck in Bali. She’d only planned to stay for a month. Fast forward to 2021, she ended up staying for a year!

But how she found me in the first place? That’s where the story gets wild and wonderful.

Back in Mexico, when she was planning her trip to Bali, she went searching on Amazon for a guidebook. The top two options were Lonely Planet, a legacy brand with decades of clout, and The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide—a book by some girl she’d never heard of. Me.

Mine was $5 more expensive. But she decided that she wanted to travel with a book written by a girl like her, and to support a small business. So she bought my book. She traveled Bali with it. And when the world shut down, she found me on Instagram and booked an Oh Shit Call.

At the end of that call—the very first one—she casually said, “By the way… I think we could redesign your book covers.”

Turns out, Emilia is a full-spectrum creative: graphic designer, artist, photographer, visual strategist. And that was the beginning of everything.

She moved in with me a week later. We spent the year together in Bali—co-creating, rebuilding, riding out the unknown. We redesigned the brand from the ground up. Every new cover and book layout since? That’s been Emilia.

Now, five years later, we’re still a team of two. She’s my best friend, my business partner, my sister, my sanity. And together we’ve grown this from a self-published book series into a globally trusted brand.

We’re now preparing for an acquisition to bring The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide to even more women around the world—and I couldn’t have done any of this without her.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When COVID hit, my travel business fell off a cliff. Sales dropped 95%—basically overnight.

And when your entire business depends on people getting on planes, a literal universal lock down felt like a death sentence.

But I didn’t walk away from my business. I didn’t ghost my readers. I just pivoted.

During lockdown, I knew people were stuck at home—scared, isolated, and disconnected from the version of themselves that only comes alive when they’re out in the world. I couldn’t give them a plane ticket, but I was blessed to be locked down in Bali—so I became their window to what was still waiting on the other side.

I kept writing. I answered DMs. I offered free calls. I built my email list filled with stories. I took them with me around the island through my YouTube channel—not to sell anything, but to connect, education, entertain. To remind them that the world was still out there.

And when the world opened again, I was still here—ready to guide them forward.

Having my entire business on pause for essentially two years taught me a powerful lesson in resilience:
When everything disappears—your income, your momentum, your plans—what stays is your purpose.
And if you lead with that, the rest finds its way back…maybe even better than you had planned in the first place.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alexa-west.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sologirlstravelguide/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sologirlstravelguide
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-west-96066718b/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SoloGirlsTravelGuide
• Other: My Podcast, True Crime Travelers: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-travelers/id1769494528

Image Credits

@__helloemilia
www.holaemilia.com
Emilia Igartua