We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Black recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Amanda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The idea for The Solo Female Traveler Network didn’t come to me in a boardroom or a business plan. It came from loneliness.

Years ago, I was traveling alone through Central America during one of the hardest seasons of my life. I had just lost my mom — my anchor, my compass — and I felt unmoored in every possible way. I kept moving from country to country, chasing peace I didn’t know how to find yet.

But something unexpected kept happening on the road strangers became my lifeline.

One night I’d be eating dinner with a woman from Germany who understood grief in a way no one back home did. The next day I’d meet a local guide who told me stories that reminded me I wasn’t as alone as I felt. These tiny, human moments of connection were the thing keeping me afloat.

And I remember thinking: If this is helping me heal, how many other women need this too?

At the time, there were Facebook groups for general travel and a few spaces for women, but nothing that felt like a real community — a place where women could meet, encourage each other, and maybe even find a travel buddy. So in 2016, sitting on a hostel bunk bed with questionable WiFi, I created a small Facebook group called “The Solo Female Traveler Network.” No plan. No strategy. Just a gut feeling that women needed a place to belong while they explored the world.

Within weeks, thousands of women were joining.
And they weren’t just posting travel tips. They were sharing vulnerable stories:
“I’ve never traveled alone before, but I want to.”
“I’m scared.”
“I feel stuck.”
“I want to make friends but don’t know where to start.”

It hit me that I wasn’t just solving a travel problem. I was solving a connection problem.

From there, the idea of creating tours for solo women became almost obvious. Women kept saying, “I want to go, but I don’t want to go alone,” or “I want to travel with other women like me.” Traditional group tours didn’t offer that sense of belonging, and most operators treated women’s travel like a marketing trend, not a lived experience.

I knew this could work because:
Women were already seeking community online.
They were hungry for deeper experiences, not checklist sightseeing.
They trusted other women more than travel agencies or influencers.
And honestly? No one else was creating trips built around connection first, destination second.
The logic was simple:
If strangers could become friends in a hostel bunk room, imagine what could happen on a thoughtfully curated small-group trip designed specifically for women.

That vision excited me more than anything: creating a space where women could show up alone and walk away with lifelong friends.

Today, that small Facebook group has grown into a global community of over 560,000 women and a full-fledged travel company that still holds the same heartbeat: help women feel less alone in the world.

And that’s how I knew it was worth pursuing. Not because it was trendy. Not because the market predicted it. But because it solved a human need I had personally lived — and thousands of women told me they needed too.

Amanda, 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 Amanda Black, founder of The Solo Female Traveler Network, TEDx speaker, and community-driven entrepreneur. I’ve spent the past decade building one of the largest communities of solo female travelers in the world — over 560,000 women who come together for connection, courage, and unforgettable adventures.

I didn’t plan to end up in the travel industry. I arrived here the same way many women discover solo travel: by necessity. After losing my mom, I found myself moving through the world alone — grieving, searching, trying to figure out who I was without her. Travel became the way I rebuilt myself. And the people I met along the way — women from everywhere, each carrying their own story — became the source of healing I didn’t know I needed.
That experience shaped everything I’ve built since.

What we do at SoFe
The Solo Female Traveler Network is both a global community and a travel company.

We offer:
Women-only small-group tours to emerging and off-the-beaten-path destinations
A 560k+ online community where women support each other, share advice, and make real friendships
Experiences designed around connection, not just sightseeing
Meaningful partnerships with women-owned businesses and local artisans around the world

Our mission is simple:
Help women feel less alone — both on the road and in their lives.

The problem we solve

A lot of women want to travel solo, but they don’t necessarily want to be alone the entire time.

They want:
Community
Safety
Depth
A sense of belonging
Experiences they couldn’t find on their own

Traditional group travel often feels impersonal or rushed. And many solo travelers feel overwhelmed trying to plan a meaningful trip, especially to less traditional destinations.

We solve that by creating curated itineraries that balance independence with community. Women show up alone, but by Day 2 they’re laughing like they’ve known each other for years. We design shared firsts — those unique moments that bond people instantly — and that’s what sets SoFe apart.

What makes us different
Connection first, destination second. We’re not just checking boxes on a map — we’re building relationships.
Deep cultural immersion. We partner with women-led guesthouses, chefs, athletes, artisans, and communities.
Off-the-beaten-path places. Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Uzbekistan — real adventures, not overdone tourism circuits.

Emotional safety as a priority. Women feel seen, supported, and celebrated on our trips.
A global sisterhood. Our community is as important as the trip itself.

What I’m most proud of
I’m proud that women who travel with us walk away changed — more confident, more connected, more themselves. I’m proud of the friendships that have formed on our trips. I’m proud that a woman can show up completely alone and, within hours, feel like she belongs somewhere.

Most of all, I’m proud that our community has become a place where women can be vulnerable, adventurous, brave, silly, emotional, independent, supported — all at the same time. We’re not just running tours; we’re building a movement around belonging.

What I want people to know
If you’re a woman who wants to see the world but also wants meaning, friendship, and soul-level experiences — we’re your people. Our trips are handcrafted, intentional, and full of connection. This isn’t just travel. It’s community. It’s healing. It’s adventure with heart.

SoFe started as one woman searching for connection in her own grief. Today it’s become a global network of women who show up for each other — on the road, in life, and everywhere in between.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When people ask how I built an audience of over half a million women on social media, they usually expect some secret growth hack or algorithm trick. But the truth is much simpler:

I built my audience by adding value, not by talking about myself.

From day one, The Solo Female Traveler Network was never about me as a founder. It was about the women who were scared to travel alone but wanted to. The women who had no one in their life cheering them on. The women who desperately wanted connection, courage, or just someone who understood why they needed to get on that plane.

I created a space that belonged to them — and that made all the difference.

Over time, I realized a few things that I still believe are the foundation of any meaningful digital community:

1. Add value every single time.
Your posts, your conversations, your prompts — they should make someone feel seen, supported, inspired, or informed. If you’re building something bigger than yourself, it can’t be about spotlighting you. It has to be about elevating the people you serve.

2. Put community first. Always.
A community forms when people recognize themselves in each other. My job was never to be the center — it was to build a room women wanted to walk into. And then make sure they felt safe and welcome once they were there.

3. Connect people who might need each other.
Any time I saw two women with similar questions, similar fears, similar dreams, I connected them. Those tiny acts of connection are what slowly weave a community together.

4. Set clear rules and enforce them kindly.
You can’t grow without boundaries. Not everyone is meant to be in every community, and that’s okay. Removing harmful or negative influences protects the people who do belong. It’s one of the greatest responsibilities of being a leader.

5. Listen more than you post.
Most of what I created came directly from what women were already asking for — safety advice, destination support, someone to talk to, or just reassurance that they weren’t alone. The community will always tell you what it needs if you’re willing to listen.

6. Give people what they want, not what you think they should want.
Your audience will guide you. Follow their curiosity, not your assumptions.

That’s really how the Solo Female Traveler Network grew: one valuable post at a time, one meaningful connection at a time, one woman telling another woman, “You belong here.”

If you want to build a social presence that lasts — one that becomes bigger than you — focus on value, community, and connection. Everything else is just decoration.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

For me, brand loyalty is about staying connected to people in a way that makes them feel seen and valued.

Our travelers join a tour, but they stay because they feel like they found a community.

Here’s how we nurture that:

1. We treat our travelers like part of the story, not just customers.
Women don’t disappear into a database after their trip. They stay in our private spaces, they get behind-the-scenes updates, they hear directly from me, and they’re invited into the evolution of the brand. They know their presence matters.

2. We communicate like real people — not a company broadcasting at them.
I show up openly and honestly. I tell them where we’re going, what we’re learning, what’s changing, and why. People can feel when a founder cares. They can also feel when communication is performative or transactional. I choose transparency and connection over polish.

3. We build loyalty through belonging, not marketing.
If a woman feels emotionally safe, supported, and connected on her trip, she’s coming back — not because of a promotion, but because it felt like home. Our community checks on each other, celebrates each other, travels together again and again. That’s loyalty rooted in relationships.

4. We create opportunities for our travelers to stay engaged long after the trip ends.
Virtual events, community challenges, behind-the-scenes updates, and spaces for them to meet new women keep the connection alive. Many of our travelers end up friends, roommates, travel buddies, and support systems for each other.

5. We listen — constantly.
Loyalty comes from listening to what people actually want. We adjust itineraries, add destinations, improve processes, and launch programs based on the feedback we’re given. When women see their ideas reflected in the brand, they feel invested in it.

6. We make it personal.
When someone joins a SoFe trip, they’re trusting us with a dream, a vacation, a moment in their life they might have waited years for. I don’t take that lightly. I remember names, stories, fears, and wins. I check in. I show up.
Loyalty grows where people feel cared about.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesolofemaletravelernetwork.com
• Instagram: @solofemaletravel
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesolofemaletravelernetwork
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofetravel/