We recently connected with Carolina Bliman and have shared our conversation below.
Carolina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Traveling has been a passion of mine since childhood. My parents, a young and idealistic couple, moved our family of five from South America to the Mediterranean and eventually to North America. They reveled in exploring new places, meeting diverse people, and immersing themselves in different cultures. Their enthusiasm for travel became my own, and I have continued to traverse the globe ever since.
One memory from my childhood has always stood out: my mother, frantically searching for our passports amidst the chaos of our packing preparations. “Why can’t we be more organized and have everything we need ready?!” she would exclaim, exasperated. Years later, I found myself echoing her words as I rummaged through my bag at the airport, realizing I had left my phone charger at home. It happened again on the plane when I needed a band-aid, and yet again when I arrived at my destination with parched lips and no Chapstick in sight! These might seem like minor details, but I firmly believe that it is the simple things that make a big difference.
Nowadays, travelers often lead busy, stressful lives that don’t always allow for proper preparation and organization for their journeys, whether for leisure, business, or adventure. As a result, many essential items get left behind.
However, my most significant concern was finding a solution for one of the biggest issues in our modern world: the negative impacts of tourism and travel on the environment. Throughout my journeys, I noticed the accumulation of non-recyclable trash in hostels, camp sites, and countless beautiful landscapes. Disposable toiletries and travel essentials, which are often toxic and cannot be recycled or reused, were particularly troubling. As a fierce advocate for a cleaner Earth, seeing this waste dampened my travel experiences.
It was then that I realized I could combine two of my passions—preserving the environment and enhancing the travel experience—to make life easier for fellow travelers and myself in a responsible way. I began to dream about, and subsequently set out to create the ideal travel pack: one that features eco-friendly, biodegradable, and natural products. After years of travel and adventure, I finally grasped the importance of taking care of myself responsibly and, in turn, helping other travelers do the same.
LiteNLife is addressing is the way travelers make an impact on the environment. Every traveler leaves behind them waste and used products, from toiletries to camping gear and clothes and the main part of all this waste is not biodegradable. Another problem is that there is no comprehensive toiletry kit on the travel market that can offer environmentally friendly and biodegradable products for travelers. If travelers choose to be environmentally conscious, they must search the market themselves for the best eco-friendly/compostable/biodegradable/sustainable products to create an ideal travel pack, which can be very time-consuming and frustrating. LiteNLife can solve both presented problems by doing market research, collecting these products, and placing them in one environmentally friendly and sustainable travel toiletry pack. The packs not only save the traveler’s time and energy but also provide them with the opportunity to become sustainable travelers who reduce their footprints worldwide.
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?
LiteNLife, founded by yours truly, Carolina Bliman, a world citizen with an entrepreneurial spirit, celebrates stress-free travel through the creation of the first fully sustainable eco-friendly travel kit. My mission is to enhance the travel experience while meeting the needs of environmentally conscious travelers everywhere. LiteNLife travel kits, crafted with natural, biodegradable, and eco-friendly products, ensure no traces, footprints, or essentials are left behind.
My passion for travel was nurtured by my family’s relocations across South America, the Mediterranean, and North America. These moves instilled in me a love for exploration and cultural learning. I vividly recall my mother searching for our passports amidst packing chaos, exclaiming, “Why can’t we be more organized?!” Years later, I found myself echoing her sentiments as I frantically searched for my phone charger at the airport. Small details, like needing a band-aid on a plane or Chapstick upon arrival, can significantly impact the travel experience.
Throughout my travels, I observed the growing accumulation of non-recyclable waste in hostels, campsites, and beautiful landscapes. As an advocate for a cleaner Earth, this deeply troubled me. I realized I could merge my passion for the environment with my love for travel, aiming to make life easier for travelers while being responsible stewards of our planet. This vision led to the creation of an eco-friendly travel kit designed to simplify travel responsibly, lighten travelers’ loads, and enhance their experiences sustainably.
LiteNLife tackles the environmental impact of travel by providing comprehensive toiletry kits that offer eco-friendly, biodegradable products. These kits save travelers time and energy, helping them reduce their footprints worldwide.
LiteNLife’s all-in-one travel kits include over 30 eco-friendly travel essentials, supporting a sustainable, zero-waste approach to travel. Our products come from companies that advocate for social and environmental causes. We’re proud to collaborate with such conscious manufacturers.
I am incredibly proud of LiteNLife’s commitment to sustainability and community support. We have built partnerships with businesses in Washington, the United States, and Canada, ensuring every kit is packed with eco-friendly items. My greatest accomplishment is creating a product that helps travelers reduce their environmental footprint while promoting sustainable travel practices.
Although LiteNLife’s journey is just beginning, seeing customers embrace these values and make conscious choices is immensely rewarding. I’m driven by a deep desire to make a difference, and this business is my way of contributing to a better world. As a passionate advocate for the environment, I’m dedicated to keeping our beautiful Earth green, clean, and full of life for future generations. This is my dream and vision, and I stand by it wholeheartedly.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As a new business owner without prior experience, I embarked on a journey to learn all I needed to create and nurture my enterprise. By day, I work as a social worker, a full-time job that occupies most of my hours, which is not uncommon for many business owners. Despite this, I gradually honed my business acumen and began the arduous task of product research. I encountered numerous false starts and sample products that failed to meet eco-friendly standards. The search for suitable products, companies, and collaborators was slow and tedious, yet undeniably worthwhile.
Financial constraints were a constant challenge, necessitating a business loan to launch my venture and ensure prudent use of funds. I applied for as many grants as possible, and I continue to do so. There were moments of frustration due to the lack of progress and experience. Nonetheless, I remained unwavering in my belief in the purpose of my creation.
Close friends often told me I was taking on too much, that I was foolish for starting a business, and that it was unlikely to yield any income. Their pragmatic warnings did not deter me. One challenge I faced was my lack of a large online community and social media knowledge. However, with the support of a friend who believed in me, I began to promote myself and establish an online presence and advocating for sustainability and sustainable travel. Everything was done organically, from developing my products to building my online presence, as I firmly believe in the natural way of doing things.
Slowly but surely, I expanded my understanding of the market, forging collaborations with other eco-friendly small business owners, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs. I was determined not to abandon my dream of promoting sustainable and conscious travel and helping others achieve the same. And I am still going strong.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Admittedly, I was never a tech-savvy person. When I embarked on my business journey, I sought advice from close friends, as I lacked knowledge about social media and building an online presence. However, I understood the necessity of understanding the market and establishing a presence to promote my business. Fortunately, a dear friend with marketing expertise believed in my vision and offered to become my social media manager to help spread awareness about sustainability and sustainable travel.
We started organically, slowly growing a small but steadily increasing social media audience. I began to promote myself and establish an online presence by sharing the places I visited and advocating for sustainability and sustainable travel. Everything was done organically, from developing my products to building my online presence, as I firmly believe in the natural way of doing things. Although our audience is not vast yet, I am confident that once LiteNLife’s travel kit launches, people, especially travelers, will recognize the impact they can make by choosing our product. I am certain our social media following will expand gradually, reaching more individuals who can benefit from LiteNLife’s travel kit. My goal is to continue spreading awareness through social media, educating others on sustainable travel, living sustainably, reducing our carbon footprint, and preserving our beautiful planet.
My advice to fellow business owners is to find the best approach that works for you. Some may prefer to start big, while others, like me, choose to build a presence organically and slowly. The key is to persevere and remember that there is always an audience for what you are creating. The right people will find you and your product suitable. Even if you are not tech-savvy, like I was, you can always find others who believe in you and your business, offering their support and expertise.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.litenlifestore.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travel_litenlifestore/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552480357874
Image Credits
Carolina Bliman, Yovassistant.