We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dan Bernardini a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Well, the name derives from my name. I just came up with Danventures by combining my name and my love of adventures. It came to me virtually instantaneously and I found it unique.

Dan, 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 was in the process of job searching when an agent reached out to me. I hadn’t had any luck in my job search, so I decided to take the opportunity being presented to me and learn more about the career. I had never thought of being an independent travel agent or working for myself, but it’s been a learning experience along the way. I have to remember to stay focused and disciplined within my work since I am responsible for gaining clients and making money. Also, whilst I don’t work the usual 9-5 and can work from virtually anywhere, I am essentially working most hours of the day. I spend time doing research, gaining clients, updating social media, learning because there’s always more to learn in this industry. What I want people to know about me and my company is that I am easy going and laid back. I hope to find my clients a great deal, but also live vicariously through their travels and experiences. I can customize packages to fit my client’s needs. So far, I’ve done some Disney trips, cruises, and all-inclusive resort trips and I hope to do more of everything in the coming year. I’ve always found myself to have an explorative and adventurous mentality, but have only extended that to worldly travels within the past few years. I enjoy seeing different parts of the world, trying different foods, seeing new cultures, etc. It really opens your eyes to see how different areas of the world live and puts things into perspective. It’s nice to see how things differ even from your hometown to somewhere else across the same country. Travel is a great privilege and experience and I believe we should all do it if we can because there are so many beautiful places to see. Of course, there’s also the good old-fashioned beach vacation because who doesn’t want to lounge on the sand all day listening to the calming sounds of the ocean?

How did you build your audience on social media?

I am still building up my social media audiences. However, I have grown so much since my start a few months ago. My Facebook business page boasts 230 followers and is growing everyday. It’s hard to gain followers and trust when you’re just starting out. I know people see reviews and numbers and will gravitate towards the company that has the higher of both. However, persistence and consistency, whilst sounding cliche, is much attributed to my growth and others alike. I am lucky to have access to copious amounts of information that guide me through the growing process. Also, it helps that I’m a social media connoisseur, both in a past job and in my free time. So, the all of the social media channels are familiar to me and using them is easy. I did post some facebook ads especially at the start to show my company and have people navigate to it as well as to my posts. I joined many groups on Facebook to share my services such as local selling groups, small business groups, and so on. I created business cards and leave them in most places like a restaurant, bar, or even at my doctor’s office. The key is really marketing yourself and letting people know about you and what you do and why you do it. So, I think my story told above also can be interpreted as advice to people just starting out. Make yourself known because it takes time and it is tiring and defeating somedays. I still feel like that somedays. But, after being consistent and gaining clients, it’s a nice feeling seeing your work pay off and that makes you want to do more and be even better.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

So far, social media has been the best source of new clients. Everyone uses social media and is always looking for the best deal or best place to travel. Facebook has been utilized the most for me to gain clients. I post bookings in various groups and I connect with people in chats who are looking to travel. I think social media is an imperative tool for gaining clients in this industry and helping small businesses grow and marketing themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/danventures
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d_vtravel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Danventures95/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dvtravel