We were lucky to catch up with Dewi Aldrich recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dewi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

My first group of travel guests were guests of previous tours I led throughout the U.S. I put out word that I was starting my own tour company through emails, social media, and general word of mouth, and marketed a San Francisco & Wine Country tour nine months before it was scheduled to run. My very first tour group under my brand had 17 travelers on it! It was very exciting. At the end of the week-long northern CA trip, I didn’t make any money; in fact, I was out $1,000. But in the grand scheme of things, this was not too huge a loss, especially for my very first trip that I had put together from scratch. It was a lesson learned!

Dewi, 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?

My small business is The Day We Travel. My name is Dewi, pronounced ‘day-we,’ so my company is a play on my name. I think it’s catchy. I run small group guided tours throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. In a nutshell, I take people on vacation.

My tour company is different from others in that my group size is 20 people or less. I don’t cram guests on a large tour bus where every seat is taken. We travel to destinations filled with attractions that are off the beaten path and dine on fresh, locally produced farm to table foods — not always farm to table per se, but I certainly like to support small and shop local wherever I go.

So on my trips, and because I’m a foodie and believe food is an integral part of travel and a window into another culture, we visit several mom n pop shops. I want my travelers to eat well!

And also with smaller groups, travel becomes more intimate and personal. My guests can make a far better connection with others on tour this way. At the end of the day, it really is about the connections you forge and stories you share with one another — finding common ground and bridging our differences. Travel allows one to do that.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Not everything on tour always goes as planned no matter how well you plan the itinerary. Such is life in general. There have been a few occasions on trips where I had to pivot and tweak the itinerary due to situations outside my control.

Several years ago I led a tour of Cape Cod when we got hit with a Nor’easter. We were scheduled to take a ferry out to Nantucket and spend a day on the island. Well, all ferries were canceled, and rightfully so. The choice to all my guests then became either stay back at the hotel and have a free day, or we can still tour, but visit Cape Cod National Seashore, see several lighthouses that dot the Cape, and visit a museum and glass blowing gallery. All but one couple joined the tour, despite the heavy rain. And we all had a great time.

What was most memorable was that despite what could have easily been an awful, depressing day turned out to be a wonderful journey to other sites that were not originally part of the trip. We made the best of crappy weather!

And it’s situations like this where things beyond your control take place, and your guests look to you for guidance and alternatives. People want to know what their options are and see how well you think quickly on your feet. They will remember for years to come how you spun a negative into a positive.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Years before I discovered and entered tourism, I was a Realtor. It was during the Great Recession in the late 2000s. Despite a college degree in broadcast journalism, I was still lost and confused as to what kind of life I wanted to lead and what work I wanted to do. I dabbled in a variety of low-paying jobs, including becoming a driving instructor for 3 years. That was quite the adventure.

But I had always enjoyed touring homes on the market with my mom as “lookie loos,” and thought why not go for it? I took the courses, studied, and passed the real estate exam. I became a member of the CA Association of Realtors, joined a brokerage, and set about to farm for leads. I did mostly rentals and sold my first and only house to our lawn mower’s son, who was a first time home buyer. It was exciting.

But real estate is a tough industry to break, and you need capital to pay your association dues. You don’t get a paycheck until you close escrow, and if you have no listings or buyers, you’re not a producer, can’t contribute to your brokerage, and you’re out of luck. All the gas you spend driving across town looking at homes is also on you. So at the end of the day, real estate and I were incompatible.

It wasn’t until I one day literally typed into Google, “How to travel the world and get paid for it,” that I discovered a school in the Bay Area that trains people to become a tour guide and tour director.

I enrolled, completed their certification course, attended their annual symposium, interviewed with tour companies from around the world, and became involved in the network of tour directors, guides, and drivers. I got hired with a couple of student tour companies my first year before working my way into the adult touring market. And the rest, as they say, is history.

But it was this discovery and commitment to the travel industry that really changed my life. For the first time ever, I felt like I found a niche I belonged to. And to this day, it’s a career where my personality shines best and I continue to apply all the skills and experiences I’ve gained from working other jobs I’ve had.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thedaywetravel.com
• Instagram: @thedaywetravel
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/YXMuX4JmxaJ8hSdz/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=d-JbnviPDCDgIzid1lC1Ug&utm_source=ishare