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

Dominique, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?

Yes and YES! Vacations are part of my business. Being in the travel industry can often leave you feeling like you’re helping everyone else make their vacation dreams come true. Its easy to forget that you need one too! Being that vacation is also my ‘work” it can be hard to truly unplug and enjoy the experience. I can be half way around the world and instead of enjoying a beautiful beach, I’m taking notes and shooting content, I’ve realizes over the years I’m no good to my customers if I’m not good to myself. I force myself to take the much needed breaks to re charge. I also schedule self care during my vacations. My best ideas come when I’m well rested and my mind has a chance to truly think freely.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Pretty Little Passports is a Travel related business providing Accessories and Digital Travel Guides. We aim to help you find information on the destination of your dreams and travel there in style!

As a avid traveler I wanted to start a business that was related to my biggest passion. So I started sharing my travels with others, and was overwhelmed by how many of my peers wanted to do the same. Travel can seem intimidating and at times impossible for people. I wanted to show them it wasn’t as scary as it seemed. You can go anywhere and do anything in this world that you set your mind to.

I love helping customers get the information they need about their dream destinations, as well as highlighting personal and recommended experiences. Whether you need to know what the currency is or where to stay, we’ve got you covered! I also love feeling like a piece of my gets to travel all over the world with my customers when they purchase accessories.

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

Building a business can be hard work. Immediately you think of personal or financial struggles that can make it hard to stay afloat, but I think Covid was the Global catastrophe none of us ever saw coming. Not only did it effect my ability to financially sustain my business, but I never considered the fact my industry could literally be brought to its knees. How on earth could I sustain a travel related business when no one was traveling?! I had to find ways to be more cost effective, without compromising quality. I also had to figure out a new way to market travel to my customers. I was able to survive through the pandemic when my business was virtually non existent and find a way to still help customers travel as well.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I completely built my business of social media. I had zero customers to start, besides friends and family. I decided there was no easier way to market myself to a wide audience quickly. My first advice would be to figure out exactly who your customer is. Whether its an age group, a specific industry of people, etc. figure out exactly who you need to market to and who is most likely to buy. Use locations, trending topics, and related groups to promote your products. Also make your business and products easily accessible in these spaces.

Contact Info:

• Website: etsy.com/shop/prettylittlepassport
• Instagram: @PrettylittlePassports
• Facebook: Pretty Little Passports
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCewkhOTxNniqtuDo_0-uV6g
• Other: www.amazon.com/shops/PrettyLittlePassports

Image Credits
@moya.photography3 @d0misworld