We recently connected with Jules Nguyen and have shared our conversation below.

Jules, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

As a traveler, my mission has always been to make traveling more accessible for women and people of color. I aim to share honest and authentic stories that connect the world and bring us all closer together.

I want people of color to know that living a beautiful life is not this unattainable thing that only the special among us can have. We are all capable of seeing the world with our own eyes. But it starts with representation. It’s no longer just a dream if you see people who look like you doing it, too. I grew up with very little representation in the media, and I never saw people who looked like me traveling the world. One of the main reasons I share my travel photos and videos on social media, as well as detailed itineraries on my blog, is so that other people who look like me, have access to these resources and information.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Jules and I’m a Vietnamese American travel photographer, blogger, and content creator. I primarily work for tourism boards, travel & hospitality brands, as well as lifestyle brands and create content organic content for them. When working with travel brands, I take HD photographs and create short form videos for their social media, website, and marketing usage. I promote this content on my social channels as well!

I also run a travel blog, Finding Jules, which shares detailed travel itineraries, tips and advice, hotel reviews, and pretty much anything travel related!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I first started posting my photos on Instagram over 7 years ago. At the time, I was posting a lot of photos from my personal travels & landscape photos (not photos with me in them), using a combination of iPhone and camera. I even edited in the Instagram app or used VSCO presets.

At the time, it was so much easier to grow and less saturated than now. After sharing photos a few times a week, my account began to grow. I was getting reposted by larger feature accounts and some of my older photos went “viral” for the standard back then. I realized consistency was key, and began taking my posting more seriously, utilizing all resources, including all 30 hashtags, and building a community by responding to all comments & engaging with my audience.

Over time, I had hotels begin to reach out to me via DM’s asking if I would be interested in a hosted stay in exchange for photos, and over time, that turned into getting paid for my photography work. My biggest advice is to just share authentically what you love, and be as consistent as you possibly can. This doesn’t mean forcing yourself to post every day, but if you set the goal of posting 3 days a week, then stick to it!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being able to share and showcase what I love. Working for myself as a creative has been so challenging, with endless ups & downs, but there is no better feeling than being able to make a living off of something I love to do!     

Contact Info:

• Website: www.findingjules.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/finding.jules
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@findingjules
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@treyfoundjules