We were lucky to catch up with Lindsay Mukaddam recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lindsay, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

A few years ago I took my first solo trip. This was mostly as a challenge to myself. I was stuck in a rut. My life was routine and comfortable. I was in a job that I loved in a field that I had gotten my college degree in. I was happily married and we had just bought a house. I had a good group of friends. I was eating healthy and working out. But I was seriously lacking passion in my life.

I had started to travel with friends and family so I knew it was something that I enjoyed a lot. I knew I wanted to do more but planning trips with others was complicated. I’d have to wait for someone to get back to me and commit to the trip. Then came all the planning and compromising followed but settling the trip expenses. The idea of going alone was terrifying to me, but I was also tired of waiting on others.

After I went on that first solo trip it was like the world opened up to me. I felt confident, grounded, and happy. I knew there were other women out there that could benefit from solo travel so I decided to be the resource I wish I had when I was planning my first solo trip.

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?

I started blogging and talking about solo travel on social media soon after my first solo trip. I wanted to document everything that I could from how I budgeted, planned my trip, stayed safe, and also dealt with the criticism of being a solo traveler who is also happily married.

I now offer courses on how to travel hack – taking advantage of loyalty programs set up by airlines and hotels to travel for nearly free to offset my travel budget. This also includes how to responsibly use travel credit cards to earn points and miles on everyday purchases to work towards your next vacation.

My most exciting project has been to host group trips for members of my online community. I kept hearing from aspiring solo travelers that they wanted to travel more but weren’t quite ready to be completely alone. I’ve always been an advocate for group travel because you don’t have to wait for anyone to book a spot, you have the stress of planning taken off your plate, you have the safety net of a group and a local guide, and you have downtime in the itinerary to so some solo exploring.

I partnered with a professional travel company to create fun itineraries to exciting places. So far OGW trips has been to Costa Rica, Iceland, and Scotland. And in 2023 trips are planned to Japan, Italy, and Egypt.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

When I first started One Girl Wandering it was a hobby, a creative outlet. I had a full-time job that I loved in theatre. I had thought about taking OGW full-time as over the first few years opportunities started to roll in but I never felt comfortable to take that leap. Then in 2020 I was laid off. Theatre was one of the first industries to be hit hard by the pandemic and my position was eliminated. I was devastated but at the same time I was given the opportunity to take the leap that I had been hesitant to for many years and take One Girl Wandering on full-time. These past two years have been incredible and OGW has grown beyond my wildest dreams.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Having been a content creator for many years I know that there is a misconception that the work I create is quick and easy. People don’t see the amount of work that goes into my photography or videography. The years that it has taken me to learn these skills. On any given trip I’m carrying over $15k worth of equipment with me. It’s not the equipment that makes the gorgeous photos and videos, it’s me and my skills along with a lot time. I have to plan everything out from the locations, to where the sun is going to be in the sky. I have to set up all the camera equipment and capture the content. I then have to edit everything. The work that goes behind one image or video is quite literally hours. It can be frustrating to have brands who want to work with content creators but actually have no respect for their time and skills. You would never ask a wedding photographer to photograph your event in exchange for a pair of socks, so please stop asking content creators to be undercompensated for an extremely valuable skill set.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.onegirlwandering.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onegirlwandering/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onegirlwandering
• Other: tiktok.com/@onegirlwandering