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

Alright, Paige thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

If you told me a few years ago that I was on my way to becoming an actual entrepreneur, I would’ve never believed you. I never planned to start something of my own. I’ve never brainstormed business ideas that I could monetise, I never once thought about working for myself, etc. Becoming a business owner was an accident.

As a kid, I was curious about everything, especially the places my mom would take m sister and me on family trips and the places we’d explore when we lived overseas. I was that person asking tour guides endless questions and the one stopping to read all the informational plaques and taking pictures of everything. I wanted to know everything, and capture every detail so that I have stories to share with others. My mom was a teacher and I have her to thank for nurturing my curiosity and encouraging us to explore beyond the ordinary and expected.

Once I moved to Washington, DC after college, I started going on off-the-beaten-path excursions and inviting my friends along. After a while, my friends would tell their friends, who would tell others about my unique adventures. People would ask to be added to my list and I was getting questions about how people could sign up for a membership. This led to me starting an informal group for like-minded explorers. Even then, I never thought of what I was doing as something that could be a business. Starting a business was for other people, smarter people. But it was the blueprint for what turned a passionate hobby into a small business without me realizing it was happening! It was the support from my friends who started asking me to plan experiences for their guests coming to DC and recommending me to other people that really pushed me to feel like I had something that people were interested in and that it was good enough to stand on its own. Curiosity didn’t kill the cat, it was the start of my business and its biggest selling point!

Paige, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Forget whatever it is you think you know about what there is to do in Washington, D.C. Yes, America’s capital city is brimming with memorials, museums, and watering holes for the high-powered. But there’s much more than politics driving the energy here.

Curious Caravan is a boutique trip-planning company that specializes in designing custom experiences and itineraries that take curious explorers off-the-beaten-path to discover hidden gems beyond the monuments and memorials. We’re for travellers who want to feel like savvy locals and are passionate that our clients experience the “real” DC.

Our company opens the door to customized travel experiences that reach far beyond the expected–to people and places not found in most travel books. Inspired by infinite curiosity and a perpetual wanderlust, all of our customized adventures are unique and tailored specifically for each client. One crucial differentiator: Every recommendation—from a food hall to a concierge bike tour or out-of-the-way music venue—has been hand-picked and vetted by our team.

Travel is not just about the places you visit, it’s about the people you meet along the way. Our diverse itineraries always include interactions with some of the people and community organizations that make DC such a dynamic city.

Have you ever had to pivot?

These past two years with COVID-19 have been about nothing but figuring out how to pivot. I had to come with new ways to encourage people to explore the city and learn to market to a new demographic all at the same time. Usually there is time to research, plan and implement but there wasn’t the luxury of time to do that. I had to constantly innovate to see what worked and what didn’t. It was definitely a challenge but it forced me to dust off some ideas that I’d had on the back burner and just take a leap forward. Not everything worked out the way I wanted, but it taught me a valuable lesson: don’t fear failure; you’ll never know if it will succeed if you don’t at least try.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As I started to grow my business, I worked with a business coach to help me plan and prioritize what I wanted to do. One of the lessons I learn working with her is that there is no one way to do something; you have to find the way that works for you. It seems so simple, but I think we all get caught up in comparing ourselves to others and trying to emulate what someone is doing that we don’t stop and think if it makes sense for ourselves. We can definitely look to others for suggestions and guidance but no two businesses are exactly the same, so why should we expect the solutions to be one-size fits all? When you’re a new business or trying to solve a problem you haven’t encountered before, it’s easy to get stuck for fear of doing the wrong thing. My business coach gave me “permission” to figure out my own path. After all, no one knows your business as well as you do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.curious-caravan.com/
• Instagram: @curious_caravan

Image Credits
Photo credit: Curious Caravan/Paige Muller