Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Talek Nantes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Talek, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Travel is invigorating, energizing, enlightening. Travel makes you happy in a way nothing else does.

After a decades-long career in international business development that allowed me to travel to 110 countries, I decided I wanted to …travel more! I also wanted to share the joys of travel with others. And so Travels with Talek was created; a travel blog designed to help curious travelers create their own unique travel experiences.

Travels with Talek is a one stop site providing travel guides to exciting destinations accompanied by the tools and tips necessary to make travel a delightful and stress-free experience.

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

Growing up my mother took me to Cuba to visit family. I loved being there. When travel to Cuba became difficult, I listened to my family’s Cuba stories and imagined being there.

When I was six I asked a relative where he was going. He flippantly responded, “To the end of the world.” I thought that was a real place. What did it look like? What were the people like? How far was it? How long would it take to get there? I became fascinated with knowing where this place was.

Growing up my mother had a travel agency. On the largest wall there was a massive map that covered the entire wall from ceiling to floor. I would stare at that map for hours imagining what life was like in different locations. I knew someday I would visit these intriguing places. Even at a very early age I just assumed it was just a matter of time; you grew up, you travelled…to me it was just one of the immutable and inevitable facts of life.

My early years’ experiences in Cuba, that brief conversation about the end of the world and the map on my mother’s wall is what instilled in me a passion for travel, exploration and different cultures.
In college I determined that whatever I studied would have to lead to the ultimate goal of traveling, so I studied international business. My Spanish language background and love of languages also helped me. Over the years I learned Italian, Portuguese and enough French to manage.

My background led me to a career in international business. This has allowed me to feed my voracious wanderlust traveling to over 110 countries and living in Colombia, Spain, The Dominican Republic, Mexico and the UK. I’ve worked throughout Asia, Africa, Europe and South America in places as diverse as Nigeria, China and Argentina.
In developing my business, I wanted to help people love travel as much as I do.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

A business reputation is built by consistently offering a reliable product or service to your customers and clients.

The tips and advice I feature on my travel blog are spot on and responsive to customers’ needs and requests. They offer actionable information in an engaging manner.

The single best way to develop a solid reputation in a business is by word-of-mouth. When people enjoy your product or service, they are likely to share that information with friends and family. They, in turn, will share this information and the reputation of a business will shine.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

A blog is connected to social media almost by definition. Depending on the type of blog, it might be more advantageous to focus one one social media platform vs another. For example, if your audience or readers frequent Facebook more than, say Tik Tok, you should focus your time and effort on Facebook.

It is important to understand who your customers are and what social media they use most frequently. My readership is mostly women over 50 who love to travel. They tend to use Facebook more than other platforms. As a result, I have a Facebook page for Travels with Talek with about 11,000 followers. I also have a Facebook group with over 3,000 members. Our readers are very engaged and share information on travel destinations, tips, advice, photos and experiences.

I also have a presence on Instagram, X (formally Twitter) and Pinterest.

An excellent way to keep in touch with your customers and clients is with an email marketing list. Here I share information in newsletters and regular posts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://travelswithtalek.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelswithtalek/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelswithtalek
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/travelstalek
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTTYo_GbkcS4ioLZ5XQUPEg
• Other: My Facebook group is for Women over 50 who love to travel. https://www.facebook.com/groups/Over50womentravelerscommunity/posts/1347304559541806

Image Credits
Talek Nantes took and owns all photos provided.