We were lucky to catch up with Tonya Graddy recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tonya, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

The Graddy Gadabout is solely on social media and the web. As you know, these outlets can be a blessing and a curse for instant information. The Gadabout does not just report the beauty of the travel industry, I report on the good, the, bad, the ugly, and the in-between. If we,(my husband and I), make goofy mistakes on one of our adventures, you bet I am going to write about that. My mistakes as well as my travel companions, has made the best blog fodder for my readers thus far.
In reality, most trips have some sort of imperfection and chaos. The Gadabout embraces this imperfection and shows the world this is a normal part of the trip that happens to everyone, the thing is, everyone does not show it. Most bloggers just show beautiful sunsets and epic destinations. The best part of the adventure is the one you never thought you wanted, those are the stories you will cherish most. Get out there and chase your adventure and enjoy EVERY part of it!

Tonya, 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?

I have always had a love of travel. My goal as of now if 50 by 50. I want to document the beautiful United States! I do not do luxurious trips. I do family friendly, fun, and cost friendly adventures for those who want to do something that they may have never thought of doing before. If I find any oddities along the way, you bet I am going to stop! If there is a weird hotel that is the one I am going to try to stay there, and don’t get me started on activities! I recently took my girls(daughter and daughter-in law) on a Women’s Wilderness Weekend. We learned to be great outdoorsman and also learned that I am too old to sleep in a tent with a freeze warning as we ended up at a hotel at midnight. I was not ashamed to put that into the blog. Nothing says you are a Warrior Woman like heading to the local Fairfield Inn and Suits and admitting defeat.
I am most proud of keeping The Graddy Gadabout authentic. Even when I feel pressure to try to fit the mold of the other travel bloggers by only posting heart hands and beaches and glorious sunsets, I continue to be a straight shooter. I include all the disasters and road bumps that got us to our destination.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have always been a storyteller of some sort and have loved writing. However, when I was younger I lacked the courage to pursue it. There was always a voice inside my head saying “Tonya, you are not good enough. No one will ever want to read anything you put out there!” The sad thing is that I listened to that voice for years. I would write things and never finish them. I had a fear of failure. But you cannot fail if you do not try. After working years in the cooperate world in a job I hate, I could not take any more. I had to at least try. I finally did an about-face and told that voice to shut up. I had so much fun traveling and everyone always asked me questions about our adventures, so behold, the Graddy Gadabout was born!

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

Social Media is HARD! Can you tell me how it is done, just kidding, kind of. Lets face it, I am like a grandma of social media. I am on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. I am slowly growing my following and I do mean slowly. I still work full time so I feel like I am lacking in this department. I do try to stay engaging with my audience but sometimes it is hard. I do have a website with links to all my social media. I have been told that Pinterest will drive a lot of traffic to my website, I still have no reaped any of those benefits yet. My sites have been recently posted on my companies website so that has brought quite a few people to check it out as well. I am a work in progress for sure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://graddygadabout.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_graddy_gadabout/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Graddy-Gadabout-106824195438222/

Image Credits
Tonya Graddy Korey Graddy