Kamerin Chambers is a Chicago native and the founder and editor of an international travel blog called Where’s She Going?, that highlights local entertainment, hot spots, hidden gems, art & culture, inspirational events & influencers, and travel excursions. In addition, Kamerin is a marketing and communications professional, a Millennial Contributor for a global lifestyle magazine headquartered in Chicago called Fete Lifestyle Magazine, a ADCOLOR Futures 16’ alumn, and an iStock Contributor building her photography portfolio one candid at a time. Outside of her love for traveling and creatively curating content, Kamerin created her travel blog to inspire multi-passionate professionals like herself to explore their freedom to begin living the exact life they want TODAY.
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business?
My travel blog is only a stepping stone for my personal brand. Sooner than later, I want to expand my platform into a business that is still travel-focused. Whatever that is right now, I don’t know lol – I just know I love sharing unique experiences across destinations I travel to so that people can be a part of the experience. Inspiring people to be unapologetically authentic and living the life they want to live TODAY, especially through travel. After reading an article in Teen Vogue on Solange’s Letter To Her Teenage Self, I learned it’s ok to not always know what the future holds. I’m learning to appreciate the process getting there.
Tell us about your business.
Where’s She Going? is an international travel blog that highlights local entertainment, hot spots, hidden gems, art & culture, inspirational events and inspirational influencers through my “Keep Shining” feature series, as well as travel excursions my readers can be apart of. The main intent is to inspire multi-passionate professionals like myself to explore their freedom to live the exact life they want TODAY! I’ve learned through experience that taking risks, doing things you want to do (like travel), applying to senior level roles or even jumping off a 20ft cliff in Negril, Jamaica (still can’t believe I did that!) is most rewarding. The majority of the time, your end results are positive, and you’ll be happy you took that leap of faith.
Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
I am! I just did a product review on Lot 18’s Tasting Room. It is a personalized wine club that allows you to sign up to receive a tasting kit to rate a variation of red and white wines and creates an online wine profile based on your ratings. Once complete, the TR Team handpicks some full bottle shipments based on your wine profile. I discovered I’m a “Big Reds” type of girl.
Feel free to use my blog’s promo code WSGBLOG here to receive a discounted tasting kit for only $6.95.
List awards/certifications/accomplishments.
The most recent accomplishment I’m proud of is being selected as 1 of 29 individuals to participate in an extensive 3-day program at the 10th Annual ADCOLOR Conference & Awards as an ADCOLOR Future last year in Boca Raton, FL. I met so many like-minded young professionals within various industries – some I’m still close friends with now.
Where is your business based?
Currently based in Chicago, where I reside.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
I launched my travel blog September 2016. After years of writing for publications and blogs, I knew it was time to start my own platform. Not going to lie, year after year I procrastinated in doing so, and I continued to write for other people. But after speaking to a friend last year who is also a blogger, she encouraged me to start my own platform to build my personal brand. From there, that’s when I created my website and social channels for the blog, created my media kit, continued to create content I loved and used my relationship building and media relations skills to build a network of travel and lifestyle brands I’ve had a pleasure to work with and continue to do so.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
Consistently creating content for my blog and sharing it via all of my blog’s social channels, as well as my own, to promote social engagement. People love consistency, and the more you create content that’s interesting and relatable, the more engaged they are. Also, I try to connect and engage with similar travel blogs, brands and creatives I find interesting. Usually, they repost content of mine they find interesting or brands I’ve written content for repost on all of their social channels, which exposes my blog to their audience and expands my reach.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Patience. I learned to complete tasks in phases instead of trying to take on everything head first all at once. Patience initially was hard for me, but now I’m learning to be one with it and myself. I’ve noticed bigger blessings falling into my lap as I continue to keep my faith in God, put in the work – inhaling positive energy, exhaling the negative and trusting the path I’m on will lead me to where I’m supposed to be.
How did you overcome these challenges?
Talking to my mother, friends and fiance. I’m thankful they are my biggest support groups! What’s interesting is there are more people than you think that are going through the exact same challenges you may be facing. So, you’re never alone. It’s great to have a support group where you can vent and exchange inspirational words of wisdom to refuel each other to overcome those challenges and turn lemons into lemonade! I’m pretty sporadic, so I’m thankful for my support group that listens to some of my crazy plans and ideas.
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
I always keep my end goal in mind. If I continue to do a, b, and c, I will get to d in no time. It’s funny because every time my friends and I talk about challenges we faced in the past; we look at where we are now, and how we’ve overcome them. We talk about how a year from now, those difficult times we are currently facing will be a mere memory and a new learning lesson.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
My travel blog is for the everyday multi-passionate professional – those who believe life should be measured in rich experiences and not dollar signs. As much as I love the finer things in life, some blogs focus too much on highlighting luxury resorts, expensive restaurants and unlimited travel that may be unattainable to someone who doesn’t have the luxury of unlimited disposable income. My friend and I had the pleasure in 2016 to venture off our resort in Negril, Jamaica and had dinner at a local hole in the wall while listening to the history of Jamaica from our cab driver who dined with us by the Caribbean Sea. To me, it’s the little experiences like those that make travel experiences much grander.
What is the best advice you have received recently?
My grandmother recently quoted an inspirational message from pastor, Joel Olsteen, about programming your mind for victory. Whenever you have a negative thought come to mind, click DELETE. Keep those positive thoughts flowing. Those are the ones you want to come intro fruition.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Always have a support group! Make sure you have a group of people who you can ask for help if needed, need words of encouragement and wisdom, want to bounce ideas off of, or just an open ear to listen to you vent. My support group is my mother, friends, and my fiance. They always welcome me with open arms when I need a shoulder to lean on.
What are your favorite business tools/resources and why?
There are so many cool business tools out there; it’s so hard to choose! Truthfully I’m still learning about some. I’m currently using a Gantt Chart, which is a life-saver for me! It’s a project management tool that helps me manage all of my blog content and holds me accountable to deadlines I set for myself. I also created a separate Gantt Chart for my personal goals.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
I love reading articles on FastCompany.com for business innovation and creative inspiration. It’s also a great source to stay current on what’s happening in various industries. I’m also reading I’m Judging You by writer Luvvie Ajayi. She’s hilarious, and it’s a great read so far about life lessons, culture, social media and fame.
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
I’m learning to not focus on how to monetize my blog, but continue to consistently produce great content, build my network and engage with my readers. Everything else will fall into place.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
My goal is to target more brands/businesses that are travel specific to collaborate with. I just started doing product reviews, which I really enjoy. So, I have a ton of research and pitching on my to-do lists to accomplish those goals. But I’m ready for it! This is what I love to do. I’m also excited to announce that I’m redesigning my entire travel blog website. Once that’s complete, I will be ready to launch a new project I’m about to embark on – probably one of my biggest ones yet! So stay tuned for that.
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
Instagram @wheresshegoing, @hey_kam
Twitter @Kam_Chambers
Facebook @wheresshegoing
Website www.wheresshegoing.com
Email infowheresshegoing@gmail.com
Hashtags #wheresshegoingblog
Badiana Badio Pallikandi says
This is a great post. I really enjoyed the advice and feel I can use it going forward on my own blog (www.decidebliss.com) Love the highlight of another lady boss.
Brianna says
Very informational! Keep striving love.