We’re thrilled to present the latest addition to Afluencer’s content lineup – our podcast series featuring insightful conversations with influential brand owners. In this inaugural article, we have the privilege of introducing Dan Bernardini, the visionary founder of Danventures Travel, as our esteemed guest.
Meet Dan Bernardini: The Mind Behind Danventures Travel
Dan Bernardini, the innovative mind driving Danventures Travel, takes center stage in the Afluencer podcast series. With a wealth of experience in the world of influencer marketing, Dan shares captivating insights, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped his brand’s journey.
Podcast Premiere: Delving into the Danventures Travel Universe
Join us in exploring the enchanting world of Danventures Travel through the eyes of Dan Bernardini himself. We’ve embedded the riveting YouTube podcast video below, offering an exclusive glimpse into the transformative power of influencer marketing.
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Key Takeaways
00:00 🌍 Dan’s Background and Motivation
– Dan Bernardini’s background and motivation for starting Dan Ventures Travel,
– His desire for flexibility and the freedom of being his own boss,
– Challenges and rewards of being an entrepreneur.
02:30 🌆 The Early Challenges of Being Your Own Boss
– The initial excitement of working for oneself,
– The pressure to make the business successful,
– The need for self-motivation and decision-making in entrepreneurship.
04:35 ✈️ Popular Travel Destinations and Client Preferences
– Dan’s specialization in cruises, all-inclusives, Europe, and Disney vacations,
– Discussion of popular travel destinations like the Caribbean, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Iceland, and Europe,
– Meeting the diverse travel preferences of clients.
07:57 🌟 Travel Tips for Aspiring Travelers
– Recommendations for planning trips three to six months in advance,
– Awareness of major events that can affect travel plans,
– The importance of documentation and research when traveling abroad.
09:59 📣 Using Influencers and Creators in Marketing
– Dan’s approach to working with influencers and creators for marketing,
– The openness to collaborate with a variety of influencers, not limited to travel content creators,
– A call to influencers interested in working with Dan Ventures Travel.
12:36 🌐 Connecting with Dan Ventures Travel
– Where to find Dan Ventures Travel on social media and online,
– Links to Dan’s social media profiles, website, and contact information.
Transcription Insight: A Peek into the Conversation
Gain an insider’s perspective as we burrow into the transcription of our engaging conversation with Dan Bernardini. Discover the strategies, anecdotes, and wisdom that have fueled Danventures Travel’ success, all captured in this in-depth transcription.
In Conversation with Dan Bernardini, Founder of Danventures Travel:
Brett:
Welcome to our influencer podcast. Today we’ve got Dan Bernardini, the owner of Dan Ventures travel agency. Dan has some cool things to talk about in terms of what his travel agency is working on, and then opportunities for influencers to work with Dan’s company, not only travel focused influencers, but generally anyone who likes to travel and I mean who doesn’t, especially after us being cooped up for a couple of years. So looking forward to chatting with Dan today. Dan, welcome. Before we get into Dan Ventures, can you give me a little bit of your background, origin story before you started your company?
Dan:
Yeah, thank you. So I started this venture about almost a year ago now. Actually wasn’t really looking for it. The opportunity just kind of came to me. So then, I mean, of course I had loved travel for leisure purposes, but when I started looking into this more, I really liked the flexibility and the option to be your own boss, so I kind of just went with it full time, and so I spent almost the last year now trying to build up really my own company from scratch and work alone as a solo entrepreneur.
Brett:
That’s excellent. Was the desire to be able to work from anywhere location wise, a motivation, also not having to be tied to, Hey, I got to be in this office 50 weeks a year and I get maybe two on my own. I
Dan:
Had a job like that
Brett:
Beforehand,
Dan:
So this was different. I like the flexibility and it’s nice to actually just see what’s going on outside because where I worked at in my little cubicle, I didn’t have any windows or anything. It was very dingy. So this is a totally different atmosphere.
Brett:
It is, yeah. I remember that moment too. I think I was 26 when I left my last real job to start my first company and being able to work from my house and we had a nice backyard and a nice office overlooking the backyard, and you don’t usually get to see things like light and trees during the day depending on what your cubicle setup was. So it was a revelation for me. The first few weeks you’re on the honeymoon in terms of working for yourself, my wife’s going to work, and I’m like, okay, see you sucker. I’ve got a 12 step commute. Reality did hit me pretty quick in terms of, hey, now I’ve got to actually make this work. I’ve got to make some money. I’ve got to find some customers. So I’m sure you’ve gone through that, you’re going through that. Talk about that in terms of your experience starting Dan Ventures, building it from nothing. How’d that feel early on as you’re like, Hey, it’s cool to see the outside, but now Yeah, now I got some real pressure. I can’t just blame my boss, my boss’s boss, corporate decisions. I got to get this to work so I can keep doing this.
Dan:
Yeah, it’s definitely challenging to say the least, and it still is. I mean, it’s freeing, but yeah, it’s also hard to be your own boss because I feel like it makes it that much harder to be motivated because nobody else is pushing. You have to do it yourself. And so really that’s the hardest part sometimes is being able to motivate yourself and push yourself and to focus on what you need and to make all the right decisions. And especially for me coming into a whole new industry and not having done anything like this before, it was definitely a challenge as well where I kind of just had to learn a bunch of different things about a new industry and meet people and network, which is definitely important in this type of work. Being your own boss, you definitely have to go out there and make yourself known, and so I’ve definitely learned that over the past year. But I mean it’s also been helpful as a way to, I guess, gain self-confidence and feel at ease by going out of your comfort zone more often and meeting others and stuff.
Brett:
It does, it forces you to, I say grow up quick, but it definitely speeds up your development. You got to figure out everything at once. Like you said, you got to go out and meet people so you can get ideas, figure things out, let your company be known, got to get outside the, it’s awesome working from your home office or eventually get your own office, but then you got to get outside of that. But it’s great. It teaches you how to really accelerate your development. You go through a couple of decades of development in a year or two on that front. Let’s talk about locations, travel locations for your clients. What are some of the popular spots today as we talk in terms of, Hey, here’s where I want to go. Dan, can you hook me up? Can you set up a trip for me?
Dan:
Yeah, so I always tell people I specialize in cruises, all-inclusives, Europe, Disney, and any type of group travel of course doesn’t limit my possibilities, but that’s just what I find a lot of people interested in. So I sent my friend back in the spring. I sent her and her boyfriend to Dominican Republic, so that’s always a hotspot of course, and all of the Caribbean and Mexico. I went to Cancun actually back in July and got the opportunity to stay at a couple resorts there and do some site inspections. So that was a neat experience. First time in Mexico and Cancun for myself. So I also am working with a client now. She wants to go to Iceland. That’s actually starting to be a popular spot. I think people really like Iceland for just the natural beauty, but also it’s a big spot where people want to see the Northern Lights. So they actually have a lot of options for guided tours to see that. But of course also Europe too. Myself, I went to Italy last year actually for my birthday, and my client just got back this week from London and she had a great time.
Brett:
That’s great. So would you say filling a need are a lot of your clients, people who maybe just started traveling and I mean, it’s pretty overwhelming you start getting out there and trying to figure stuff out for yourself. One of our first trips overseas, my wife and I were in Lisbon, Portugal, and I booked a hotel, and this is before the era of smartphones working overseas. This was like 2006, and I booked a hotel and I was pretty nonchalant about it where I just knew the name and didn’t actually pay attention to where it was. And this is big city and stuff, and we happened to drive by one of the hotels in that chain, which was able to direct us to the proper hotel. And it was just luck. I mean, I was completely in Compton in terms of my planning. Do you see people, the younger version of me where they’re getting out, they’re traveling and they’re like, Hey Dan, this is overwhelming, but I want someone young and hip who’s going to plan this trip for me and not necessarily an old school travel agent. I want you to build this for me. What do you think about that? Is that your use case in terms of who you see in terms of your clients new on the travel scene
Dan:
To some aspect? I really, I think travel is just like a range of people we see. I mean people my age, but then the person who I’m planning a trip for Iceland, she’s in her seventies. So really a lot of people, I think just like the opportunity for someone to give them recommendations and options and not have to focus on that themselves, and that’s why we’re here. I mean, especially going overseas to a new place, you don’t really know anything about it. It can be overwhelming to plan and know where you’re going to stay and how you’re going to get there and what you want to see and everything. So really we just take all that information from our clients and try to give them the best possible option and really just take a lot of stress off of ’em. That’s why we’re here.
Brett:
Any travel tips that you would give aspirational travelers who are watching this, listening to this, Hey, I want to get out of the country here. Maybe I should give Dan a call. Maybe I’ll plan it myself, but what general tips would you have for someone who’s thinking about traveling maybe early? I mean, people, they start to plan their overseas trips ahead of time, so maybe they’re thinking about getting out of town early spring next year, stuff to share
Dan:
With them. So depending on where people want to go, I always think it’s good to plan three to six months in advance if it’s like out of the country, just so you have that kind of lead time with everything you want to do in case you need to adjust it, because we can always adjust things as we get closer, but it’s harder to, if it’s the last minute, try to plan everything with tours and stuff, they’ll get booked pretty fast and just be aware of events. I know the Olympics next year are going on in Paris next summer, so that’s going to be a whole crazy thing for that. So if you happen to be traveling at that time, just know that it’s going to be just like it has been recently in Las Vegas for the Formula One racing that they’re getting ready for next month.
Obviously always remember your passport and make sure you have any important documents you need and if you’re not using travel agent, but I highly recommend it, of course, you should remember to do your research, especially for foreign countries for how long you’re going to be there. I have a client who’s been in Italy and traveling around Europe for the past two and a half months, so I made sure how long he’s allowed to stay. You can only stay a certain number of days, like 90 days, and then you have running tissues with needing a visa and stuff like that. And he also had his dog, so I had to make sure his vet had all these certifications and health certificates to be able to fly and stuff. So really just make sure you have all the information you need, but again, that’s why we’re here. We do all that research and figure all that out so you don’t have to worry about it. Yeah, totally can be a pain.
Brett:
How are you using influencers and creators today in your marketing strategy? Spread the word about Dan Ventures travel agency. Tell us a little bit about that.
Dan:
Well, really, this is just something I thought of starting recently. I wasn’t really sure how to go about contacting influencers, and then I came across affluent, the platform, and I liked how organized it was and how it’s really easy to reach out to influencers. So I have experience doing that. At my old job, I was in contact with influencers before for our product, but for me personally, this is new to me. But yeah, I’m just excited to work with them and see what they create. I’m completely, and they’re the creator, so I trust them that they know what’s best and obviously their follower count and everything shows that they know what they’re doing. So I’m just excited to grow my company with them.
Brett:
I’m with you there. That’s how I kind love to do it on the collab side is you’re the creator. So the reason we’re working with you is because you’re way better than I am. So just create, make something awesome and we will run it and see how we do. Let you go on this one. Dan, what types of influencers and creators specifically are you looking to work with?
Dan:
Yeah, so I definitely was searching for a lot of people that have travel as an interest, but I mean really anybody with a big following as well, or a lot of people who specialize in maybe lifestyle videos and stuff. I mean, I think travel is something that everybody enjoys and wants, so I don’t just have to limit it to people who specifically travel and post that content because somebody watching creator family, they might need a break from their hectic life or whatever, and then they can contact me and travel. So really, I think just being open is the best way to go about it.
Brett:
And to our influencers watching this, we will get a link to Dan’s collab brand profile, but more importantly has collapsed. You can apply directly to this, you’re listening or watching this, get it in the newsletter for you. And Dan does have a nice wide range in terms of criteria. Lots of countries influencers are eligible to work with ’em from, and as he mentioned, a wide range of interests. So we’ll put that collab link here, so you can just hit the, I’m interested, that will send a message directly to Dan’s inbox, and then hopefully you can chat one-on-one and see if it’s a fit. Well, Dan, thank you for joining us today as you depart. How else can influencers, creators, travel minded people? Everyone find Dan Ventures, give us your socials website, all that good stuff.
Dan:
So you can find my, I was going to say my creator page. I do have my socials link, but also if you were on Facebook at Dan Ventures, if you go to dan ventures travel.com, we have links to all our social media pages, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Of course. Yeah, so also Google search, we pop up and I myself pop up as well, and there’s a bunch of different pages about me.
Brett:
Excellent. Dan, thanks so much again, appreciate you joining us.
Dan:
Thanks for having me.
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Reflecting on a Journey of Innovation and Influence
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