I travel around the world solo, despite my marriage and a child. People think that I am born with a silver spoon and I have everything spoon-fed but that is just not true. It took me five years to get my first job as an anchor but I really did not find that thrill in reporting stock and share market updates. If there was something I really wanted to do, it was to travel and feed my wanderlust soul. Here’s how I paved my way to building Curly Tales as India’s number one food and travel recommendation platform.
Career Or Children? A Tough Decision Made Easy
I did my graduation at 21, got married at 24, and got my job promotion at 25. I had a well-settled life with an unsettled heart. I always wanted to be a globetrotter but the major twist came when I became a mother. Moms don’t travel, moms don’t blog and moms certainly don’t bungee jump. But when moms have moms who understand, nothing can stop you. Children or career? Choosing one can be a tough choice but nobody said you cannot choose both, did they?
Also read: Women Follow Me Because I Travel Despite Marriage & Child But Here’s What They Don’t Know
How It All Started: From Solo Trips To Buying A Travel Domain
I wanted to put an end to business travels and travel for passion. But paving my own path was not easy. The plan was not to become a food or travel blogger but to create India’s biggest food and travel discovery platform with the best recommendations. My husband said “Go big or go home” and I obviously wanted to go big.
One of the greatest things about the internet is how it instantly transports us, giving us a glimpse into the lives of travelers all around the world. And for me, travel is more than just a hobby, it’s a full-time job. I bought a domain named www.curlytales.com, changed my personal Facebook page name to Curly Tales, packed my bags, and went on my first trip to South Africa. I even went live on Facebook from South Africa and received immense responses from viewers.
Also read: Kamiya Jani Shares Her Top 10 Favourite International Destinations
The Realisation Of A Dream With A Lot Of Learning
Sure I was a professional news anchor but social media language is very different. I did some learning and a lot of unlearning and covered every place that I possibly could with my selfie stick. Be it a fine dining restaurant or street food joint, resort, or nature, I would reach every place with my selfie stick. Curly Tales became a discovery platform because of all those people who are passionate about food and travel.
I just love traveling but there is a lot of effort that goes in even during my travels. I am always taking pictures. I am on social media, photographing things, speaking to people, planning vlog posts. I have documented every trip I’ve ever been on. I’d never go somewhere and be like ‘Oh, I don’t want to take a photo of that’.
The Growing Curly Tales Community From 0 To 1 Million
Our video on Vadodara’s Lakshmi Vilas Palace became our first viral video. Within a year, our community size grew from 1 lakh to 1 million. The first brand campaign was the restaurant launch, then it was a hotel and soon, it was an airline. A vision of one became a family of 25. From daily videos, we started posting 3 videos every day. Not just videos, we published over 30-40 food and travel-based articles on our website.
Curly Tales started inviting people from different cities who are passionate about food and travel to start sending videos and articles because ‘You are always more together’. The reach got wider and Curly Tales became bigger. In the last few years, I have been to 40 countries, 123 cities and still have a long way to go.
Also read: 10 Crazy Adventure Sports That Literally Made My Stomach Drop: Kamiya Jani
From mobile phones to television to newspapers and now to hoardings, this journey wouldn’t have been possible without Facebook for bringing like-minded passionate people together. If you want to reach somewhere, keep aside your fears and do something about it. Don’t wait for the door to open. Open your heart and you will see that the world is with you.