Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Tan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I started my blog as a passion project – since I was young, I’ve always had an insatiable desire for travel so why not try and make a life doing something you love? I would love nothing more than to share my adventures and stories with the world.
To this date, I have been fortunate enough to travel to 25 countries in my 25 years of life with December just around the corner, my 26th birthday is coming up! So I’m looking to add one more international travel destination in the books for 2019.
Growing up in Singapore, I traveled extensively around Southeast Asia and Europe. And when time for college came around, I went to UCLA – which had been my dream school ever since I could remember. Throughout my travels, I have gained invaluable insight into incredibly different cultures, ate a lot of amazing food, seen the most breathtaking views and to top it all off – I met some amazing people along the way!
So my blog is centered around Travel, Lifestyle, and Food – to say I’ve got a serious case of the traveling bug, or what we modern day folk refer to as wanderlust is a HUGE understatement. But of course, who can travel all year round? For most of us, that answer is “not me!” Hence, my second massive focus or my other passion, which is my love of food. And lucky for me, I’m based in San Diego which seems to continue to open up more and more cafes and restaurants that are to die for!
I never really considered myself an influencer – until one day on campus, I was photographed and featured on a CNN article. The article talks about a gender reversal on career aspirations and how our era champions equality for women. I was humbled to be in a picture of such a powerful piece.
When I went to UCLA for college, they had casting calls to be a UCLA BearWear model (essentially modeling the school’s apparel that was featured in print ads, online through various social media channels and around campus. Out of 350 people who applied, I somehow was selected for a call back and was among the 10 people who were later chosen. It was a pretty surreal feeling being able to rep my school – there were 240,000 catalogs printed and mailed out of which 225,000 were mailed out to UCLA alumni, BearWear customers and prospective students.
As an “influencer,” companies and photographers alike started reaching out to me to do collaborations and photoshoots. At first, they were unpaid and exchanged for products or photos. When I was 17, I worked with Seventeen Magazine and was featured in a 5-page spread, which was my first big break. Eventually, it evolved into doing paid assignments – which wasn’t really work because it was so much fun!
Has it been a smooth road?
It took some time to kick start assignments. Slowly but surely, I started to build my portfolio, and then companies were reaching out to me. Like most, I work a Monday through Friday 8 am – 5 pm job that’s very demanding. I can’t stress the importance of setting aside time to do what you love, and also, so you can maintain a healthy work-life balance. I have to constantly remind myself to find time to create meaningful partnerships and collaborate with brands and other creatives. But I will say it is 100% worth it – it makes me so happy! I get to meet so many people who are genuinely passionate about what it is they do, and it’s incredible and uplifting to be around such a collaborative community.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Traveling Dot story. Tell us more about the business.
The Traveling Dot stemmed from my love of travel. Born and raised in Singapore, which is also known as “The Little Red Dot,” I drew inspiration from my home country. My two loves of travel and food form the focus of The Traveling Dot. I love to share my travel/adventures and highlight incredible culinary experiences where hopefully I can guide people to happier tummies!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
This industry is definitely not going away neither is it going to stay put. I think this online explosion of digital creatives is going to keep on growing – and rapidly at that too. Just look at the shift of retail to e-commerce, aspiring bloggers to digital nomads, and content creators to Director of Marketing or Digital and Social Media Managers as full-time professions. We are living in a digital age, and the social media landscape is taking over the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: thetravelingdot.com
- Email: thetravelingdot@gmail.com
- Instagram: thetravelingdot
- Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/thetravelingdot/
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