Life and Work with Romie Williams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Romie Williams.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Romie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story started with my mother. Before she immigrated to the U.S., she lived with her family in Germany. Because of this, I spent most of my childhood traveling to Frankfurt with my mother to visit my siblings and other family members. My time abroad gave me a global perspective at a young age. I was — and still am — hungry to see new places and new people.

I continued to travel with family until I got to college. When I was a junior at NYU, I took a semester abroad in London, and that’s when my current travel lifestyle was born. I took as many weekends as I could flying to other destinations in Europe and experiencing those places with my limited college budget. Those habits stuck. Despite being a working professional now, I still prefer to take short, backpack-style trips that allow me to be as economical as I can be.

People started noticing my frequent trips and began asking how I traveled so much, especially pertaining to my time and money. After sharing my insights with others and helping them plan their trips, Roaming with Romie was born. Roaming with Romie is a digital travel platform whose mission is to make travel more accessible, especially for those who come from communities that generally have little exposure to travel. I help plan trips for clients as well as organize group trips. On my Instagram page, I post content that provides travel tips and tricks as well as the insight I’ve gained from traveling to my various destinations.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Few things that are worth having will come easily. This is something I remind myself daily. Struggles that I’ve experienced along the way include logistical planning and branding. Starting (and running) a business is hard work, and developing a brand is arguably even harder. This is more challenging if one has another full-time job (like myself). My biggest struggle, like for many others, is utilizing my time to its maximum efficiency. How can I balance my job, my business, my health, and my other personal hobbies?

My biggest piece of advice for young women starting their journeys is this: keep going; do not stop. There will be many times when you will want to give up what you’re doing because you’re not growing fast enough, or your posts aren’t receiving enough likes, or you’re not making as much money as you expected. It is precisely in these moments when you should keep posting and working. If everyone quitted when they felt discouraged, then we would have none of the products and services that we enjoy today. Successful people are successful because they just kept going.

What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I specialize in providing cost-efficient, culturally-centered travel experiences. I have worked with individual clients in planning their trips. When I plan trips for clients, I prioritize curating an experience that is unique to them; one client’s trip to a destination will look different from another client’s trip to the same destination. This is because I include a client’s personal interests in tastes in developing an itinerary and when choosing accommodation.

In addition to private consultation, I will begin offering public group trips to destinations all over the world. What will set my group trips apart from other group trip operators is that my trips center around a cultural and historical context. When traveling, I find it imperative to learn about the history and culture of the destination. To me, it’s only respectful to do so. In addition to honoring the space you’re in, you also learn about the world, and that continues to expand your understanding. Because of this, my itineraries always include educational activities and interacting with locals. This is what I am most proud of about my brand.

There’s a wealth of academic research that suggests that a lack of mentors and networking opportunities for women has materially affected the number of women in leadership roles. Smart organizations and industry leaders are working to change this, but in the meantime, do you have any advice for finding a mentor and building a network?
My advice for finding mentors is to pay attention to those who inspire you, those who make you feel something inside. When you find those people, reach out to them. Ask them questions. Ask them to point you to people or sources that have inspired them. That’s what I have done, and it’s worked well for me so far.

Contact Info:

• Website: roamingwithromie.com
• Email: romie.williams@roamingwithromie.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/roamingwithromie

Image Credit:
Romie Williams

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