Meet Laura Ericson

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laura Ericson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Here’s the thing nobody tells you about finding your purpose: sometimes it finds you when you’re at your absolute worst. I was 34, freshly divorced, and watching all my friends settle into their coupled-up lives while I was starting over.

I’d always been adventurous—I was the girl who studied abroad, who taught English in Spain, who had this wandering soul that somehow got buried under a decade of trying to be someone I wasn’t. Post-divorce me made a promise: no more playing it safe, no more resort vacations to the same places everyone else goes. I wanted to see the world, and I wanted to do it with purpose.

So I started traveling to places that scared me a little. Colombia. Morocco. Turkey. Mexico City. Places my married self would have deemed too risky or too much work to plan. Turns out, those “risky” places were exactly where I needed to be.

But as I continued to plan my own trips, I kept running into the same problem. Nobody wanted to come with me. My friends were busy with their kids and mortgages and, honestly, they didn’t share my newfound obsession with sleeping in the Sahara Desert or learning to make ropa vieja from Cuban grandmothers.

I tried “true” solo travel on a 10-day trip to Australia, and while it was transformative and I didn’t regret doing it, it wasn’t quite right either. I realized I thrive on shared experiences. I want to turn to someone and say, “holy shit, are you seeing this?” when I’m experiencing something incredible.

The lightbulb moment came when I realized I couldn’t be the only one dealing with this. There had to be other people—other divorced women, other solo travelers, other humans who wanted to experience authentic culture without joining a bus tour of 40 people wearing matching t-shirts.

So I quit my 14-year career in higher education in 2021, right in the midst of the pandemic, to start a group travel company. Now I take small groups of like-minded travelers to places that will change them. We don’t just visit countries—we get invited into people’s homes, we teach English to kids in the desert, and we immerse ourselves in the places we visit in ways that change how we see the world and ourselves

My purpose turned out to be helping other people have those moments where you’re standing somewhere incredible, surrounded by new friends who get it, feeling completely alive and wondering why you waited so long to do this.

The best part? Every trip still changes me too. Turns out your purpose doesn’t just find you once—it keeps evolving as you do.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I run Laura Ericson Group Trips, a boutique travel company that takes small groups of adventurous solo travelers to places that will genuinely change their lives.

What makes this special isn’t just the destinations—it’s the transformation that happens when you put like-minded people together in extraordinary places. I’ve watched introverts become confident explorers, seen people form friendships (and even marriages) that last years after the trip ends, and witnessed countless “I can’t believe this is my life” moments.

We focus on authentic cultural immersion—the kind where you’re dancing at weddings you accidentally crash in Turkey, learning traditional cooking techniques from locals, or exploring hidden caves in Cappadocia. We partner with local guides who become our lifelong friends, stay in family-run riads, local homes, and glamping sites in the desert instead of chain hotels, and always find ways to give back to the communities we visit.

The business side is equally exciting because I’m proving you can run a profitable company while being ethical and serving a greater purpose. We’re members of 1% For the Planet, we employ locals directly, and we’re Transformational Travel Council allies, focused on keeping meaningful travel at the forefront of everything we do.

I just launched a podcast called “Type 2 Travel” where I dive deep into all the messy, beautiful, transformative parts of travel that people don’t usually talk about. We cover everything from solo female travel safety to the psychology of why some destinations scare us (spoiler: it’s usually our own misconceptions) to interviewing past travelers about their most life-changing moments on the road.

Looking ahead, we’re expanding into Kenya in 2026, which I’m incredibly excited about. The wildlife, the culture, the landscapes—it’s going to be a completely different kind of transformative experience from our North African adventures in Morocco. But before we head back overseas, I’m bringing the magic home with Camp Lola Whiskey this August—our first-ever adult summer camp in the Wisconsin Dells. Think tubing down rivers with fully stocked coolers, camp games that require more enthusiasm than athletic ability, and live music under the stars, all with the same small-group, boutique experience our international travelers love. It’s summer camp nostalgia with a healthy dose of adult freedom, right in my backyard. I’m also working on some exciting partnerships with other values-aligned travel companies.

The coolest part about what I do is that I’m not just selling trips—I’m selling permission. Permission to prioritize experiences over things, to step out of your comfort zone, to invest in yourself, and to believe that you deserve to see the world in all its messy, beautiful glory.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, I’d say four key things shaped my journey, though honestly, I didn’t realize how crucial they were until I was knee-deep in running a business.

First, my early travel experiences. I started learning Spanish at 11, went to Venezuela at 12, and studied abroad in Spain twice before I was 25. That early exposure to other cultures didn’t just teach me languages—it wired my brain to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. When you’re navigating foreign countries as a young person, you develop this muscle for adapting quickly and finding beauty in chaos. For anyone starting out: travel young if you can, even if it’s just to the next state over. Be open to budget travel. If you can’t travel physically, immerse yourself in other cultures through language apps, international films, or volunteering. The goal is training your brain to see difference as exciting, not threatening.

Second, leadership experience from my 14 years in higher education. Managing large teams taught me how to juggle a million moving pieces while keeping people motivated and happy. Running group trips is basically project management on steroids—except your projects are human beings with feelings, dietary restrictions, and varying alcohol tolerances in foreign countries. My advice? Take on leadership roles wherever you are, even if it’s organizing your friend group’s weekend trips or leading a volunteer project. Leadership isn’t about being the loudest person in the room—it’s about anticipating problems before they happen and making everyone feel heard.

Third, I stumbled into having a natural gift for marketing. Writing, design, photography, video editing, tech stuff—I could wear all those hats because I genuinely enjoyed learning them. This saved me thousands in the early days when I couldn’t afford to outsource anything. But you don’t need to be naturally gifted at everything. Pick one or two areas and get really good at them. YouTube University is real, you can find just about anything on Tik Tok, and most marketing skills can be learned if you’re willing to put in the hours. Start creating content about whatever you’re passionate about, even if it’s terrible at first. The only way to get better is to start.

Finally, pure entrepreneurial stubbornness. When my business bank account almost hit zero multiple times in year one, when I cried in airport bathrooms because a trip wasn’t selling, when people told me I was reckless to quit my stable job to make money in travel—I kept going anyway. That’s not talent—that’s just being too stubborn to quit. You can’t teach grit, but you can practice it. Start small projects and finish them. Build your tolerance for discomfort. Learn to see failure as data, not a verdict on your worth as a human.

The reality of entrepreneurship is that most people give up right before things get good. If you can outlast your own doubt, you’re already ahead of 90% of your competition.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

For my podcast “Type 2 Travel,” I’m hunting for guests who have genuinely transformative travel stories to share—the real, messy, human stories about how travel changed someone’s life trajectory or how their journey strayed from the norm. I’m also open to being a guest on other podcasts where I can share authentic insights about solo female travel, entrepreneurship, or building community through shared experiences.

Brand partnerships interest me, but only with companies that align with our values of authentic, responsible travel. I’m not going to promote all inclusives or cruise lines that destroy coral reefs. But I’m always open to chatting with ethical travel gear companies, local artisans from our destinations, or businesses that genuinely make travel better and more responsible. My audience trusts my recommendations because I only promote things I actually use and believe in.

Tourism boards and tour operators who want to showcase their destinations authentically—not through the typical “come visit our pristine beaches” marketing—are exactly who I want to work with. If you’re a destination that’s working to combat overtourism, support local communities, or offer genuine cultural immersion opportunities, I want to help tell that story. I’m particularly interested in lesser-known destinations that deserve more recognition.

Guest bloggers who can contribute valuable, non-generic content to our website are always welcome. Think practical advice with personality, cultural insights from locals, or first-person accounts of transformative travel experiences.

The easiest way to connect is through Instagram at @lolawhiskey or to email me directly at [email protected].

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauraericson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lolawhiskey/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelauraericson
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thelauraericson/
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/thelauraericson