So many tour operators out there, and then you decide to strike out on your own. Please describe your reasons.

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, Svetlana, it's scary! The market is saturated, I have never been a tour operator before, and the world economy is shaky at best. But, I have always been into slow, niche travel. And I wanted to offer the Icelandic market something that focused on a niche audience for their niche interests. Something tailored and thoughtful.

Lots of cookie cutter, big bus tour operators out there, and even lots of niche single experience operators out there, but not a lot of operators out there focusing on one demographic and doubling down.

This year, I dealt with long-COVID induced tachycardia and heart arrhythmia along mental fog and exhaustion, COVID again and related long-term sinus infection, and a hospital stint for bowel obstruction. This affected everything and caused me to reprioritize life. It also has me reevaluating what true empathy culture in the workplace should be. But basically - it's now or never to follow my dreams, is how it all felt, and was the impetus to launch now. And I wanted something that filled my cup, not took from it.

Please talk about Sidequest: Iceland and what it is. What makes it unique? What steps did you take to differentiate yourself from the rest?

Sidequest: Iceland is a private tour and event operator that caters to people's special interests. For an Icelandic audience, think PINK Iceland, but for nerds. Yes, nerds!

Geek culture is becoming mainstream, and Iceland has so many amazing things that can excite and entice this demographic: active science, cool history, pop culture mecca, fantastical landscapes. And studies show this is a demographic that has extra cash to splash and is passionate about spending it on their passions.

This is probably one of the first multi-faceted tour and event operators in the world catering to a modern nerd demographic. In our value propositions, in our sales pitches, in our visual content, we're not shying away from who our target market is. Literally: "geek out in Iceland!"

What was your process for creating Sidequest: Iceland. Are brand assets important when you're setting out? How do you plan to use them?

What a process, talk about getting stuck in your own head sometimes, paralyzed by fear of making the wrong decision. When I set out to create the company and brand it, I had two ideas for directions to go: one was lean wholly into the Iceland theme or wholly lean into the geek theme. I had two company names that I ran through market testing with all sorts of friends and neighborhood nerds (yes, literally standing in my local bakery asking strangers what they thought).

I also worked through a list of unique value propositions and taglines, to see which resonated the most with people. Unsurprisingly, there were clear divisions between Icelandic respondents and non-Icelandic respondents, as well self-described nerd respondents and non-nerd respondents, but also respondents who work in the travel industry and respondents who did not. At the end of the day, the clear winners for name, slogan, and value props emerged as those that leaned authentically into geekiness. And anyone who knows me, knows that my online persona is wholly authentic. So this just felt right.

The other thing I did, though, was take the logo I had designed for the Icelandic company name, which was making an easy to say English title from "Ævintýri Iceland." This logo was the "æ" letter with arrows indicating going off on adventures or side quests. Across the board, this logo captured everybody's attention and choosing it to still represent Sidequest: Iceland means I get to keep my much-desired Iceland roots still a part of the story.

And of course, these taglines and value props are already being slapped onto visual assets and website headlines. I'll make content about the logo as we progress. I can't wait to make some stickers and business cards with these cute, colorful logos and put them everywhere.

How did you find your brand strategy and tone of voice? Do you have values you live and work by?

My own personal values have always centered around adventure, authenticity, and empathy, so I wanted to create a company that leaned into those as well.

And I adore Iceland, even if I am going through the bureaucratic nightmares of applying for citizenship, starting a company, owning a home, and going on unemployment as a foreigner (all this year!), and I wanted a company that was going to allow people, tourists and locals alike, to dive deep into what makes Iceland special: the science, culture, and history here, the cozy cabin culture and lesser visited sites, too.

And I am an elder millennial, I am absolutely going to bring a bit of millennial online pizzazz to it all, because what's uncool is cool again. The memes, the special interests, etc.; maybe we will be the first Icelandic company back on the resurrected Vine. Can you tell I spend way too much time online?

So, again, brand and tone of voice basically come straight from all this -Jessý in company form!

How do you market yourself and attract clients? How do you establish expertise and earn a name before people start booking with you? What has worked for you, and what advice can you give to other solopreneurs?

I will be honest, I don't think I would have had the guts to start this venture if I hadn't been doing the leg work to establish international credibility and presence here in Iceland as well as work tirelessly to build a network. So, that's not just the eight years I have been in Iceland, but the several in Europe at business school in the entrepreneurship program there and before that in a huge international network of geoscientists for the decade I worked playing with rocks. And even then, I still don't think I did enough.

The two biggest networks where I have worked to establish expertise in the sciences (the first tours we will launch) and the travel industry are from my moderation and group expert position in Lava Show's Iceland Geology Facebook group. We have grown that group to almost 170K now in four years, so that's 170K vetted, interested in people in Iceland's volcanoes and geologic landscapes. And in that group, we have some great indie tour operators who have already used me for private tours.

I also spent several years leading marketing at a travel tech company here, and I was able to meet some of the most amazing people while there. Just getting their eyes onto my founder posts have been instrumental in building confidence and scope.

But of course, that's not enough. It's never enough. How am I going to get in front of new travelers and pitch this exciting new company to them? You have to cultivate the right mix of sales channels, and find where your audience is spending its time.

Social is still a huge avenue, from fantasy aspirational TikTok videos to building a presence on Reddit to Instagram ads. Linking up with OTAs and getting listed on a variety of marketplaces that sell tours. And come launch date, I will be speaking to every single person I have ever met across the globe to remind them to tell their friends.

When resources are limited, what do you invest your time and money in most?

Such a good question, because let's be real: I am cash strapped. The struggle is real. First and foremost, I am focusing on getting the right tools in place to be able to start selling on day one across a multitude of channels: website, socials, OTAs, and the right tech stack will be able to help me tie a lot of that together seamlessly.

Currently, I am using Bókun to both build my website, organize and build my tour products, and get my FinTech linked optimally. I am also using Canva extensively for help in building my videos, collateral, etc. So paying for those tools early is key. And of course, hiring a great accountant to help me correctly, legally set this all up, because this is not my expertise, is instrumental.

It is best to identify your weaknesses and hire experts that will move the needle substantially in those areas. Don't waste your time learning something that you can pay someone who will do it faster and better.

You've had a few plot twists in your career (care to name a couple?), so what's next for you and Sidequest: Iceland?

Haha, you remembered the side quests my professional life has taken. Astrophysics researcher, geologist, student, digital nomad, chief of staff, marketing leader...now founder.

I don't think when I was starting out as a young professional in a Fortune 500 company in Texas, avoiding tarantula stampedes near the Mexican border, that I would be working in Iraq, managing global projects in Singapore, living on houseboat on the Seine during my MBA, to buying a one-way ticket on a whim to Iceland. Professionally, I made a lot of sacrifices to make this Iceland dream a reality.

I am hoping Sidequest is my reward for perseverance, patience, and buying bananas (long story). I can't wait to grow this company to a point where I can really work on expanding its mission to truly touch all aspects of nerdy hobbies and passions.

How are you using AI tools (and what tools specifically)? If you are using them, of course.

I do a lot of early brainstorming with ChatGPT, and I have to be careful not to fall into the AI echo chamber. So I do a lot of prompts like, "okay, now imagine you are my biggest hater, what would you say to this?" or "give me feedback as three internet trolls" or "if this was Shark Tank or Dragon's Den, what a panel of experts on those show tell me after reading this?"

I also use it to write some rough drafts of content I am building out now, but I almost always expand and edit on my own. And yes, those LinkedIn posts of mine are all me. I also have been using Canva and Google AI Labs to build out videos, which has been fun to learn.

Finally, as a foreign specialist in Iceland and a woman, can you talk about some tough lessons and maybe triumphs you've experienced in Iceland? How can we all do better?

I know for a fact that I default to over-explaining or bringing up my professional qualifications, as a trauma response to years of being overlooked and undervalued as a woman in STEM and an immigrant woman (not just here).

I am sure to some people that it comes across as bragging, as opposed to having empathy for an insecurity or understanding that establishing credibility in public forums is almost de rigueur for women in business and the sciences in a way a man is never expected or needed to. Or, dare I say, in a way a non-Icelandic woman would need to as well, to some extent.