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How Do I Find My Travel Industry Mentor?

Mar 06, 2023
Podcasts  Training and Education  Travel Agents  
How Do I Find My Travel Industry Mentor?
Credit: 2023 Jenn Martins/Tori Halpin

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Julie Patterson, the founder of Wanderfully Planned, attributes a lot of her success in the travel industry to her mentor, Whitney Shindelar, the owner and founder of Undiscovered Sunsets and the host of the Masters in Travel podcast.

But asking someone to be your mentor is asking them to commit time and effort that could otherwise be used developing their own business. In short, it’s a big ask, but the rewards can be even bigger on both sides.

In this episode of Trade Secrets, learn about how Patterson and Shindelar have made the mentor-mentee relationship work for both of them in many positive ways, and get their advice on finding a mentor, building community in a digital-first world and more.

This episode is sponsored by G Adventures.

Theme song:
Sock Hop by Kevin MacLeod (License)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Julie Patterson of Wanderfully Planned (left) and Whitney Shindelar of Undiscovered Sunsets (
Julie Patterson of Wanderfully Planned (left) and Whitney Shindelar of Undiscovered Sunsets (
Credit: 2023 Jenn Martins

Resources Mentioned in This Episode and Related Reading

Whitney Shindelar
- @Undiscoveredsunsets on Instagram
- @MastersinTravel on Instagram
- Masters in Travel podcast
- Masters in Travel Community + Think Tank
- Masters in Travel Community (free)

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Julie Patterson:
- @Wanderfullyplanned Instagram
- Wanderfully Fammed 

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About Your Hosts

Emma Weissmann is the Managing Editor of TravelAge West, a print and online magazine for travel advisors based in the Western U.S. She is also the host of the Humans of Travel podcast, where she interviews notable individuals in the travel industry about their lives — the highs and lows that make them human.

Jamie Biesiada is a Senior Editor with Travel Weekly. She is an award-winning journalist, including being named the American Society of Travel Advisors’ 2019 Travel Journalist of the Year. Her roots are in community journalism, where she was the editor of several local newspapers and a regional entertainment magazine. 

About the Show

Trade Secrets, a podcast from the editors of Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, is where travel advisors ask — and answer — questions. On each podcast, our editors will ask a veteran travel industry insider to join them and field listeners’ questions. Topics will range from business advice to industry trends, history and more — as long as it’s travel-related, we want to address it! Find Trade Secrets wherever you get your podcasts, or at www.travelagewest.com/podcasts/trade-secrets.

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