Do you love exploring new places? Meeting new people? Sharing your knowledge with others? If the answer is yes, you will be happy to know that you can actually make money doing all these things. How? Stefani told us all about her life as a local tour guide in Stockholm. Check this out!
Stefani Novakovic from Croatia, works as a local tour guide in Sweden.
Can you describe a regular day as a local guide?
It’s very interesting actually because you never know what’s your day is going to look like. So, it can be a positive thing but as well a challenge for people who are not good with a lot of flexibility. One day I can wake up and have a full day booked – usually, I don’t start so early, from 9 am for example – and the tour takes from 3 hours up to 8 hours. Some people want to see how it is to be a local for a whole day. “Where does he go? What does he do?” And there is also the food, restaurants, and sightseeing of course, or the subway art tour… so it can be a mix of different activities.
How do you create your tours?
In my experience, I’ve discovered that not all people like everything. Sometimes they can think that some places are too touristy or a bit of a clichê, so I like to create my tours in my own way. I always talk to people before. “What are you interested in? What is your regular type of traveling? Do you prefer fancier things? Or more hipster places?” So, I get to know them, then I create personalized tours.
What are the main perks and challenges?
Definitely, the biggest perk is that it is a flexible job. So, I don’t have to work 8h/day, I don’t have to work every day as well. I can have my weekends booked or not, so it really depends. The best part is that you really can create your own schedule as well as you can create what you want to do. There are so many different apps that provide different kinds of things. For instance, my idea is that I want to be occupied as a guide most of my day and my week, so I try to spread myself through different apps to see how many hours I can get.
But this can also be a challenge if you know “okay, this month I need to get this amount of money”. So, if you really have some demands regarding finances then maybe it is a bit difficult. Especially in the beginning, when you are just forming yourself as a freelancer. I also tell people that you need to know your own personality and that can be a challenge as well because we like to think we can do everything but not everything is for everyone.
How does Triple app work?
When you sign up on Triple, you provide your phone number and email. So when a booking happens you get a notification on your mobile phone and on your email. Usually, you get booked in advance, so you know in a couple of days or even months in advance. So, for example, I already have bookings for January and June because a lot of people make their travel planning in advance. Still, if you get a booking for example, for tomorrow, which also happens, you get a booking for a day, a time, a person (or persons), and then you can decide on a place. I usually suggest a place that is very central, but sometimes I also go pick up the guests at their accommodation. So, when you see booking notifications, you can accept or you can decline if you don’t have time. Once you accept the booking you will get paid right away. Only then the travelers can see your information, ask them about their preferences, where you will meet, what they would like to do. And that’s it. It is really simple.
Do you have any story to share?
But there are so many! When I go out to work, my boyfriend just thinks I am going to spend time with my friends because at the end of the tour I really become friends with most of the people – you just click! So, that’s the idea, that you have a local friend, not a professional person who comes in a tie and everything is very strict. I think, in the end, it’s just about making friends. They add you on Facebook, they decide to maybe visit you, so when I travel around I always contact them, we go for a coffee, so that’s the most beautiful thing I think.
What does Triple mean to you as an expat?
If you are an expat in Sweden you came either for a job or for love. But I think I came for both. My life partner got a job here. It’s an adventure! Like for many other expats, it is a challenge as well, because I didn’t get a job before coming to the country. Triple was one of the first thing that was very easy for me, so I didn’t need to have all the paperwork, all the troubles. I think it is frustrating sometimes – in whatever country you are a newcomer, it can be difficult. But I like Sweden and I would like to stay. Maybe not forever but for a couple of more years!
Connect with Stefani on Triple, Instagram, and LinkdedIn.
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