In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, our host Austin Willman sits down with Mar Pages, Co-founder of Solo Female Travelers, to unpack how she and her partner scaled a global community from under 20,000 members to nearly 500,000 women worldwide—while staying purpose-driven and profitable.

Mar shares her journey from a 20-year career in strategy consulting and Google to building a community-led travel company focused on social impact. You’ll learn how listening to your audience daily can replace expensive market research, why emotional connection drives referrals better than systems, and how value-based pricing supports long-term sustainability.

This conversation dives deep into:

- Turning online communities into sustainable businesses

- Using data and surveys to validate new offers

- Creating referral growth through authentic customer experience

- Balancing premium pricing with mission-driven impact

- Building remote teams aligned around shared values

- Preparing your business for economic uncertainty and cash-flow risk

If you’re a founder, marketer, or agency owner looking to grow through community, trust, and word-of-mouth, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply immediately.

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In this episode, we discuss:

00:00 - 01:00: Introduction

01:00 - 03:00: What Solo Female Travelers is about

03:00 - 06:00: From corporate career to travel founder

06:00 - 08:30: Taking over the community in 2019

08:30 - 11:00: How COVID accelerated community growth

11:00 - 13:30: Turning a free community into a business

13:30 - 16:00: Building tours with real social impact

16:00 - 18:30: Creating loyal customers and advocates

18:30 - 21:00: Why word of mouth works better than ads

21:00 - 23:30: Hiring a remote team with shared values

23:30 - 26:00: Referral and ambassador programs explained

26:00 - 28:30: Using data to guide business decisions

28:30 - 31:30: Pricing, value, and luxury positioning

31:30 - 34:00: Staying intentionally small and focused

34:00 - 36:30: Advice for founders in uncertain times

36:30 - 37:40: Final thoughts

 Connect with Mar Pages

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/marpages/

 https://tours.solofemaletravelers.club/

 FOLLOW US

Website: https://www.digitalwebsolutions.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/digiwebsol

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dws_global

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digital-web-solutions./