Welcome to our Champion the Creators interview series with influencers of all niches to highlight their journeys, share their insights and inspire! Today we are talking all about influencing with Sarah, a travel content creator.
Meet Sarah Funk, a travel and leisure content creator and business owner. Sarah is a multi-platform content creator and business owner who has carved out a niche for herself in the travel industry. With her YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok, she has become a go-to source for travel tips and insights, particularly for New York City, where she lives with her husband and child — with another on the way. We chatted about how she began her goals, her travel and content production businesses, and her advice for aspiring creators.
Sarah, 35, began her journey in 2015. After experimenting with blogging, she decided to quit her job and travel the world for a year, creating content along the way.
“I just knew that a traditional office job wasn’t the path for me,” she said. “And I loved creating content. I love making video content.”
When she returned to New York City, she noticed a need for more quality information on YouTube for visitors to the city. She saw this as an opportunity and created a channel dedicated to providing visitors with the information they need for the best trip possible.
“At the time, the only people making content about New York City were people who were on vacation there. And the advice being shared wasn’t exactly what I considered the best advice as someone who lived there,” she said. “It’s just about always looking for opportunities and seeing where there’s a need in the market and filling that. And that’s kind of how I started with seeing a need for real content about New York City when you’re traveling there.”
After six months of consistent posting, her channel blew up, changing her life.
Today, Sarah runs multiple businesses, including Funky Experiences, a tour company in New York City, and Funk & Co Creatives, a production company. She also continues to create content under her influencer brand, Sarah Funky.
Managing multiple businesses is no easy feat, but Sarah attributes her success to hiring people to support her. This allows her to focus on the bigger picture aspects of her work.
“At a certain point, you just can’t do it all. So, you need to understand your strengths and, more importantly, your weaknesses and hire people to support that. Then, you essentially run those businesses while I oversee and do more strategic planning aspects of them. And that’s how it’s done.”
Sarah believes in quality over quantity when creating content. She has important advice for aspiring creators:
“The first piece of advice is don’t just talk about doing it, just do it,” Sarah said. “There’s never a right time. It’s always going to feel like you’re not ready, so just do it. Nothing is ever going to be perfect. You just need to put it out and try it and see how it performs.”
She added, “Get started, post consistently with quality content, and monetize as soon as you can.”
@sarahfunkyy Here is why our subway is THE BEST 😂 #mta #subway #nyc #comedy
♬ original sound - sarahfunky
She stays on top of trends on social media and in travel to create the highest-quality content.
“Today people really look not necessarily toward long-form all the time when they’re traveling, but they really want that quick information and short-form really delivers that,” she said. “So what we’ve been doing is consolidating those concepts that we had in long-form into short-form and then using trends to make them more appealing and fun.”
She credits her growth to high-quality content, practice, and the willingness to step outside of her comfort zone, especially when it comes to skills like on-camera speaking.
“Growth happens at the edge of your comfort zone. So when you feel uncomfortable, when you feel nervous, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve never done this before.’ That’s good because it means you’re growing,” she said.
As for her future goals, Sarah plans to launch another food tour by the end of the year for her tour company and continue to expand her production company. She also hopes to work with more local businesses across the U.S.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Marette Flora is IZEA’s Content Manager. She writes and edits content about influencer marketing and all the latest #TeamIZEA happenings. When she is not at work, she can be found writing her personal blog, crafting personalized gifts or exploring Chicago where she lives with her husband, two daughters, dog and plants.
