Meet Travel Massive Toronto’s Sharon Mendelaoui

We’re introducing you to Sharon Mendelaoui, travel writer, photographer, creative designer and one of Travel Massive Toronto‘s awesome chapter leaders.

Sharon is the creator and publisher of www.dreamtravelmagazine.com. She joined the Toronto Travel Massive team in 2015 assisting with events, the Travel Massive Blog and Toronto Facebook page. Her goal is to continue to promote the Toronto community through our social media channels.

How did you first get involved with Travel Massive?

I first discovered the Toronto Travel Massive community leading up to the TBEX conference. I was a very new blogger and didn’t really know anything about the business of blogging until I attended the conference. We had an event with Expedia at the conference and I met so many amazing Toronto bloggers at that event. The next month I made sure to attend again and I’ve been hooked ever since.

What motivates you to be part of Travel Massive?

I have made so many friends from going to events each month. The first time I went I was all alone and I walked into a bar with over 300 travel bloggers and I was so afraid. These are people who I am still really good friends with today!

Travel Massive also gives me many opportunities to meet brands and tourism boards who want to work with travel bloggers. I have made some valuable business contacts and relationships thanks to attending these events.

For me it is by far the best networking group for travel bloggers around and networking is an important part of blogging!

What makes your city a great place for Travel Massive meet-ups?

Toronto is an exciting city, but it is surrounded by so many great cities that make up the Greater Toronto Area. It is amazing how far some of our community members travel to be involved, and to me that just highlights what a hub Toronto is.

Do you do anything unique at your meet-ups?

One thing I love about our events is the open-mic time we have where we encourage our community to go up and share what they are doing, introduce themselves very quickly. It’s a great way to share exciting news, promote your start-up or announce a new venture you are working on. 

How has Travel Massive helped you professionally?

I have been very fortunate to work with many brands, tourism organizations and PR representatives that I have met at Travel Massive. I have attended FAM trips, luncheons and other media events all from the connections I have made for coming to events each month.

Do you have a past event that was your favourite?

Oh wow what a hard question. We have had some great events at amazing restaurants and venues in the city. I loved our instagram scavenger hunt with Ontario Travel held during the Pan Am games here in Toronto. We all had a lot of fun exploring the Ontario Adventure Zone and snapping shots. Our anniversary at the Royal Ontario Museum was also very special. It is not every day you get to network amongst the Dinosaurs and get an exclusive peak at their newest exhibit.

What is your best advice to a newcomer who wants to attend a Travel Massive event for the first time?

Don’t be afraid! It is really intimidating to walk into a room full of people especially when they all seem to know one another and are hugging and laughing together. Walk up to the bar start talking with people, or approach the organizers and introduce yourselves. Heck if you are really brave then go to the open mic and introduce yourself as a new blogger. We love having you join us.

Keep coming back! Networking takes time, you have to build relationships with people. The more events you attend the more people will get to know you and before you know it – you will be the regular meeting the new people.

Leader of the pack is a monthly series that profiles organizers from Travel Massive meet-ups around the world. You can follow Sharon on Travel Massive, Facebook and Twitter.