Maximum Beth: The Empowering Entrepreneur Embodies Wonder, Wanderlust, and Wanderful Adventures

I am inspired by all that Beth Santos has created. It was an honor to speak to her for my podcast after meeting her in NYC at the Travel and Adventure Show where we were both speakers. Her LinkedIn says that she is disrupting travel for women but I believe she is changing the world for women! You can watch our interview on YouTube, read the transcript below or listen on your favorite podcast platform. Wanderful‘s book club will discuss my new book, BRAVE-ish, on Dec 16, 2023. I hope you will join us and I cannot wait to read her new book, Wander Woman, coming on March 5, 2024. Learn more below about Wanderful, Wanderfest and see you in Utah for Women in Travel Summit in April 12-14 2024.

Another title for this interview was “Maximum Beth: Disrupting Travel for Women, Changing the Wander World Worldwide – A Community Builder’s Journey” If you are traveling in Boston, make sure to eat at her Ula Cafe. Thank you to Beth Santos for making time to share her incredible journey!

Listen or watch our interview on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or your favorite podcast platform

TRANSCRIPT from our interview below: (filmed Sept 28, 2023) Lisa Niver: This is Lisa Niver and I am the author of Brave-ish, One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless after Fifty. I am so beyond thrilled and excited to be here today with Beth Santos. Hello Beth. Welcome. Thank you for being here. Beth Santos: Hi. Thanks so much for having me.

Lisa Niver: Oh my goodness. It is. I’ve been researching you and it’s hard to sum you up because you are a force of nature. I appreciate that your social media is called Maximum Beth, because I think you are constantly at maximum capacity, what you’ve accomplished for women. I know you focus on women in travel, but I think that you are really changing women in business and women entrepreneurship for everyone, so thank you. Beth Santos: Aw, I really appreciate that. That’s really sweet. Maximum Beth is what they called me in college, so the name stuck and I like to keep busy. Lisa Niver: One of the things I noticed since you brought up college, let’s start there, is that you have a lot of places that you worked in conjunction. Being in an acapella group is a very specific kind of music where everyone’s piece makes a big difference. You really have to bring everyone along or it doesn’t work.

Beth Santos: Absolutely. That’s an interesting insight. I also did crew in college, which is very similar to that. Everyone works as a team. Everyone has to put in their unique part, and you make something. That’s how I’ve always viewed leadership. Honestly, in running a business, you are salesperson, number one. When I say sales, it doesn’t always mean financial. It also means you have to sell this idea to every single person that works with you, who collaborates with you. Your team has to believe at least close to as passionately as you do about the work that you’re doing. Otherwise, you’re not going to get as far as you want to go. Lisa Niver: I did wonder about that. How did you get involved in crew? It’s a tough sport. 4:30 AM workouts. Beth Santos: It’s funny. My husband now is just like, really? You were an athlete. My current hardcore workout is pulling weeds in my garden. But no, I loved it. I actually did it in high school first. I grew up in coastal New Hampshire and so you would do any kind of workout if you saw the view that I went out with. We would do afternoon workouts when we were kids. It’s just something that I fell in love with. When I went to college, I thought I’m going to keep this going. 4:30 AM Yes, it’s pretty rough. But also there’s a lot of comradery in it, to all be together and to see the sunrise. It was a really magical time in my life. I don’t know if I could do it now, but I loved doing it then. Lisa Niver: I’ve read a lot of research about women CEOs that make a big impact. Most of them come from an athletic team background and understand how to bring people together and what coaching is required. Beth Santos: Yes. I believe that. Absolutely. Lisa Niver: Lisa Niver: You’ve brought together a hundred million women with Wanderful. That is incredible. READ THE FULL INTERVIEW on We Said Go Travel