Where I’m coming from

I built I Heart Reykjavík the travel business using stolen bandwidth from my dad, SEO, social media and time. I never spent any money on traditional advertising although there did come a time where my dad’s bandwidth wasn’t enough and I needed to invest in the foundations of the business.

I never had to borrow money or rely on investors. I bootstrapped and gradually grew. I’ve never been particularly outspoken about the financial side of my business but in my first year, I had a million-dollar turnover. The year after that, it was two million. It doesn’t seem like a lot maybe, in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a feat for someone with little formal education and no previous experience in running a business.

The key to my success was my knowledge and familiarity with search engine optimization, my understanding of all sides of marketing and virtually non-existent overhead. I’m smart and resourceful but I was also lucky to get featured in some very important traditional media (such as the New York Times Sunday travel section) at a pivotal time.

I made some bad decisions along the way, mainly due to my lack of experience. It never derailed the company but if I had known then what I know now, I would have done things differently. What was my saving grace is that I have good instincts and I never wavered when it came to my vision.

In the end, the mistakes I made turned out to be a blessing in disguise as they gave me a chance to walk away from the business when I did without devastating my personal finances and without screwing anyone over. Not our customers nor our business partners. That’s incredibly important to me and something I’m very proud of.