Meet Lauren Rich-Lama
Meet Lauren Rich-Lama
Founding Editor & Luxury Travel Advisor of Under the Palm
Editors note: I met Lauren in NYC in 2015 during my first entrepreneurial venture. I launched a clothing brand without any marketing or PR experience and somehow managed to scale it to 6-figures in 16 months. Lauren contributed to that growth with her PR agency, helping me get impacts on fashion websites and blogs. We both also went to the same college (FIT) and have had a few different acts as founders. Learn about Lauren’s latest, Under the Palm — an online magazine and luxury travel agency for escapists.
Dive in ⤵️
Hustle Global (HG): Where are you originally from? Where are you currently located and running your business from?
Lauren Rich-Lama (LRL): Originally from the glorious ‘burbs of Maryland, spent 15 years having a love affair with New York City, now transplanted to the tropics of Mexico (Riviera Maya), my current home and business base.
HG: Tell me about your business. What’s your mission? Who’s your ideal customer?
LRL: As Founding Editor & Luxury Travel Advisor of Under the Palm, I run a twofold biz:
1) Part escapist editorial destination (a.k.a. online magazine) covering the best of palm-fringed travel, wellness, cuisine & style.
2) Part luxury travel agency (read: hooking up hotel stays & entire getaways) specializing in global destinations under the palm.
My ideal readers and clients can be described as unapologetic resort addicts, island hoppers, beach babes, cabana connoisseurs, or otherwise lovers of sunkissed leisure — who would rather be under the palm, naturally. In a more direct sense, the content I publish and my travel advising services are targeted toward luxury-minded American travelers and vacationers, largely Gen Y/X, seeking intel on all things lush, balmy, and breezy in the States and beyond.
HG: What’s your day-to-day like as a business owner?
LRL: Not as exciting as my Instagram account makes it look, ha. Most days I’m behind the laptop answering emails and grinding out content, whether that’s written content for UnderthePalmTravel.com or editing social content for IG. Of course, I need to get content somewhere, so some days, I might be traversing the region (Riviera Maya & surrounds) to check out a new resort, beach club, or excursion. On other days, I may be traveling to a new destination for anywhere from a few days to a full month, always working on the go.
HG: What do you wish you had known before starting your business?
LRL: To not be afraid to niche.
HG: What has been your biggest obstacle so far? And what did it teach you?
LRL: Figuring out my content focus within the realm of travel. It took me half a year and three name changes (yes, three) to figure out my focus, niche down, and land on Under the Palm. Now that I’m here with a clear niche in escapist travel, I’m able to strengthen my expertise quicker, grow an engaged audience faster, and establish client confidence from the get-go. Plus, I’m able to manage my time so much more efficiently.
HG: What challenge(s) are you facing right now?
LRL: Good old-fashioned time management. It’s a constant balancing act between written content, social content, and clients.
HG: What has been your biggest win so far? And how did you celebrate?
LRL: Well, I’m only five months into Under the Palm so at this point, I’m going to say landing my first travel advising client back in the fall! I celebrated by working harder to get the 2nd one. ;)
HG: What has been your most successful marketing strategy? What were the results?
LRL: Posting 60-90 second “hotel tour” voiceover Reels on IG and TikTok. My fledgling TikTok account, especially with all 395+ followers, has brought 90% of my travel advising client leads.
HG: Name one book or resource that helped you the most with building your business. How did it help you?
LRL: Discovering FORA, my host travel agency, last fall was such a game changer. The resources and community they provide independent travel advisors like myself are immense and have helped me strengthen (and monetize) my travel business as a whole.
HG: How do you incorporate wellness and self-care into your daily routine to avoid burning out?
LRL: Ooh. This is a big one for me, as in a former life (my fashion PR life in NYC) I didn’t prioritize wellness or self-care and ultimately burnt out. Now, I’m pretty unapologetic about devoting 1-2 hours every day to the gym and meditation, and I have recently discovered the wonders of the sauna now that I live in a building that has one. I try to get in a 20 to 30-min sauna sesh at least a few times a week. So great for muscle recovery, stress reduction, and detoxification, not to mention my skin.
Q: What tools or technology do you use daily to improve workflows, operations, communication, etc. in your business?
LRL: As a one-woman shop (for the moment, anyway) business tools for me are less about communication and more about editing tools for content. In this respect, I’m a CapCut, Canva, and InStories girl.
HG: Are you currently using any AI tools in your business or personally? If so, which ones? What do you use them for? And how have they benefited you/your business?
LRL: I joke that the better my Spanish gets living in Mexico, the worse my English gets. (It’s funny because it’s true.) Not ideal for a writer, so I always have ChatGPT open while writing for synonyms, or sometimes just to confirm that the word or phrase I’m thinking of is, in fact, an actual word or phrase in English.
HG: What’s one thing you do every day to keep your business on track?
LRL: Review my weekly to-do list.
HG: How would you describe your working style in 3 words (or less)?
LRL: Strategic, adaptable, unconventional.
HG: What 3 tips would you give to aspiring and fellow entrepreneurs?
LRL:
Don’t be afraid to say no — to clients, friends, social invitations, etc. It’s OKAY to prioritize yourself, your time, and your sanity.
Isolation is real when you’re self-employed — literally and figuratively. Not everyone gets it, which is why it’s so important to stay connected with other entrepreneurs who know exactly what you’re going through. Find your boss tribe. It makes all the difference.
Fail. Learn. Rise. In my opinion, you’re not truly an entrepreneur until you’re FAILING UP. Succeeding? Congrats. Falling down — sometimes repeatedly — and getting back up? Welcome to the inner circle.
HG: Lastly, what do you love most about being an entrepreneur? And what would you change?
LRL: Ultimate freedom, flexibility, and accountability. The buck starts and stops with me and I’m here for it. Throughout all of the inevitable ups and downs, being able to be the architect of my own life is priceless.
I would change absolutely nothing.
About Lauren
Originally hailing from the glorious ‘burbs of Maryland, Lauren spent 15 years having a love affair with New York City before swapping the concrete jungle for the real jungle. Now, you can find her embracing all things luxuriant living — the good, the glamorous, and the ungodly flying bugs — in her home base of Mexico’s Riviera Maya.
But let’s rewind. A serial entrepreneur, Lauren has been proudly self-employed since earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising & Marketing Communications from the alma mater that will always have her heart, FIT. Past lives have seen her at the helm of an eponymous fashion PR & events agency for nearly a decade, moonlighting as a freelance writer and joining forces with her husband, Alberto, to run a successful wedding photography studio.
A self-described boss babe, slow traveler, and sun-avoidant SPF addict who doesn’t particularly like sand, heat, or humidity, Lauren often wonders how it is that she ended up in the tropics. Yet here she is, in a state of perpetual sweat radiance and uncontrollably voluminous hair.
Embracing her best beach life, she founded Under the Palm in 2023 as an editorial destination for fellow escapists seeking intel on all things lush, balm, and breezy. Going one step further, she now offers leveled-up hotel bookings and bespoke travel planning as a luxury travel advisor.
On any given day, you can find Lauren slathering on the sunscreen, mastering the art of Spanglish, and either plotting or recapping exotic adventures — probably while sipping carajillos by the pool.
🛜 Where to find Lauren & Under the Palm online: website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok