About
Aly Smalls is not a typical travel influencer. In a digital landscape saturated with aspirational content, the Canadian creator has built a strong media brand, “Like Where You’re Going,” not on fleeting aesthetics, but on a foundation of rigorous, real-world-tested practicality. With a YouTube channel that has attracted over 203,000 subscribers and amassed more than 29 million views, Smalls has carved out a defensible niche by solving one of modern travel’s most persistent pain points: how to navigate the world efficiently with only a carry-on bag. The secret to her success, however, lies far from the camera. It’s rooted in a decade-long career as a public sector Tourism Development Officer, a professional background she has expertly leveraged to build a multi-platform business that now sells out high-ticket international tours, cementing her transition from a content creator to a full-fledged travel business operator.
Aly Smalls: History and Growth
Long before her YouTube channel was created on February 5, 2014, Aly Smalls was deeply embedded in the mechanics of the travel industry. Her authority is not self-proclaimed; it is earned, backed by a degree in tourism from the University of Alberta and, more significantly, over ten years of professional experience as a Tourism Development Officer for a government agency. Her role was not in marketing or promotion but in the foundational architecture of the industry, involving “long term strategic planning, policy, [and] land-use planning.” This experience gave her a systemic understanding of tourism that few creators possess.
The blog, “Like Where You’re Going,” was born from a desire to bridge her professional life with her personal passion. As Smalls noted, her government job didn’t allow for “the fun stuff, like trip planning and story telling.” The blog became the vehicle to “marry my real job (that pays the bills) and my adventure-seeking spirit.” Based in Alberta, Canada, her content is authentically grounded in her home region, with a focus on western Canada and the Rockies. She frequently features her husband, Chris, and their dog, Miley, which humanizes her meticulous planning and reinforces the brand’s focus on practical travel for real people. The pivotal shift occurred in 2022 when she transitioned to a full-time content creator, scaling her established expertise into a dedicated business venture.
Aly Smalls: Content and Style
The content architecture of “Like Where You’re Going” is a strong example in disciplined niche domination. Smalls focuses relentlessly on the practicalities of carry-on-only travel, building a library of solutions for her audience. Her style is that of a trusted, expert guide, prioritizing substance over spectacle and positioning herself as a “real person” creating content for “real people with real budgets.”
Her content is organized into distinct pillars. The cornerstone is carry-on packing optimization, where she has developed specific, branded methodologies like the “54321 Method” for capsule wardrobes and the “Jenga Packing Method” for maximizing space. This is supported by exhaustive travel gear reviews, where she puts luggage from brands like Monos, Antler, Bric’s, Travelpro, and BEIS through real-world tests, including fitting them into the sizers of 69 different airlines. A third pillar consists of high-performing “travel hack” videos—with titles like “8 Little Known Travel Hacks for Flying Carry-on Only” (1.6 million views)—that serve as powerful top-of-funnel assets to attract a wide audience. Finally, she leverages her professional background to produce detailed itineraries and destination guides that promise “hidden gems” and experiences “off the beaten path,” directly appealing to travelers weary of overtourism.
How Aly Smalls Makes Money
Aly Smalls operates a well-organized, multi-stream business that extends far beyond YouTube ad revenue. Her blog, likewhereyouregoing.com, serves as the central hub for a carefully integrated monetization engine.
The foundational layer is a robust affiliate marketing network. Video descriptions and blog posts are populated with links to a vast array of products and services. This includes high-value luggage, travel apparel from partners like Unbound Merino, and tech accessories, managed through platforms like Amazon Associates, go.shopmy.us, and tidd.ly. She also earns commissions from travel services, directing her audience to hotel booking sites like Plannin.com, tour marketplaces such as Viator, and flight deal services like Daily Drop.
The most significant evolution of her business is the move into high-margin experiential products: hosted group tours. Demonstrating the deep trust of her community, Smalls has successfully launched and sold out two international trips for 2026. The first, an 8-day trip to Ireland from April 13-20 in partnership with boutique operator Atomic Trips, features a stay in a 12th-century castle. The second, a tour of Portugal from April 26-May 4 organized with the major operator EF Go Ahead Tours, offered 23 spots and required a $99 deposit. The fact that both trips are fully sold out, with waitlists active, is the ultimate validation of her brand’s authority.
Further demonstrating a strategic business mindset, Smalls also operates a secondary, unrelated digital asset: the website pottedpixie.com. This blog, focused on houseplant care and run by an individual named “Aly” who calls herself a “crazy plant mom,” indicates a capacity for building and monetizing niche websites beyond the travel sector, representing either a savvy business diversification or a successful early experiment in content creation. As a supplemental stream, she also maintains a “Buy Me a Coffee” page for direct audience support.
Aly Smalls's Collaborations
Smalls’ success is amplified by a network of carefully chosen strategic partners. Her foray into hosted travel is defined by a dual-partner strategy that is both clever and risk-averse. By working with Atomic Trips, a boutique firm specializing in creator-led experiences, she ensured a high-touch, premium launch for her tour brand. Simultaneously, partnering with the global powerhouse EF Go Ahead Tours establishes a clear pathway for scaling this business vertical.
Her product relationships with brands like Nomad Lane, makers of the popular Bento Bag, and Unbound Merino function as deep endorsements. These brands’ products directly align with and enable the carry-on philosophy she preaches, creating a symbiotic relationship that enhances her credibility while driving sales. Within the creator community, she has shown a collaborative spirit, openly promoting the “Her Packing List” YouTube channel and blog in a video about packing methods, signaling an understanding of building authority within a niche through mutual support.
Aly Smalls: Public Reception
The brand has cultivated an overwhelmingly positive public reception by focusing on utility and trust. Rather than facing controversies, Smalls has engineered a community that views her as an indispensable resource. She achieves this through direct and consistent engagement. She offers high-value lead magnets, like a “5-minute packing audit” and “The Ultimate Carry-On Packing Checklist,” through her aly-smalls.kit.com hub to build a direct email list. This channel is then used for exclusive announcements, such as early-bird access to her group trips, creating a sense of an insider community. Furthermore, she hosts live Q&A sessions on YouTube, allowing followers to “Ask Me Anything” and receive direct, expert answers, which deepens the para-social relationship and solidifies her status as an accessible authority figure. The lack of public controversy is, in itself, a proof to a carefully managed brand that consistently delivers on its promises.
Aly Smalls Today
Aly Smalls represents a new archetype of digital entrepreneur: the professional-turned-creator. By building her brand “Like Where You’re Going” on a bedrock of verifiable, decade-long industry experience, she has cultivated a level of audience trust that is nearly impossible to replicate. Her content is not just inspiration; it is a service. This trust is the currency she has converted into a resilient, diversified business, evidenced most powerfully by the sold-out status of her premium group tours. Having successfully transitioned from government policy planner to the CEO of a multi-faceted travel media and services company, Aly Smalls has proven that in the modern creator economy, the most valuable asset is not just a point of view, but demonstrable expertise.