When Kate first stumbled across The Travel Franchise back in 2018 she was sceptical.
“I was hesitant at first. It sounded so great. Could it possibly be real? When we first spoke to Paul and Steve they told us what would happen, what was included and what we would do. It all sounded too good to be true to be honest.”
Almost six years later, Kate is here to resoundingly tell you: “Yes, it’s real!”
“It’s everything they promised – and more. The support is quite amazing.”
In the very first year she smashed our Money-Back Challenge. We’re the only travel franchise to offer this unique deal whereby, if you reach a set target of sales in your first year, we’ll refund you every penny of your franchise fee. Yes, you read that correctly. Your business could cost you next to nothing.
Although she’d started off her career working as a flight attendant, she’d spent the majority of her years bringing up her children living in Switzerland. So, although she was the one in the family who booked all the holidays, essentially she was completely new to the travel industry.
“I absolutely love talking to people about holidays. It doesn’t feel very ‘salesy’ because everybody loves talking about holidays. In that respect it’s quite easy and I love it. I love finding out where they want to go. And I love finding them amazing places.”
What’s more, Kate loves the flexibility this job gives her. Based in a small village just outside of Geneva, the time difference means that Kate has a head start each working day.
“I can have a couple of hours in the morning for me where I’ll do the dog walk, I’ll do yoga, I’ll do what I want to do. When I sit down at my office at 10, offices in the UK are just opening, so that works nicely for me. I generally work until six, although not every day. Sometimes I go off for a bike ride earlier. And then I have one afternoon off a week where I look after my grandson. And then at the weekends, unless there’s something specific that someone’s asked me to do, I don’t work.”
But, as Kate found, it’s not just about the day-to-day flexibility that this job offers that is amazing, it’s that fact that it’s her own business and it works around her own personal circumstances.
Sadly, due to the global pandemic and a family tragedy, Kate’s business has been a series of stops and starts since 2018.
After a full year off, in 2023 she reignited it again, starting off part time and now she’s back in full force.
“I am living proof that if something should happen and you need to take some time off it’s entirely possible. I did it twice and still I came back. And my business is going strong.”
Selling everything from package holidays to tailor-made honeymoons, one of Kate’s biggest bookings was for two people to the sun-kissed Caribbean island of St. Lucia. The price tag was just over £60,000. And recently she secured a booking of £30,000.
The easiest bookings are when clients come to Kate knowing what they want.
“I have clients who come to me having found a package deal asking if I can match it. This is the easiest money you’ll ever make because it’ll take you as little as 15 minutes to book.”
Having said that, it’s not always plain sailing, but the support is excellent, says Kate.
“There is a lot of support out there and you really feel like you’re part of a community.”
Much of the support comes in the form of overseas training. When you sign up as an Elite franchise, your package includes your invitation to two company overseas mentorships.
The first will be our Millionaire’s Retreat to a short-haul holiday spot, while the Elite Experience is for those consultants who have established their business and want to take it to the next level. This is a super luxurious affair to a long-haul destination – Mauritius is a favourite choice.
Plus, Kate has taken up the opportunity to join us on our Seminar at Sea.
These training sessions take place on board a cruise ship whilst gliding the ocean waves so they allow our consultants to learn all about the cruise industry and experience it for themselves at the same time.
“Until actually taking a cruise, I really thought that cruising was just not my thing. But I learnt that as long as you choose the right ship and the right cruise line, there’s a cruise for everybody. I truly believe that. It’s amazing.”
And there’s more travel in the pipeline. Kate is all ready to join us on our Platinum Conference taking place this year on board a Virgin Voyages’ cruise ship. It’s open to all those agents who have climbed our company career ladder to make it to ‘Platinum level’ – a position you reach once you’ve secured £20k in commission.
And straight off the back of that, she and her husband are joining us in Mauritius on our company golf tour!
“We’re so excited. Having organised so many amazing holidays for my clients, I’ve got a whole long list of places I now want to go to.”
But, despite all this travel, Kate is still open for business. You see it all comes back to flexibility again. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are – the UK, Geneva, Mauritius or even on a cruise ship – you can still be booking holidays for your clients. All you need is an internet connection and you’re up and running.
So despite the stops and starts, has Kate got any regrets?
“Absolutely not.”
Having just turned 60, she’s learning more and travelling more than she ever imagined she would at this age.
“I’m proud of the amount of things I’ve learned doing this job. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can actually change the trajectory of your life and start something new.”
And is she still sceptical?
“Not at all. It’s just such a lovely industry to be in. It’s a happy industry. I love it. And I love being part of the community.”
