It’s fair to say that the past year has been a whirlwind for Ellie.
- She ditched her job as a teacher and joined us in January 2024
- She got married and gave birth to a baby girl in summer 2024
- This month she won our Money-Back Challenge which means we’re refunding her £14,995 Elite franchise fee because she succeeded in making a set amount of commission in her first year!
Ellie loves her newfound flexible career because she can now spend time with her new baby.
And she’s over the moon that she’s beaten our Money-Back Challenge (we’re the only franchise that does this and while this month three franchisees have been successful, Ellie’s the only one that’s juggling her business with a newborn baby!)
Ellie joined us after using a personal travel consultant to plan her own holiday.
“I have always loved to travel and when my husband decided to go to Kenya for our honeymoon we wanted to get it right so decided to use a travel consultant for the first time.”
Ellie was amazed how the agent made the entire process stress free.
“We just mentioned all the things we wanted; when we wanted to go; what we wanted to do…and she came back with an option, which she went on to tweak until it was perfect.”
The experience sparked Ellie’s interest.
“I remember saying to my husband that this would be an amazing job. That I could see myself doing it. I’ve always been quite organised and enjoyed travelling. So I felt that in terms of my skill set, it fitted really well.”
When Ellie returned to her work as a primary school teacher after an incredible honeymoon, she couldn’t get the thought of becoming a travel agent out of her mind.
“The idea of becoming a travel consultant and being able to be part of other people’s travel was just so exciting for me. It would offer me the flexibility that teaching never would in terms of life balance.”
To scratch the itch, Ellie attended one of our Discovery events. We hold these two-hour sessions in various locations across the country to enable people to meet us face to face and ask as many questions as they wish.
“It was a fantastic opportunity to meet Paul (our company co-founder). He is so personable and very down to earth. He told us his story of how he worked through ups and downs and reassured me that, despite not coming from a business or a travel background, I could still make a success of this.”
To get another valued opinion, she took her husband along to a second Discovery session, this time in their hometown of Southampton. Come the end of the session, the couple were convinced that it was the right fit and Ellie signed up to our most popular Elite franchise package.
By the time she’d served her lengthy notice period at school, it was January this year that she completed her online training with us.
“It was five days and it was intense. We started off the week learning about the role and how the travel industry worked and then, as the week progressed, we got into the finer details of logistically making a booking. Each day was headed up by a different member of the team, so we really got to know them. At the end of the week we were assigned our own BDM (Business Development Manager), which for me has been invaluable.”
Every consultant that joins us is appointed a BDM. Your BDM is highly experienced in the travel industry. They’re by your side to mentor you, guide you, motivate you and help you grow your business. They’re not your boss – you run your company. Think of them more like your guardian angel or fairy godmother who flies in to advise, guide and reassure you.
“My BDM is Paula. She’s always there whenever and if ever I need her advice.”
Ellie has also got to travel with her new career. Just a few weeks after joining us she attended our Millionaires Retreat, in sunny Fuerteventura.
This five-day training trip to a short-haul overseas destination is included in our Elite franchise packages (many people say they’re worth the franchise fee alone!).
They’re a great opportunity to step away from the day-to-day running of your business for a few days to take a more strategic look at how you’re growing your company. Motivational guest speakers, the company co-founders and experienced consultants are on hand throughout the trip’s training sessions to impart tips and tricks to help you.
Ellie hopes to take more trips in 2025, but this time with her mum and daughter.
“The great thing about this job is the flexibility – I never would have had that being a teacher. It will allow me to work around my baby’s schedule. I know I can do it because so many people do this job while juggling other jobs. I’ll be juggling becoming a new parent and running my business at the same time and I’m so excited.”
