A year ago, Amy was on a cruise holiday, watching the world drift by – when it hit her.
“Do I really want to retire one day and say that’s what I did with my life?” she asked herself.
The answer was no.
That moment sparked a complete shift in direction.
Amy had spent 15 years in financial services, but deep down, she’d always dreamed of running her own business. Something flexible. Something fulfilling. Something that felt like hers.
Travel had always been a passion. She’d been using a travel consultant for over five years and truly understood the value they brought to the holiday experience.
Planning trips, researching destinations, helping friends and family find their perfect getaway – it all came naturally to her. Turning that passion into a career? Suddenly, it made perfect sense.
What she didn’t know then was that within just 12 months, she’d build a high-performing travel consultancy from the ground up, secure £50,000 luxury bookings, and even earn back her full franchise fee through The Travel Franchise’s Money Back Challenge.
This is Amy’s story — and it could be yours too.
When Amy started researching travel franchises, it didn’t take long to see how different The Travel Franchise was.
“I contacted one travel franchise and was told I’d have to quit my job and work full-time. It just wasn’t flexible with where I was personally in my own life.”
Where other models were rigid, outdated, or lacked personal support, The Travel Franchise offered a flexible, modern approach designed to help everyday people launch successful travel businesses — especially those starting part-time.
“It just felt like it was built for people like me. The franchise is fantastic. A hundred percent. I’ve never once thought I picked the wrong franchise to invest in. It’s always investing so much money in new technology and training and support and we get so many opportunities to broaden our knowledge.”
Initially drawn to our cheapest entry-level Lite package, Amy soon saw the appeal of our most popular Elite package. It came with powerful perks — including two overseas mentorship retreats — and the chance to enter our Money Back Challenge.
The challenge is simple: achieve a set amount of commission in your first year and get your entire £14,995 franchise fee refunded.
“I knew I could do it,” Amy says. “So I backed myself. And I went for it. I’m so glad I did!”
Amy hit the ground running. The training gave her the tools and confidence to get started — but she knew real success would come from commitment and consistency.
“The first few months were tough,” she admits. “I had to learn how to market myself, explain what a travel consultant actually does, and build trust. But I stuck with it and followed the plan.”
That plan included reaching out to her network — a foundational strategy we teach all new franchisees. One of those early conversations led to a huge £50,000 Maldives booking months later, when a friend who’d remembered her services came back ready to book.
Another £40,000 luxury trip came after Amy built a relationship with the owner of a Facebook group of 20,000 travel lovers. She introduced the idea of becoming a Partner in Travel — sharing a portion of her commission in return for referrals — and it worked. That group now generates bookings and leads, creating an entirely new revenue stream for her business.
Soon, all the groundwork began to pay off.
“They said it would get busy at the start of the year — but I didn’t expect it to be this busy!” she laughs. “And it just kept going.”
But it was the free Millionaire’s Retreat in Turkey — an exclusive overseas experience for Elite members — that gave her the final push.
“It came at the perfect time. I was close to hitting my Money Back Challenge target, and the retreat just re-energised me. Being surrounded by other successful consultants, learning from the best… I came back a different person.”
Not long after, she hit her goal and we announced we’d be refunding £14,995!
Amy’s determined not to touch it and just continue to run her thriving travel business from her home in rural Kent.
She’s reduced her hours in her previous job and couldn’t be happier.
“People notice the difference in me. They say I light up when I talk about travel. And they’re right — this doesn’t feel like work. It feels like I’ve finally found what I’m meant to do.”
With personal trips planned to Abu Dhabi and a Caribbean cruise later this year, she’s expanding her product knowledge and building the life she once only dreamed about.
“One day, I’d love to have my own travel shop,” she says. “But right now, I’m just excited to see how far I can take this.”
Her advice for anyone thinking about taking the leap?
“If travel’s your passion – don’t wait. You don’t need travel experience. You don’t need to know everything. You just need to be willing to show up and follow the process. That’s what I did. And it’s been life-changing.”
