Judy Mason, aged 48 from Hertfordshire, went for the Elite Package without hesitation after being a midwife for 20 years.
This month brings my first birthday at Not Just Travel. I have so much to celebrate.
I know I did the right thing to join and start a travel business. Even now.
Judy celebrated her first year in business with the most amazing travel-themed cake, which she had in fact ordered back in February for her BNI networking presentation. The idea had been to share it with her group.
Although she cannot share the cake with her networking group as planned, Judy and her family are in high spirits.
12 months in I still cannot believe the value you get for the amount you pay for the Elite package.
The training, weekly calls, head office support, marketing support, the new landing pages … it’s all just incredible.
The Money Back Challenge was my goal from day one of joining. The challenge was then extended post-COVID to help existing franchisees.
This meant so much to me, I even got a bit emotional when I first heard what Steve and Paul had done for us.
A year on, what’s been the highlight for you?
There isn’t a stand-out highlight, I can only say it’s changed my life.
I had been a midwife for 20 years before joining, and starting a travel business was an opportunity for me to learn something completely new.
I’ve learned so much about travel, communication, and running your own business. It’s poles apart from the life of a midwife.I’ve more time with my family now. I have more time to go on holiday, to get away with my family.
It’s given me a new lease of life and something to be joyful about.
What advice would you have for someone contemplating their next steps, just like you did a year ago?
I spent a lot of time doing my due diligence, I would recommend doing this for any company you’re considering. Before you make any decisions, make sure you speak to someone from the company.
Go with your gut feeling and if it feels right, just do it.A year ago I looked at other franchises out there and The Travel Franchise stood out, it was miles apart from everything else out there.
The amount of time and effort that Paul, Steve, and the corporate team invest in the business doesn’t compare to anything else.
In your Facebook post you mentioned all the support you’ve received, can you share what that’s been like?
The majority of the time my travel business has been running has been post-COVID. It felt like I was only just starting out when everything changed.
The support during this time has been a lifeline. Lynne who is another franchisee regularly checks in to see how I’m doing.
I get involved in anything and everything on offer. The supplier webinar training, the daily catch-ups with the corporate team, I also went to every single event the company did, all prior to lockdown.
It’s no surprise it’s been a real challenging year…When I first started losing the bookings I had made due to the pandemic, Paul the Co-Founder came onto a weekly catch-up call and was really honest about how he felt. It really helped to see that I wasn’t alone and that we were all in this together.
What’s next for you and your travel business?
Next for me is continuing to support my customers and staying in contact with those who had their travel plans cancelled.
I’m looking ahead to building the business and focusing on getting repeat business.
I’m also looking forward to going to the Millionaires retreat, as part of the Elite Package, which is in Mexico this year.
