Working part time for a software company and looking after two kids under the age of six simply wasn’t enough for Amy.
“I wanted to do something for myself that I was interested in and could run alongside my other job in admin”.
Although she had never worked in the travel industry before, she loved organising holidays and wondered whether becoming a travel consultant would be rewarding and profitable.
Amy joined The Travel Franchise in November 2019, completed her training in a week and made her first booking as a Not Just Travel consultant the very next day.
Within the first year, she sold so many holidays that she achieved The Travel Franchise’s unique Money-Back Challenge – where you get your entire franchise fee back if you achieve a certain amount of bookings in a set time period.
“Initially I hadn’t given much thought to the Money-Back Challenge as I didn’t want to put pressure on myself,” said Amy who considered the franchise fee as money well spent on a good investment.
“After two to three months I could see I was doing really well but I still couldn’t believe it when I won it,” she says.
Amy used the £14,995 franchise fee refund as a support mechanism to quit her part-time admin job.
By January 2022 she had sold £1 million-worth of holidays and she is on course to hit £2 million early in 2023.
“In 2023 I’d like to sell £1 million in holiday sales in a year – and it’s not unrealistic.”
Amy’s now a full-time travel agent, juggling school runs and the kids’ activities around her work and loving it.
“As I’m working for myself at home I don’t have to ask for time off, I can work it around my life.”
Amy says that the commission that she’s earned and the flexibility the job allows, has enabled her family to travel more.
“Previously we would have taken one holiday a year, but now we take several. I can simply pick up work while we are away.”
Amy and her husband could afford to take their children skiing for the first time last Easter and are taking them in 2023 as well.
“We will also be taking our daughter, a keen golfer, to Portugal to play in the Junior World Championship Tournament.”
Amy also travelled to Mexico in October 2022 on the Elite Experience, a free mentorship retreat offered by The Travel Franchise to Elite franchisees when they sign up.
The trip not only showcases a specific long-haul destination and several high-end resorts, but it also includes a series of classroom-style workshops with training on how to sell more holidays, find more customers and scale-up an agency fast.
“We learned how to boost enquiries, build our confidence, focus on repeat bookings and explore Mexico while staying in some incredible resorts. I also found spending time with other agents really helpful.”
Amy stresses she does work hard – around 40 hours a week – but the rewards are worth it.
“I thought it would be a nice thing on the side, almost like a hobby…But the job has ended up being better than I ever imagined. It’s completely changed my life.”
