Sisters Nicole and Lesley have become the third Travel Consultants to win their franchise fee back in just three weeks with the Travel Franchise
Living in west London and Cardiff, Lesley Morgan, 41, and Nicole Setoudeh, 44, have created a hugely successful business for themselves since joining The Travel Franchise in February last year. The pair said that not only had the experience brought them closer together, but it had given them new identities as entrepreneurs.
The sisters credit the training they received from The Travel Franchise/Not Just Travel, their personal travel consultants Rachael and Colman Coyne and a ‘lot of hard work’ for their earning back their franchise fee in just 11 months.
The sisters credit the training they received from The Travel Franchise/Not Just Travel, their personal travel consultants Rachael and Colman Coyne and a ‘lot of hard work’ for their earning back their franchise fee in just 11 months.
How Nicole and Lesley came to join The Travel Franchise
Both sisters worked in the corporate world before becoming travel consultants, both managing stores with fashion brand Karen Millen. Later Lesley ran a successful estate agents’ firm across Cardiff and Nicole worked with wholesale fashion brands, working in various roles including Sales Director and UK Sales Manager. Nicole said that 2013 was a bittersweet year for the family after their mum Jennifer, sadly passed away, around the time both sisters gave birth. After becoming mums, both sisters wanted to find work that would work around their young families, so set up as childminders, but as Nicole said: “In anything we do, we put our heart and soul into it.” This saw both sisters achieve an Outstanding rating with Ofsted (and it’s Welsh equivalent CSSIW.)
Nicole said that Lesley has always loved travel, both planning holidays for the family and friends. In fact, her love for searching for amazing experiences is well known, with friends dubbing her ‘Miss Trip Advisor.’
It was this passion and drive that first led Lesley to discover the Travel Franchise and she took Nicole to a Discovery Event in London to learn more. With a loan from their dad Tony, Nicole and Lesley were able to start up the business last year and haven’t looked back. Determined to win the franchise fee back for their dad, they said they ‘listened to all the advice and went to every training going.’
How they achieved their success
The pair said they work very hard, even booking holidays from a campsite field, beach and open-air swimming pool, during the summer holidays with the kids. But it was Not Just Travel’s Millionaire’s Retreat in September to Marrakesh that proved to be a ‘game-changer.’ The sister’s came back determined to use every bit of advice they had received and smashed their target, winning their first year franchise fee back. It was their mentors Rachael and Colman who told them they had won, while on a video call where their dad Tony was present. In a touching tribute to their dad they named their business The Robertsons, so his name and legacy would live on.
Nicole said the sisters loved the job and loved that it gave them a new identity, so as well as being happy mums, they were now also Nicole and Lesley entrepreneurs and business owners – and the flexibility of the work means they can be there for bedtimes and quality family time as well. They said one of their proudest moments was standing on stage at the NJT Conference in December and collecting awards for the Most Bookings and Highest Income within their first year.
“We absolutely love this job, we love the business. We feel so proud talking to people and saying what we do.”
She said: “We absolutely love this job, we love the business. We feel so proud talking to people and saying what we do. We love creating bespoke itineraries for people and it’s just great to work together – we were always close, but it’s brought us closer. We were talking the other day and we said that one of the best changes is that we don’t get the Sunday night dread of work anymore. We absolutely love our work and what we are creating for our families’ futures.”
Well done ladies, time to pop that champagne!
