Meet Emma, aged 37, she lives in Staffordshire. Emma joined The Travel Franchise with the Elite package.
A mum of four, holidays have always been a big part of family life. Emma plans to work alongside her daughter to make her travel business more of a family affair.
“My husband and I have another business selling commercial vehicles. I do the admin for that business but it’s not something I’d say I’m really passionate about.
I had been thinking about going back to my love for travel for about 5 years before joining The Travel Franchise.”
Emma, Not Just Travel Franchisee
How soon after the training week did you get your first booking?
“I got 2 bookings on the following Friday after completing my initial online training.
The first booking was for a honeymoon in Greece in 2022. They are really good friends of mine.
The other booking was a family holiday to Mexico this summer, it was with a family friend. I even got them a swim-up room.
I used the business WhatsApp tool to message everyone I knew. Letting them know that I was starting a travel business and this is how I got their attention. I got a really positive response, the phone didn’t stop pinging!
I had done an apprenticeship in travel following school, many years ago. So, I had some previous connections there that I also reached out to.”
Discover the initial training and ongoing support all here.
Why start a travel business now?
“I’ve been wanting to go back to my love for travel for about 5 years.
To be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about starting a business, I was thinking about just getting some part-time work somewhere, but with kids to juggle it would have been difficult.
It’s so much easier to just work for yourself!
I originally swerved away from The Travel Franchise because the training was based in Bournemouth, and a week away for the family wasn’t possible. As soon as I saw the online training come into play in 2021 I came back for a second look.
I spoke to Paul on the phone as I was naturally a bit nervous, he eased any concerns I had and was really helpful in answering my questions.
I know now that I can use this year as a run-up to find my feet, establish my business, then next year my youngest will be in school so I can really go for it!
It’s been much busier than I expected since I launched my business.
The Money Back Challenge is a real motivator for me, which is something you get with the Elite franchise package. This is my focus.”
Find out more about the Money Back Challenge here.
How has your experience been since joining?
“The online training was fantastic as it meant I could do it all from home. It was really action-packed.
My personal mentor and coach is amazing, he’s always at hand to help with any questions I have.
The trade suppliers that you get instant access to are also very good, I explained that I was very new to this and everyone was so nice.
I really like the HUB which is an information center you’ll get access to. There are loads of holiday offers and deals to help you inspire your friends, family, and network.
There are also great ‘How to..’ videos which you can watch at any time from marketing to sales advice.”
What excites you most about being your own boss?
“The flexibility is just perfect for me. I couldn’t do a 9-5 pm job with my family.
I can just pick up the business whenever I want and put it back down. It fits my lifestyle so well.
With our holiday caravan, I might even go away with my laptop and work from there. The possibilities are endless.”
