After Alan joined Tina’s Travel Counsellors business, they combined their strengths, grew through repeat bookings and referrals, and reached Gold together —building a successful business as a couple.
Tina had been a Travel Counsellor since 2016 when her husband Alan decided he was ready for a change. After 19 years in the police, joining Tina’s business was a big decision for them both. They had met while working together in travel before Alan joined the police, so he brought relevant experience—and they could see the potential in the business Tina had built.
“It was quite a brave decision at the time and meant short-term financial sacrifices,” they say. “But we were excited by the challenge and decided to just go for it and trust in ourselves!”
Alan joined the business in 2024. Since then, the couple have developed a way of working that makes the most of their different strengths. Tina enjoys customer conversations and bringing inspiration and ideas to enquiries. Alan is organised, plans ahead and focuses on the detail.
“I have more of a customer-facing role, whilst Alan spends more of his time managing the bookings and business in the background,” Tina explains. They both work on customer itineraries, but divide the responsibilities in a way that suits them.
Finding their rhythm as business partners
Tina and Alan are often asked how they manage working together as a couple. Their answer is simple: “For us, we haven't really noticed a change and it hasn't been something that has been a challenge in all honesty.”
They’ve found it helps to understand what each is good at and enjoys. “Knowing how you can complement each other as a team and focusing on what you are good at and enjoy helps,” they say. “So far, the business has progressed really well, which I guess also makes working together easier!”
Their work has grown beyond their own business, too. They’re supporting another Travel Counsellor with succession planning towards retirement, which means they work in TC Teams as well.
“The business model, tools and support we have as Travel Counsellors allow us to provide a standout product and service to our customers.
Keeping customers and community at the heart of their business
Building strong customer relationships has been essential to their growth. “The business model, tools and support we have as Travel Counsellors allow us to provide a standout product and service to our customers,” they say. “Without these relationships we couldn't have achieved Gold.”
They know how much a holiday means to the people who book with them. “People work really hard for the money they spend on their holidays and their time away is precious.” When customers come back, Tina and Alan value it as recognition of the care they put into getting everything right.
They also rely on the wider Travel Counsellors community. Support from other Travel Counsellors, head office colleagues and business development has all contributed. “Whilst you have your own business, it is a true team effort and you definitely rely on the support of the wider Travel Counsellors community.”
Achieving a golden milestone together
"Reaching Gold is something I've wanted to do since I started as a Travel Counsellor", said Tina. "And Alan joining the business freed up the time and provided additional support so that we could put in the extra work to do so. It's really satisfying to see the result of all your hard work paying off and your business develop and grow to something really successful. We celebrated with friends and family at a fantastic steak house!"
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