A Year in the Life of a New Travel Counsellor
Famously A Top 10 Hit for Andy Williams back in 1971, I hasten to add before I was born, this is my Love Story and one I need to share….
18 months ago, I made my first journey to Venus, ironically the Planet of Love and also the Head Office in Manchester to Travel Counsellors, who at this time I was contemplating on joining. After a significant number of years out of the travel industry, full time caring for my three daughters and supporting my husband with his own business, I decided that 2018 was the year for me and that meant going back to doing something that I loved and was passionate about, “the World of Travel”. Not that I don’t deeply love my children and husband, of course they are the most important things in my world, my universe, but I needed something else, something just for me, to stimulate my mind and my appetite and desire for travel and that ultimately would work around family life.
I floated out of Venus that day after my meeting, on another planet. My brain buzzing with thoughts and ideas, inspired, excited and with a renewed energy inside me and before I had even boarded the train, I had made the decision to start my own travel company and go on a new journey, not just home to London.
And since last June, when I started the induction course back at the Planet of Love, what an adventure it has been…..
I will be totally honest there have been highs and lows, tears of frustration and tears of joy, love and laughter, worry and pleasure, all emotions that come with any relationship. Added to this, there has been lots of fun and happy times and a few (honestly) glasses of wine drunk with new and old friends, who I have connected with along the journey so far.
Every day brings something different and I look forward, 99% of the time to what lies ahead, learning about somewhere new and unfamiliar I know little about, meeting new and fascinating people, experiencing interesting destinations and products, talking about and sharing my own lust for travelling the world and holiday experiences with new and old clients, but most of all I look forward to making people happy and fulfilling their own travel needs and desires.
Starting out on your own is daunting, working from home can be distracting at times when there are chores to be done but what I love more than anything is the flexibility of working for yourself, being there for my family and my clients when they need me, getting out for a run when it all gets too much to clear my head and being able to work where and when it suits me, morning, noon or night. Sometimes, it is a juggling act but that is where the love and support of my husband and girls really helps me and sometimes I have “A little help from my friends” (another great song!)
The support staff and team at Head Office are exceptional and I feel very fortunate to have joined a company that has care and empathy at its heart. The fellow Travel Counsellors I have met have been hugely supportive, receptive and generous with their time and knowledge and welcomed me in like a member of their own families’. The clients I have gained in my first year have been appreciative, grateful and loyal, with some coming back to book holidays with me again and referring me to their friends, colleagues and families.
Over the past year “I have eaten many a frog”, something we talked a lot about during my training and today I have just overcome another one by writing my first blog post, which you have almost completed reading. Time and time again, I have sat at my desk and half written something only to give up for fear that it wasn’t interesting or good enough. This could be my first and only post but with a team incentive to Oman, a beautiful country that holds a very special place in my heart, as it is where my father died when I was living there as a child, up for grabs, I thought I must eat this damn frog, every last bit of it, to try and gain some points for my team.
What has become apparent over the past year is that I joined Travel Counsellors for LOVE. My love and passion for travel and my love for my family. I am also very happy to say, I have a new love in my life, my business (my new baby which is soon approaching its 1st birthday). I am so grateful to Travel Counsellors for giving me this new addition to our family and I can’t wait to watch it grow, develop and mature over the coming years (and fortunately for my husband, without the mood swings and drama that comes with teenage girls!)
