Heather Taylor, Debbie Bean and Simone Fraser all joined TravelManagers over a decade ago, and they are a case study in support, friendship and success.
If you want to know how you can work for yourself but still make sure that someone has your back, you need only look at lifelong friends and personal travel managers for TravelManagers, Debbie, Simone and Heather.
The trio met over 10 years ago when there were just 30-50 personal travel managers in Victoria and all were starting out at being their own boss.
How did you become friends?
HEATHER: We travelled to Honolulu together on our own “famil” in 2013. We were all on the same famil to South Australia prior to that. Simone and I have been on a few trips together like the Indian Pacific and P&O Explorer.
We finally managed to get the husbands together last year for a night out to the Melbourne Comedy Festival (after years of talking about it!).
SIMONE: I remember first meeting Debbie and Heather back in March 2008 at a regional meeting. I remember there were about 15 of us in the room and I think there were less than 100 personal travel Managers countrywide. It was a big year for Heather and I as we were both pregnant with our second children, it was great to be able to support each other in a business framework and also just as two women, who had become friends and now were journeying together in pregnancy.
What is the key to your success?
SIMONE: Together we have a wealth of experience and over the years we have been able to run things past each other, call in some expert advice, encourage each other when times are tough and cover each other as we pursue our own travel experiences. Over 10 years there hasn’t been anything that we haven’t been able to handle between us. Again, we are so different, we are diverse and we each bring a different perspective.
HEATHER: Our friendships really have been solidified from helping each other out whilst someone is away on a famil or leave. Between us, we cover three different corners of Melbourne, so catching up regularly is often based around regional meetings/functions/conferences in the city.
What does TravelManagers mean to you?
SIMONE: I cannot imagine what life would look like without having taken the step to being a personal travel manager. When we all joined TravelManagers, it was an emerging time for mobile-based consultants, and while I don’t think we had any fears moving into this newer style of consulting, we had to build our businesses from scratch and work in partnership with TravelManagers. Maybe an analogy is that we were like migrants, moving to a new environment in order to have a better life for our families. I think all three of us can boldly testify to that, 10 years on and I think we still pinch ourselves from time to time.
What has the support of other Personal Travel Managers done for you?
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SIMONE: It has been a privilege to work alongside both Debbie and Heather as they have built their businesses and raised their families and I always look forward to the next time we can catch up.
HEATHER: Usually if we have a question or needs someone’s advice on how to handle something we’ll pick up the phone to each other.
When we do catch up, especially at conferences or the Christmas party, we definitely make a night of it.
Find out how you can Earn. Travel. Live. More
Times have changed since Debbie, Simone and Heather first met. There are now over 500 personal travel managers in the TravelManagers family. They enjoy the freedom and flexibility of running their own business their way, with the full support and security of being in partnership with TravelManagers. Becoming a personal travel manager could be just where you need to take your career.
Join the TravelManagers family now!
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Written by Paul Chai, KARRYON contributor
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