We recently spoke to Mel Robson from Mel’s Travel to celebrate her one-year anniversary with Independence Group and discuss her success since joining.
Mel said: “Wow, what a whirlwind of a year! I questioned whether I was being extremely brave or totally mad setting up as a new agency during a pandemic, but you can’t get anywhere in life without taking a risk, right?! Starting a new business at the best of times is a difficult task, but starting a travel business during a travel ban was a bold move. But I am so pleased that I did!
“This last year has been like a rollercoaster of emotions, I have had so many obstacles to overcome with cancellations, debts, traffic lights, testing requirements, etc. - the list goes on! But it’s certainly had its highs too. My business is going from strength to strength. I now have a part-time assistant manager and an apprentice, and I am also looking to employ another full-time agent before Christmas, ready for peaks.
“I love travelling myself and the pandemic was difficult for me having to cancel a lot of plans but I have started making up for that already! I spent a long weekend in Majorca in July and have actually just this morning returned from an incredible ‘seacation’ on Disney' Magic at Sea. Wow, a truly magical experience! Being a huge Disney fan and regular traveller to Walt Disney World® Resort, this was such a unique experience to be able to board a Disney cruise only 40 minutes’ drive from my home! It’s definitely helped with my Disney fix until I get back there in April!
“Since mid-July we have been very busy with new business and have seen a huge increase in sales over the last seven weeks. We still receive numerous calls, messages, and people popping into the store every day asking for advice regarding testing, a lot of whom had previously booked their travel elsewhere. Although not ideal, we will always go above and beyond to help every customer where we can, and this has resulted in converting a lot of these people into our own customers. They have been so grateful for our advice and help that they have gone on to book other travel packages with us. We really pride ourselves on going that extra mile for our customers. With the majority of current business being late deals, this obviously helps with cash flow, and, although I am still working on a very minimal wage myself at the moment, I am so grateful that within 12 months of operating I am able to pay my staff wages, fees, and other bills without my business account going into debt.
“I am so excited to see what the future brings and so grateful to have had such a successful first year!”
From all the Independence Group team we want to say a massive well done to Mel’s Travel for an extremely successful first year.
Mel said: “Wow, what a whirlwind of a year! I questioned whether I was being extremely brave or totally mad setting up as a new agency during a pandemic, but you can’t get anywhere in life without taking a risk, right?! Starting a new business at the best of times is a difficult task, but starting a travel business during a travel ban was a bold move. But I am so pleased that I did!
“This last year has been like a rollercoaster of emotions, I have had so many obstacles to overcome with cancellations, debts, traffic lights, testing requirements, etc. - the list goes on! But it’s certainly had its highs too. My business is going from strength to strength. I now have a part-time assistant manager and an apprentice, and I am also looking to employ another full-time agent before Christmas, ready for peaks.
“I love travelling myself and the pandemic was difficult for me having to cancel a lot of plans but I have started making up for that already! I spent a long weekend in Majorca in July and have actually just this morning returned from an incredible ‘seacation’ on Disney' Magic at Sea. Wow, a truly magical experience! Being a huge Disney fan and regular traveller to Walt Disney World® Resort, this was such a unique experience to be able to board a Disney cruise only 40 minutes’ drive from my home! It’s definitely helped with my Disney fix until I get back there in April!
“Since mid-July we have been very busy with new business and have seen a huge increase in sales over the last seven weeks. We still receive numerous calls, messages, and people popping into the store every day asking for advice regarding testing, a lot of whom had previously booked their travel elsewhere. Although not ideal, we will always go above and beyond to help every customer where we can, and this has resulted in converting a lot of these people into our own customers. They have been so grateful for our advice and help that they have gone on to book other travel packages with us. We really pride ourselves on going that extra mile for our customers. With the majority of current business being late deals, this obviously helps with cash flow, and, although I am still working on a very minimal wage myself at the moment, I am so grateful that within 12 months of operating I am able to pay my staff wages, fees, and other bills without my business account going into debt.
“I am so excited to see what the future brings and so grateful to have had such a successful first year!”
From all the Independence Group team we want to say a massive well done to Mel’s Travel for an extremely successful first year.
