After 19 years in travel, I left the travel industry to pursue a mobile crane hire company. 4 years later I return to travel again! Travel is in my blood.

Meet Frikkie, he has recently completed his 5 day induction training and is now open for business. Frikkie has over 19 years worth of travel experience. 4 years ago he left the industry to persue a different career only to return again. Now both him and his wife are Travel Counsellors running their own businesses. We caught up with Frikkie to discover more about his journey in returning back to travel and in starting his own travel business.

What is your background and where did you work before becoming a Travel Counsellor? I worked for a well known travel management company for 19 years, before I left the trade to start a mobile crane hire company. After 4 years of leaving the travel industry, I decided to return to travel.

Tell us a little bit about yourself? I am married with two sons aged 14 and 11 years. I have an interest in computers and enjoy online gaming. During my years working in travel I have had the opportunity to visit; Thailand, Dubai, USA, Canada, Mauritius, UK, Hungary, Austria and Germany.

What does becoming a Travel Counsellor mean for you? Becoming a Travel Counsellor gives me the opportunity to be able to work from home and to be able to spend more time with my family. I also hope to have the potential to earn more without being tied to a 9 to 5 job. The fact that I can work from anywhere is an additional bonus.

What motivated you to start your own travel business? My wife is a Travel Counsellor and I can envisage the potential for increased business if we combine our efforts.

What are you looking forward to most about being a Travel Counsellor? I am so looking forward to getting back into travel and to growing my business.

Have you set yourself any goals or milestones for what you want to achieve in your first year? My goal is to re-establish my client base, as I have being out of the industry for the last 4 years. I also plan to gather some corporate accounts.

Have you started planning how you will grow your business/find new customers, and if so how? I intend on joining our local chamber of commerce, to network and to reconnect with past clients.

What do you love most about working in the travel industry? I love that every day it brings something new and this keeps it interesting.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Corfu, but I may not return.

Can you relate to Frikkie's journey? He is based in Kimberley not limited to only servicing people in this area. With his wife as a Travel Counsellor too, both he and his wife can build thriving businesses and need not worry about where they will get more clients. If you would like to find out more then please get in touch with us.