Meet Monique - a mom - a wife - a travel lover and now a Travel Counsellor franchisee

*Monique is now running her own travel business. She found that she was getting more and more frustrated by being caught up in the daily grind and rate race and decided that it was time to take hold of her future. She shares some of her journey to becoming a Travel Counsellor. Having just completed her 5 day induction training, we caught up with her to ask her a few questions. *

My family is my everything and they are my number one priority. I love spending time outdoors with my kids whether we have a picnic or play games or chill. We are always together.

I love reading! Reading takes you to places that you can only imagine! If I'm not reading, then I am baking. I like to eat the cake more than the actual baking itself. I am busy setting up an non-profit organization - my girls are trying to as they want to help kids that have less than them. They want to call it "sussa se hart kas", so for now this is what we are spending most of our free time on. I love to travel to the Lowveld; this is my favorite place in South Africa. When we travel there, I just feel peace and God's grace and love, it is most beautiful place in our country. There are so many untouched places to see and things to do. I have also travelled to Cape Town, Mozambique and to Swaziland. New Zealand is by far the best place in the world.

What motivated you to start your own travel business? I did a lot of research before I joined Travel Counsellors. It sounded to good to be true, the more I found out, the more I wanted to know. How could you do what you love from your home and it will be 100% successful. I talked to some existing Travel Counsellors and they all told me the same thing. I believe that there isn't another company who can give the same level of support and understanding as Travel Counsellors. And that is when I decided to start my own business and to partner with Travel Counsellors.

How did you get into travel? I have always wanted to be an air hostess, but I was too short, so I had to look at alternatives. This is how I became a travel agent. it was the best decision of my life. I have now been in the travel business for over 7 years and in this time, I worked at a corporate TMC and for Rennies Travel.

What will becoming a Travel Counsellor mean to you? It will bring me much flexibility and freedom and I have the chance to spend more time with my girls and to watch them grow up. Working retail hours means that you miss out on so many things, I can be a mom, a wife and still be the best travel agent that I can be! I can just be me. I love my work and I love travel; the only difference now is that I don't have to choose between my work and family. I can have both at the same time. I can give both my family and my customers personal attention. I can be available to everyone and see to everyone's needs 24/7.

What are you looking forward to most about being a Travel Counsellor? I can't wait to be the best version of me. No longer will I be confined and limited by rules. I can still consult and turn travel dreams into reality. Many times, when you work for a boss in an office environment, you get caught up in all the red tape and this takes you away from what you love most - selling travel! Have you set yourself any goals or milestones for what you want to achieve in your first year?

I want to build strong business foundations in my first year. I plan to delight my customers and to generate repeat business.

Have you started planning how you will grow your business/find new customers, and if so how? I know that my business will grow through the support of family and friends and through word of mouth referrals. A happy client is my best advocate.

What do you love most about working in the travel industry? I love that not one day in this industry is the same. Every day you are going to either learn something new or meet someone new. You will meet people who will help you to see the world in a different way. Every person experiences a destination in a unique way. These memories are carried onto generations to come.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? The place I would travel to over and over again is to New Zealand. I don't think that there is a more beautiful place on the face of this planet. It is magical and is like a little piece of heaven on earth that we are given so that God could show us how amazing his works are.

If you too can relate to her journey, then please get in touch with us. We would love the opportunity to show you how we believe that you can run your own successful business.