From finance to far-flung destinations, this mother-of-two took a huge risk when she decided to pack in a secure job to become her own boss
Killarney native Nicola Browne spent 20 years working in the business banking field. However, when the opportunity arose for her to take redundancy, she decided to embark on a new journey as a travel entrepreneur.
Why did you decide to move to a completely different business?
I decided to consider a career change when my second child was born. My role within the bank was changing and I had the opportunity to take redundancy, so I felt it was a good time for me to consider my options. I saw an advert for Travel Counsellors which caught my attention, and I made initial contact with their head office in Cork, which led to a face-to-face meeting with the team.
What attracted you to Travel Counsellors*?
(*TC is a personalised travel planning service that arranges dream holidays for people)
I always had a love for travel from a young age. I love going to new places and exploring them. I never particularly liked revisiting a place I had been to before, and now I’m in a position to travel more and share my experience with family and my wider circle. Starting in business as a Travel Counsellor meant I would have a better work life balance. I love that I’m in control of my own hours and essentially, I work less hours now than I did before, yet I earn a salary that I am really happy with. Both my kids are still very young, and while I work really hard at my business, I work from home, so I never have to worry if the kids have a day off school or need to be collected early. I’m there when they need me. While I was really excited about the opportunity, I was also nervous. One of my main concerns was what type of support I would have, but I soon realised that the head office team and the wider community of Travel Counsellors made me feel at ease and have been a great support to me over the past five years.
How have you grown your business and customer base?
I started with Travel Counsellors about six months before Covid hit; I had just celebrated launching my business and next I was refunding people and trying to get customers home from destinations which were locking down! It’s crazy to look back now and it really tested my skills and resolve as a new business owner. On the plus side, I feel I can take on anything now and the challenge has made me stronger. I joined local networking groups and worked hard with online networking throughout Covid lockdowns to get my name out there. A lot of people did think I was crazy staying in the travel business when there were so few planes in the sky. I started working with some Australian people stuck in Ireland who wanted to get home and I was able to get seats for them often when no one else could. In the end, my resilience paid off. Once we were able to leave the country again, gradually bookings started to come. I have a lot of repeat business now and my customers are great for referring me to their colleagues and friends. It takes time for the business to build but you would be surprised after a few months how word of mouth and networking pays off. I am now delighted to say in the past year my business has grown to a sales turnover of €500,000.
What advice would you give to anyone who’s thinking of changing careers?
It is a huge decision and very daunting but there is so much support and guidance to help you on your journey. On the days that you need extra support, there are 80+ other Travel Counsellors throughout the Republic of Ireland whom you can reach out to for help and advice. Once I realised that Travel Counsellors were licensed and bonded in Ireland and are one of the biggest travel companies in the country, I felt they would be the perfect match for me. They care about me, and they care about my business. Our business is all about getting to know our customers and in return, them coming back again and again and recommending me. We like to say, ‘With us, it’s personal’.
Check out Nicola’s Travel Counsellor page here.
Travel Counsellors make being your own boss a reality for passionate, entrepreneurs who want to trade their 9-5 job for a life of running their own business. Click here to find out more or call for a confidential chat on 0818 332 003.
