Can the ‘digital nomad’ life work for a journey advisor?: Travel Weekly

Jamie Biesiada

On Sept. 17, Karen Urosevich, the founding father of Well Placed Travel in Dallas, will set off on a monthlong journey that can take her from Australia to New Zealand to Bali.

The itinerary is packed stuffed with sightseeing and actions, in addition to web site inspections at a number of properties alongside the best way. It’s half private and half skilled: her companion will be part of her for a portion of the itinerary, then she’ll end out the remainder with a buddy. Urosevich additionally plans to proceed working all through.

It’s one thing of an experiment. Can she do all of it and hold operating her enterprise seamlessly? If so, it may spark nice curiosity from her purchasers.

“First and foremost, I see a real opportunity for getting people really interested and excited about New Zealand, Australia and just different parts of the world,” she stated.

But she additionally needs to place to the check the concept of getting the pliability to work from anyplace whereas concurrently incorporating travel-activity points into these days.

“I’m very curious to see the themes that will reveal themselves,” Urosevich stated. “Can you really do a self-fam? You know, move around a lot and still be able to carry the business?”

Urosevich’s journey journey, to this point

Urosevich opened her company, an Avenue Two Travel affiliate, final October. It’s a second profession; she spent greater than 20 years in business hospitality design, improvement and development.

After experiencing some profession burnout, she determined to take day off and work with an govt coach to determine what she wished to do for the following 15 years of her profession. 

Like many advisors, she all the time cherished planning journeys.

“I’ve always been the person who’s like, if somebody’s going somewhere, ‘Oh, wait a second, let me send you my notes,'” she stated.

Urosevich had labored with a journey advisor earlier than, when her busy profession prevented her from doing her personal planning. And that advisor was Urosevich’s first name when she realized she wished to embark on a profession as an advisor herself – the advisor inspired her to go for it.

So far, Urosevich has completed about $400,000 in gross sales in her first three quarters in enterprise, serving a pair dozen purchasers all over the world. She is build up her presence on social media and began a e-newsletter in January. She’s taken leads from different advisors, and she or he’s beginning to profit from consumer referrals.

One of the issues she’s observed is that many vacationers select to deal with one space, normally Western Europe. She’s hoping her journey to Australia, New Zealand and Bali will encourage others to get out of their consolation zone.

“I think the best way for me to do that is to go and do these things firsthand, because it gives me confidence,” she stated. “I think it gives travelers trust, knowing that I’ve been to these places.”

In quick, Urosevich stated: “Having a baseline of knowledge instills trust in potential clients.”

She’s been planning the journey since January; the New Zealand tourism board’s coaching program was notably useful, she stated, noting tourism boards may be wealthy assets for advisors. And when she’s in-destination, she plans to share her adventures through her e-newsletter and on social media in actual time.

Of balancing journey together with her enterprise, she stated, “I’m a little nervous, but it’ll all work out.”

Readers, share your ideas

Seasoned advisors, do you’ve got any recommendation for Urosevich, or for different advisors contemplating doing an identical journey? If so, please share it with me for a follow-up article. I’ll additionally join with Urosevich after she returns; watch this house in October. If any suppliers on the market have recommendation about experiencing a product whereas nonetheless working, I’d welcome that, too.

To share recommendation, you possibly can electronic mail me instantly at [email protected]. Alternatively, I’ve set up an online form if you happen to’d choose to offer suggestions that method. Thanks prematurely for contributing your experiences.