We recently connected with Jessie Joslin and have shared our conversation below.

Jessie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I have always played it safe and followed the traditional path that I thought I was supposed to walk. I dreamt of working in Marketing so I went to college and then got my MBA in Marketing Management, I worked hard in my career to climb the corporate ladder to achieve the success of different titles and promotions. I built teams and led big projects and had the corner office with a view. I had everything but flexibility and something that was just mine. I started to wonder what else was possible. I wanted to be available when my middle school kids got home from school. I didn’t want to be on calls with people late into the night and during my kids sports games. I felt like I wanted to build something that was just mine and see what I was capable of however I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to build.

I decided to white board out my passions. Then I added what I was good at. As I wrote things like creating memories, traveling, helping people, project management, relationship building and marketing/brand building, I started to circle things that worked together. it became clear that there was a path to helping people create memories through travel while leveraging my relationship building and project management skills. I started to explore the travel industry and what all it takes to become a travel advisor. I did informational calls with suppliers and other agents and it became clear that this path was risky but exciting.

The risk comes in that no income is guaranteed. You only get paid when people travel so there is a delay in money coming in. I questioned would anyone need a travel advisor in this tech heavy world where everything is at your fingertips. I was leaving the security of a paycheck for the ability to build something of my own, on my own time. I was starting to see a path that allowed me to be the mom I wanted to be and the flexibility to build my own business on my own time.

I left corporate America and started the new career almost a year ago and I have not looked back. I have realized that despite the ability to book travel on your own, clients want and appreciate the peace of mind and service that I provide them when they travel. I get to help people create bucket list vacations and make memories to last a lifetime.

While it has been an incredible risk for the person who has always followed the recommended typical path, the lesson I have learned is the path less travelled has most definitely come with the most reward.

Jessie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have taken my marketing and corporate background and brought that structure and experience to creating my own Travel Advisor business – Travel by Jessie. I help my clients travel anywhere in the world their heart takes them. My passion for the details ensure that when you plan a trip with me that you just need to pack your bags and go make the memories. I recognize that life is busy and taking the time to plan your precious vacation time is limited. I listen carefully to needs and then curate the ideal itinerary from flights to accommodations to special and unique tours so that every details is taken care for my clients. If anything comes up while traveling, I am there to help problem solve. My passion and love for travel is evident in each and every trip I plan and the personalization that I bring makes clients become friends.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

My love and passion for marketing is why I was excited to start my own travel advisor business. I could build a brand and do all the fun marketing the way I wanted to do it. I went on a trip to Hawaii to do site visits my first month of starting my business. I documented that trip on my social media thinking it was my hard launch and I would then start to build my social presence. What I didn’t expect was the power of word of mouth. Since I took that trip in May 2024, I haven’t had the time or opportunity to do any additional marketing because I started getting a few clients and they told some friends and they told some family members and today, I am continuing to get leads from word of mouth only.

One day I will set up the marketing plan and social strategy that I have on my to-do list but right now, the most importnat thing I can do is service the clients that have heard of me through word of mouth. They are the most powerful marketing and lead generator I could possibly create.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

While no one wants to go through challenges, it is the harder times that clients get to see your true character and how you will show up for them. Whether it was a client that had 9 rooms booked with me and she realized the day before she left that she had given me the wrong dates for the rooms or the client that had to cancel a trip due to a medical emergency and needed help with the insurance claim. Neither are fun scenarios but staying calm in the storm and finding creative solutions is what builds a reputation over time. Being responsive, helpful and calm when issues arise is my goal and that builds trust and trust leads to a strong reputation over time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.travelbyjessie.com
• Instagram: @travelbyjessie_vv
• Facebook: Travel By Jessie with Vincent Vacations
• Linkedin: @JessieJoslin