We recently connected with Courtney Gardner and have shared our conversation below.

Courtney, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When it came time to choosing a name for the company, I wanted to make it unique and personal like I would make the trips for my clients. I grew up on the corner of Fisher Street in the Potato Capital of the World. I only moved once during my 18 years before college and it was literally next-door in a house my dad built. Many days and nights were spent on that street playing with friends and dreaming of exotic places.

My family owned apartments on the street behind us. Stout Street. I spent countless hours mowing lawns, keeping the grounds tidy, painting walls, and helping my parents.

It seemed fitting to connect my dreams and work, play and responsibility, and Fisher and Stout together as a symbol of where my travel dreams began and hard working values were learned.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

After a twenty-year career in the film/theatre industry, I started Fisher & Stout as a way to follow my passion for transformational, intentional travel and to bring that opportunity to others.

The knowledge that I can literally help people fulfill their dreams, inspire them, and provide a quality service that changes lives brings me motivation each day.

I love getting to know my clients on a more personal level. I love understanding their “why” they want to travel and then to wow them with the unexpected. Besides talking with my clients, my favorite part of my work is being able to add to their travel wishes ideas of places/things etc, that they didn’t know were possible or available.

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

It’s not the easiest or fastest way but there are two factors:

1. My focus from the beginning has been to give my utmost time and attention to each and every client and their trip. I want my clients to feel like they are important to me because they are. Their trips are treated as if they were mine. If their experience with us was great, they will tell others about it.

2. I only work with clients who are kind, who value my work and myself, and trust in the process. By working with kind and generous people and being kind and generous in return, I hope to attract others with those same values. So far, it’s worked. Nice people refer other nice people. Like I said, a slower growth, but a higher quality of clientele that are truly a joy to work with.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Fisher & Stout opened Sept. 2019. You know where this is going….I went through the pandemic and had to pivot what I could and would sell. Luckily I was building my client base so I didn’t have to cancel any trips.

What it taught me was invaluable but I am even more prepared for pretty much anything now.

As a travel advisor, I am constantly “pivoting” what services I can offer and the information I give. There’s so much out there it’s become a skill to weed through the information I receive and pass it along to my clients in an easy and digestible format.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fisherandstout.com
• Instagram: @fisherandstout
• Facebook: @fisherandstout
• Linkedin: @courtneygardner

Image Credits
Photo cred: Meredith Mashburn @mashburnphoto