We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anna Swenson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Anna, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Travel agents face various challenges that can impact their profitability. Some of the challenges I have seen include people booking their vacations on their own, economics downturns and uncertainties impacting people’s willingness to spend on travel, and the challenge of standing out and attracting new clients.

In my 15 years of being in the travel industry, I would say that clients booking vacations on their own without utilizing the services of a travel agent, is a common challenge faced by travel professionals. To address this challenge, I emphasize the value of my expertise, personalized service, and insider knowledge in my marketing and client interactions,. I like to showcase my ability to create unique and tailored experiences that may be challenging for clients to achieve on their own. I also strive to cultivate strong relationships with my clients by understanding their preferences and maintaining regular communication. I believe that a personalized approach can make clients more inclined to use the services of a trusted travel agent like myself.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have worked as a Travel Consultant since 2007. I began my adventures in travel as a pirate. That’s pirate as in “Pirates of the Caribbean” where I worked during a stint with the Walt Disney Company on the college program. Aside from Disney, blue waters, palm trees, white sand, and experiencing new destinations around the world makes me extremely happy. Helping my clients find the perfect vacation based on their individual wishes is my superpower.

I specialize in family, couples, honeymoon, and luxury travel. I enjoy booking all-inclusive resorts as well as ocean and river cruises and escorted tours. While I am certified in travel with many of the major travel vendors, one honor I was most proud of is when Travel Agent Magazine named me one of the ‘Top 25 Agents.’ I also assist with the training, mentoring and development of a team of my agencies’ travel advisors.

A few locations I have traveled to myself are Italy, Greece, Turkey, Alaska, Bermuda, England, France, Iceland, Canada, Hawaii, Mexico, Costa Rica, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and most of the Caribbean islands.

I pride myself on quick response time and planning unforgettable vacations that is fully customized and surpass my clients expectations. My office is in Fort Mill, South Carolina, right outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, but I assist clients throughout the United States.

A fun fact about me is that I moved every 4 years of my life until adulthood. My husband and I have two young adult children and look forward to traveling even more now that the nest is empty.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I began my travel career when I was a stay-at-home mom with a 3- and 5-year-old. I worked from home before working from home was cool. It was really tough juggling parenting and home responsibilities while starting a new business. On top of that, I started my business during the recession. People thought I was crazy. I had a strong feeling that no matter what (baring COVID), people would still pay money and have desire to travel. Luckily, I was right!

When I began my agency, I thought I would work part-time, but I ended up working more than full time hours. I worked really, really hard, was scrappy and creative with my marketing. This all paid off and I sold more that first year than many agents book in several years. Based on repeat clients and referrals, my business kept growing and sales increased yearly. I found that curating relationships with industry vendors, keeping up-to-date on education, consistently traveling to have first-hand destination experience, as well as collaborating with fellow professional travel advisors really helped me build my business.

While it has not been easy, I’ve always felt very blessed that I was able to work from home in a flexible job so I could be with my family as well as build a successful business. Working in an industry that I have so much passion and interest in has been the icing on the cake.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

There are two lessons I have had to unlearn as a travel consultant. The first is that I should not sell out of my pocketbook, but the clients’ pocketbook. When I was new to the industry, I was afraid to give more expensive recommendations and options for fear that it was “too expensive.” What I found is that once I learned how to ask the correct questions, each client has their own interests, desires, wants, budget and what is most important to them. Selling outside of what I first considered to be different then what I would do, made my clients happy and my sales went up!

The second lesson I have had to learn, is to not take things in business personal. Too often, I take clients’ comments to heart, even if it had nothing to do with me. If someone was upset with the weather on their vacation or canceled flights, my job is to assist anyway I can and then let it go. While I am still struggling with this, I have had to learn that other people’s feelings do not reflect on me and my performance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://journeysinc.com/
• Instagram: @travelwithanna
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CharlotteCarolinaLuxuryFamilyTravelAgent
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-swenson-b7236322/
• Other: Disney FB page: https://www.facebook.com/CharlotteCarolinaDisneyHoneymoonTravelAgent

Image Credits
April Cannon at Running Mom Photography LLC