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

Chantale, appreciate you joining us today. undefined

During my career, I’ve had to adjust many times. I’ve changed employers, projects, and clients, to name a few. As a business owner, and especially as a small business owner, it is par for the course to consistently make small or big changes as needed in order to keep going. Innovation is inevitable for business owners. It is absolutely necessary in order to survive.

Big businesses have the luxury of having departments and teams such as, HR, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Research and Development. But for small businesses, it is the sole business owner who initially wears all these hats until they can hire or outsource these functions…For me, the shift I’ve made is modifying my business model from serving many different destinations or types of travel to specializing in group travel to the Caribbean and Hawaii.

This shift has streamlined the process for both me and my prospects. It’s much easier for my clients and past clients to make referrals. I’ve been able to dedicate more time, care and attention to specific sets of destinations and resorts. For now, this shift has created a clearer path for me as I move forward with my business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My career shifted from the banking industry to the travel industry over a decade ago, mainly by accident. I was already managing a few short-term rentals in New York City by the time I was laid-off from my job in financial services. Post the lay-off, I could have easily looked for another role in the same industry as I had already spent 10 years plus in that industry. Instead, I took a leap of faith. I ventured into running my travel business. I knew I loved helping travelers from the days of managing short-term rentals. I found a lot of joy and fulfillment in helping people lower their anxieties or stress induced by travel planning.

Working as a Travel Advisor has allowed me to service a wide range of client travel requests over the years. Initially, trying out a new career was kind of scary. But, I kept telling myself that it was similar to starting a new role or new projects at my previous job. And reminding myself that I had transferable skills and experience.

My background in Psychology, client services, and Consulting have helped me tremendously in understanding my clients’ wants and needs that are much deeper than just booking a trip.

I’m very proud of how I manage the good and challenging days of my business. I constantly invest time, energy and money into improving my interpersonal skills and my knowledge of the industry. It all adds up in helping me grow, stay relevant and be the best resource I can be for my clients.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Over the years, I’ve had to unlearn that I do not need to have all the answers. While it’s great to be well rounded and try to know as much as possible, it’s also exhausting. I’ve discovered that what works for me is to have my area of focus and spend my energy there. As for other areas that are out of scope, I just let my mind be ok with not knowing everything and allow myself to do the best I can without excessive stress.

I’ve come to appreciate the concept of learning to focus and develop expertise in certain areas. The popular belief is to try harder at things that do not come easily to us or that we’re not good at. At this time, I find it very important to focus even more in the areas that I’m already good at. And areas I specialize in.

It’s such a sacrifice, and it is a hard concept to settle with, but it’s a good one for me at this point in time.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My change career change to hospitality was influenced by my experience in helping folks find good living and vacation accommodations. Since I had managed short-term rentals for a time, the level of appreciation and joy from my clients filled my heart. Clients were so appreciative of the support and help they received from me. They valued the time they saved and stress relief they experienced.

When I made the shift to working as a Travel Advisor, it was an opportunity to service clients who vacationed at many other places besides New York City. And it was the right time to start pivoting from short-term rentals because the industry was quickly changing with tighter regulations in the city.

Trying out a new career was kind of scary. But, I kept telling myself that it was similar to starting a new role or a new project at my previous job. I often reminded myself that I had transferable skills and experience.

It’s a joy and privilege to help my clients manage their stress in dealing with the complexities of planning large group vacations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.globalvibestravel.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chantalebaker_travel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/globalvibestravel
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantale-baker-mba-pmp-35ba175/

Image Credits

Chantale Baker, Global Vibes Travel.