We recently connected with Lauren Tuttle and have shared our conversation below.
Lauren, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new firm – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?
In the nature of my business, word of mouth is queen. My first year of business, was full of clients that were referrals from mine or my husband’s friends. I hustled really hard that first year, setting up booths at local markets, posting on social media frequently, joining “mom groups” on Facebook to promote myself each week even though I wasn’t a mom yet. Within 8 months of starting my business and about a handful of referral clients, I got a reply to one of the quote emails I sent out after a market booth weekend. That booking meant a lot to me because they didn’t know me from anyone else. They didn’t have my friends behind them talking me up about how much of a travel and Disney expert I was. I had to prove to this family that I knew what I was talking about. I planned their trip to the minute… and had one slip up due to an incorrect reservation scheduling. I traced all my notes and realized I hadn’t made the mistake but the employee had picked the incorrect date. I sat on the floor of my office and cried for a good 20 minutes just panicked that I had ruined my first interaction with an organic client. The client was fine, I sent them a $100 gift card that they were super appreciative for and they continued on with their trip. It was one of the biggest lessons I’ve ever learned in owning a business. I learned to double and triple check everything, to confirm reservations before trips, and to not take things out of my control so personally. After they traveled, they left me a great review. Most of the time, I tend to care more about the work than the money. I think that helps me work well with clients throughout all the changes and cancellations they can sometimes throw in. Since I don’t get paid until after clients travel, I like to not count on my rolling commission to be my actual salary… you never know which client is going to have to make a change that will cut it in half.
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
I’m Lauren and I’m a Travel Advisor with Pixie Mouse Travel specializing in Disney Destinations and Universal Vacations. I started planning for myself and friends to go to Walt Disney World in 2014. It wasn’t until I left my corporate retail buying job in 2017 that I decided to take a stab at planning professionally. I had used a Travel Agent twice prior to starting my business and both agents I used left something lacking in my mind. Not that these 2 were bad agents, but I just felt like I could provide something for families going to Walt Disney World. Very seriously, I googled “Disney Travel Agency Hiring” and within the 1st page of results, I found and applied to my agency. After a long conversation with my now agency owner, I signed contracts and set up business.
Since then, I’ve helped over 100 families, couples, friends, and solo travelers navigate Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland Paris, Universal Orlando, and Universal Hollywood. Not only do I provide my clients with expert knowledge, recommendations, and planning assistance, but I get to play a background role in their memories. That’s the most important part to me. The enjoyment I get from seeing my clients’ vacation photos often outweighs the pay I take home. I think the amount of care and knowledge I give to each vacation sets me apart from any other travel advisor.
Over the past almost 5 years, I’ve been able to evolve my services to include magazine style guides to send to clients throughout their planning process. Im extremely proud of the brand I’ve built and the materials I’ve created to help streamline planning. I’ve, also, been able to expand who I’m able to offer my services. I started off planning only for those who booked their vacation packages through me at no additional cost. While I still do not charge a planning fee to those who book vacation packages with me, I’ve now started offering planning services on a fee-based scale for those who do not need packages. This service is geared towards clients like Disney Vacation Club or timeshare owners who have their own accommodations booked but need tickets and planning help or clients that only need a room because they have tickets or annual passes already. Planning fees for this a la carte service are on a sliding scale based on the scope of my clients’ vacations.
What do I offer that’s any different than booking on your own? I offer time and experience. I do expect my clients to participate in the planning process, but I, also, want them to enjoy it and not have it take over their whole lives. I give them that time back to make sure this is an enjoyable vacation. Sometimes I do have hours long holds on the phone to make modifications or wake up early to take care of reservations. Taking that over for my clients relieves the “I can’t wait for this to be over” feeling for them and replaces it with an “I can’t wait to start my vacation” feeling.
As weird as it is for me to say, planning other people’s vacations is my true passion and I’m so glad I found it.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source of new clients for me is referrals from previous clients. It’s rare that I get a new client that finds me on social media. Most of my client base have listened to friends, family, and acquaintances rave about my services and wanted to get a similar experience for themselves!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I received my bachelors degree in Apparel Design. I thought I would live in the fashion industry until I died. I never got that design job and took a job being an assistant buyer for a now closed department store chain. I worked hard in that job and worked my way up to Associate Buyer. Then after 4 years, I was burnt out. I loved most of the coworkers I had, but corporate retail left me depressed, unmotivated, and overworked. Corporate retail killed my passion for apparel design. After my husband and I were married, we both looked at each other and made a plan for me to get out of that toxic situation. Less than a year later, I turned in my resignation notice with no job to fall back on. At first, I was creating again and using a heat press printing skill I learned right outside of college. Unfortunately for me, everyone else was also jumping in on this skill and I don’t think I could diversify myself enough to continue. I had always wanted to jump into vacation planning professionally and originally intended on opening up my own travel concierge business instead of travel booking. I kind of chickened out on that idea because I was already feeling a little down on the business I was currently running. That’s when I googled “Disney Travel Agency hiring” and came across Pixie Mouse Travel. The rest is really history. My heat press business slowly faded away as I got busier with travel planning. That pivot in my career saved my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pixiemousetravel.com
- Instagram: @PixieMouseLauren
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PixieMouseLauren
- Other: Lauren@pixiemousetravel.com
Image Credits
Casie Marie Photography