We recently connected with Mallory Duncan and have shared our conversation below.
Mallory, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
As a small business owner who works on commission and has to find their own clients, I often wonder if I made the right choice. I came from a salaried position where I had the opportunity to earn bonuses and often did. The monthly direct deposit was consistent and led to a financially sound life. The thoughts about knowing how much my pay would be each month often creep into my brain. There are some months that sales are lower and some weeks that go with no sales at all. It can definitely feel defeating to think about my past salary and how I am not seeing it anymore. But then I think about how I don’t dread going to work anymore. I think about how I can drop off and pick up my kids from school. I’m involved in their activities and get to coach a soccer team. My office is decorated in a way that makes me happy to work in it and I get to have weekly lunch dates with my husband. The things I get to do far outweigh the salary I was making. I can honestly say I am happier as a business owner and wouldn’t want to go back to job I didn’t love just for a salary.
Mallory, 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?
Growing up in the 90s, I remember the classic Disney commercials. There was the Mickey wake up call, the one where the baby learned to walk and they always said to ‘remember the magic.’ I guess you can say it stuck and I did remember! I was fortunate enough to visit both Walt Disney World and Disneyland growing up and got to visit again in high school. The magic was still there and I knew I wanted more! Years passed and as I was about to get married, I knew that the most magical place on earth was where we needed to spend our honeymoon. I planned our whole trip and loved every minute of it. After that, I continued helping family and friends who were going for years.
Years would go by between trips and I continued my career in education to a school administrator through the pandemic. After the pandemic, the school system changed drastically and I knew I needed to change paths. Becoming a travel agent was not on my radar, but one YouTube search, one application and an interview led me to where I am now. Working with Friend Like Me Travel Co as an independent travel agent has been one of the best decisions I have made. My background in education and school administration highly impact my success as a travel agent. I am able to set weekly, monthly and yearly goals with strategies on how to achieve them. My years of training in impactful conversations leads me to be able to talk with potential clients and address all of their concerns in a way that assures them I am confident in my role. The work is very different, but the drive and passion are the same.
In one year of business, I was able to sell $200K in vacations and earn incentive trips of my own within the agency I work for. I am grateful to have other agents to collaborate with and support as well.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Having a presence on social media was not something I was used to before becoming a travel agent. I had to keep my social media accounts private and never ventured any further than Instagram and Facebook. Learning and experimenting with social media has been such a great creative outlet for me. I continued with Facebook and Instagram and moved into telling stories through reels. Moving into TikTok was a challenge as I had never worked with the platform before and only knew it from former high school students who had shown it to me. But I tried it and became confident with consistency. Although I haven’t gone ‘viral’, I know that my followers follow be because of the value I bring to them in the form of travel information, promotions, inspiration and just some joy!
The advice I give to new travel agents wanting to build a social media presence is to just do it and see what works for you. Stay consistent and don’t worry about what other people think! It used to be uncomfortable filming in public or recording a voice over, but now I know it’s what I want to do and it makes me happy! Find what type of social media and content make you happy and do it. Don’t worry about going viral with every piece of content you make. That will only suck the joy out of it.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I became a travel agent in January of 2022, I thought I would easily be booking 3-5 trips a week, with thousands in sales and I would be making at least half of my salary. I was completely wrong. When my family and friends found out I was a travel agent and specializing in Disney destinations, they were all so happy for me! Some of them booked their summer trips and were dropping my name to their family and friends. My new business took off and then it crashed. I was going weeks without sales and was really thinking that this may not be for me. Coming from a job with high goals and expectations and not being able to meet these for myself was really taking a toll on me. I thought maybe I shouldn’t quit my job and I should give up this dream because it was only a dream that would never become a reality. My husband really encouraged me to continue and I kept putting in the work. I stayed consistent with posting on social media, reaching out to previous clients, attending events and putting myself out there even more. Sales picked back up and I am proud to say I have even had clients return for another trip! The resilience to not give up this dream was there and I continuously remind myself of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.friendlikeduncan.com
- Instagram: @friendlikeduncan
- Facebook: facebook.com/friendlikeduncan