A career changer with no travel background has booked around £75,000 of holidays in her first month as a travel consultant, after leaving a 17-year corporate career to start her own business with The Travel Franchise. 

Sarah, who spent 17 years at the same company, most recently as a business operations manager running a small resourcing and planning team, retrained as a travel consultant in June 2026. Within her first month, and before launching any social media marketing, she had secured eight bookings worth a combined £75,000, all generated through her existing personal network. 

Her first enquiry arrived within days of finishing her training, when a former colleague came to her with two holidays to book, one of them a trip to New York the following week. From there, the bookings came steadily, from people who already knew her: a former colleague, her children's childminder, a gym instructor, and a friend's relative who simply sent over the details of the trip they wanted. 

"All the bookings I've made so far, I know them apart from one person," Sarah said. "It's just been friends and family, people who knew what I was about to do and waited for me to finish training." 

That early momentum, drawn entirely from her own network, illustrates a principle the company emphasises to every new consultant: you do not begin with nobody. You begin with the people already around you, and the business grows from there through repeat bookings and referrals. 

A career built on detail 

Among her first bookings was a once-in-a-lifetime itinerary combining a back-to-back cruise with the Indian Pacific rail journey across Australia, with tailored hotel stays built in at either end. Working with one of the company's suppliers, Sarah took care over every detail, including securing club room access in place of a standard room at her client's request. 

"The whole reason I did this is because I love researching hotels and places to go," she said. "For that big booking, I only booked places I'd love to stay in myself." 

That appetite for detail is also what brings clients to her for trips they cannot easily arrange themselves. When her husband's friend wanted to travel to Sri Lanka, a destination Sarah has visited herself, she was able to add genuine value from first-hand knowledge. 

"That's not something you can do on Jet2," she said. "They need somebody like me. And I've been to Sri Lanka myself, so I can give them that extra value." 

Higher-value, carefully tailored bookings of this kind can generate strong commission for a consultant without a proportionate increase in workload, and they tend to turn one-off customers into clients who return and recommend. 

Why she made the move 

Sarah's decision was driven by a desire for greater flexibility around family life, including her six-year-old twins. She describes a long-held feeling that she wanted to do something of her own, which came to a head during a summer when she found herself unable to take the time off she wanted with her children. 

She researched her options carefully over the course of more than a year before committing, and cited the pressure-free recruitment process as a deciding factor in choosing The Travel Franchise over other providers she had considered. 

"I chose The Travel Franchise purely because that whole process before signing up was so pressure free," she said. "Even when I spoke to co-founder Paul Harrison, there was no pressure to sign up today. That really reinforced that I was making the right choice." 

Support from day one 

Sarah's experience reflects a wider pattern within the franchise. Around 98 per cent of the company's consultants join with no previous travel experience, supported by a structured training programme and a dedicated business consultant who mentors them from their first day, helping with everything from their first booking to building a business plan and growing a customer base. 

"It's like a comfort blanket, having somebody assigned to you who will help your business grow," she said. "It's amazing that you provide that." 

The Travel Franchise, which trades through its consumer-facing brand Not Just Travel, has been named the world's best lifestyle franchise for two consecutive years and now supports more than 800 consultants across the UK. The business offers two routes to entry: its flagship Elite package, which includes two fully funded overseas training retreats, and a newer, lower-cost Lite package for those who wish to build a travel business part time, around an existing job or other commitments. 

Sarah now runs her business around her family and continues to grow it through repeat bookings and referrals. Her advice to anyone considering a similar move is simple. 

"I didn't want to regret not trying," she said. "If somebody wants to work on their own terms, don't hesitate. The freedom I feel from not having to answer to anyone is great. People want to go on holiday. It's just about getting them to trust you, and to know they can book with you." 

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About The Travel Franchise and Not Just Travel  

The Travel Franchise is the UK's leading travel franchise for people new to the industry, operating through its consumer-facing brand Not Just Travel. It provides comprehensive training, mentorship, systems, technology and supplier access, enabling people from any background to build their own home-based travel business full time, part time or alongside an existing career. Consultants benefit from the buying power and supplier relationships of a major travel group, ongoing training and a dedicated business consultant who supports them as their business grows. The company has been named the world's best lifestyle franchise for two years running and supports a community of more than 800 consultants across the UK.