What do you do if your successful baby swimming franchise business is wiped out during Covid?

For Kirsty McNiece, 46, a busy mum of two who lives in Fife, Scotland, it was sink or swim.

She decided to sell her baby swimming lesson business and use some of the money to start a new one in an area she’s very passionate about: travel.

And she couldn’t believe her luck when she discovered The Travel Franchise, a company that helps anyone switch careers and become a travel consultant after just five days of intensive virtual training!

And when she found out that the same company will also refund franchisees their £14,995 franchise fee providing they book enough holidays in their first year as part of its Money-Back Challenge she was convinced this was her opportunity to make money doing something she loves.

“I hadn't been earning for effectively the best part of three years by that stage with Covid wiping out the baby swim business so it felt like a big investment. But the Money-Back Challenge actually was the hook that eventually got me over the line.”

The Travel Franchise is the only franchise of its kind in Britain which offers the Challenge. The company’s co-founder Paul Harrison introduced it over 10 years ago and since then dozens of people have won it. Not only do around 98 per cent of those not have any experience working in travel, but many have never owned their own business before and some have succeeded in just six months!

“I was dancing around the kitchen and drinking Champagne when I realised I’d made it! Who gets a start-up business for nothing?” says Kirsty.

So, what does she plan to do with all that money?

“Getting that amount of money back again changes everything. Effectively that's 2024’s holiday to Orlando paid for!”

“The franchise fee sets me up with a ready-made travel consultancy including business infrastructure, booking technology, training and support by travel experts. As I have made enough sales in less than a year, I generate enough profit to justify The Travel Franchise returning that investment.”

So how did Kirsty, a mum of two, decide to invest her money with The Travel Franchise and what are her tips for others looking to do the same thing - and achieve the Challenge?

Like many franchisees, Kirsty has always had a passion for travel but she didn’t want to work for anyone else and there was one non-negotiable: total flexibility. The ability to work from home or anywhere in the world.

“Having run my own business for about 10 years, the concept of going back to work for anybody else just doesn't float my boat at all.

“For a long time, I could see myself in travel, I just couldn't see myself selling holidays from behind a desk in a high street shop. Travel is probably in my DNA. I fell into languages and got the travel bug but I never really managed to find a way of being able to do it.

“It got to the stage where I was spending so much time messing about on the Internet looking for holidays my husband eventually said I need to do something about this!”

Kirsty has been overwhelmed by the training and support The Travel Franchise provided, especially from her personal business development manager Dani (pictured with Kirsty celebrating her win).

And she loves the flexibility.

“I've taken holiday bookings on cruise ships, I've taken bookings when we've been in the field setting up a tent at a festival and put them through on my phone. It can literally be done from anywhere, which is what I love about it.”

“Training days have always pushed me in the right direction when I needed that support. Having done franchisee work and working self-employed for 10 years, I've started to recognise when I do need support and to reach out for help at that point. I think that's absolutely crucial because the business development managers and the team are there in spades as soon as you raise your hand in the air.”

Kirsty also joined the company’s free Millionaire's Retreat in Cyprus in March 2023 and in June was trained by its cruise experts at sea on a luxury Virgin Voyages cruise, from Barcelona around the Mediterranean.

So would Kirsty recommend others jump onboard setting up their own travel business?

“It's not rocket science. The benefit of investing in a franchise is that you just follow the formula they give you that's been tried and tested, it will come. You’ll be pushed out of your comfort zone and you have to do the work. But it's not difficult to figure out how to do the work if you just follow the formula.”

And how confident does she feel about the future?

“I've got people now who have booked three or four times with me already, which is phenomenal. People I'd never even met before, but were happy to take the recommendation of someone they knew that sort of knew me, that have just kept coming back.”
And then there’s the perks. Travelling for work and pleasure! Kirsty couldn’t be happier.