Award-winning homeworker Gwyndaf Williams tells Samantha Mayling about opening in a former hairdressing salon
Q. What did you do before travel?
A. My first job was on the Youth Training Scheme (YTS) in a bike shop. I had a keen interest in cycling and had been working in a restaurant, and liked the interaction with customers. I was there for about three years before the manager sold up. I then became a postman and spent 10 years with the Royal Mail. The unit I worked for moved to Chester – over an hour’s drive away – so I took a redundancy package. I went to work in a cheese factory as a machine operator, working two days and two nights, with four days off. We produced mozzarella for major companies such as Domino’s and Pizza Hut.
I’d always been interested in travel and was the chief holiday organiser within my group of friends. I was passionate about researching destinations
Q. Why did you move into travel?
A. I started part-time as a homeworker in September 2017 with Independent Travel Experts (part of The Travel Network Group). The number of days I had off from the factory enabled me to build a business with ITE. It’s called Teithiau Gwyndaf Williams Travel. I’d always been interested in travel and was the chief holiday organiser within my group of friends. I was passionate about researching destinations. After looking at many options in travel, ITE suited me – there were no targets and no set-up fee, plus I had support from business development managers and the in-house administration team. That support was fundamental to my development. My first booking was a break to Krakow for a lady I know.
I was lucky to have gained enough knowledge and understanding of the travel industry, and had the customer base to have the confidence to set up full-time
Q. Why did you become a full-time agent in 2019?
A. After a car accident I couldn’t use my right arm, so I had to leave the factory. But as one door shuts, another opens. I was lucky to have gained enough knowledge and understanding of the travel industry, and had the customer base to have the confidence to set up full-time. However, the pandemic soon started; the timing was not good. I had the support of my wife, Carys, to get me through this tough period, earning zero, like all agents in the industry. She’s been my rock.
Q. How did ITE and TTNG help during Covid?
A. They supported me very well, as we had weekly Zoom meetings with the head office team about the latest news and restrictions. We had a strong team of agents – we grew as a team during this period and helped each other massively. That team ethic was massive and still is today. One of my mottos is ‘Teamwork makes the dream work’. I have no plans to leave ITE as the set-up is fantastic for me with the in-house admin support. They are a massive part of my business. They took a chance on me in 2017, and I will forever be grateful for that.
I use social media, the community newspaper and word-of-mouth recommendations. Customer reviews on my socials are better than any advert, in my eyes
Q. How do you market your business?
A. I use social media, the community newspaper and word-of-mouth recommendations. Customer reviews on my socials are better than any advert, in my eyes. I am very passionate about using Welsh, as it’s my first language. It is fundamental that my business is bilingual. Three‑quarters of the people coming into my shop are Welsh speakers, so providing this service is vital.
Q. Do you travel a lot?
A. I’m lucky to have been on a few fam trips and the most recent was the best: a JTA fam to Doha. It was fantastic and we flew in business class with Qatar Airways. Qatar has a vision to be like Dubai one day. Our own holidays are mainly to Cyprus and we’ve recently started going on cruises – our second will be in July to the fjords and we plan to take a Caribbean cruise. I try to go away on holiday twice a year. Away from travel, my hobbies mainly involve walking and watching football.
I watched the awards ceremony being streamed on the live feed during the gala dinner. I was overjoyed to win – it was a massive surprise
Q. What did you think about winning the ITE award at the TTNG conference?
A. The conference was in Munich in December but I was one of the delegates who could not reach it because of heavy snow. I watched the awards ceremony being streamed on the live feed during the gala dinner. I was overjoyed to win – it was a massive surprise. I was gutted that I did not make it to Munich as that would have been my first TTNG conference.
How did you set up shop in a former hairdressing salon?
I’d outgrown my home office and my customer base had increased. I needed a base to tap into the community in the village of Y Felinheli and surrounding locations. It’s an affluent area, which is good for walk-ins. My wife Carys – a hairdresser – had a lot of design input. I hosted an open afternoon in December and offered drinks and nibbles, plus a chance to win prizes such as a £100 holiday voucher and airport lounge passes. Sales have increased significantly since opening just before Christmas.
I’m learning to balance the needs of clients coming to me in person and those on social media, allocating time away from face-to-face contact to ensure both sets of clients get what they require. When I opened, I was flexible with shop times. The shop doesn’t open until 10am and normally I am there until 8.30pm, doing admin or dealing with enquiries. I sell every type of holiday and have noticed a big increase in cruise bookings since the pandemic. I’m promoting these strongly and it’s paying off – cruise is selling well. And although it was snowy in January, it was still very busy.