Your Stories: How a health diagnosis changed my life for the better

Q. How did you get started in travel?
I set up my business based on my health situation, because I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2010. I’d been working in London and had a great career in the education sector. I loved it, but my health started to decline because I probably wasn’t looking after myself as well as I should have been. It got to the point where I was hospitalised and had to take a different route in life.

 

I really needed a job where I could work from home because it’s a very debilitating condition, so I decided to set up my business through Protected Trust Services and it’s changed my life. It may sound strange, but I’m almost grateful for the version of the condition I’ve got because while I do have to manage my symptoms, I absolutely love what I’ve set up and what I’ve done with myself. My business works around me and my lifestyle, which is amazing. 

 

Q. What do you sell?
I set up my business at the end of 2018 and my specialism is luxury. It can be anything from a weekend in Paris to a round-the-world trip. My clients are mainly couples and families, but I have the occasional corporate one as well. I also have clients who book solo travel, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag. I have clients in the UK, but also some in the US.

 

Q. How did you attract US-based clients?
I had a client, Peg, in her late-80s from Washington State who was referred to me. I booked her a round-the-world cruise from Tilbury, so she flew over. I had done lots of FaceTiming with her, and she was desperate to meet me. I booked a hotel and went down and met her and we had a lovely time. When she was on her trip, the Covid lockdown was imposed so all of the cruise ships had to return. No hotels would take any of the cruise passengers at all, but my dad ran a taxi business and a B&B in Norfolk.

 

Flights weren’t departing for another two days, so he went to pick her up and took her to our B&B – we looked after her there until she could catch her flight. Ever since then, her children have been so grateful that we took her in that they keep in touch with me and I book all their travel. They’re such lovely people. Peg passed away in December. She was a really happy, positive lady.

 

Q. What’s been your biggest booking?
Peg’s family did back-to-back Scenic sailings to Antarctica and Patagonia, which is probably the biggest trip I’ve booked. It was just over $80,000.

 

Q. How has this year been business-wise?
This has probably been the busiest year since I started. I think it’s happened purely through word of mouth. I take part in two networking groups, both of which are for women – one of them is in Chelmsford and the other in Norfolk. I get really good business from both. It’s mainly repeat bookers and referrals. It’s been brilliant – I’m really, really pleased.

 

Q. Can you tell us more about your previous career?
I used to work for an education company in London that provided a software-based learning resource for teachers and children, and I was in charge of all the training that went with it. It was such a fantastic company, and I learnt a lot – I also gained quite a few transferable skills that I use in my travel business. Prior to setting up on my own, I was planning to go and work on a superyacht. I wanted to work in the galley, so I got qualifications in cooking, as well as other certifications, but my ulcerative colitis took such a turn that I went to hospital and my dream was over. I was told that I wasn’t able to [join the superyacht], so I decided to write down the pros and cons of what I was good at and what I wasn’t good at, and decided that being a travel consultant was the best option for me.

 

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Can you describe how your travel career helps you manage ulcerative colitis?

Having ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease is very challenging, especially if you’re going through a flare. Working from home is the best thing that happened to me, because the symptoms make it very difficult to get out of the house. So working from home was life-changing. When I’m having days that aren’t great, I’ve got everything I need there. I can work my business around my lifestyle. It’s such a great career move to do something like this, because you can take some control.

 

Fortunately for me, when I was employed, I worked for a company that was really understanding, but it’s not the same everywhere. And it’s hard for a lot of employers to understand because people think you look fine. They used to say, ‘You look really well.’ But you’re not – it’s an invisible disease. I was in remission for four years, but unfortunately it came back. I think it’s all stress-related, but it’s about managing your lifestyle and having a job where you can be in control of your finances and know you’re in the comfort of your own home.