A travel agent who developed a new division of her business while battling breast cancer is hoping to double the number of homeworkers in the next year.
Britt-Marie Monks set up The Holiday Fixer, a luxury travel division of her agency The Honeymoon Fixer, in 2018 after joining Midcounties’ Co-operative Travel Consortium.
The new homeworking division allowed Monks to expand the business beyond her own specialism in honeymoons to sell luxury family and ski holidays.
The expansion went ahead despite Monks being diagnosed with hereditary breast cancer in 2019 and undergoing nine months’ intensive treatment, including chemotherapy, hysterectomy and mastectomy.
“I was growing the business and taking on homeworkers while going through all this,” said Monks, who was 17 when her own mum died of breast cancer.
The Holiday Fixer currently has 10 self-employed homeworkers nationwide, including Monks, with another joining next month. They are mostly mums who previously worked outside the sector.
Now Monks has set her sights on growing the business further, potentially recruiting another 10 homeworkers in the next year, either from inside or outside the industry.
There is no joining fee but homeworkers pay a monthly administration cost. They receive a split of commission earnings, marketing materials, access to commercial deals and training from Monks and suppliers.
Monks, who has a seven-year-old daughter, joined travel from a sales background in 2016 after being made redundant. She said homeworking gave mums in particular the chance to have a flexible career.
She said: “My homeworkers are predominantly mums who are from a corporate rather than a travel background. When I speak to women about how life-changing this career has been, I really mean it. I set up my business to work around my daughter and I’m proof it is possible to have a career around your life commitments.”
She also hopes to attract more full-time homeworkers.
She added: “Some of our homeworkers are more active than others, but it would be nice to have more who want to work full-time. Overall, they have to be the right fit for the business.
“We are a small company but have worked really hard to get the brand reputation and credibility in the industry. Some of our homeworkers have niches, like safari holidays, and are experts in their field.”