Joanne started a travel business at 53 with no experience

Joanna joined The Travel Franchise in 2022 after a career in charity fundraising. She had no travel industry background, no existing client base and one friend who told her she was mad for starting something new at 53. Three years on she is expanding her business, managing a £53,000 client relationship, and recently walked the green carpet at the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall as a guest of Cunard.

This is her story...

The leap at 53

Before joining The Travel Franchise, Joanna had spent four years as a charity fundraiser. She loved the cause but the role had taken its toll. Unsociable hours, relentless weekend events and the creeping sense that she was constantly sacrificing the family time that mattered most to her.

When a friend questioned why she was starting a new career in her fifties, Joanna’s answer was unambiguous.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “I’m just getting started.”

She completed her training in December 2022. The day before she was due to go live, she broke her wrist. Her first bookings were done left-handed, on pain relief, while waiting to have it pinned back together.

“For the first three months it was all a little bit like, what on earth have I done?” she says.

Three years later, she has a £53,000 client who books with nobody else, a £13,000 cruise booking that came directly from an evening at the Royal Albert Hall, and a business expanding fast enough that she is bringing on her first team member this summer.

The Olivier Awards and the £13,000 booking that followed

Three months ago Joanna booked a Cunard cruise for one of her regular clients. When she registered the booking with Cunard, a pop-up appeared offering the chance to win tickets to the Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall. She entered. Two weeks later she found out she had won. Two tickets, as the only winner from the entire entry pool.

She and her husband dressed up, headed to London, walked the green carpet, attended the Cunard reception inside the Royal Albert Hall and watched a three-hour ceremony featuring the likes of Boy George and Elizabeth Hurley before heading to the after party at the Natural History Museum, lit up in Cunard red.

“It was just something you’d never get to experience in your general day-to-day life,” she says.

Before the event, Joanna had a client who had been quietly considering a Cunard cruise. A Queen’s Grill penthouse suite, a serious booking, and he was taking his time. Joanna messaged him ahead of the evening to mention she had been invited by Cunard as a special guest. What she did not know was that he is deeply into theatre. He watched the Olivier Awards broadcast on BBC Two that evening, looking out for her in the crowd.

When she returned on the Monday morning, his email was already waiting. He wanted to book the cruise. Just short of £13,000, over the line.

“I think he possibly would have booked it anyway,” Joanna says with characteristic honesty. “But that was just the thing that made him think, let’s just do it.”

When a client needed her most

Earlier this year, Joanna had a client in Dubai when the situation in the Middle East escalated. Missiles were flying over the city. The client could hear the impact from her hotel. Debris came down at the hotel on the opposite side of the water.

Joanna was on it immediately. She kept communication open throughout, working with her specialist supplier behind the scenes, making sure her client had clear updates and no reason to panic. Her client was on the beach when Joanna messaged. She was in the Emirates lounge sipping champagne when she flew home, on her original departure day, without a single moment of stress.

“She had no stress at all,” Joanna says. “Because I was behind the scenes working to get her home.”

That client had spent £53,000 on her first booking with Joanna. She has since booked again. And Joanna is clear about why.

“That experience will make her a client for life. Because I was there to help and hold her hand and make sure things were sorted. It gives her confidence to keep booking with me.”

Around 60 per cent of Joanna’s business now comes from repeat clients. Many of them refer their friends. She also runs a strong Partners in Travel relationship with her local hospice and has recently launched a second charity partnership.

The support that makes the difference

Joanna attended the Millionaire’s Retreat in Crete and the Elite Experience in Mauritius with Beachcomber, both included as standard in the Elite package. She describes the peer community on these trips as just as valuable as the formal training.

“You’re working away at home thinking, am I doing this right? Is this the right approach? And it’s nice sometimes to have a forum to share ideas with people who actually understand what you’re doing.”

Her business consultant Danielle has been a consistent presence throughout her journey. One moment stands out. A young couple had been going back and forth on a tailor-made itinerary and then told Joanna they had priced it individually online and found it £2,000 cheaper. Joanna went to Danielle. Danielle came back with a response built around the value of ABTA protection and personal service. Joanna sent it on. The client called that afternoon and booked.

“I could have high fived her and hugged her,” Joanna says. “She came with her magic wand.”

What is next

Joanna is expanding. A former travel colleague is joining her team in August, a part-time school worker with a young daughter who is already helping with social media in the meantime. The business name is evolving to reflect the growth, with Joanna keeping her own name at the heart of it because, as she puts it, people buy from people.

“Running your own business is a real privilege,” she says. “Not many people get that opportunity. And being in travel and booking people’s holidays, even when times are tight, it’s such a pleasure. It’s a really special thing to do.”

Her advice to anyone still on the fence about starting a travel business?

“Go for it. Without hesitation. Just go for it.”

About The Travel Franchise

The Travel Franchise is the UK’s number one franchise for people new to travel, operating under the consumer-facing brand Not Just Travel. Established in 2001, it has helped hundreds of people from every background build successful home-based travel businesses, the vast majority starting with no prior travel industry experience.

The business was voted Best Lifestyle Franchise in the World for two consecutive years, 2025 and 2026, at the International Franchise Association’s Global Franchise Awards. It has also been named Britain’s Best Home-Based Franchise and is ranked in the top ten of all UK franchises, the only travel franchise to achieve that standing. It is backed by celebrity brand ambassadors TV broadcaster Eamonn Holmes OBE and double Olympic champion Daley Thompson CBE.

Two packages are available:

• The Lite Mentorship Programme from the equivalent of £28 a week, part time, with an experienced mentor from day one.
  
  
• The Elite package at £14,995 plus VAT, the flagship, including five-day training, a dedicated Business Consultant, two fully funded overseas mentorship retreats and the unique Money-Back Challenge.

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