Jarmal Stevens spent 15 years working in data technology and while he was always grateful to have a job, he never woke up excited about what he was doing each day.
It wasn’t until the Georgia resident left his day job behind and transitioned into being a full-time travel advisor entrepreneur, that he truly felt passionate about his work.
“I get excited being able to create a memory for someone,” says Stevens. “And I look forward to providing service to people.”
Stevens’ career pivot not only delivered greater professional fulfillment, but it also provided a level of financial freedom that he had never before imagined. The weekly paychecks from Stevens’ previous employment, which totaled between $700 to $900, have been replaced by a steady flow of commission checks as a travel advisor entrepreneur that often range from $7,000 to $15,000 each.
“Working at my job, I wasn’t earning a whole lot of income, maybe $60,000 a year, at most,” Stevens, who works with host agency InteleTravel and runs his own travel advisor business called Travel For Fun, told Travelpulse. “My travel income surpassed that, probably twice.
Stevens’ story is hardly unique. A steady stream of professionals are leaving their day jobs behind to become travel advisors.
Earlier this year research from LinkedIn revealed that the travel advisor profession is the fifth fastest growing line of work in the United States.
Landing on the list of fastest growing professions nationwide (and among the top five, no less) puts travel advisors in the same company as rapidly growing fields like artificial intelligence engineer and artificial intelligence consultant.
What that LinkedIn report doesn’t reveal, however, is that the individuals who are rushing to become travel advisors are consistently finding an unexpected level of financial freedom, often earning well more than six figures annually. Along with plenty of professional fulfillment as well.
This new and growing generation of travel advisors are often digital-first entrepreneurs who are building highly lucrative businesses by planning luxury getaways, destination weddings, and incentive trips—often while traveling the world themselves. Here’s a closer look at some of their stories.
Ebonee Brown left behind a job in higher education to become a full-time travel advisor and entrepreneur. (Photo Credit: Courtesy Ebonee Brown)
Ebonee Brown: From higher education to travel advisor
For nearly two decades, Ebonee Brown worked in higher education with much of that time focused on enrolling and recruiting new students.
As part of that role, Brown would regularly speak with prospective students, helping them to identify their passions and delving into what was motivating them to seek out continued education and make a change in their lives.
At some point along the way, Brown began asking herself the same questions: What was her passion and true calling? And was higher education something she could see herself doing for the remainder of her career? Or did she too need to make a change?
Then one day, as Brown sat in a hospital waiting room while her husband was undergoing surgery for cancer, she found answers to her questions.
During that time in the waiting room, Brown kept seeing things online about travel and she realized it was time for her to pivot.
“I talked to God, I thought about how life is short and anything can happened and realized I wanted to dive into my purpose,” Brown recalls.
For Brown that meant transitioning from her full-time job in higher education to focusing full-time on what had, up until then, been her side hustle: Travel planning.
“I was managing both a full-time job along with being part time travel agent,” says Brown. “I would work as a travel advisor before I started work, after I finished work. As soon as I clocked out of my higher education job I was focusing on clients.”
That day in the hospital waiting room, Brown realized that she wanted to take a chance and see what her life might be like if she focused full-time on being a travel advisor.
Like Jarmal Stevens, the decision to shift gears and become a full-time travel advisor has paid off in every way, especially financially.
“I was doing well financially when I was working in higher education, but I only made enough to pay the bills and go on a trip like once a year,” says Brown, who also works with InteleTravel and has established her own travel planning business named Flying in Color, LLC.
With the extra money she made working as a travel advisor part-time, while still holding down her higher education job, Brown was able to pay off all of her debt and is now debt free. Once she shifted to full-time travel advisor, Brown’s income multiplied exponentially. These days, it’s not unusual for her to receive a commission check as large as $10,000 in one month.
“It definitely was a game changer for me. When I decided to leave higher education, it wasn’t a hard decision at all,” says Brown, who specializes in niche Caribbean vacations, all-inclusive getaways and group trips.
In addition to the financial freedom, Brown also loves the lifestyle that comes with being a travel advisor. The Atlanta, Georgia resident spends significant portions of the year globetrotting, either with her husband or children or solo, often for professional events.
Since this spring, she’s only been home a handful of days in between traveling to Orlando, Florida, Mexico; Chicago, Illinois, and Dubai to name a few of the places she’s visited recently.
“This has all been a blessing,” she says. “I’m able to travel even more now. I don’t have to put in requests with an employer for time off. I don’t have to ask anyone for permission. I get to travel with family – with my kids, with my husband. I do solo trips. I have even more freedom now and can be on the go whenever I see fit. It’s definitely been a life changer for me.
How host agencies are facilitating career transitions
The shift to full-time travel advisor for Stevens and Brown was made easier by working with a host agency. In their case the agency was InteleTravel, one of the oldest and largest host travel agencies worldwide.
InteleTravel works with some 130,000 independent travel advisors globally and like other host agencies, provides advisors, who are small business entrepreneurs, with the tools for success. That includes a booking platform, business development resources and training programs, along with a variety of other resources.
From this vantage point, InteleTravel’s president, Tara Minson, has witnessed a steady and growing stream of advisors enter the business with InteleTravel’s help. And she says, they’ve come from all walks of life.
“We have travel advisors who have worked for FBI, who were nurses, teachers, CFOs, even doctors,” Minson tells TravelPulse. “It just goes to show you that truly anyone can do this, as long as you have an interest and passion for travel.”
Minson thinks the tipping point for many new entrants into the profession was the COVID-19 pandemic. That global upheaval brought travel to a screeching halt, which made many people realize how important travel really was to their lives. For the first time, people around the world began to view travel not as a mere luxury or nice-to-have, but as an essential part of their lives and happiness.
When the world opened back up again, travel rebounded quicker then most industries, says Minson. And that made a lot of savvy businesses people realize that travel was an industry they wanted to be a part of.
“Instead of seeing it as a side hustle, many started seeing it as a real business opportunity,” continues Minson.
At the same time this realization began spreading, the education available for would-be travel advisors became far more accessible. Suddenly, thanks also to the seismic shift brought about by COVID-19, many things in life now take place online or virtually – and that includes the education need to be successful as a travel advisor and small entrepreneur, adds Minson.
InteleTravel, which had been hosting live education events for three decades, shifted a great deal of its own programming to virtual offerings. And InteleTravel is not alone in this transition. This industry-wide shift also helped fuel the rush to be a travel advisor.
“We’ve made it easier and more attainable for them,” says Minson. “Anybody can do this and we’re here to support you and to give you the education and the training.”
“The one criteria you really need to be a travel business owner, is that you have to be passionate about travel. You have to passionate about what you’re doing,” Minson adds.
As for the income potential that comes with being a travel advisor, Minson says it all depends on how much time and energy someone puts into their new line of work, along with how high they set their sights.
“We have some advisors who’s annual commission take home is $50,000 and they are fine with that, they’re great with that. And some of them make less, they’re just doing it to maybe pay for their college tuition,” says Minson. “Our number one agent was previously a correctional officer. Her take home is six figures. There is no floor or ceiling.”
Travel advisor and entrepreneur Jamie Tarr has found financial freedom as an advisor. (Photo Credit: Courtesy Jamie Tarr)
From corrections to travel advisor
Jamie Tarr began her professional life as a substance abuse counselor and later she transitioned into corrections officer. Along the way however, travel was always a passion of hers.
“Anytime I got PTO, I always traveled. I was always gone anytime I could be,” says Tarr. “One of my friends in corrections used to always say ‘Jamie you should think about being a travel advisor.’ And I just kept saying no.”
However, when COVID-19 struck and the world was under lockdown, Tarr once again found herself spending a lot of time researching travel and simultaneously had many people asking her where they could travel.
Somewhere around that time, Tarr began working as a travel advisor as a side hustle, squeezing in the job at night and on weekends. She actively began telling people that if they were interested in traveling, she could help them.
For three years she worked that way clocking in for her job as a correctional officer and working on the side as a travel advisor. And then one day, Tarr’s financial advisor said: “It’s not that you could leave your job as a corrections officer, it’s that you should leave your job.”
The advisor was referring to the fact that Tarr was earning far more money from her side hustle then she was from her day job. And it was foolish to continue holding herself back by still maintaining the day job. Doing so only limited her full earning potential.
“Even after 10 years working for the government I was not even at $60,000 a year,” recalls Tarr. “As a travel advisor, I made $83,000 in one paycheck.”
“I’m doing very well,” she adds. “Not all of my paychecks are that much, but I’ve quadrupled my income, if not more. I do $3 million a year in sales.”
Yes, the financial possibilities as a travel advisor entrepreneur are indeed limitless and jaw-dropping. And as Minson indicated, there is no ceiling for those who are willing to work hard.
Tarr says when she opened that first commission check for $83,000, it brought tears to her eyes. “My husband, who was sitting next to me, said ‘How is that possible?’” Says Tarr. “But to me, it was a feeling of ‘I get to do something I’m passionate about and it’s so lucrative.”
Tarr now specializes in booking European and Caribbean travel for clients, and she books some cruises, but not a lot. She says spring break is one of her most lucrative times of the year. During the spring break travel season, she averages $70,000 a month in commissions. And for slower months during other times of the year, she averages about $10,000 a month in commissions.
To get to this point, Tarr says she spent a great deal of time immersing herself in all of the training available and attending professional events whenever possible.
“People try to skip training, but I love it because I want to be in the know for the hottest things,” she says.
And too be clear, Tarr works hard at her new business. Though she sets her own owners and works on her terms.
“I work seven days a week, to be honest. But it’s really nice get to make my own schedule and my schedule varies,” she explains. “Sometimes, I will work form 9 a.m until 11 a.m., take a couple hours off, and then get back online. And sometimes it’s eight to 10 or 12 hours a day. It just depends on how much I have going on.”
“When my clients are traveling, I am there for them, if they need to call me in 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. in the morning, I am there for them, nonstop, I think that has contributed to my success.”
Tarr also travels extensively each year, at least once per month. Doing so is not just something Tarr enjoys, but also helps her to sell travel better and introduce clients to new places.
Like so many other travel advisor entrepreneurs, her decision to leave one career behind and start anew in the travel industry has been life changing. At 38, she is completely debt free, which Tarr says would never have been possible if she remained in her government job. And on top of that, she has a profound sense of peace every day.
“I get to wake up and work my passion, which makes me extremely happy, which is a huge change,” says Tarr. “And every day I get to watch other people make memories.”
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