I sort of fell into a career as a behavioral therapist. My initial internship was working with children with special needs, and after that, I seemed to have few opportunities in other fields. Now, don’t get me wrong, I liked my work, I did, but I didn’t love it. Hi, I’m April with AprilCoxTravel and Freelance, and here is my origin story.
I’m an Abuse Survivor.
When I first started my travel agency, I was really unhappy in my career as a behavioral therapist, but I also had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t really make any sales right away. In fact, it would be nearly 2 years before I would make my first sale.
Let me backup a bit. I’m an abuse survivor, and being a behavioral therapist was very triggering. I experienced verbal abuse all the time on the job as well as the occasional physical abuse from clients. I even had a client punch me in the face once-my front teeth are crooked because of that particular incident- and there was little to no support from the companies I worked for.
COVID-19.
It finally came to a breaking point in 2021. During COVID, I worked as a supervisor from home. I had come to like the freedom and flexibility of that sort of schedule, but it can be challenging to supervise remotely.
My employer pressured me to go back and even recommended going without a mask, so the kids could see our faces. I hadn’t driven during much of COVID, so I was anxious about driving on the freeway, and I was struggling with the demands placed. It didn’t help that I hadn’t received the support I needed during my training as I was obtaining my certification, and things finally came to a breaking point.
The True Beginning of my Origin Story: Challenges of Being a Travel Agent
I resigned my position and began to focus on my travel agency, which is where my origin story truly begins. Unfortunately, I didn’t know what I was doing. I had little to no network, and I didn’t have a clue about business or how to market.
Over the next two years, I did a lot of learning, however, without money for marketing, I had limited options. I was also working with an MLM initially, something I’ve since rectified. (MLMs do not provide support on selling travel as their main source of income is signing up more travel agents).
I’m working on getting more marketing going, but when there is no income coming in, it can be really hard to get the word out. I even had to take down my website for a little while, hence the gap in blog posts. I’ve gotten things up and running again, and as I’ve already stated, I’m working on getting more marketing going.
Why Did I Become a Travel Agent?
I chose to become a travel agent because I love planning trips–it’s that simple. I’ve gotten really good at planning budget friendly trips by focusing on hidden gems in an area to keep the cost down. Sometimes I will splurge something a little more expensive, but budget friendly travel is very possible I’ve found.
I also excel in planning pet friendly trips as my little buddy Fawkes goes with me on every trip.
What kinds of trips do I offer?
I offer mostly any kinds of trips you can think of, however, at this time, I only consult on pet friendly trips to other countries. I personally do not travel overseas due to the cost and planning involved, and I am not comfortable booking this type of trip for you. Fortunately, I do not charge consultation fees at this time.
You can check out the specific types of trips I offer here or schedule a complimentary vacation planning session for help planning your next trip.
What did you think? Did you enjoy hearing about my origin story?
