I always had an urge to travel so after taking tourism classes in high school and suppressing the urge to take flight, I finally bit the bullet and went to school for Hospitality and Tourism Business Management hoping (like everyone) that I would either make enough money to travel comfortably or land a job that would let me travel.
Just like 95% of my class, neither happened so I went out there to make it happen on my own terms. Along the way I went from working in the hotel industry to a travel agency where I worked myself from the bottom to the top, learning everything along the way. Around this time, the internet was really becoming the way of booking; everyone was now their own Travel Agent. This is also when I started to notice that although, the internet made it is so easy to just book what you want / need at the click of a button, besides the very well advertised third party websites (ex. Expedia) people did not really know where to go or even how to solve an issue if something goes sideways.
The agency struggled so I moved on to teaching Business Management, Hospitality Business Management, Travel and Tourism, and then this is where I saw that there was such a large disconnect between teaching, consuming, and selling travel. At this time, I started a travel & training blog which was the basis for Female Abroad.
While pondering how to make a living but still stay in Travel I ended up going on a trip to South East Asia where I spoke about my passion and ideas to a few fellow travellers who all said something similar - "That sounds like a great idea, why are you not doing it?" Being able to chat with complete strangers really got the wheels turning.
However it wasn't until my life was turned upside down almost a year later when I was walking in a crosswalk and a driver decided it was a good time to turn a corner before driving off. A year of wheelchairs and leg braces led to surgery which in turn led to a slow but steady recovery which gave me time to re-evaluate where I am and what I am doing.
During this time I found a way to make Female Abroad a business - let us use our expertise and first hand knowledge to help you feel more confident and knowledgeable in any trip that you end up wanting to do or book. There is so much out there so make sure that you are not only getting what you want and are not being taken advantage of! That was it, the reason to create Female Abroad.
Besides just being able to teach, I have a lot of experience with running an agency so if you are someone that is running an agency but you are getting stuck with sales, retaining people, or anything else business wise then let me help you. With my over 15 years of varied and extensive sales plus management experience I can help you discover what is holding you back and help you move your company forward.
