A Business Baby

Name: Shari Marsh

Agency name and location: Cruise Holidays, Raleigh, North Carolina

Host agency/franchisor: Cruise Holidays, an affiliate of Travel Leaders Network.

My former career: I studied audiology and speech pathology at Florida State University but never practiced. I chose to stay home with my three daughters and did bookkeeping for a small company at home. I was room mom, soccer mom and involved with young children at church.

Why I chose a travel career: When my youngest daughter was a year away from going to college, I decided to pursue my dream of owning a cruise franchise. I had been thinking about it for eight years. My first cruise had been on the Big Red Boat in 1987, and many more family cruises followed. I knew I wanted to share my love of cruising with others. Any career is easier if you are following your passion, and I have!

My biggest challenge starting out: My biggest obstacle was how to get started.

How I solved it: I sent an email to my soccer lists, church lists, school PTA lists, friends, family, everyone. And in the subject line I wrote, “We’re having a Baby.” Since most people knew my youngest daughter was 18 and about to embark on college, I had a 100 percent open rate of approximately 350 emails.

In the body of the email, I explained it was a “business baby”—something for me to love, nurture and keep me busy rather than be a helicopter mom hovering over three young capable daughters who didn’t need me to do that. That original email yielded a six-cabin group booking and several referrals. I was off and running, and have never looked back.

My greatest challenge right now: My greatest challenge is trying to find enough hours in the day, week and month. As a travel professional, I stay connected to my clients constantly, but I also try to stay educated: experience new products, and touch and experience resorts, excursions, tour companies, etc. I try to meet with our providers, learn about new providers, and find new resources. Staying current is important.

My guests love when I can accurately describe what they are only seeing on paper. It is what sets [booking with] me apart from blindly buying from an online travel agency. If only I could find a few more hours in a day!

How my former work experiences helped me run my travel business: My accounting background has made running the back-office portion of my business a snap!

Why I love what I do: Nothing is more satisfying than getting that phone call, picture or email from my guests telling me their vacation was everything they wanted, everything they hoped for. And, of course, the “We want to do it again!” The icing on the cake is that I think my family is proud to see that my “business baby” has grown and matured into a successful, thriving agency that no longer just focuses on ocean cruises but also on my passion (river cruises) as well as all-inclusive resorts, groups, land tours and custom packages.