After 22 years in the corporate world as a director at American Express, Dave Rodrigues felt something was missing. Despite his comfortable life, he longed to revive his dream of owning a business.
“The corporate world just has a way of sucking you into it, and you’re just focused on that day-to-day job,” Rodrigues explains. “I just needed more fulfillment in my life.”
When researching franchise opportunities, Rodrigues asked himself a crucial question: “What am I passionate about?” The answer was clear—travel.
His search led him to Cruise Planners, a travel franchise opportunity that immediately caught his attention.
After speaking with existing franchise owners, he was impressed by their consistent praise for the company’s technology, tools and support system. At $10,995 to start, it represented a significantly more affordable option than other franchises he had considered.
In 2012, despite having no experience in travel sales, Rodrigues purchased his Cruise Planners travel franchise. He initially worked the business part-time while maintaining his corporate position.
“My Cruise Planners job started getting more and more fulfilling to me, to the point where I was enjoying it far more than my day job,” he recalls.
By 2015, Rodrigues had left his corporate career to focus full-time on his Cruise Planners business as a home-based travel agent. With more time to dedicate to his passion, his sales flourished, and he joined the prestigious Millionaire's Club—a group of travel advisors who sell more than $1 million in travel annually.
“Not having any previous industry experience, when I heard about what it took to join the Millionaires Club, I wasn’t even thinking that was a possibility,” he admits. “But the franchise model makes it so easy to get off the ground. I was able to go from not having any experience selling travel to tapping into technology, marketing, and business development support from my Cruise Planners coach. They provide excellent resources—you just have to have the entrepreneurial spirit to make it happen.”
While Rodrigues appreciates his financial success, what he values most is spending each day working in a field he genuinely loves.
“It’s really important when you’re starting a small business to be passionate about what it is the business is about,” he says. “And I truly love what I do.”
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