Alexa Petherick – PTM Pasadena South Australia

Paula Shields – PTM Caringbah NSW

TravelManagers’ regional meetings provide a great opportunity for their personal travel managers to not only interact face-to-face and partake in professional development opportunities, they also provide a unique opportunity to participate in an initiative called ‘Zero to Hero’. Michael Gazal, National Business Partnership Manager for TravelManagers, says ‘Zero to Hero’ is all about personal travel managers sharing their experience of starting out with the company.

“For new personal travel managers it is a fantastic experience to hear what others before them have encountered and how best to establish themselves and build their client base.”

Alexa Petherick is the representative from Pasadena in South Australia. Coming from a travel agency background Petherick’s motivation to join TravelManagers was to gain more control over her lifestyle and to rid the feeling she was like a small fish in a big pond.

“I looked at those who had worked their way up the corporate ladder and while successful, the roles they were in didn’t allow time for work life balance, something that is very important to me. I also felt there were ways that I could improve the level of service to my clients but I was restricted to working within the company’s particular business model.”

Petherick had read about TravelManagers and had always been intrigued by them as a company.
“TravelManagers appeared to offer a complete structured business model with ongoing local support which really appealed to me. They were also encouraging of their personal travel managers building their business in a direction that was right for them and the needs of their individual lifestyle.”

Working with my dedicated state business partnership mentor was a pivotal part of Petherick’s success.

“I loved that I didn’t feel alone at all, TravelManagers backed me all the way, helping me to assess my strengths and areas I needed extra support with. They helped me plan on a daily, weekly, monthly basis as well as looking strategically at my business. The famil educational opportunities they provide are incredibly, many of them are exclusively for TravelManagers, such are their supplier relationships.”

Petherick says her business is humming now.

“It’s only been 15 months but my client relationships are very strong, I love I have the freedom and flexibility to really care and go the extra mile for my clients. Plus I work when and where I want, so if the surf is good I’m there, if I feel like a break for a good walk in the hills for a couple of hours – I can and I see my friends more than ever for coffee. I work smarter not harder and it’s paying off.”
Paula Shields, representative from Caringbah, in the southern suburbs of Sydney, agrees.

“I joined TravelManagers in December 2010, after 25 years travel industry experience the last 12 of which I worked for a major Australian airline in airport customer service. I also am a mother of four children; including five year old twins who are very active and two very busy, very sporty teenage boys, so for me it is all about working smarter not harder!”

Shields says the big issue for her was while she has plenty of travel experience she’d been out of retail travel, as a mum, for 16 years.

“I loved when I first met with TravelManagers they were hugely encouraging and talked to me about being realistic about how the first 12 months might pan out, it was great advice.”

Shields made the most of every educational opportunity presented to her by TravelManagers.
“This was one of the things that stood out for me was the emphasis TravelManagers places on education, it is truly first rate. I attended every webinar, every online supplier training course I could manage, I read the Marketing and other manuals they produce cover to cover, spent hours poring over the intranet which is packed with superb tips, advice and information and ordered every brochure possible.”

Shields’ business is growing steadily with clients from all over Australia but she’s ensured she keeps perspective in that work fits her lifestyle and not the other way around.

“My family are hugely important to me and whilst taking my 15 year old to sprint training three times a week isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, the big thing for me is, I can.”