Travel Advisor Does a U-Turn After Cancer Diagnosis
byMarilee Crocker/
Debra Harris had just retired from a 27-year career in federal law enforcement and was preparing to launch a second career as a travel advisor when, at age 51, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
A Type A personality to her core, Harris said she was stopped in her tracks by the 2013 cancer diagnosis. “It was like hitting a brick wall. I had all the questions anybody’s who’s ever been diagnosed with cancer asks: Why me? What did I do? What is the universe trying to tell me?”
哈里斯(Harris)参加了旅行专业认证课程,并决定如何构建她尚未出生的业务,生活之旅旅行有限责任公司,当时她被迫暂停按钮。在大约一年的时间里,她将自己的业务梦想搁置,而她专注于健康。
After recovering from the necessary surgeries, Harris moved from greater Washington, D.C., to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Then she took stock. “I said, OK I’ve got this. Now how can I share this path, this journey, with others?”
Awakening to her mission
癌症的经历改变了哈里斯在佤邦ys, including by opening up this former “just-the-facts ma’am investigator” to her more creative side. “This was my awakening,” she said.
这也改变了她的旅行业务计划。“整个癌症的事情就像一个漫长的梦想。当我醒来时,我最好定义我想做的事情。”
“癌症之旅告诉我的是,我真的需要找到需要从中受益的人。其中一些是婴儿潮一代,有些是梯队顶部的人,他们非常忙,他们旅行时只会检查一个盒子。但是生活并不是要检查盒子,也不是旅行。
“I feel that my mission is to help people slow down and savor life. Use all your senses. Recognize what’s important. Take in the moment. Breathe.”
For the joy of it
哈里斯(Harris)的甜蜜点是小组沉浸式旅行。“我喜欢食物,葡萄酒,身临其境的体验。当我旅行时,学习和无限的好奇心以及那些定制的经历,这些小事,您只会与我合作或与我一起旅行。
“There are people who call me who want to do 10 countries in 10 days. That is not my traveler. I want to work with travelers who are interested in lingering a longer, diving a little more deeply, and getting a sense of the place.”
Joy now serves as Harris’ guidepost when deciding whether to plan a trip for a client. “I need to get joy from the trip you’re taking and to send you somewhere that I know you’re going to get joy.”
寻找她的客户
她发现成功地吸引了与当地团体的互动来吸引新客户,以满足她的个人兴趣。她是两个葡萄酒俱乐部,一个美食俱乐部和一个花园俱乐部的成员,所有这些都恰好与她喜欢的旅行风格保持一致。
She’s also collaborating with the genealogy researcher who did her own family tree to explore ways of pairing ancestry research and travel, and she plans to add genealogy research travel to her offering next year.
When qualifying clients, Harris draws on the high-level interviewing skills she acquired as an investigator for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
“To me, the most important question is the why, and from there continuing with open-ended questions and diving a little deeper. It’s really finding out what their dreams and aspirations are for a trip and qualifying around that.
“如果我有什么东西,我可以添加为他们的原因增添价值,这就是我变得高兴的地方。”
Harris will only work with customers with whom she feels a connection. “My relationship with my travelers has to be genuine, authentic, and real. It cannot be just because I see a commission check.
“I want that relationship. That’s the part that really brings me joy. It if doesn’t bring me joy then it is one and done. Life is too short.”
That focus on building authentic relationships with clients helps differentiate her, she said.
The importance of support
Harris credits the coaching support she has received through her host agency, Gifted Travel Network, with helping her to redefine her business vision and clarify the unique “medicine” she has to offer.
She encouraged other travel advisors to surround themselves “with a supportive, collaborative community in the industry that you can bounce ideas off of and ask for advice.
“在癌症之旅中,有很多支持小组。您也需要在旅行社区中。那是癌症教给我的另一件事。”