Self-employment
Small business organizes trips for womenSuitcase full of successSpecialty travel services are a booming industry in North America. Entrepreneur Nancy Walsh has tapped into a particular niche within that industry by catering exclusively to women who want to travel, but don't have a travel companion. ROGER PIERCE -- www.bizlaunch.ca |
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 [ 2007-09-19 ] |
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Entrepreneur Nancy Walsh organizes tours for independent women who don't want to travel alone.
Her company, Going Places Together (www.goingplacestogether.com) organizes trips to exotic locations for women who enjoy the company of others. "Our clients may sign up with a friend, or on their own," she explains. "If a client doesn't have a travel companion, we'll find someone to share accommodations."
An avid traveller herself, the idea for Going Places Together really started when women told Walsh they would travel more if they weren't alone. "Travelling is different for women than men," she says. "Women really want to share their travel experience with someone and are more likely to have security and safety concerns."
Her business also addresses the issue of cost. "Hotels often charge travellers for rooms based on double occupancy, so if you're travelling alone, you end up paying for two people, or what I call the dreaded, 'single supplement,'" Walsh says.
By matching women travellers with a companion, both people save cash and get to share their adventure together.
Since 1994, Going Places Together has organized tours to Asia, Africa, South America, India and Europe. In 2002, a group travelled to China to visit the Great Wall, sail down the Yangtze and shop in Hong Kong.
"The women who travel with us are independent in spirit, but enjoy sharing this kind of adventure," Walsh says.
Walsh, who suffered a sudden hearing loss in 1993, says the secret to small business success is to listen to your customers. "It's funny how the importance of listening really became clear to me when my world went quiet," she recalls. "Since then, I hear with new technologies and in new ways. Listening to my travellers celebrate their journey has never been easier."
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