Risk-Reward in Travel Agency Operations & Unintentional Mentors, w/ Kirsten Gardner (USA)

My guest this month is Kirsten Gardner from right here in the United States. I’ve been popping around the world with these conversations, and I’m bringing it back home to the US for this one. After 15+ years in various roles, just two years ago in 2022 Kirsten co-founded her own travel agency called Outlier Journeys, based out of Seattle. She and her partner curate global adventures for discerning travelers predominantly in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. This conversation is probably most suited for travel advisors, those starting out and those more seasoned. There’s a little something for everyone. It’s almost like a Masterclass. It’s not as philosophical as most of my conversations have been. And I knew it wouldn’t be right around the 5 minute mark when Kirsten said something that I knew was going to take the conversation in a totally different direction. In the best way. It’s just a brass tacks, nuts and bolts, conversation. About running an agency. It’s honestly the type of conversation I’d been wanting to record, and share. With so many advisors reaching out to me for advice, with questions. This episode has loads of transparent operational information. It could be one to earmark and refer back to, as it is a long episode. Pause. Take notes. Come back to it. Suppliers of travel, hoteliers, may find it interesting as well, particularly the last 20 minutes or so where we go into a changing industry, ROI, where to spend your time.