Advisor Speak: When Passion Leads to Top-Selling Travel Agency

Recommend Standard Image TemplateWhen Passion Leads to Top-Selling Travel Agency By Paloma Villaverde de RicoJamie Margolis Ross didn’t think she was the cruise type, but a cruise with her husband in 2013 changed her idea of what a cruise vacation could offer. After that, she couldn’t get enough of them. Skip to 2017—when she took a cruise with her daughter and was disappointed because she didn’t know about all the resources available for babies on the ship until after she returned home. That very year she created the Moms at Sea Facebook community and blog, where to this day Ross makes sure moms like her have all the information they need to cruise with the little ones before they sail off.
In August 2021, Ross went a step further and launched the Moms at Sea Travel franchise with Dream Vacations, and so passionate is she about creating the perfect cruise vacations for her community, which is now 110,000+ strong, that she was awarded the Bobbye Haupt Franchise of the Year Award at the 2024 Dream Vacations and CruiseOne National Conference. “I always say, ‘If you had the luxury of starting your business today and you didn’t have to stress about making one penny for five years, what could that be when you did [launch] it.’ We were able to market our business unknowingly for five years before really launching it,” Ross tells Recommend. “But then the other side is how many people would make those consistent daily efforts if they weren’t making a penny doing it. I didn’t know how we were going to do it. I didn’t think it was going to happen, but this community was such an amazing resource. That really filled my cup for a long time before we opened,” she says. “For me, the reward has been watching families go on vacations, watching women say, ‘We took our first successful family vacation.’” She stresses that those who start a business such as hers have to be consistent and not give up. “I see so many people say, ‘Hey, you know, I tried to do that too and it just didn’t work out.’ And I’ll ask, ‘How long were you doing it for?’ They respond, ‘I don’t know, three or four months.’ Well, I did it for five years, engaged with this community every day. So, I think it’s about the consistency of daily actions and the habit building…it really does make a difference.” Ross is quick to point out that her Facebook group and her agency are much more than just vehicles to drive sales. “My Facebook group to me, it’s not a Facebook group, it’s a community; my agency, it’s not an agency, it’s a community of women who are helping other women travel. I really enjoy the community building; that brings me a lot of satisfaction.” The community initially started with a specific demographic—young moms taking cruises with infants (and their husbands), but in the years since it’s grown to embrace all families who cruise, including grandmas who cruise with their grandkids. And, of course, dads also make up the community. Ross says she’s even asked her community if she should change the Moms at Sea name and what she hears is a resounding “no.” And why the focus on cruises? Ross says that young families don’t necessarily have a huge expendable income and with a cruise you “get on a ship and all of a sudden our meals are planned, we have affordable, if not free, child care (and it’s good child care) and the children’s programs are phenomenal…. Plus, moms can balance some ‘we time’ with ‘me time’ and not feel guilty.” When she asks moms what kinds of goals they want from a vacation, they naturally say they want to spend time with the family and she half-jokingly responds, “It’s okay to say you don’t want to spend some time with your family too. Don’t feel guilty about wanting to sit in the solarium and just stare at the water.” And she says her agency focuses on family cruising because that’s what she’s an expert in. “Keep the focus,” she says. “You don’t have to try and be all things to all people. It’s okay to pick one thing and really dig into it and make yourself the expert.”

COVERTHE TRAVEL CORPORATIONTable of ContentsEditor's NotesTURKISH AIRLINESIndustry Insights: Travel — A Bridge to KindnessAdvisor Speak: When Passion Leads to Top-Selling Travel AgencyCruise: Luxurious Cruise Adventures Around the GlobeEXPLORA JOURNEYSAMERICAN CRUISE LINES SCAMERICAN CRUISE LINESATLAS OCEAN VOYAGES SCATLAS OCEAN VOYAGESDISNEY CRUISE LINE SCDISNEY CRUISE LINEVIKING SCVIKING CRUISESEXPLORA SCRIVERSIDE LUXURY CRUISES SCVancouver: The Ideal Pre- and Post-Cruise GatewayALASKA RAILROAD SCOnboard Review: Disney Treasure–A New Chapter in Cruise Line MagicOnboard Review: The Galapagos with HX— A Transformative ExperienceWEBINAR HOUSE ADOnboard Review: Sail in Style— MSC World Europa’s Yacht ClubOnboard Review: Adults-Only Fun Aboard Virgin Voyages’ Resilient LadyMexico/Caribbean: Romance Redefined—Luxurious EscapesPalladium’s Luxury Experiences for CouplesSANDALS SPREADSANDALS SCOnsite Review: Hyatt Vivid Grand Island—Cancun’s Sexy New NeighborEurope: Club Med Tignes–The Ultimate Alpine EscapeTTC Tour BrandsEDU HOUSE ADRIVERSIDE LUXURY CRUISES