Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendra Konitzer.
Hi Kendra, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Long story short, I was laid off in 2018 just one week after returning from vacation in Europe from a long standing job. As a single mom, I knew I needed something to keep us going. Several people suggested going into business for myself but I couldn’t fathom the idea. Then I went to a job fair and met a franchise consultant. I felt as if God was giving me a sign to follow that path. Eventually, I cashed in my 401k and bought a franchise travel agency (Cruise Planners). However, being in the travel industry, it is hard to make ends meet when you work for months or years before receiving a paycheck. We receive payment AFTER our clients travel, not before. So, I went back into full time work as a Business Analyst in software development while I grew my business, during the COVID pandemic, and afterwards continuing where it left off. Today, I have 4 associates and an assistant to help me in the day to day. It took a lot of long hours and hard work to get here, but I did it!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely has not been a smooth road. There were weeks when if I wasn’t sleeping then I was working one of my two jobs. Other weeks I had to tear myself away from work to attend my daughter’s competitions or chorus concerts. Also, about 1.5-1.75 years after starting my business COVID pandemic shit everything down. Cancellations were happening left and right. New rules and regulations surrounding what countries or suppliers would allow you to travel to them with or without a COVID vaccination. It was ever changing and so very hard for us Travel Advisors to keep up. Yet, we were the experts. Consumers turned to us instead of the dot coms for our expertise.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Konitzer Family Travel, LLC DBA Cruise Planners of Valrico AND Konitzer Business Solutions?
I am now a serial entrepreneur. I not only own my travel agency and check out multiple locations as scouting trips to gain first hand knowledge for my clients, but also I saw a hole in small business coaching and started a Business Consulting firm called Konitzer Business Solutions.
As a travel advisor, I advise my clients on the best trip options to fit what they are wanting as an experience. I travel to many of the locations prior to my clients going to destinations which allows me to know exactly what the client is looking for.
As a Business Consultant, I advise my clients on what is broken in their business and provide the solutions for them, not just give them homework to go off and complete. I evaluate what they need and provide an action plan to get it done, then I execute the action plan for my client. The goal is to make their business run smoothly without them being a bottleneck and working too much. This allows them to scale their business with the proper infrastructure in place.
What matters most to you? Why?
Helping others experience this life not just live it. If COVID taught us anything it is that life is too short to not take the trip or to work to hard and too long. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. We say that we travel not to escape life but for life not to escape us. This was true before the pandemic but rings even truer now after we lost so many in the pandemic. I want to be the catalyst to help people live their life to the fullest.
Pricing:
- Cruises from $500 per person
- Calm the Chaos Business Program $3,000/month
- Ireland group travel from $2500 per person (double occupancy) and not including travel insurance or flights
Contact Info:
- Website: www.konitzerfamilytravel.com and www.konitzerbusinesssolutions.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/cruiseplannersofvalrico AND instagram.com/konitzerbusinesssolutions
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Kendrakonitzer79
- LinkedIn: https://LinkedIn.com/in/kendrak79
- Twitter: https://X.com/kendrakonitzer
