Meet Meika Cole

Today we’d like to introduce you to Meika Cole. 

Hi Meika, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My journey to becoming a travel agent was birthed out of boredom due to the pandemic. By day, I am a government contractor and a single parent, so every waking moment for me was filled with school drop-offs, traffic, mandatory trainings for work, more traffic, after school activities and trying to balance home life. Then without notice, March 2020 came, and the world was being shut down due to COVID-19. People were losing jobs and were being mandated to do everything from home. Now suddenly, time was no longer an issue for me.

It was during this time that I recognized the significance of having multiple streams of income, as industries were shut down and the landscape of the workforce began changing. Although I hold a bachelor and master’s degree in communication from Oakland University, I always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I’ve always been gifted with planning and loved to travel, but due to my hectic schedule there was no room for creating a business or traveling.

Around November 2020, I began to see that most of my social media friends and family members seemed to have been experiencing cabin fever. I started seeing lots of posts asking for travel agents, specifically for 2021 travel planning. There was so much involved with COVID-19 travel procedures and it was overwhelming for many who didn’t have the time to research it all.

I saw the need and thought that this would be an easy business to start. Merging my love of communication, research, and the desire to travel is what inspired me to establish Travel N Bags in December 2020. I knew that once the restrictions were lifted, the travel hiatus would ramp up.

The first thing that I did was establish my business branding (website, chose a business name and structure). Next, I researched how to start a home-based travel agency and found a host agency, KHM Travel Group, based in Brunswick, OH, and I connected with them. I took the home-based travel agent classes that they offered. From there, I began taking supplier courses which included becoming certified in various destinations, attending familiarization trips, and webinars on resorts.

In 2021, I sold $3,000 in travel sales. Because I wanted to be knowledgeable in the travel industry, I applied for the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) certification course just to become more knowledgeable of the industry. The course took 12 months, and I became certified in July 2022. As of today, I have sold over $100k in sales and was recently recognized as a rising star with KHM Travel Group. My recipe for success is consistency, stellar customer service, and training.

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?
Some of my struggles were mainly time, resources, and perseverance. 2020 was all about managing virtual schooling and working from home for me. The benefit of this was that I had begun saving money on things that I would do along my daily commute to work like purchasing takeout meals and gas. This allowed me to invest in the business. There were no PPP loans available for me because I didn’t register my business until May 2021, so every additional penny that I saved went to establish Travel N Bags.

Business was still slow as consumers battled COVID Travel restrictions, questioning if they should take the vaccines or not, and whether they even felt safe traveling. There were so many times that I wanted to just throw in the towel because things were just slow. Instead, I took the time to learn as much as I could, and it paid off.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Starting a business during tough times is not a easy task, but with determination you can do it. Travel N Bags coordinates individual and group travel. We specialize in all-inclusive resorts, the Caribbean, Disney Theme Parks, the Hawaiian Islands, Mexico, and SeaWorld. We take pride in providing stellar customer service. While anyone can book a trip, we pride ourselves on booking experiences. Because I am so detail focused, I usually think of all the things that can make or break a vacation, which allows my clients to focus on just enjoying their experience instead of worrying. We want to provide every service from our tour operators possible to ensure a vacation experience that our clients will never forget. We are always recommending excursions and other unforgettable activities to make our clients’ vacation memorable.

What matters most to you?
Service is a huge factor to me. I pride myself of advising and being what my clients need. Sometimes it’s just a planner. Sometimes I become a counselor, but most importantly, my clients trust me to take care of their needs.

Pricing:

• Travel Consultations start at $50

Contact Info:

• Website: www.travelnbags.com
• Instagram: agent_travelnbags
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/travelnbagsllc