On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Meredith Calloway, Chief Visionary Officer and Co-Founder of Gifted Travel Network (GTN). She shares more about the inspiration behind her community of luxury travel advisors and her nuggets of wisdom about how to develop and cultivate a brand message that will help you stand out from the crowd by finding your brilliance.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- How Meredith transitioned from working in finance to starting a travel business and founding Gifted Travel Network
- Why finding one’s “zone of genius” and pursuing a passion is crucial for any business owner
- How Meredith’s community fosters connections and holds members accountable through mastermind meetings and group coaching
- Why travel advisors need to cultivate their brand message and uniqueness to stand out in a crowded market
- Strategies Meredith’s travel advisors used to navigate challenges during the pandemic and achieve exponential sales growth
- How a transformative mindset contributes to success and what resources are available for mindset tips in the travel industry
Nurturing Community Professional Growth
Meredith explains how her community works and the importance of offering solid content, group coaching, and experiences to meet the needs and wants of her members. They use mastermind meetings and group coaching to foster connections, share knowledge, and hold each other accountable. This approach helps them create a nurturing and engaged environment where members can learn from each other and collectively thrive.
Embracing Change and Adversity
We also dig deeper into the concept of accidental business owners, particularly in the context of the travel advisor profession. The shifts in the travel industry, compounded by the challenges of the pandemic, led many travel agents to become accidental entrepreneurs. Meredith shares how her advisors leaned into the adversity, using their resilience and community support to pivot and find success in turbulent times, even inspiring improvements in many travel advisors’ businesses.
Find Your Brilliance
Turning toward the future, Meredith expresses excitement about potential opportunities in the luxury travel industry and emphasizes why we need to shift the public’s perception of travel advisors from mere order takers to designers, project managers, and master coordinators. Meredith also encourages travel advisors to fully understand their niche, share their unique brand message, and find their brilliance to stand out in the crowded marketplace.
We also discuss the transformative power of mindset and its impact on personal growth. Meredith highlights the importance of an abundant mindset in embracing change and navigating challenges.
Resources:
- Website: https://www.giftedtravelnetwork.com/
- LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithhill/
- LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giftedtravelnetwork/
- Free Download: Mindset Blocks for Entrepreneurs and How to Overcome Them
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This week, I’m reflecting on our new brand and why we are so excited about the next chapter. I want to share the branding journey with you to highlight the lessons we learned along the way. I hope that our story will inspire you and give an introduction to our new company and the philosophy behind it.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
- Why we decided to merge two brands, and how the Travel Alliance Partnership will be an economic development partner for destinations
- What the rebranding process involved, including workshops, visual mapping, and merging of brands
- Why embracing “cathedral thinking” is important and the impact of building projects for future generations
- Strategies we used to roll the new brand out and the importance of building a lasting brand foundation
- How involving employees early in the branding process fostered a sense of community and shared knowledge within the team
Community Collaboration and Partnerships
I want to talk a little more about the significance of community collaboration and partnerships in the growth of the travel industry. Travel Alliance Partnership is committed to supporting economic growth and prosperity within the communities we serve, and we live out our core values of collaboration and the impact it can have on the overall success of businesses within the industry.
I shed light on why we merged the two brands into a single entity with distinct service pillars to reflect our strategic approach and our commitment to creating a cohesive brand architecture.
Cathedral Thinking and Lasting Brand Foundations
I talk more about cathedral thinking, emphasizing the importance of building projects and brands that leave a lasting impact on future generations. Our forward-thinking approach aligns with the Travel Alliance Partnership’s vision of creating a community based on collaboration and innovation.
Empowering Employees
The significance of involving employees early in the branding process cannot be underestimated. By encouraging team members to share company milestones and stories, we foster a sense of shared knowledge and unity among employees. During the rebranding process, it also became clear that we had scope to add capacity to the team by creating a new position, director of strategic partnerships, who could help us continue to build long-term relationships and expand our capabilities.
Resources:
- Creating Your Authentic Brand Story, with Karley Cunningham
- Strategies for Fostering Meaningful Connections in the Workplace, with Nicole Mahoney
We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!