READERS’ LIVES YOUR STORIES
THIS WEEK: KELLY COOKE HOMEWORKER FOR YOUR HOLIDAY
BOOKING AND INSTANT HOLIDAYS IN MARGATE, KENT
Q&A
Kelly with husband Mathew and children Jayden (left) and Lexie at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Florida
Ex Thomas Cook and Lunn Poly agent turned homeworker tells Juliet Dennis how she juggles her work-life balance
Q. How do you cope with the demands of family life and being a full-time homeworker? A. I am the spreadsheet queen! I set my own hours. My dining room is my office. I have a paper diary with everything in it, including kids’ clubs and being a Brownie leader. Today, I am working until 4pm because my daughter has choir. Tomorrow I’m doing a cake sale, so I’m working in the evening. On Sunday I went to a wedding show and was out from 8.30am until 3.30pm, then I got a cruise enquiry. By 10pm I had made the booking. In the summer holidays I go out during the day with the kids. I can manage my Facebook page and quotes while I’m out, and sit down at 6pm to do my proper work. Generally I work on Saturday and Sunday too. My husband goes to work about 5am or 6am and doesn’t get home until 6pm; if I’m still flapping, he knows I’ve had a busy day.
Q. How do you work if you are on educationals or holiday? A. I can reply to emails wherever I am. In May I was on an educational in Corfu and did an £8,000 Florida booking on my mobile while I was in bed! It took a couple of hours, but I don’t like missing opportunities. Just because you are on holiday you don’t want to say no, especially if you have spent hours on a booking.
Q. How do you generate new sales? A. I get a lot of business from Facebook and Instagram. I spend a few hours a week putting things on social media. An ordinary Facebook post will reach 3,000 people but, if I boost it, it will reach up to 10,000. I also get a lot of bookings from word of mouth.
Q. You became a homeworker at the start of 2016 – why? A. Childcare! Now I can look at what works better for everyone [in the family]. It was spending £900 a year for school holidays kids’ clubs and childcare. My children are eight and 11 and they do
choir, Brownies, dodgeball, drums and rugby. I earn more money now and work more hours, but they are flexible.
Q. How does it differ from working on the high street? A. I couldn’t work flexible hours on the high street. When I was at Thomas Cook I tried to arrange for us to have a stand at wedding shows, but they didn’t have the budget. Now I manage my own budget. Last year I had a stand at the Detling wedding show with a colleague. We both did £30,000 to £40,000 of bookings. I started as an apprentice at Lunn Poly when I was 16 and was at Cook for 12 years. It is something I’ve always loved, but even more as a homeworker. When I started homeworking there were suppliers I’d never heard of before.
KELLY’S SALES TIPS
TIP 1
TIP 2
Have faith and believe in yourself, especially in the quieter months
Keep product knowledge up to date with the latest trends and work with a range of operators
TIP 3
Be social media savvy and use all the channels available to you
Would you like to appear in Readers’ Lives? Tell us why! Email
ben.ireland@
travelweekly.co.uk 48
travelweekly.co.uk 1 November 2018
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