FRONTLINE
franchise fee refunded. We reached that target in January. There was a one-week boot camp [with NJT in Bournemouth] to ‘sheep dip’ us into running a travel business and engaging with clients, plus follow-up training and overseas trips. Last year we went to Crete and Orlando to train, meet other consultants and see the destinations. I assumed everyone would be in competition, but the attitude is infinitely supportive.
Q. How do you find customers? Jess: Initially we booked family and friends. But VetSetters has been adopted by the profession; it’s 99% of our work. I’ve been pretty much full time since October. Our bookings have an experiential and wildlife focus, and sustainability is very important. James: We’re exhibiting at a London conference later this year – there could be an audience for organising conference or group travel. Lots of vets and nurses travel for charity work too.
JESS and james LEWIS
The Whitley Bay husband-and-wife team tell Samantha Mayling how their VetSetters home-based
agency helps vets go on holiday – and supports the Vetlife charity
Q. Why did you start your business in April 2024? Jess: I was a vet and James a management consultant. We were burnt out and dreamed of starting our own business. Travel is the only thing to rival my love of working with animals. I’ve planned family trips for years, and they always joked that I’d be a great travel agent. That got me thinking whether this could be a viable business, and after researching and discovering the Not Just Travel franchise model, we saw this as a fantastic opportunity, so we decided to take the risk. James: I worked daily from 8am until midnight. The stress and pressure were extreme – that was the catalyst to make the leap. My plan was always to become an entrepreneur [and] being a management consultant gave me business skills. Consulting pays relatively well, so we saved up to invest in the franchise.
Q. Why did you choose Not Just Travel? James: It was the excellent support and infrastructure. NJT’s awards [gave it] credibility and the commission split was very good. With its money-back challenge, if we hit our targets within the first year, we got the
44 31 JULY 2025
Q. How have you developed your Facebook group? Jess: I’ve done a lot of locum work around the UK and abroad, so I invited everyone I knew. It’s not just vets, it’s nurses, care assistants, practice managers. The veterinary community is quite small and we know each other’s language. We encourage people to share travel tips and holiday experiences. James: We grew quickly to 1,000 members; now we’re up to 1,500. My focus is closing the gap between those 1,500 and the rest of the UK’s veterinary professionals. We’re probably missing 100,000-odd people. We need them to know we exist, [so] we’ll exhibit at conferences. The plan is to be omni-channel, with email, socials, offline marketing and an enhanced website. Facebook is the lion’s share. Some clients are real cheerleaders: they refer us, which is a lovely validation that we’re doing well.
Q How is your work-life balance? James: Jess and I have opposite circadian rhythms. I naturally wake at about 5am, so I take the early shift. Jess works later, even taking queries at 10pm. Jess: When we travel, our dog stays with my mum. It’s important, especially because we’re travelling more. James: Fam trips are incredible force-multipliers for our ability to market and sell. Jess: I did one to Sharm el-Sheikh with Tui. I’d never been to Egypt and wouldn’t have felt confident, [but] we’ve sold a good amount of Egypt since returning. We can work while away. One month into the business, on a personal trip to Barcelona, I booked someone while lying by the pool. James: Hopefully in the not-too-distant future we can recruit; we want to scale up. If we’re the veterinary travel people, there could be huge volumes. It’s manic, business is wild, which is a luxury problem to have. Jess: We work ridiculous hours, but we love it. We feel in control. If we want to turn off the laptop to walk the dog, we can. We’re doing something we love.
WHY DO YOU SUPPORT THE VETLIFE CHARITY? Jess: We donate £5 from
every booking to Vetlife. I’ve worked as a vet for 10 years, so I understand the pressures they face. My specialism is
emergency medicine, which is mostly night shifts, weekends and bank holidays. VetSetters has been so busy, I haven’t had time to do much clinical
work, but I keep my hand in as a locum, caring for domestic animals. Being a vet means long, intense days. You’ll
have a sick, elderly, maybe dying pet, and then you’ll have a puppy. Everyone in the profession is naturally empathetic, so it takes a lot to deal with that emotional turbulence. We take the stress out of booking. The
veterinary community suffers significantly higher levels of
depression and suicide than the general population. We want to provide a travel service that gives back to the industry. The response has been incredible; people have supported us and we are proud to reciprocate. James: We also have
partnerships with organisations such as Vet Dynamics, which supports independent practice owners, and other well-known figures in the industry.
Jess, James and their dog, Jax
travelweekly.co.uk
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