Meet Jason: Switching Careers Came Naturally
by Cheryl Rosen /You wouldn’t think the home theater business has much in common with the travel industry, but Jason Holland knows that it does.
In fact, when he switched from one to the other, it was the similarities between the two that eased his way.
Avid travelers, Jason, 34, and his wife Sandy fell in love with seeing the world on their honeymoon in Thailand. They spent the next few years planning their own trips to everywhere from Israel to Iceland.
Slowly, the idea of running his own travel agency sparked Jason’s imagination and he began planning trips for others in the evening after he ended his day working his “real” job marketing high-end home theaters.
When he lost that job, it just seemed natural to go into travel full-time and he started Etters, Pa.-based Travel Simplicity five years ago.
Similar fates
Four years later, Holland is struck by how the fates of the two industries seem to be following the same path.
“Commissions are being cut, smaller companies are going out of business as they try to compete on price, and a lot of brick-and-mortar locations are closing and going home-based,” he said.
“And you’re dealing in a luxury product [for home theaters and travel]; with all the blessings the experience brings, when it really comes down to it and you’re looking at putting food on the table and paying the mortgage, it’s [buying luxury] secondary.”
Key messages
In fact, he credits the home theater business with teaching him the key messages that have kept his travel business growing: Competing on price doesn’t work for a small company; instead you must figure out what makes you special.
For a small company that means providing a truly personal service and uniquely personalized experiences.
In fact, he and Sandy have coined a new name for what they do—not travel agents but travel butlers, providing fine service and attention to detail for a discriminating clientele.
Still, not everything was the same for both travel and home theaters.
The biggest surprise was “how little I really knew, and how cocky I was [about selling travel],” he acknowledged.
Getting prepared
Undaunted, Holland went back to school, earned a CTA designation through the Travel Institute, and of course, kept traveling.
He’s been growing his business through the same uniquely personal marketing approach he used in his former business.
He and Sandy work from home, getting to know their customers over warm chocolate-chip cookies in their own living room. He talks to every customer face-to-face, either at home or on Skype or Facetime.
That focus on the customer means not using a commission-based pricing model, which just “limits the time you can spend with people,” nor specializing in destinations or niches.
“We didn’t want to go that route,” Holland said. “While some days it seems like it would be easier, we wanted to be able to provide whatever our customers want, whether that’s a beach vacation in Virginia, an all-inclusive honeymoon in Mexico or an elephant ride in Thailand.”
The relationship
To build his clientele, Holland again borrowed a mantra from his former life: Ultimately, selling comes down to relationships.
“People will come if they like you, if you know what you are talking about and if you are honest,” he said.
But you have to get out there and meet them first. Holland joined the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau, delivered cookies to local businesses to introduce himself, joined NACTA and the Eastern Travel Association, and assumed the presidency of his local ASTA chapter.
Four years after starting their business, he and Sandy are beginning to earn a profit. Business has doubled every year.
More than 60% of their income now comes from fees rather than commissions, making it possible to focus on the little details that make for exceptional client experiences.