Meet Jennifer Klingsmith: Working With a Full House
by Donna Tunney /Jennifer Klingsmith is one busy lady.
She's a full-time Cruise Planners agent; a mother of five children, two of whom are adopted, and a foster mother who has up to four foster kids in her Indianapolis home at any given time.
But there's more: All of her foster children have special needs.
“I was a special education teaching assistant before my husband Phil and I bought the Cruise Planners franchise in 2005,” she said.
When Klingsmith was looking for a business she could run from home—one that afforded the flexibility she needed—she turned to Cruise Planners. She had previously been a satisfied client of a Cruise Planners agency.
A full house
Phil Klingsmith handles agency marketing for his wife but also works a full-time job outside of the travel industry.
“The way we have it set up is that he's the marketing guy for the franchise and I handle the bookings,” said Klingsmith.
Four of the Klingsmiths' biological and adopted children live at home; the fifth is serving in the Army. Two of them also are special needs children.
The foster children come and go—and sometimes they come back.
Flexibility
“We have a 9-year-old with us now,” said Klingsmith.” He has a lot of issues. He's autistic, he's deaf, he has vision problems and other things. We've had him with us for about two years.
“He was reunited with his biological family but that didn't work out. After three weeks, they brought him back,” she added.
During the last few months her family fostered three children, all under the age of 3. In the last 25 years, the Klingsmiths have fostered more than 70 special needs youngsters.
That would not be possible without the flexibility that Cruise Planners provides, Klingsmith said.
Working from anywhere
“It's an awesome program,” she said. “With the mobile apps we have, I can work from anywhere really at any time, using my smartphone.
“Clients have access to their trips on the My Trips section of my web site and I can provide live quotes no matter where I am.
“I just attended the Chicago Great Adventure Show and met a lot of people and now I have a new data base of potential clients from Illinois and Wisconsin,” Klingsmith said.
“But most of my clients come to me from referrals, and I have a lot of repeat customers.”
Beyond cruises
Klingsmith sells more than cruises.
“Cruise Planners is a full-service agency. I sell cruises, tours, hotels, air, all-inclusives. I don't limit myself at all, but I do cruise probably three to five times a year. I also take tours, and we bring the children with us,” she said.
Her nine-year-old foster son, for instance, has been to DisneyWorld and is soon to visit SeaWorld and Busch Gardens.
Since Cruise Planners is an American Express representative agency, Klingsmith's clients can use their Amex points to pay for vacations.
She uses the Amex logo on her web site and all correspondence – two big advantages for her business, she said.
Challenges & rewards
“I have a really busy schedule, but I wouldn't change anything. It's worth it – for the kids,” said Klingsmith.
Her biggest challenge? “I need more time in the day to do the things I love, plus to be with the ones I love.”
And her biggest reward as an agent? “Being able to show the world to our children.”