DMCs, Focus and The Unsexy Side of Business
Becky Harris is one of the co-founders of Viaventure, a DMC in Central America where she worked between 2001 and 2016.
Since leaving she has set up a range of businesses, from SaaS products like Squirellfish to Travel Kinship, her consultancy for DMCs.
Summary
I first met Becky over a cup of tea in the most English of places, Betty’s cafe in Ilkley.
We were discussing marketing work for Viaventure and it was the first time I got a glimpse into what she’d achieved with that business.
In the following years we’ve crossed paths many times and Becky’s been very busy!
Since leaving Viaventure she’s set up a variety of businesses, to differing levels of success, and she’s certainly been on a journey of discovery.
We cover that journey in the conversation, from the successes of Viaventure to the challenges of moving on and finding a new direction.
We also get into the challenges of recruitment (and a crazy story of how it’s done in Guatemala!), our shared difficulty with the traditional sales role and two great things they did early at Viaventure which she believes was a big part in their success.
Becky is refreshingly open about the challenges she’s faced which should give anyone heart, whether you’ve achieved great things and wondered what’s next or whether you’re just starting out.
She’s also learned a lot along the way and shares so much practical advice in here that I know any small business owner will find useful.
And she has a fantastic story about Priscilla that you don’t want to miss.
Get your pen out, this one will fill up your notebook…
0:04:00
First travel inspiration
0:07:00
Education and journey to Viaventure
0:09:00
Traveling through South America up to LA
0:16:00
Forming Viaventure and moving to Guatemala
0:24:00
Transitioning from a startup to a bigger company
0:28:00
Growing the team and alternative recruitment practices!
0:32:00
Fair business practices and working with suppliers
0:34:00
Multiple leaders, the importance of structure and non sexy business
0:40:00
Getting the right systems in place
0:44:00
Life after Viaventure
0:50:00
Current projects
1:00:00
The impact of her mechanical engineering background
1:05:00
Why networking has been huge
1:08:00
Biggest challenges
1:13:00
Life as a single working mum
1:18:00
The difficulty with sales
1:25:00
Getting the most out of clients
1:27:00
Qualities that have led to success
1:31:00
Recommendations for a new travel business
“There are lots of unsexy parts to running a business – people can shy away from doing them unless it’s part of the strategic plan and everyone knows they have to happen and everyone knows who’s in charge of doing those things and that they’re held accountable for it.”
Becky Harris
Founder – Travel Kinship, Curious Travel & Squirrelfish
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