Steve Witt – “Say yes to everything, then work it out later.”
Warren Munson
2 minutes
What’s it like to own a travel business during the Covid crisis? How do you adapt, and how do you inspire your team to stay positive? Steve Witt, co-founder of Not Just Travel and The Travel Franchise discusses all of this and more. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and TuneIn
“[My issues with speech and shyness] forced me to think about things differently. I’ve always tried to find solutions to problems because I’ve always tried to avoid having to talk and be in public spaces, in groups, always preferred to do online things and hide behind technology and avoid all the things that weren’t my comfort zone, to the point where I found out you can’t. I had to put myself in those uncomfortable positions and that taught me a huge amount.”
“My dad always taught me to always say yes to everything, then work it out later.”
“The build up to the sale of my first business was exciting, amazing. Thinking about the money that was going to come was great—the weekends before I was going out looking in the car showrooms and everything. And then, the day of the sale—I don’t know what I’d built up in my head but I was expecting trumpets, red carpet, all this excitement but it was the biggest disappointment ever.”
“It’s taken me a long time to admit I’m a control freak and accept that I can’t do everything.”
“I was used to rejection, because I did a lot of internet dating!”
“If I look back ten or 15 years ago, I could never have imagined creating this sort of success.”
“Someone compared the effects of Covid on the travel industry to owning a restaurant—every meal you’d served in January, February, March, you’ve got to refund.”
“From day one of Covid, I was always focused, always knew the company was going to remain successful—didn’t know how exactly, and don’t necessarily know what will happen with Covid and how it will pan out, but we know we’ll keep evolving and changing to fit.”
“There is more demand to travel than ever. There are limited destinations and limited choice, but those who want to travel will travel right now. Our last minute bookings are still very high; bookings for next year are phenomenal.”
