In October 2002 shortly after getting married I found a new job working as a direct banking associate at ING Direct. ING Direct was the first online bank with no brick & mortar locations.
I worked my way up from a regular banking products to being a mortgage account manager and during this time I had my 4 children. I took 8 months maternity leave after my first daughter a year after my second daughter, six months after my third daughter and 2 months after my son.
The biggest reason for shorter maternity leaves was the awesome daycare provider we had ant not wanting to lose our subsidized spot. Also I had to work to help support our family. I was our biggest wage earner at the time. In 2008 when we found out we were expecting our last my husband's company was sold and it took him until October to find new work. We were commuting from Morrisburg to Ottawa everyday and dropping the kids off in Winchester which was the half way point. However the new job was in Russell. So it became drop the kids off in Winchester and drop my husband off in Russell and then head to Ottawa by myself. My hour one way commute was now an hour and a half. The crock pot was my friend and we made this work for us.In July 2011 shortly before our trip to Disney the CEO of ING Direct made a trip to Ottawa and advised us they would be closing the call centre and relocating the bilingual, emergency back up centre to Moncton, New Brunswick. We were given an option to transfer to Moncton once it was up and running or head office in Toronto. If we stayed until closing in March 2012 we would receive extra bonuses and if we moved we were offered re-location bonuses. After much deliberation as a family we decide re-location was not for us. So on March 31 2012 just shy of my ten year Anniversary I found myself unemployed.
For a year I looked for a position that would work with our commuting schedule. I did not want to stay in mortgages. All other banks were 100% commission and you had to find your own clients. Had I served my area with ING I may have considered it but I served the province of Quebec. In February of 2013 I discovered Disney Travel Agents and I figured there was my dream job. However most of them were in the States and Ontario has strict rules for operating as a travel agent.
I finally found Pure Magic Vacations based in Ontario and in April 2013 I became a home based travel agent who specialized in Disney travel. But being 100% commissioned and taking a huge cut in money meant I was not likely to be travelling any time soon, but I did not let it deter me as I was able to live vicariously through my clients travel and the excitement of first trips to Disney.
After a while I realized I really wanted to specialize in all family travel not just Disney and in April 2015 I found the agency Exclusive to you Travel services to work with and became Stephanie the Travel Agent Next Door. I have never been happier working from home allowing me to be more active in the kids lives and helping so many people make their dream vacations a reality. Of course by following my blogs you will know I have actually started travelling a lot more with and without my family.
While I am still focusing on family travel I have branched out ad have been working on group travel as well. Exploring more of my interests and loves. I hope one day I can help you make your vacation dreams a reality and remember family vacations do not just mean Disney and all inclusive. Today it includes the world.
My current group offerings are as follows: New York City weekend in November 2019, Game of Thrones Ireland Tour August 2020 and Lord if the Rings New Zealand Tour October 2020. For more information on each you can find the events on my Facebook Page
Where you can find me:
I worked my way up from a regular banking products to being a mortgage account manager and during this time I had my 4 children. I took 8 months maternity leave after my first daughter a year after my second daughter, six months after my third daughter and 2 months after my son.
The biggest reason for shorter maternity leaves was the awesome daycare provider we had ant not wanting to lose our subsidized spot. Also I had to work to help support our family. I was our biggest wage earner at the time. In 2008 when we found out we were expecting our last my husband's company was sold and it took him until October to find new work. We were commuting from Morrisburg to Ottawa everyday and dropping the kids off in Winchester which was the half way point. However the new job was in Russell. So it became drop the kids off in Winchester and drop my husband off in Russell and then head to Ottawa by myself. My hour one way commute was now an hour and a half. The crock pot was my friend and we made this work for us.In July 2011 shortly before our trip to Disney the CEO of ING Direct made a trip to Ottawa and advised us they would be closing the call centre and relocating the bilingual, emergency back up centre to Moncton, New Brunswick. We were given an option to transfer to Moncton once it was up and running or head office in Toronto. If we stayed until closing in March 2012 we would receive extra bonuses and if we moved we were offered re-location bonuses. After much deliberation as a family we decide re-location was not for us. So on March 31 2012 just shy of my ten year Anniversary I found myself unemployed.
For a year I looked for a position that would work with our commuting schedule. I did not want to stay in mortgages. All other banks were 100% commission and you had to find your own clients. Had I served my area with ING I may have considered it but I served the province of Quebec. In February of 2013 I discovered Disney Travel Agents and I figured there was my dream job. However most of them were in the States and Ontario has strict rules for operating as a travel agent.
I finally found Pure Magic Vacations based in Ontario and in April 2013 I became a home based travel agent who specialized in Disney travel. But being 100% commissioned and taking a huge cut in money meant I was not likely to be travelling any time soon, but I did not let it deter me as I was able to live vicariously through my clients travel and the excitement of first trips to Disney.
After a while I realized I really wanted to specialize in all family travel not just Disney and in April 2015 I found the agency Exclusive to you Travel services to work with and became Stephanie the Travel Agent Next Door. I have never been happier working from home allowing me to be more active in the kids lives and helping so many people make their dream vacations a reality. Of course by following my blogs you will know I have actually started travelling a lot more with and without my family.
While I am still focusing on family travel I have branched out ad have been working on group travel as well. Exploring more of my interests and loves. I hope one day I can help you make your vacation dreams a reality and remember family vacations do not just mean Disney and all inclusive. Today it includes the world.
My current group offerings are as follows: New York City weekend in November 2019, Game of Thrones Ireland Tour August 2020 and Lord if the Rings New Zealand Tour October 2020. For more information on each you can find the events on my Facebook Page
My family coming home from our Western Caribbean Cruise
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor
Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca
Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.com
TICO 500212282
55 York Street, Suite 1003
Toronto, On M5J 1R7
Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area
Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area
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