Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Prim.
Hi Tom, We’re thrilled to have a chance to hear your story today. So, before we get into specifics, can you briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up, I came from a very low-income family in the Northeast. I called Burlington, Vermont, my home. When I was young, a vacation to me was traveling to the next city near us and never knowing this giant world was out there. In my senior year in high school, I took my first trip out of the state to Maine, and I have never looked back. My career did slow me down. I took over the family general contracting business in 1990 and loved teaching, so I started teaching in 1990. Now, trips were pushed to summer only. In 2002, I married the love of my life, Dena. We have 3 wonderful children. We slowly started traveling the world. Rome, Germany. The Caribbean and all of the Hawaiian Islands multiple times in 2018; I was nearing retirement and decided to chase my dreams and become a travel advisor. I started in Vermont as a Hawaiian Specialist, and then when we moved to Florida in 2019, I added cruising to my forte, and my business took off from there. Go figure cruising sells well in Florida. I always loved seeing the faces of my younger students when they achieved something well, just as I love that I can make many people’s dreams come true through travel.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Joining my host company in 2018 and moving to Florida slowed me down. I was now having to find a whole new client base. Then, in early 2020, the dreaded COVID hit and shut down the travel industry. If I had not retired, I don’t know what I would have done, but because I did not have to rely on the income, I took the advice of My CEO, Rick Zimmerman, and hacked it out. He said Tom if you can hang out, believe me, when it comes back, it will come back bigger and better than ever. And man, was he right. My business skyrocketed in 2022. I did use the downtime to educate myself even more. Knowing that the more I learned, the easier it was to sell.
Thanks for sharing that. You could tell us more about your business next.
I am a travel advisor. I specialize in Hawaiian vacations and cruising in the Caribbean. I am an independent travel advisor. Compared to a brick-and-mortar travel agency, I have no overhead. I can provide a personal touch to your travel instead of booking with an agency and paying the fees. You can work with me for free instead of wasting time researching your trips on the computer. You give me your basic info, and I do all the rest. Have you ever had to wait and wait on hold? You call me when you use me, and I will do the rest. I like your own personal concierge. I only sell what I know. So I will only sell you a cruise on a cruise line if I have been on it and approve of it. I would not only send you to a strange resort in Hawaii if I had personally been there. I make a point to travel to as many of the ports there are so I can give you first-hand knowledge of them. As I said earlier, I want to provide you with that personal touch. To make sure that your dreams can come true.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The current market is just booming. People, as they say, are revenge vacationing. After being shut up for so long, they want to get out and relax; cruise lines can’t build ships fast enough. And Hawaii will always be booming even after the horrific wildfires that swept through Lahaina. They will make it back.
Contact Info:
- Website: Justforyouvacations.com
- Instagram: Just_for_you_vacations
- Facebook: Just for you vacations
- Youtube: Tom prim@justforyouvacations
