Erin Nafziger

I attribute my success to the way my parents raised me and the influence of both my grandmothers. My mom is an incredibly empathetic and kind person, and that really shaped my personal skills and how I connect with people. My dad is the most determined person - sometimes stubborn, but hand in hand - that I've ever met. Watching all the hard work they did as I was growing up made a huge impact on me. They took me to Disney when I was 5, even though my dad had been in and out of the steel mills due to layoffs and contract issues. I didn't know at the time that we were struggling financially. That determination and ability to prioritize what matters, to give up short-term gratification for long-term goals, is something I learned from them. When I wanted to take my son to Disney at the same age, I was just a marketing assistant making $16 an hour, but I did the math and set aside $20 every week for four and a half years. I didn't get my nails done or my hair done as often, and the absolute gratification of achieving that goal was amazing.

The best career advice I ever received came from my grandmother, who spent 40 years selling mutual funds and life insurance in what was a huge male-dominated space. When I got my first non-babysitting job at Culver's, she had just given me her Buick because my dad had backed over my car. She told me, 'Just do whatever they ask you to do, and do it well, and you'll be the better for it.' Sometimes that's not always great advice, but over the years, that extra 10% - giving 110% - has taught me a lot, both professionally and personally. That mindset of always doing your best and going above and beyond has really shaped how I approach my work.

Have patience. Have an incredible amount of patience - I say it to my son, pack your patience. It can be very hard, especially starting out, and especially not being known or having an established reputation. Even with my marketing background and running digital ads, sometimes digital leads will come in and you'll feel like your time is kind of wasted because you'll put in a lot of research or effort to find them what they're looking for, and they ghost you. They won't say thanks or bye or anything like that, and it can feel frustrating and disheartening. But patience is important. I have a lot of digital leads that I will do work for, and I might feel like they're ghosting me, but two, three weeks later - I had a lady reach out that I had talked to a month ago. Will they always come back? No, but you just got to be patient.

The biggest challenge right now is definitely the cost of travel - it's just gone exponentially lately. That's why I focus a lot on helping bigger families with 3, 4, or 5 kids. Sometimes it's hard to have those reality-check discussions. For example, I got a referral from a gentleman with 4 kids who wanted to do Disney, Universal, and the Everglades under $4,000 for 4 kids and 2 adults. I had to tell him that's just not realistic, and show him screenshots of ticket prices to explain why. But on the opportunity side of that same issue, it's showing people that they can afford to do it. Using my personal experience, I tell them, 'Hey, I did it when I was making $16 an hour. You can, too.' It's just going to take that long-term gratification approach. I have so many families who reach out wanting to go in the next 2 months, and when I break down a payment plan for them, it's scary. But I also have people who say they're not planning to go until 2027 and don't want to waste my time. I tell them they're not wasting my time at all - in fact, it's better, and I can break down for them why. The opportunity is in showing them that it is possible, not just through their own forward planning, but through discounts and being flexible with timing. If you can take the kids out of school, you're going to save money, though I have parents who absolutely won't do that, and that's fine - I just help them understand they're paying a premium for spring break and Christmas break times.

Communication is the most important value to me, both personally and professionally. I've been told I'm an over-communicator, but I think it's very, very important. My husband's a cop, and I had always known he was going to become one after he left the military. That was one of those talks we had before becoming a serious couple - if I was okay with that. It makes me anxious, but we have this little system where he goes in in the morning and I'll check in with him with just a little thumbs-up emoji, and he'll send a thumbs-up emoji back. That's really important to me in my personal life. Professionally, communication is so important, especially in the space that I'm in with travel. I had a client who was referred to me, and she went to the friend who had referred her and said, 'Man, Erin asks a lot of questions.' My friend told her, 'Are all the questions relevant to your travel, or is she just asking you, like, what's your favorite color? Erin just wants to get it right. She's not doing it just to make small talk or conversation.' The questions were very relevant to their vacation, which they were, and they are. I'm not just asking to waste time - I genuinely want to understand what will make their trip perfect.