Posted:28-April-2025
Second time around for GoCruise Franchisee
Rich Rochester is one of the latest franchisees to join the GoCruise franchise. Though he is not new to the franchise having been a franchisee 13 years go! Having left due to personal circumstances, and undertaking roles in the public sector and financial services, the pull of travel never faded and returning to GoCruise was a no brainer for him.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you were doing prior to buying a franchise business?
I have a bit of a different background to many joining the franchise as I previously joined GoCruise in 2006. However I left after 6 years due to personal circumstances.
While away from the travel industry, I’ve expanded my skills in the public sector and most recently in financial services industry. However, the pull of travel never faded, and I’m excited to return to the industry I love.
Why did you go down the franchise route? What made you choose your industry? And why did you choose your franchise?
After nearly 13 years away, I’m thrilled to be returning to GoCruise & Travel. My career aspirations have always been rooted in travel, with a particular love for cruising and ski holidays. Since my very first cruise in 1997, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel with many of the world’s leading cruise lines. As the name suggests GoCruise and Travel has a strong link to the cruise industry and this is the main reason that I chose to return to GoCruise and Travel over anyone else. Having the experience of the franchise previously and followed the journey and growth of the franchise there was no real competition and an obvious choice for me.
What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing?
As I have experience within the travel industry, albeit a number of years ago I felt that I was no stranger to the industry so after discussing with the franchise I was happy with the ‘returning to travel’ training package. For me this gave me enough one on one time with the franchise to be shown the technology used (which had changed in the time away) and also an update on best practices and start to build a marketing plan.
The franchise were very flexible on how the training could be structured and this worked round my schedule. I had 5 days of training included and 2 of these days were at the head office in Ipswich. I particularly found this beneficial to see the operation and meet key members of the team and also understand how the structure of the whole business worked.
In terms of ongoing training and support, I feel as though the team are only at the end of the phone or an email if I have any questions or queries and been very responsive to my requests for support in marketing activity and offering their experience in making suggestions. In addition to this I consider with over 70 other franchisees we can reach out to each other to ask for help and guidance – everyone seems happy to help!
How would you describe your day-to-day role as a franchisee
No two days are the same that’s for sure. It is something that excites me and keeps me on my toes. Obviously the thrill of receiving an enquiry and helping customers is the main priority but being self employed I am also thinking of new ways to keep those enquiries coming in – so networking is a big part of my day to day too. Another important thing I’ve been doing is working my way through the various cruise operators online training to build up my knowledge on their products and where possible getting myself on as many ship visits as possible.
Provide information on challenges overcome as well as your key successes to date.
The main challenge especially in the early stages are – where are the enquiries going to come from! You can’t just sit behind your computer screen and wait for the phone to ring or an email to be sent! You have to push yourself, sometimes out of your comfort zone and look at new ways to get you and your business recognised. Being able to promote myself is the key selling point of why people will come to me for their future holiday, whether it be a cruise, a beach holiday or a bucket list adventure to the other side of the world. People buy from people is a saying that I learnt many years ago and believe it does hold true!
Has becoming a franchisee changed your life, if so how?
Absolutely, whilst I was out of the travel industry I never felt ‘at home’, I gave 100% to whatever I did and am grateful for all the opportunities that I was given and I feel that I’ve expanded my skills too, but working in travel really is a bug. Since returning, I’ve found myself again and feel passionate in building my business and helping customers explore the world, create unforgettable memories, and embark on new adventures. I love to live somewhat vicariously thought them and hear about their adventures, whilst making my own bucket list for my future travel plans.
How do you achieve a work-life balance?
Work life balance is really important to me, being able to control my day allows this. It is too easy to get carried away and work 24/7 and whilst in the early days this is something you can get drawn into it is not something that you want to fall into. I advertise my working hours on the website and social media and whilst I might not strictly stick to these it does mean that I’m not burning the proverbial candle.
I ensure that at least once during the working day I get out for a walk, only 30 mins or so but it helps to clear my thoughts and get that important breath of fresh air. I’ve also been able to spend quality time with my kids too and getting them involved in helping me – my daughter is a good label sticker on brochures!
Can you tell us about any community involvement, including any local partnerships, incentives or charity work you are involved in?
I’ve recently started attending a local charities’ networking club and will be hoping to join it in the coming months. Not only is this great for networking with likeminded individuals I’m hoping to partake in some of their charitable events such as a 24 mile walk. Being able to combine networking with helping out a charity seems a win-win for me.
What is the most invaluable piece of advice you could give someone looking to buy their first franchise?
Honestly, if I really broke it down then I’d say you have to be passionate about what you are looking to promote and sell. If you aren’t passionate about travel and in particular cruise I think this is a hard gig. You don’t need to have worked in the travel industry but as long as you’ve got a thirst for learning and being able to adapt then you will succeed.
I would also add that you need to be researching the franchise, compare to others out there. Many offer comparable packages so that is in the literatures, what you want to know is about the ethos of the company, what’s the future look like, what direction are they looking to head. Talk to other franchisee’s, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone – people happy with the franchise will be more than happy to talk to you and offer their honest opinions.
In your opinion, what makes a successful franchisee?
Be prepared to evolve and understand that things change along the way. Nothing stays still for long in this industry. Be a sponge! Take time to learn, there are so many sources of training on offer, from those offered by individual operators to industry based modules from CLIA. You can never have too much knowledge.
Also being able to impart that knowledge to other franchisees too, sharing best practice and being accessible in turn helps you grow as an individual.
What are your plans for the future?
To continue to grow the business to a level that the work/life balance is manageable and also providing the level of income that I need. I also have an aim to specialise is a niche cruise area and something that I’m currently working towards.
If you had to do it all again, what would you do differently?
As me again in 12 months,
Interested and want to know more about GoCruise and Travel?
The GoCruise and Travel profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.
