Congratulations Marilyn Coleman, owner of MJ Travel on being this month's Featured Business and thank you for your 35 year membership with the Irondequoit Chamber!! Check out our Q&A with Marilyn:
Business Name: MJ Travel
Owner: Marilyn Coleman
Years in Business: 37 years loving every day that I did this kind of work. It never seemed like work to me just plain joy.
Type of Business/ Services Offered: Plan travel vacation for groups and families all over the world. All of a sudden people were coming to me and asking me for advice. I knew right then and there this was the career I wanted. I was working as a guidance counselor in the school system. As a hobby I would help the teachers plan their school breaks. That is when I realized this is what I wanted to do, to get in to the travel business.
How Did Your Business Come About? What made you choose to open your business: From working part time for a travel agency. 37 years ago I decided to go out on my own as I developed my own clientele that came to me asking for help to plan their vacations. I fell in love with this type of work and knew someday I would have my own agency. There it was MJ Travel, I loved what I did and was very good at doing it.
Why Choose Irondequoit for Your Business Home: I knew paying rent for an office and equipment that was needed meant I had to hopefully have enough clients just to get through those expenses. That also meant charging my clients more. So I decided to work from my home office to save my clients extra charges for their vacations. So if I worked from my home office I could do their vacations for far less, giving them more vacation for their money.
What Do You Want Customers to Know About Your Business: I love what I do with a passion. It has never been work for me, just joy of planning vacations for my clients.
What Community Service Has Your Business Been Involved In? What Organizations do you support: I use to belong to Lions Club and several local business clubs. I belong to several travel organizations. I support and donate to St. Jude. I also support women's shelters with clothing and donations.
Are There any Events You are Hosting You Wish to Tell the Community About: Since 2006 I have had groups going on the Royal Clipper Sailing Ship every year. This is a big beautiful sailing ship the length of a football field. It has 54 square rigging sails. It does both directions of the Caribbean each season. Most of my clients have sailed this beautiful ship many times with me. It truly is my most favorite way to relax and enjoy my vacations. I will be doing a group February 24th to March 2, 2024 to Barbados doing the Grenadine Islands. It is filling fast, I have 10 cabins filled so far.