Her Story

Motorbike junkie and thrill seeker, Sue Hollis has ridden many tracks in her day, but nothing comes close to the journey she began when she decided to start her own business after working for both Qantas and British Airways.

Sue’s road to success has certainly had its fair share of adrenaline since co-founded TravelEdge in 2000 with Grant Wilson, who was, at the time, a senior Qantas executive like herself. Sixteen years later, TravelEdge has become the largest privately-owned corporate travel management company in Australia, with a corporate buying power of $1.5 billion. The TravelEdge Group brand also has four separate companies under its reign and employs over 120 people.

The fuel to her fire has always been the determination of sticking to your core values.

“Your business will eventually stagnate if everything comes back to you. Have the courage to bring good people in, teach them and then give them autonomy. Let them fly. If you remain the choke point, your business will never grow. They may not make the same decisions as you, but that’s ok. So long as everything you do is in alignment with your values, you’re safe.”

Having taken TravelEdge to the top of the Travel industry food chain, Sue has now taken a step back from the day-to-day operations and stepped into the role of Executive Director. Last year, she hired a Chief Executive Officer to earn herself more time to invest in the projects she is passionate about, like working with parents of children living with a learning disability.

Trusting her values has undoubtedly paid off for Sue, whose vision of creating “a company that made a difference” has turned into her reality. She’s still raring to go, and has two start-up opportunities in mind.

Strategies for Success

•    Be crystal clear of the core values of your business from Day One. As your business grows, changes and expands, continue to make sure that everything you do is completely in alignment with your values.

•    Invest more in developing the culture of your business and people than in marketing. Your people and the culture will tell a much more powerful story than any marketing strategy.

•    Scale up to rather than into your business. Although it might be challenging financially, put in the people, structure and framework that you need to enable your business to grow before you actually need it- rather than waiting until you can afford it.

•    Invest in the very best people. If you don’t have the best, then wait…only the very best will help you take your business where it needs to go.

•    Be brave – most bad decisions in business are decisions made out of fear. Always choose to make a brave decision.