432: Gloria Bohan: From School Teacher to Travel Titan

How you might ask, did Gloria Bohan transition from being a Schoolteacher to an amazing Travel Titan.

Welcome to a special episode of On the Brink with Andi Simon, where we spotlight remarkable women entrepreneurs in our series, Wisdom of Women Entrepreneurs with Purpose: Hear Their Voices.

I’m thrilled to kick off this journey with Gloria Bohan, a true trailblazer in the travel industry and the visionary founder of Omega World Travel.

Starting with Passion, Building with Purpose

Gloria’s story is nothing short of inspiring. In 1972, she was a schoolteacher with no business experience, let alone a background in travel. She had a passion for cruising and a desire to pay one employee. From those humble beginnings, she built a global travel management company that now books over $1 billion in annual sales.

“I didn’t have a grand vision,” Gloria recalls. “I just wanted to survive. But I kept doing the things I needed to do—and opportunities began to evolve.” This unexpected success is a testament to the power of determination and adaptability.

Lessons from a Mentor and the Power of Relationships

A turning point in Gloria’s journey came through mentorship. A seasoned woman in the travel industry took Gloria under her wing, staying with her for six months to train her and guide her through the nuances of the business.

“She was so determined,” Gloria said, recalling how her mentor—even in a slightly askew gray wig—won customers through grit and charm. “Being around people like her helped me grow into the leader I became.”

This hands-on mentorship helped Gloria understand that great businesses are built not just on processes but on relationships—both with customers and employees. “People are watching you,” she explains. “You must lead by example, be honest with yourself, and stay true to your values.”

If you want to watch our video, click here:

Growing with the Industry, Innovating Through Change

Over five decades, Gloria’s company has grown by continuously adapting to change—from the deregulation of the airline industry in the late ’70s to the rise of PCs and today’s digital and post-pandemic travel landscape.

“I didn’t plan it,” she says. “But I kept my eyes open. I stayed curious. When new opportunities came—whether it was bidding on government contracts or adopting emerging tech—I took them.”

That entrepreneurial spirit remains at the heart of Omega World Travel. Gloria believes that passion must be paired with constant learning and evolution. “No company can just be what they were,” she emphasizes. “You must modernize, but never lose the values that made you strong.”

Success with Significance: Building a Business That Gives Back

Gloria champions purpose more than anything. For her, success isn’t just about profits—it’s about people, community, and creating meaningful impact. Her commitment to a purpose-driven business model is not only inspiring but also a powerful reminder of the potential for businesses to make a positive difference in the world.

“We’re not in business just to be profitable,” she says. “If we don’t have buy-in from our people, we don’t have purpose.”

Gloria ensures that her company gives back, from mentoring young talent to participating in community efforts like Junior Achievement and Habitat for Humanity. For instance, we have a program where our employees volunteer at local schools to teach students about the travel industry. Her team gets involved, learns, grows, and contributes—building a culture of purpose that transcends the office.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit in All of Us

As our conversation ended, Gloria reminded listeners that entrepreneurship isn’t just about owning a business—it’s a mindset.

“Big companies need intrapreneurs,” she says. They need people with ideas, creativity, and passion who bring innovation to everything they do.

Whether you’re starting your own venture or shaping change within a larger organization, Gloria’s journey is a masterclass in how purpose and perseverance can take you from the brink to beyond.

Final Thoughts

Gloria Bohan’s story is a beacon for women entrepreneurs and leaders everywhere. It reminds us that significance can—and should—go hand in hand with success. As we continue this series with women like Gloria, we hope their stories help you reframe your own.

We hope these stories help you reframe your own.

Let’s change the story—together.

To learn more about Gloria Bohan:

Other podcasts you will enjoy:

427: Empowering Women in STEM: Rashmi Chaturvedi’s Journey

415: Kimber L. Maderazzo: A Personal Journey to Enhance the Lives of Others

Additional resources for you

Connect with me:

• Website: www.simonassociates.net
• Email: info@simonassociates.net
• Books:  Learn more about them here
  • Rethink: Smashing the Myths of Women in Business
  • Women Mean Business
  • On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights

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From Observation to Innovation,

CEO | Corporate Anthropologist | Author
Simonassociates.net
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Read the text for our podcast here:

Andi Simon 00:00:02  Welcome to On the Brink with Andy Simon. For all of you who come to listen or to watch us, I’m so excited to share with you today a new series that we’re creating within On the Brink. I have Gloria Bohan with me, and I’m going to tell you a little bit about how Gloria fits into this series. The series is called Wisdom of Women Entrepreneurs with purpose. Hear their voices. This series of podcasts that I’m doing with my partner, Eddie Frazier. Remember, Eddie and I wrote Women Mean Business. The recent book that came out a year ago, and we are absolutely thrilled to find so many women now who are building businesses with purpose. Yes, they’re interested in success, but insignificance and they talk about it in a slightly different way than you might expect. My job is to help you get off the brink. So wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, pause for a moment and listen in to a very successful woman who has realized that her joy and her own purpose really, for the whole time she’s been in business, has gone beyond simply making money, which is important, but also having meaning, which is equally important.

Andi Simon 00:01:12  And they’re not in either or. They’re really important. You’re going to enjoy listening to all of them. Remember, the stories they tell you will help change your own story. And Eddie and I say this all the time. The more stories you listen to, your brain literally changes and it begins to frame what you are doing in a new way. So, Gloria, thank you for joining me today.

Gloria Bohan 00:01:34  You’re very welcome. Thank you.

Andi Simon 00:01:36  Let me tell you, I’m going to give you a very short little bio on Gloria, because she has built Omega World Travel into an extraordinary business over 50 years in the travel industry. But the most interesting start is that she started as a schoolteacher with no background in business. Think about yourselves, my listeners. No background in the travel industry, and she built an international travel management company, Omega World Travel, that today handles business, leisure and all types of travel and books. $1 billion in annual sales. I’m not going to say all of you schoolteachers think about what’s possible but think about what is possible.

Andi Simon 00:02:18  And I love the little story she says. It was 1972, and I didn’t have a grand vision. I love cruising, as I thought I would probably be selling cruises. And I was trying to survive and pay my one employee. So she started figuring out what she needed to do and just kept doing those things. And from that, I started to see opportunities evolve. Gloria, your story is you’re smiling about your own. Share with our listeners or our viewers. Who is Gloria? Let’s share this wonderful story, and particularly about how you began to realize success was wonderful, but significance was even more wonderful. Please.

Gloria Bohan 00:02:56  Oh, good. Well, I think that first of all, you know, we have to know who we are as people know ourselves and what our instincts are and really what our principles are. Right? And, because if you’re not going to be honest in business, in other words, you can’t pretend you’re somebody else, okay. So if you’re not comfortable with yourself, then, you know we have to work.

Gloria Bohan 00:03:21  People have to work on that. now, so my story is like what you said it was, kind of almost on a lark, but I realized pretty clearly when you have to make payroll, even for one person, it’s not a lark. Okay. And then the second thing is, is that I thought that I could hire someone and they would, you know, handle the customers, or take the tough questions because. Because customers always want to know who the owner is and whether or not they’re going to feel comfortable, paying them for services. Now, hospitality and travel are very, very service-oriented businesses. It’s all about prepare people 24 over seven around the world. It’s all about that. In fact, my first sale was a young couple were going to Hawaii and they said, if anything goes wrong, can we call you? Well, something did go wrong. their special, night when they would do a luau was canceled. And they called me in Fredericksburg, Virginia, when my first office was.

Gloria Bohan 00:04:34  And they wanted me to take care of it because they were frightened. They didn’t know what they thought they’d lose their money. Anyway, I learned that I better be there for my customers. And I couldn’t just leave it up to somebody else because I. If I am the owner. Yes, I have to take, you know. The buck stops here kind of thing. And you got to take control. So it’s a PayPal business. So it means that it’s people as customers. You got to know your customers. You’ve got to have good relationships with your staff, and you got to be willing to do anything for your business. Okay. So that’s the beginning of it. But so at that point, I can tell you that it became, a mission. so it became a mission. And then I started to realize what it would take. And I had a very good mentor, in a sense, who was the 76-year-old woman who had found a new mission for herself in life.

Gloria Bohan 00:05:33  She had been in the travel industry, excuse me, for many years. And then as she got older, she didn’t want to do the day-to-day work anymore. But she found that one of her missions was to help young people get accredited and travel and, and by the airlines, by the hoteliers and so forth to do business. So she, she would stay with us for like six months and train. And train me. Help the customer. It was quite interesting. And she was so determined. Even back in 1972. So we had a very determined woman who used to come into the office. She stayed in a motel because she didn’t live near my office, and she was from Martinsburg, Virginia. And so she came to my office and I could see that she was wearing a little gray wig. Sometimes it was slightly, you know, askew. But she was determined, and she made the sale. I had many customers say to me, I didn’t. I made the sale I bought from her, Gloria, because she really, convinced me.

Gloria Bohan 00:06:36  Okay, so, so then this, shy teacher who I kind of saw myself as, you know, suddenly became, different, you know, I was, I was, so mentoring, being around the right people is very, very important. so should I stop there, or would you like me to go on or just speak freely? Tell me what? What angle?

Andi Simon 00:07:01  You. You can go on. But I want you to stay a little bit for a moment on a mentor. You know, Eddie Frazier has a million women mentors, and mentoring isn’t inconsequential in our own personal growth. And this woman was a role model for you, who you began to see a little of yourself in, did you not? And you began to absorb her style and the things that worked. And you were sponge like. And grow.

Gloria Bohan 00:07:31  Yeah. You know, you have to give good example. You may not know who you are, but if by your own behavior and your own, principles in life, which go right back to growing up and everything, and then if somewhere along the line maybe you felt you didn’t have the right mentoring, even if it goes back to parents.

Gloria Bohan 00:07:50  I think that finding people who will give you some more structure, you know, in your beliefs and let you see what’s important. It’s just wonderful because it makes you constantly learn. And so the whole story about being with people who give you energy, but who really give you a good example because that’s very important. And just in your daily life and as a business owner, you are very much watched by your employees. And, you know, and that’s important to show to behave the way you, you think is right. and hopefully it rubs off, you know.

Andi Simon 00:08:36  If you can’t see it, you can’t be it. And, and I often find that the mission and vision and values of an organization don’t come alive in the leadership of it. They don’t act it, they don’t live it, and therefore it doesn’t actually mean anything. And so as you develop your purpose there you began to show them how we do this, not just what we do and why we do it.

Gloria Bohan 00:09:00  Yeah. So I think that, you know, you can write a lot of procedures, books.

Gloria Bohan 00:09:04  Now, I do believe in in having procedures clearly, concisely done step by step. Very important because people need an outline. They need an infrastructure. But there’s no better teacher than experience. And we’ve heard more about that is true. So a lot of times I’ve been able to get people to learn very quickly by having clear cut procedures, but also on the job training kind of thing. That’s helped a lot. That really helped a lot because, you know, in those early days, I didn’t have much money and I really had to struggle with how much I was going to pay people. So and of course, I was in Fredericksburg, Virginia, which at the time had very didn’t have a big population. So at that time, I had to train people. I couldn’t hire highly experienced people, and I couldn’t afford them. And so you had to train. You had to take them in and teach them. But they became very loyal. And that’s why I think that you heard Eddie say that I had I still have in my company.

Gloria Bohan 00:10:13  A lot of people have been here many, many years.

Andi Simon 00:10:16  My hunch, though, is that this was set in 1972. I do remember that well. But as the years have gone on, the travel industry has changed. You know, I’m an explorer. My husband and I’ve been to 37 countries, and I’ve been to India by myself in China. By myself, I mean, we love to travel. But having said that, we often do it on our own. but you have discovered something over the years. I bet that has expanded the scope of what you offer and brought that caring in different ways, technology buys and otherwise. Can you share a little bit about the growth of Omega Travel into what it’s become?

Gloria Bohan 00:10:57  So I think that I’ve had my eyes opened to what’s going on in the economy. What’s developing. So. So in that regard, I wanted to grow. I wanted to stay in business. I started this thing and I didn’t want to let go. Okay. So I was determined that I was going to save and I was going to keep it going.

Gloria Bohan 00:11:21  Now, that means I was going to keep learning. So whenever an offer was for me to go on a trip or something by a company, an airline, or a tour operator, you know, I always went, but it was hard to leave the office. anyway, however, I think that the nature of the travel business, does make you want to explore. it’s a very, very open, friendly industry. And so in and of itself, it encourages you to want to know more and more. And then people, your customers ask you all these questions and they expect you to have been to all these places and you know, and if you haven’t, then you have to be really good at, you know, prepping for and reading the, the all the guides. And so there was a lot of that. So that was instilled in me because I so wanted to go on these journeys with people. So that’s one thing you have to have, I guess, the old passion for what you’re doing.

Gloria Bohan 00:12:25  So, that’s key. And so you don’t want to just do something to do it because it might be fun. and that’s it is very important. But it’s the economy, things that are happening in the world that really made me change. Originally you say, how did I get started? Well, you know, you kind of rely on things, you know, your comfort zones. One of mine was, schools, like high schools, because I had taught in high school, too, and senior class trips. So right around 72, 71, 72, Disney World opened. And then I thought, oh, that’s great. Maybe I can put together a little 2 or 3 nightery to like a little bus tour and or flights and I charter. And so I went to these schools in the Fredericksburg area, which is a very small town at that time, and I designed a couple little flyers and gave them an example, and they loved it. And they wanted to go on their senior, take the kids on a senior class trip, and they said, could we fly? And then I found an airline that gave me a lot of good ideas to go out of Richmond, get all the kids there by 5 a.m.

Gloria Bohan 00:13:42  So things that was very good. So that that’s a lesson does what’s what. You know if you can you know, and anything you’ve done in life I feel helps you in your business. Yeah. But of course, the economy took turns. And then in the late 70s, we went from, we went into very high interest rates. And at that time the airlines were industry was being deregulated, which meant that there was more opportunity and less government controls. that then also made the airlines allow travel companies who were doing well, who showed promise to have computers their computers in your office. And I had thought, well, I didn’t know that was ever going to happen. And I thought I’d be more into touring, conference, planning meetings, types of things. But then I changed the switch gears, and I switched gears. And then I started to do a lot more business travel, because at that time, with deregulation and so forth, companies were interested in all the advantages you could offer.

Gloria Bohan 00:14:44  And then suddenly I didn’t have to call or write tickets anymore. I had Okay. And so then that that triggered the government to say, hey, look what’s happening. Maybe we can get private industry to see how well they can do in servicing official government travel. So we bid on government travel. We got some nice accounts and won some awards. And, you know, again, we used our internal talent. We’d be good at writing proposals, you know, so everything was starting to be influenced. And then you had a big boom in travel in the 80s, right up until the early 90s. And then we had, we had we had, you know, special PCs, and you could be very, very, you could be very creative with PCs when you couldn’t win more the dumb terminals that we call them from the phone. So things change. And the internet came about. So we had to keep changing, changing. And then, having a prepared for good tracking of customers certainly helped us in 911 because we could find people, you know, in all the desperate times.

Gloria Bohan 00:15:57  But I just have to say that, you know, no company can just be what they were. Yeah. All the good things that they were. Should stay with them. But you do have to switch gears and modernize. So I and I think that’s been part of what made me successful.

Andi Simon 00:16:15  I love listening to you. I have to give a talk coming up in September to three different CEO groups, and it’s you tend to get stuck in this is the way we do it, and they tend to not see what’s going on around them. And this is a fast-changing time between AI, machine learning, blockchain, the, you know, the next industrial revolution all around technology. And they are the elders are resisting and the youngers can’t figure out how to move the elders so that they can begin to build better together for a future that’s coming. So it’s a very I’m listening to you is wonderful. And I can’t wait to share with you because nothing ever is the way it is.

Andi Simon 00:16:59  And if you can open your mind and see it, next thing you know, you can begin to build the better solutions for it. You kind of planned this, did you, in 72 when you were looking at, did you plan it or you just lived it?

Gloria Bohan 00:17:13  Oh no, of course not. But all that I did was as things were happening and as I saw opportunities, you know, I took them. So, and sometimes if you have that a plan, you have to realize that your plan might not be exactly where you need to go. So there could be a detour, like a sign goes up. Hey, this is happening. And, you know, you better take that detour and don’t be afraid. and I do believe that, you know, opportunities are there every day. but sometimes we just don’t see them. So we have to think about what turns us on. What? What is impressing us. Sometimes we don’t know that, or we don’t really know what we’re feeling or what we’re thinking or what we’re reacting to because we’re so busy or we just don’t open our eyes.

Gloria Bohan 00:18:06  So it’s not just busy. It’s just like, you know, we get you lost and maybe, you know, some internet thing or some program, but we, we forget and, and business owners can’t forget that they need to keep that purpose going, that mission going on. I really think so because we have too many distractions and, and people don’t come to offices anymore. and now they understand that as a desire. But you do lose a certain amount. I think the person loses a certain amount of energy and, information, by being around and certainly an owner who’s looking for talent or trying to develop people doesn’t see them in the office. So sometimes I see myself, you know, because this is a new phenomenon. And I see myself thinking, you know, I really don’t know. Now I have other people, my HR department, my head of operations, they all are working with someone. But we still, you know, you lose a certain magic. So, I think individuals today have to understand that, in order to progress in a, in an industry that is changing, they have to know what’s going on.

Gloria Bohan 00:19:29  And it’s very hard for us to work to, to help them to do that. Yeah.

Andi Simon 00:19:34  It’s interesting listening to you because, post-pandemic everything has changed. and people want to know when we will go back. I don’t think you can go back. But what’s really an opportunity is how do you rethink the way we do things? But to your point, there are things that we learn face to face and in conversations and we hear that is very difficult in a virtual world. You know, it’s hard to call up someone and say, let’s zoom. Although there are a couple of people I do. I said, zoom time. Let’s go have a conversation about something that I’m seeing I need your input on, but it’s more intentional and tactical and practical than simply casual people. That water cooler had a purpose in it.

Gloria Bohan 00:20:13  Yeah, yeah. And just being visible, you know, let’s like today we’re going to get around and have lunch together with the people who are here. But the people who are not here, they’re not here, you know, so we don’t have to, you know, say hi.

Gloria Bohan 00:20:30  And have they spent there or they’re going to do on their weekend or something?

Andi Simon 00:20:33  I know they’re not people is. Well, they are, but it’s it changes the dynamics.

Gloria Bohan 00:20:39  I understand it becomes harder and harder on the business to be able to reach out to them and to understand. So it’s it I think I think that there’s a magic lost.

Andi Simon 00:20:51  Now, one of the things that you and I were talking about is that as you have grown the business, you have expanded your perspective to make sure you were doing things that were significant for others. And as a, you know, as a woman entrepreneur who is very purposeful. Can you talk a little bit about how you go beyond just the profits to the purpose or just the success to the significance? You know, I can say those words, but you are involved in many organizations beyond simply Omega Travel. How does one think about that? You know, and it’s both the people, you know, it’s no longer just the shareholders. It’s the stakeholders, the employees, the community, your, your, your investments outside any thoughts that you could share that will help others.

Gloria Bohan 00:21:39  Okay.

Gloria Bohan 00:21:39  Well, there’s a lot there that you asked, but I, I’m trying to boil it down to zero in on really what’s what the deal is. you know, I think, what we have to understand is that there’s, there’s going to be there’s always going to be change. We’re not in the business just to be profitable. But if we don’t have buy in and buy in leads to purpose. Yes. Okay. Buy in leads to communicating. Buy in leads to getting people to understand the mission and be excited about it. Okay. Excited about the people that we would be interested in. You know, put yourself in other people’s shoes and do the right thing. The old golden rule. And that’s something I’ve said forever. And I never knew that I had it in my brain to say that, but I do. So if you want to be, we all have to be profitable, or else we’re not going to be able to pay people. We’re not going to have a company. There’s no business.

Gloria Bohan 00:22:45  We’re going to turn away customers. We’re going to turn away our staff. They’re everyone’s going to be very unhappy or they leave. So. So there has to be all of that work being done that, that that camaraderie that’s developed over time with people being able to see that they are moving ahead in their jobs, they’re learning something and that they’re feel that they’re making progress. And, you know, they’re moving up if you want to call it the ladder or whatever you want to say. But they’re but they feel good about themselves. I’ve learned something today. this is great. I love this customer. I say, you know, get to know your customer, give them a chance. Because people want to be given a, you know, that kind of an interest. They want you to know that you’re interested in them. So don’t just be interested in yourself. Self. You got to reach out to other people. And I really do believe all of this. I’ve learned it very I sometimes I’ve learned it the hard way.

Gloria Bohan 00:23:51  but and I, I really can’t tell you. I know specifically all that, but, you know, you realize that. Yeah. I am going to spend more time with people now. I think that the diversity movement that started back in the late 90s, I was just going I was asking Eddie, I think it was actually late in 97. I went to the first meeting, one of their first meetings anyhow, and learned about, web Bank and BNC and all that and some very interesting people, including Eddie, of course. you know, I realized, oh, we have to take a little more time. We have to we got to really penetrate. We got to talk more about that because, as I say, there was this big boom in the 80s and then 90s, then the early 90s PC. So it became more personalized? Yes. So as things become more personalized, they become more personalized. So you better be on that track. Right? Yes. So that’s all that leads to what we talk about.

Gloria Bohan 00:24:53  Even you folks in anthropology talk about learning about human being. So, so that is something that you just have to do. And but it’s the magic. It’s fun in life if you want to call it fun, but it’s also purposeful because you get a lot out of it. You get a lot out of yourself learning about yourself. And you’re on a and you make friends. You have close colleagues. People become your friends. And I have I’m in an industry where there’s many links, to into the chain of good of a good trip. So we don’t do we don’t own the hotels, we don’t run the airlines. We don’t, you know, we depend on each other. So we’re a very Interdependent industry? Yes, everybody. We’re all interdependent with each other, so we have to have good. We have to have good relationships. And all this thing about how you grow and how you make people be more purposeful and bring people up and teach them. I mean, every day you’re learning something, hopefully, but you’re dealing with people.

Gloria Bohan 00:26:07  So my industry is very diversified, very interdependent, very global. And even in moments of bad times or times that maybe countries aren’t too friendly with our country or vice versa. you are somehow we still have to get people places and you the travel industry. I don’t want to overdo it and say, oh God, you know, she’s saying you’re like ambassadors, but we maintain. and maintain good business relationships with our colleagues and people around the world. Because when it all comes down to basics. Excuse me, I just lost you. But when it all comes down to basics, we kind of all want the same thing, don’t we? I think we want to be happy. We want to have good service. We don’t want to have turmoil. So ultimately, we keep in touch and that makes it very purposeful.

Andi Simon 00:27:05  I’m listening to you and smiling because you are sharing a way of getting the folks who work with you and for you and around there to realize that everything is meaningful. What they do for the traveler is extremely important.

Andi Simon 00:27:21  What you do for the industry is extremely important. Nothing can happen without the whole system caring about each other. So there’s a lot of caring, a lot of consideration. A lot of us being very concerned that what I do is a the positive. I remember your story about your first couple that didn’t have a good look out. You know, that big or little? That’s a memorable, though, and it’s stuck with you for a long time. And I have a hunch that every one of the folks who work for, you know, that story and a look alike. And because that’s the nature of life, you go and it you know, the bags don’t come off or the, you know, what do I do? I need my travel agent to help me guide. But I need a person, and a travel agent may be the name, but at the end of the day, it’s someone who cares about me. It’s going to make sure that my, my journey is great.

Andi Simon 00:28:13  This has been such a wonderful opportunity to get to know you. I think it’s about time, though, that we wrap 1 or 2 things you would like the audience who’s watching to know, just to remember, just to leave with as wisdoms that a woman who has had a company of purpose can really share in some fashion.

Gloria Bohan 00:28:34  So, one is that, if you really want to have a business, then you’ve got to. You’ve got to know what it’s going to take, okay. And sometimes it’s best to know. Maybe have a partner, maybe it isn’t. But if you’re not triggered by, you know, all the wonderful things you can do by in your business or don’t have those instincts, it’s not going to work. So you have to keep working at it, okay? You have to keep seeking opportunities and whatever it is, if it’s going to conferences, meeting the right people, other going to learning more about your industry, finding, finding your niche, not everything. And everybody’s going to do business travel, not everybody’s going to be good at, you know, selling this and that.

Gloria Bohan 00:29:21  You want to find you want to find what you’re really excited about. And in travel it might be India or it might be something else, or it might be that you love to do meetings and event planning. Who knows? But you’ve got to find something that you can really hang on to and you have the right people. And then it comes with that. It comes with, community involvement. showing that you care. finding people that, that can, can, support you in some ways because you’re doing a good job. And it’s not that you they just are going to be asked to do it, but you want to reach out to them because they’re not going to have. You’re not going to have buy in. And then you want to get your own staff involved. I know that just getting your staff involved with, like, community involvement, has been a really good thing. You know, the, the times we were going out and helping people with the, the, the habitat folks who were building little houses.

Gloria Bohan 00:30:28  Our staff went down or, you know, different, events that we do, are very important. Like with Junior your achievement. That’s a very interesting group. And just the knowledge of what we do in that particular, group of junior achievement actually makes our staff proud. They they’re happy to know that they’re happy when we do drives for clothes and so, so, and then when I have given them a chance to go to conferences, you know, they enjoy that and they come back with a lot more ideas. So, so it’s all about people. It’s all about reaching out and it’s all about keeping yourself involved. I think that that’s a.

Andi Simon 00:31:15  I think that’s beautiful because it isn’t a job. It’s not even a career. It’s a life. And it’s bigger than just getting a paycheck and taking care of a project or something. This is something that expands. It’s who we are. It’s who your employees are, right?

Gloria Bohan 00:31:32  Yeah, I think so. And also, I do want to mention one other thing.

Gloria Bohan 00:31:35  You know, it’s not only about entrepreneurism, which is basically what I really like to foster. It’s not just about owning a business. What it is about is the entrepreneurial spirit that you put into you’re the creativity, innovation that you put into your work. And big companies need innovators and more and more they try to buy them, which is legendary, right? But they need the entrepreneurial spirit, the people who can say. And they have to let that they have to open the door to that thinking. Right. They have to. We want your ideas. You know, we like your ideas. And you know, what do you think and do more of your focus groups or something like that, which brings you a lot of good information. But I think that, you know, fostering that spirit, that thinking within large companies and boiling it down to projects. The one example that I found so interesting was when NASA started with the skunkworks and it was the large airplane, the RJ 17, or was it the big yeah, big plane that couldn’t be detected as fast as plane in the world.

Gloria Bohan 00:32:53  And, it was they, they, they had a group of scientists and go off on their own without they, they were told they had to get this plane built. I think it was within 18 months. And they built the fastest plane in the world, which is still a plane in the world. So it sits in the Air and Space Museum, which where I had a function that Eddie mentioned, for my, for my 50th anniversary. And even with that, I, I found that space always interested me. So I got involved with some people and started a company called Space Adventures. But I don’t I never really ran it, but I was involved with, you know, being part of it. So I enjoyed it and I just enjoy doing new things. So I also think that you have to leave yourself open. You have to keep feeding yourself, new activity, like, just if you have a bent for like writing a little book or writing about something fun or producing a play or doing something.

Gloria Bohan 00:33:57  I think a business owner or anyone engaged in a very serious business also needs to have a light side. Yes. and find that or do some creative things to not only focus all the time on, but you also know, business, because business is very tough in other ways. You need to have advisors. So, you know, if you’re out there on your own, you got to realize that things can happen that are not too nice. oh. You have to strengthen yourself with some infrastructure or know who to help you.

Andi Simon 00:34:32  Glory. This has been a wonderful, wonderful time together. Let me thank you. And let me thank my audience. thanks for joining us on this wonderful journey. it is about entrepreneurship. It’s a way of seeing things and making them happen. I often talk as an anthropologist that you have to take your observations and turn them into innovations. And so Gloria Bohan has been with us today to talk about how she’s built her company, Omega Travel, but even more, how she’s built all the people in it, how she’s created a whole travel industry that’s innovative and responsive.

Andi Simon 00:35:05  And it’s been great fun for my viewers. Don’t forget, my books are on Amazon. Women Mean Business is the newest one, but so is rethinking On the Brink. And I always love your email, so keep sending them along to info at Simon Associates net. And we shall meet again next week to share more women who are really changing businesses, building them, and having purpose and profit. So it’s wonderful. Goodbye, Gloria. Thanks again.

Gloria Bohan 00:35:32  Bye.