Opening Doors with a Great Attitude

“Don’t let failure deter you. That would be my advice, is it doesn’t happen overnight. You will fail. If you’re going to be good, you’re going to fail and you’re going to fail a lot and be okay with that.” – Jamie Eubanks

Jamie Eubanks is the owner, CEO, and founder of Magical Vacation Planner (MVP), the largest third-party travel agent for Walt Disney World, Universal, and cruise lines. After 14 years as a basketball wife, Jamie left her job at a bank and founded MVP with her husband, JJ.

Jamie had been living a comfortable life as a basketball wife for fourteen years, but after her husband retired they moved back to Indiana. She found it difficult to find work, event with a degree. She was expecting to climb the corporate ladder, but was repeatedly bypassed for positions. With the support of her husband, Jamie decided to take a risk and started her own business – a travel agency that specializes in Disney vacations.

She surrounded herself with smart people, put in a lot of hard work, and eventually was able to build a successful business with over 550 people attending their annual conference. Jamie’s journey taught her that failure is part of the process, and success takes patience and hard work.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

How Jamie Eubanks transitioned from a “basketball wife” to a successful entrepreneur.
The importance of surrounding yourself with smart people and pivoting quickly.
Jamie and JJ’s journey of building a successful travel agency and the importance of resilience and patience.

Episode Highlights

[00:00:06]

With us is Jamie Eubanks, the owner, CEO, and founder of MVP. MVP is the largest third-party travel agent for Walt Disney World. There may be 2000 503,000 agents.

[00:01:37]

Jamie was a basketball wife for 14 years before starting her own travel agency. She says she was never going to work her way up the corporate ladder in Southern Indiana. Jamie’s story shows how things have changed due to social media.

[00:05:45]

Jamie Eubanks left her job as a bank teller to become an entrepreneur. After 14 years as a basketball player’s wife, she lost her identity. She says when a door closes, either solve it or go do something else that’s more fulfilling.

[00:09:08]

As a leader, the biggest thing to remember is that we cannot control very much. The only thing we can control is how we handle our own behavior.

[00:11:53]

I think I’m just crazy enough that failure doesn’t bother me. I don’t care to fail.

[00:12:58]

We talked earlier about pivoting. And I think that that’s one thing about living overseas. You adapt quickly. Whatever we decide to do, we go in full blown. All in. And if we fail, we’re failing together, and we fail fast and try to pivot.

[00:14:25]

Be patient. It takes years to become an entrepreneur. Don’t let failure deter you. Entrepreneurship can look very glamorous, but it’s very doable.

[00:16:27]

Our work is more than a business, it’s more than a partnership. It’s a friendship.