Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1499498
"I try to attend all the meetings. It's a great way to meet people and learn about their businesses. It is great support for the entrepreneur." Craig and Lisa Merutka 10 | 2023 Bella vista Business association directory A passion for travel leads to the perfect job Lisa Merutka had a lot of experience planning travel before she decided to start her business. Her husband served in the military for 27 years and they moved 16 times. "I had always done all the travel plans for family, and we traveled a lot since we were military. We love to travel and I like planning. We just put those together and it was the perfect job," she said. She started the business seven years ago, before her husband retired. ey moved the business when they settled in Northwest Arkansas. Merutka joined the Bella Vista Business Association to get to know more about her new home. "I try to attend all the meetings. It's a great way to meet people and learn about their businesses. It is great support for the entrepreneur," she said. When they were ready to retire, the Merutkas already knew the area well because they oen traveled Interstate 49 to see family in Fort Smith. During those trips, they sometimes took a few minutes to drive around Bella Vista and Bentonville. ey knew they wanted to live here someday. She works from home, so much of her business is done over the phone, but she's happy to meet clients in person when necessary. "I meet some people at coffee shops. My office is wherever you want to meet," she said. She also has five associates working for her, but they are scattered geographically and also thematically. Each of her associates has their own specialty. Merutka's theme is European river cruises. "I won't help them if I can't do a really good job," she said about her customers. "ere are a lot of travel agents – someone else is an expert." Not too long ago, she was asked to help plan a honeymoon in Denver, but Merutka doesn't know much about the area, so she found them a different agent who did. People assume that a travel agent is expensive, but that's not true, she said. Her fees don't come from the traveler; they come from the vendor and it doesn't affect the price. e vendors – the people working at all-inclusive resorts and cruise lines – want to work with travel agents, she explained. ey are happy to share information – that's why a travel agent knows about the really good deals. Aer a while, the agents can answer questions without calling the vendors and they appreciate that. Sometimes Merutka travels with her clients. Last year, she took a group to Athens and Rome. is year, she will lead a tour of Scotland, Wales and Ireland for the travel company Globus. When she's traveling with Globus, she doesn't set up all the details, she just leads the tour that is already organized. ere was a steep learning curve throughout the travel industry when COVID-19 hit. Travel agents had to know all the rules and regulations that went along with traveling through a pandemic and for a while she had to change her focus to travel within the United States, but she's happy to be able to send clients back to Europe now that most of the regulations have been lied. By Lynn Atkins Special to Bella Vista Business Association Directory