Meet Sharon Ballinger | Memory Architect

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sharon Ballinger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sharon, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Since I travel alot anyway, I might as well earn some discounts, points, etc. and then I learned that there are a lot of Travel Advisors that don’t care about the responsibility we have to our clients. I believe that when people trust me with their money, to exchange it into memories that this is a tremendous responsisibility. Those memories will be made only once, can never be repeated and people deserve someone to assist them that takes that very seriously.

I believe that myself and my Team work with that attitude all the time and therefore we really can make a wonderful difference in other people’s lives.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Starting a new business is expensive in time, effort, learning and re-learning, and, of course, money. It’s not easy.. It requires many very late nights, balancing the work I already do to earn money while the travel portion grows as well as family, my own health journey, etc.
Just keeping breathing. Just keep moving; sometimes running, sometimes walking, sometimes crawling …. and breathe. That’s how I overcame the challenges and remained available to learn.
Mistakes are the best way for me to really learn. When I face the consequences, make the amends then I remember the lesson much better than just being told.
I want the world to know that having Travel Advisors, like Rico and myself, can make all the difference in the world for your once in a lifetime memory making adventure.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Here in Colorado there are many different places and attitudes that come with each one of them. We would have a hiking day through Garden of the Gods with a meal at Long Horn Steakhouse. We would spend a day walking through Manitou Springs, stopping at a variety of places for different snacks and beverages.
Going to the top of Pike’s Peak, driving out east to see how different the landscape is, Helen Hunt falls, and 7 Falls. This is an easy place to enjoy.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Rico Colombo has been the spark that made and contineus to make all of this possible. He is my Business Partner who does the marketing, has the creative ideas and is always encouraging me to try to avenues; such as Womanly Ways – which is a Travel Grouping that focuses on women’s needs and abilities to use time away from everything to improve their vision of themselves and their lives. That’s the newest start up within our travel business.

Website: https://www.ricostravel.com

Facebook: Rico’s Travel

Image Credits
Pictures taken by Rico Colombo, Owner of Rico’s Travel.