How I made my first million : 26 self-made millionaires reveal the secrets to their success

k
errie
 d
avieS
GolDen ruleS
1. Think like a pilot. Know what your critical gauges 
are and keep your eyes on these. If they stay 
green, everything should take care of itself. If you 
see any flash red, like cash flow, act immediately.
2. Have a flight plan. give clear directions about 
where you’re going.
3. Look after your profitable customers. First- class 
passengers are not always the most profitable.
4. Focus on the little things as well as the big 
things. Pilots have a checklist for a reason. If 
you miss any of the little things, it could spell 
disaster.
5. Train your crew. get involved in key appointments. 
give everyone clear, measurable performance 
indicators and set them up to succeed.

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High Flier
Penny Spencer
Spencer Travel; 
established 1998;
twenty- five employees;
$20 million turnover
What’s the most lusted- 
after seat on an aircraft? 
Penny Spencer knows. 
‘All my top clients want seat 1A, whether they’re 
famous or not,’ she says. ‘Particularly on a jumbo 
jet, because it’s right at the front and you’re even 
further forward than the pilots. It’s a prestige 
thing.’
For the upmarket travel agent, flying first class 
Photo: R
ohan K
elly

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HIgH FLIER 165
and staying at luxury hotels is pretty routine. 
Spencer has an obligation, after all, to sample the 
high life on behalf of her wealthy clientele. Back 
in the early 1980s, though, when she got her first 
job, ‘I was so desperate that I literally worked for 
nothing,’ she recalls. ‘I worked at a travel agency 
for six months stamping brochures before they 
started paying me.’ It wasn’t quite what Spencer, 
a New Zealander by birth, had pictured. ‘I was 
fifteen when I got on a plane for the first time,’ 
she says. ‘It was only from the South Island to the 
North, but I knew then that I wanted to work in 
travel. It was just so exciting.’
A few years of drudgery and a couple of jobs 
later she was hired by Ursula King Travel, in Syd-
ney’s Woollahra, and began six ‘inspiring’ years of 
learning from a great mentor. ‘Seeing Ursula so 
passionate about her business, winning awards, 
even as a woman in a male- dominated world, 
really made me believe that I could do it too,’ 
Spencer says. ‘I learned a lot from her.’
Eventually, after a stint managing an agency 
with a former colleague, she decided to go it 
alone. She funded the 1998 launch of Spencer 
Travel with nothing but credit cards and faith in 
the loyalty of the clients she had dealt with—and 
held on to—over the years. ‘I still have many of 
my original clients today,’ Spencer says. ‘P eople 

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166 HOW I MADE MY FIRST MILLION
who appreciate a good service will always stay 
loyal if they can.’
Her solo venture soon took off, but not without 
tireless effort and fierce determination. Spencer 
doggedly pursued a particular TV producer in 
a bid to win his business. ‘I’d heard he wasn’t 
happy with his travel agents, so I called and called 
and called, and he never answered and didn’t 
return my messages,’ 
she says. ‘Then one 
night I was working 
late and tried call-
ing his offices in the 
hope that his secretary wouldn’t be there and 
he’d have to pick up the phone himself. He did. 
And he said that for my ‘sheer perseverance’ he’d 
let me go and see him. Sure enough, he signed 
me up.’ A couple of months later, the same pro-
ducer won the contract to produce the famous 
Qantas ad with all the children singing I Still