Transferable skills learned in the business world have paid off nicely for Sonya Konig, owner of "The WineLovers' Club" hosted at Tinhorn Creek Estate Winery in Oliver, BC.
Four years ago, Sonya was a Project and Account Manager for a large company and identified one of the keys to her success was her ability to develop strong and trusting relationships with her customers. Today, she uses these same skills to build her own successful tourism business.
Her business today includes wine education programs, guest suites in the vineyard, wine cellar tours, and tutored wine tasting seminars. She has also developed several alliances with other local businesses allowing her to offer cooking classes, spa experiences, and cycling tours. At the WineLovers' Club, each guest's itinerary is customized according to lifestyle and interests, and each activity is orchestrated either by Sonya directly, or by several local businesses, ensuring execution meets the highest standards.
In her previous job, Sonya was a Project and Account Manager responsible for leading teams of consultants in deploying some of the largest trading systems for investment banks, stock and futures exchanges in Australia and London, UK. In her role as account manager, it was vital to develop strong and trusting relationships with customers. These transferable skills have helped in establishing quality relationships with her clients, resulting in more than 30% repeat customers and business referrals at Tinhorn Creek Estate Winery.
Konig says that customer service and a positive attitude are the most essential skills required in her business. "In today's world, people lead a stressful life and time is of the essence. Delivering quality service coupled with something as simple as a smile goes a long way."
In her previous role, no day was the same. The volatility of markets forced her to be flexible, understand client needs, problem solve, deal with intense pressure, retain a positive attitude, and at the same time deliver quality service. With the pressure of losing millions of dollars on the trading floor, her customers were very demanding, says Konig. "It is critical that you are always one step ahead of them, continue to be customer driven and attend to requests promptly."
Having had no formal training in the tourism industry, Sonya has taken several wine courses over the years. But most of the knowledge that she has gained in the tourism industry came from being a tourist in over 40 countries while working and traveling for pleasure. These life experiences and the"school of hard knocks" have taught her the dos and don'ts of business.
One of the most important things she has learned is that, "if you feel passionate about what you do, the rest will come."
