A travel agent and mum-of-two from Abbots Langley has realised a near-decade long dream after being recognised at a prestigious national awards ceremony.

Lisa McCallum won a silver award in the Best Customer Service category at the 2024 Best Business Women awards, held at a gala in London.

Lisa set up her Lisa McCallum Travel Consultancy business in 2016, buying her Not Just Travel franchise after a "mad" conversation with her husband.

Lisa McCallumLisa McCallum (Image: Lisa McCallum) After working in finance in Central London, Lisa spent five years as a full-time mum, caring for her two autistic sons.

But she'd always wanted to work in the travel industry, explaining: "I said I would love to have a travel business, because I loved going on holiday. I had a job I didn't like but it funded my travels. I was always holiday obsessed but didn't really know how I could get into that industry."

In October 2016, her husband convinced her to pursue that dream and from there, the rest of history.

She said: "I got so excited that within three weeks of this conversation with my husband I'd formed a limited company and was off for intense training. Lo and behold, eight years on and a pandemic later I'm still here and still loving it."

Last week's awards success was eight years in the making, with the mum-of-two dreaming of this very award all those years ago.

"I remember thinking 'wow that sounds amazing, I'd love to be the sort of person who could enter that'. So, it was on my radar but as a national award, it always seemed like a pipe dream", said Lisa.

At the start of 2024, she took the plunge, deciding to put herself forward for the awards.

She decided to tell just one person - her 13-year-old son, Jackson.

His response will be familiar to any parent of an autistic child, with Lisa explaining: "He tends to be very straight talking, so when I told him, he very bluntly told me that with so many people entering I didn't have a chance!"

But in July, Lisa was nominated as a finalist and received her silver award at The Savoy last Friday, a moment she describes as "surreal" and "validation for my efforts".