Meet Karissa Hacker | Travel Agent & Pet Caretaker and Retired Barefoot Trimmer

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

Hi Karissa, how do you think about risk?
Taking risks isn’t something I’ve always done. Once I graduated college I was left with a sense of not knowing what my future held. I was certain I’d never leave my home state of Illinois, which was full of my family, friends, and the two jobs I’ve had since I was 16. A month after graduating from Northern Illinois University, I was approached by a friend about a job opportunity, but the catch was that the job was in Texas. I laughed it off at the time, but when I sat down later to think about it, I asked myself all of the “what ifs”. The more I thought about it, the more I pressured myself to take that leap and get out of my comfort zone. My friend and I road tripped to Texas and I aced my interview, but along the way on this trip I was offered an apprenticeship that would be life-changing. When I returned back home after this trip I weighed out all of the pros and cons and I soon realized that I needed to take a huge risk. It was time to leave everything behind and start my journey into adulthood. I packed up whatever belongings would fit in my car and had a friend trailer my horse down 1000 miles to Texas. In March of 2012 I started an unpaid apprenticeship learning how to trim horse hooves and also how to run a business. Two things I’ve never done before. Fast forward a year and my mentor was now moving and I was given what was left of her clients. I was now on my own and needed to build up enough clientele to trim horses full-time. In the meantime I was working at a hospital allergy testing patients and tending to hoof care clients in the evenings and on weekends. I was able to quit my hospital job March 2014 and trim full-time. I continued to build this successful small business by myself over the next 11.5 years. Unfortunately with trimming horses comes dangerous job hazards. I was injured by a horse in January 2019 and finally had back surgery October 2023 which ended my career I was so deeply in love with. Before my surgery I had some deep discussions with my husband on what my next career would be. I had to come to the reality that I just couldn’t use my back anymore and needed to do some soul searching. After much consideration I started up a travel agent business. Something else that I’m passionate about is traveling, different cultures, language learning, researching upcoming travels, and building itineraries. I didn’t think I’d ever find something else that would make me as happy as trimming, but booking travel has done just that. I’m still helping people and that makes me incredibly happy. But this career change did come with some huge risks. I had to start building another small business from the ground up while my husband and I lived off of one income. Most small businesses take 3+ years to really get going, so we both knew finances would be tight for a bit. I started my travel business July 2023 and have been seeing an increase in sales every quarter. I’ve gained many repeat clients and have learned so much more about the travel industry. I had so many doubts along the way, but 18 months later I am soaring again. And to top it all off, ever since I moved to Texas I have also been offering pet care and house-sitting on the side. This has allowed us some extra cushion between my surgery recovery and starting up my travel business. It’s also a great use of time because while I’m house-sitting I am still able to book travel. I’m not sure how this all fell into place, but it’s safe to say it’s been a wild ride and I’m here for it all.

What should our readers know about your business?
Starting a small business from scratch has been no easy feat. What has kept me going is that I KNOW I can be successful in this field because I am knowledgeable, organized, and determined. What gets me excited about booking travel for clients is that same feeling that I get when I book travel for my husband and I. Once you book that trip you get this overwhelming sensation of excitement and happiness. If I’m booking a honeymoon for a client, I think back to when we booked our honeymoon. The anticipation of that upcoming trip after the wedding is uncontrollable and I get to create those feelings for someone else. I remember booking a client to Italy (before we got to go) and all I could think about was that I was booking this out of pure enjoyment because “I” wanted to go to Italy someday. I thoroughly research (probably too much) everything there is to know about an area before sending a client there. I want them to be as comfortable with their decision as I am. This is the first time I’ve worked in sales, so that has been a learning curve for me. I was discouraged in the beginning because the only thing I wasn’t great at was closing the sale. Everything else was a piece of cake! I took the time to take a 7-week business course through my host agency and began to understand the travel client relationship a lot more. This alone has helped my business grow much quicker. For anyone out there that is thinking about using a travel agent, please try it out! We are all here to help make your travels as relaxing as possible. Not only do I research and book trips, but I am available 24/7 when my clients are traveling in case they have any questions or if something goes wrong. They get to sit back and relax while I make the phone calls to smooth anything out. The best part about all of this is that it’s a free service I offer to all of my clients.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If it was my best friend, she’d be staying at our house on the ranch we rent on here in Glen Rose, TX.
Day 1: stop at Hard Eight BBQ on the way home from the airport and rest for the rest of the night
Day 2: take the horses out for a trail ride and explore the beautiful ranch, maybe a picnic lunch, end the day grilling steaks for dinner
Day 2: Fossil Rim day because who doesn’t love watching giraffes and zebras! We would have lunch at the cafe at the Overlook
Day 3: since my friend loves Magnolia, we’d take a day trip down to Waco to visit the Silos and grab lunch at the food trucks there after doing some shopping
Day 4: hiking at Dinosaur Valley State Park to check out the dinosaur tracks, we are definitely eating Mexican at Mama Mias for lunch/dinner
Day 5: we’re going to Lost Oak Winery in Burleson for wine tasting since it’s my favorite winery in the area
Day 6: take the dogs to Big Rocks Park here in Glen Rose and let them play in the water for a bit and then grab a burger at the Green Pickle off the square
Day 7: get in one last trail ride with the horses since we both love riding and then it’s to the airport

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my parents. From day one they have always been extremely supportive with anything I was passionate about. Whether it was being on the swim team in middle school, taking up horseback riding lessons, or moving 1000 miles away to pursue my dreams, they have been there for me 100% of the time. I can remember so many phone calls where they said “I’m so proud of you” and that has always stuck with me. Just the acknowledgement and encouragement from them was overwhelming because there have been many times where I thought I had made the wrong decision, but I kept their words in the back of my head. I am so fortunate to have amazing parents that saw and see what I am capable of and that has taken me a long way.

Website: https://linktr.ee/allthingstravelbykarissa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/all_things_travel_by_karissa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allthingstravelbykarissa

Other: https://evotravelagent.com/karissahacker

Image Credits
Brande Tyler Photography