Joined in February 2022
Pediatric cardiothoracic surgery nurse practitioner
Based in New York City, New YorkFrom life-saving surgeries to life-changing journeys
Elizabeth Kaczka spent her days in one of medicine's most demanding specialties—helping infants and children with congenital heart disease. Working around the clock in pediatric-cardiac ICUs, she thrived in high-stakes environments where split-second decisions mattered.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and she and her husband started to think about family planning, Elizabeth realized her “all-over-the-place” hospital schedule wouldn't be sustainable while raising a future family. During lockdown, Elizabeth had started travel writing to stay connected to her passion for exploring the world. (“All I did was work in medicine or travel,” she said.) That's when she learned about Fora. She was already looking for a career change with more flexible hours; Fora came at the perfect time.
Finding a part-time balance
Elizabeth was among Fora's first 100 advisors. During her first year at Fora, she was able to reduce her hospital hours, allowing her to pursue both medicine and travel.
“It was a leap of faith, but I'd seen how well I was able to grow and figured if I dedicated more time, I could grow exponentially,” she said of her career as a Fora Advisor. “I have invested so much in my medical career, and it’s still so much a part of my identity. The part-time balance is really nice because I get to do both.”
I have invested so much in my medical career, and it’s still so much a part of my identity. The part-time balance is really nice because I get to do both.
Elizabeth Kaczka
joined February, 2022
When Elizabeth had her first child, Grace, and was on maternity leave from the hospital, she appreciated that, with Fora, she still got to work on her own schedule—or really, Grace’s schedule.
“I love knowing that I have another source of income if I feel that I need to step back from medicine,” she added, “just to be a little bit more present here with my family.”
Building a thriving, flexible business
Elizabeth's medical background taught her the importance of systems and structure. She approached her travel business the same way. Her mornings became dedicated to administrative work and international outreach. Afternoons were reserved for client calls and relationship building. This systematic approach allowed her to scale from 10 hours per week initially to 20–30 hours as demand grew—all while maintaining her medical career.
The gamble paid off. Elizabeth increased her revenue every year she’s been in business, and exceeded her 2025 growth goals. Within six months, she achieved nearly seven figures in gross bookings—while pregnant and working part time, no less.
“I wanted to maintain this year since I was having a baby,” Elizabeth said. “I didn't expect to exceed last year's numbers.”
Streamlined operations that scaled her business
When you work part time, efficiency matters. Fora’s integrated booking platform, Portal, saved Elizabeth time and eased her workflow, allowing her to close more deals in less time.
“That very quickly streamlined the way you can look for the best rates for your clients and ensure you’re getting all the perks associated with our agency,” she said of the platform. “And you can look at it all under one web page, versus having 12 tabs open.”
Fora’s integrated booking platform, Portal, saved Elizabeth time.
Portal is an all-in-one platform for researching, planning, and booking trips, as well as tracking important business details like client information and commission payments.
The platform helped tremendously with not only research, but actually booking hotels for clients.
“Booking a hotel takes 30 seconds versus five minutes, since now we have all of our client data and their profiles uploaded right into the system,” she said. “Being able to quickly click on who's booking the hotel and click the correct credit card that's already saved—that, honestly, has been a lifesaver.”
And even when booking hotels and experiences she wasn’t familiar with, Fora’s community proved invaluable. She relied on Forum, our community app, as well as numerous WhatsApp groups, which are available when advisors reach certain status milestones.
“We've built such a great community,” Elizabeth said. “People are not gatekeeping. They're very happy to crowdsource and give their two cents on anything and help out where they can.”
How one booking supercharged her business
Elizabeth discovered an unexpected strategy that helped accelerate her business: destination-wedding room blocks.
“The room blocks themselves aren't a huge revenue source—people usually only stay two nights,” she said. “But getting access to those clients is incredibly valuable.”
One wedding room block in Greece opened doors to numerous potential clients. Wedding guests who extended their trips became loyal customers for future travel.
“That bride or groom gives out my information, and then people say, ‘Oh, I also have a trip to Hawaii—do you do Hawaii?’ It snowballs from there,” she said.
This strategy helped create a robust referral engine. In fact, word of mouth has been Elizabeth’s sole (and very effective) client-acquisition method.
“I haven't done any marketing or advertising because I can hardly keep up with referrals,” she said.
How Fora made success possible
Fora’s platform: Streamlines rate and perks comparisons in one dashboard for efficient bookings
WhatsApp groups: Access to fellow advisors for real-time destination intel and recommendations
Training: Destination deep-dives for unfamiliar places and continuous skill development
Automated systems: Backend support that allows you to focus on client relationships rather than admin
