Showing posts with label home travel business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home travel business. Show all posts

Friday, January 25, 2013

Is being a travel agent right for me?



Of course being a travel agent from home is like any type of career, it isn’t for everyone.  However for a wide range of people, it is a great industry.  Here are some reasons travel may be good for you.

You like people.  You don’t have to like everyone but generally like people.  If you don’t, then this probably isn’t the best career for you.  You have to interact with customers and suppliers.

You enjoy helping people.  You are a consultant for people who are planning a trip.  Your job is to help your clients plan and go on trips.  You can’t be someone who is annoyed when someone asks for help.

You like to travel.  If you are a traveler yourself, you will have information on different destinations.  If you do like to travel, you can save money on your own vacations.


Everyone already calls you.  Your friends and family contact you anytime they need help making their travel plans.

You are someone who can use the Internet.  While everyone else you know can’t seem to maneuver around the web, you can get online and find just about anything.

You enjoy projects and researching things.  This is one of the areas that has made me the agent I am today.  I did not do a lot of traveling and I actually failed geography class!  But I know how to research and find out information for my clients.  I use the Internet and books to help me.

You love to dream.  I am constantly thinking of the next place I would like to go and spend hours searching for things.  My searching helps me to learn more and more about the world and places to visit.

You are not afraid to pick up the phone and call suppliers to get information.  You don’t have to know every location in the world or have traveled all to be a good agent.  If you are the type of person who will pick up the phone and call someone for help, you will do just fine.  Suppliers and there to help you plan your clients’ trips.

You are looking for a way to have a second income.  If you already have a job this business is one that won’t require you to work long hours or stay in any location for too long. 

You move around and want something you can do from wherever you are located.   As long as you have access to the Internet, you can work from home as a travel agent just about anywhere.

You have special interests.  This is a wide area.  Maybe you enjoy a particular sport or have a favorite place you like to visit.  If this is the case for you, you can specialize in what you enjoy.  Many agents will just sell one particular vacation like ski trips or golf trips.  Some will focus on a particular location like Florida or Mexico.  Some focus on things like cruises or family trips.

You enjoy learning about new things.  This is one field that you will never know everything about it.  It constantly changes and there are so many areas of travel.  There is no way no matter how long you have been in the business you will know it all.


You have always wanted to be a travel agent.  This something I am told all the time by new agents.  The travel field has always interested them.

You already know people who travel.  Maybe your friends and family travel or your full-time job requires you to book travel already for many people.  I have several agents who do the travel for the place they work already.  They say they normally book it online or through another agency and realized they could be making money from the work.

You are tired of working for someone else.  This business will be your business.  You will work for yourself and instead of working hard to make someone else rich, you will be the one profiting.

You enjoy making money.  When I worked full time as a travel agent at an agency, I would look at my weekly sales.  I used to always think about if I had been on commission, what I would have made instead of the hourly rate I made.  Now if I have a great week, I get the money from it as opposed to the same pay.  Of course, the flip side is if I have a bad week I works to my disadvantage.  There is a great incentive to work hard and be rewarded.  There is nothing like the feeling of booking a cruise and making $500 in an hour.  If you want to make money and are willing to go after it, you will make it.

You want a job that allows you to work from home.  Many of my agents just wanted a way to work at home either for family reasons like children or for health reasons.  Many just want to own their own business and have the opportunity to be at home with their children.

You don’t want a 9-5 job.  I work whatever hours I decide.  Many of my customers enjoy the fact they can call me after they get home from work.  I enjoy working late at night when my house is quiet.  Many you want to have other commitments during the day like schooling or activities that a regular job would not permit.

You want to travel.  There are great opportunities to travel as an agent.  Some require a certain amount in sales in order to allow you to participate in familiarization trips or discounts as a travel agent but they are available.

Whatever the reason for deciding for being a home based travel agent, it can be a wonderful opportunity for a variety of people.


Monday, January 21, 2013

Dugans Travels

It is now 2013 and I can't believe it has almost been 16 years since I first made the step to start Dugan's Travels.  I can hardly remember how hard it was but part of me will never forget.  So many things are different now.  When I first started taking on other moms to help them become travel agents I had no idea what to do.  Now we have a full fledge training program in place.  We now have people of all ages, races, sex, etc.. and there is no set type of person who joins us.

One thing that has been hard is learning how to deal with becoming so successful which in turn has people who want to just tear it all down.  There are so many hateful websites out there.  People posting untrue things for no reason other than to cause issues.  New companies are now coming up to fix the negative things which leads me to wonder who put the negative posts in the first place.

I am learning that all I can do is tell the true story of Dugan's Travels. I know that those who know me and our agency will see those posts for what they are.  Someone said to me the other day I should be flattered because only people who have done well for themselves are a target for people who are angry.  I am not sure if that helps any.

I am so excited for 2013 and what it will bring for the agency.  I know it is going to be an amazing year.

Jennifer Dugan
Dugans Travels

Monday, August 27, 2012

Advertising - what is the best investment

What it best advertising for a homebased agent? 

First nothing in the world will be better than word of mouth and a happy customer.  It doesn't matter what you spend in advertising, word of mouth is key in this business.  You must take care of your customers and be good at customer service.  If you ignore complaints, don't return phone calls or emails, don't care about someone after they give you their money - then you are going to not make it in this field period.

Can you advertise on a small budget?  Absolutely.

Here are some ideas:

Get a really nice business card - no they don't have to cost a fortune.. some places to try are:
www.printsmadeeasy.com  www.vistaprint.com

Get that card out everywhere.  Get brochures and get your card on them.  Leave them anywhere you go for example waiting rooms.. people love to look at brochures while waiting someplace like dr, dentist, auto shop, etc..

Talk to people.  Again word of mouth is so important.  Tell people what you.  Get a fun shirt.  I have one that says "work sucks, I am going on a cruise" that I wear.  It is a conversation starter.  Always have a card in a pocket or easily accessible in your wallet or purse. 

Hang flyers on bulletin boards along with a couple cards.

People need to see your name about 10 times before they will recongize it.

Call local media like the newspaper and find out about getting featured in an article. 

You can do it.  I started my business with a very, very small budget so it is very doable!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Check your email!

If you are going to offer email for your clients to reach you, be absolutely sure you check your email regularly.  This is a huge mistake so many businesses are making.  If you aren't someone who checks email, then don't put it on your website, business cards or anywhere someone can find it and email you.  It makes you look unprofessional as well as makes the client feel you could care less about their business.

If you are going to be away from email for awhile, set up an auto-responder letting people know this.  It is always easy to do so if you don't know how- contact your internet provider or email provider to find out how.

Smart phones now allow you to check your email quickly and get back to your clients right away.  

I don't know how many businesses I have emailed who never replied.  One business got back to me about a month after I sent her an email and she lost my business because I went with a company who replied to me right away.

Do you have competitors in your area?  Well I bet 1/2 of them will not reply to an email so if you reply quickly you are already ahead of them!

Jennifer Dugan