670: $1000/mo Helping People Plan Trips: Inside the Travel Advising Side Hustle

0:00:04 A thousand bucks a month helping people plan epic trips.
0:00:06 What’s up, what’s up, Nick Loper here.
0:00:07 Welcome to the Science Hustle Show
0:00:10 because your nine to five may make you a living,
0:00:12 but your five to nine makes you alive.
0:00:14 Another thing that certainly makes you alive
0:00:16 is travel and adventure and exploring
0:00:17 and experiencing new places.
0:00:21 And today I wanna share how you can actually turn
0:00:25 your interest in travel into an extra income stream.
0:00:27 Today’s guest has done just that
0:00:29 on top of some other online businesses
0:00:33 from unlistedtravel.com and maketravelyourjob.com.
0:00:36 After a nine year gap, Bailey Richard,
0:00:38 welcome back to the Science Hustle Show.
0:00:40 Thanks so much for having me back, Nick.
0:00:41 It’s a pleasure to be here again.
0:00:43 I can’t believe it’s been that long.
0:00:43 I know.
0:00:45 Of course, link up Bailey’s original episode.
0:00:47 We’re talking about building an online course business
0:00:49 at that point, but stick around in this one
0:00:52 to learn how travel advisors make money,
0:00:55 how to set yourself up for success in this field,
0:00:56 maybe some scams to avoid,
0:00:59 and creative ways to market your services,
0:01:01 to go out there and get some business.
0:01:03 And I wanna start with the,
0:01:04 you know, what is possible?
0:01:06 What one trip can make you?
0:01:06 Because you mentioned,
0:01:11 I recently planned a trip for two people going to London
0:01:14 and between advisor fees and commissions,
0:01:14 we’ll get into all this.
0:01:19 It was over $600 to you for something that I take,
0:01:20 you enjoy doing anyways.
0:01:21 Absolutely.
0:01:24 This is a particular trip I planned for two individuals,
0:01:26 man and wife, traveling six days,
0:01:29 five nights to London on a romantic getaway.
0:01:32 So to start off, we have the planning fee.
0:01:34 So the planning fee is an upfront fee
0:01:37 that travel advisors will charge their clients
0:01:40 to cover the cost of planning their epic itinerary.
0:01:43 Some travel advisors choose not to charge a planning fee
0:01:44 under some circumstances.
0:01:47 Maybe you’re serving your friends or your family,
0:01:49 but it’s definitely becoming more common
0:01:51 to charge your clients a planning fee.
0:01:53 Now, this isn’t something outrageous.
0:01:55 It could be $50 a day.
0:01:57 It could be $20 a day of travel,
0:02:00 but it could also be a fixed fee,
0:02:03 you know, maybe $100 a week of travel
0:02:05 for up to two people, three people.
0:02:08 You are the one that gets to determine your planning fee,
0:02:10 but that’s approximately what we’re looking at.
0:02:13 So for this particular trip, it was $100.
0:02:16 Now, this was a little bit earlier on
0:02:17 in my travel advising journey.
0:02:19 So today I probably would have charged
0:02:23 maybe even $200 for this particular trip,
0:02:25 but we’re going off the numbers that we used here.
0:02:28 So we’ve got a $100 planning fee upfront.
0:02:31 This is a non-refundable upfront planning fee
0:02:34 from the client to you.
0:02:34 Got it.
0:02:37 So then after the client pays the planning fee,
0:02:39 you are going to get started
0:02:41 planning their epic itinerary.
0:02:43 There’s going to be some back and forth
0:02:45 between you and the client to make it perfect.
0:02:46 But after they’ve approved it,
0:02:50 you’re going to book all of the elements of their trip.
0:02:52 So you’re going to book their hotel,
0:02:53 their tours,
0:02:55 their rental car,
0:02:56 their airport transfers,
0:02:58 all of the things that make somebody’s trip
0:03:00 actually happen.
0:03:02 And how you get paid through that
0:03:03 is by commissions.
0:03:05 The travel vendor or supplier,
0:03:06 like the hotel,
0:03:07 for example,
0:03:09 is going to pay you a commission.
0:03:11 So for example,
0:03:13 in this case study we’re talking about,
0:03:17 I booked the Fleming’s Mayfair Hotel in central London,
0:03:22 and the commission on this particular booking was 15%.
0:03:24 Now this is a little bit higher than average
0:03:27 because this particular hotel is a preferred partner
0:03:29 with my host agency.
0:03:30 Don’t worry,
0:03:32 we’re going to get into all of that,
0:03:36 but you can expect anywhere between 8% to 12%
0:03:39 typically on a regular hotel commission.
0:03:41 But if you are going to book with some of these
0:03:43 preferred hotels where your host agency
0:03:46 might have a special connection or relationship,
0:03:49 you can get commissions that are even higher.
0:03:49 Got it.
0:03:50 In fact,
0:03:53 I have seen a few hotels within my host agency
0:03:55 have up to 20% commission,
0:03:57 which is pretty crazy.
0:03:57 Yeah.
0:03:58 Because on a trip,
0:04:01 the hotel is usually what you spend the most on,
0:04:03 it’s important to make sure you’re looking
0:04:04 at that commission number.
0:04:06 So in this particular case,
0:04:08 the commission value
0:04:11 or the total amount that the client paid for the hotel
0:04:13 for which you can earn commission
0:04:16 was $2,442.
0:04:21 So 15% of that is $366.
0:04:22 Now,
0:04:26 your host agency is going to take a small portion of that.
0:04:29 How much you earn is dependent upon your relationship
0:04:31 with your host agency.
0:04:33 It might be a 70-30 split,
0:04:34 80-20,
0:04:35 or 90-10.
0:04:37 If you’re starting out as a travel advisor,
0:04:39 70-30 is pretty common,
0:04:42 and that’s what I was earning at this point.
0:04:45 Meaning they would give you 70% of the 360.
0:04:46 Exactly.
0:04:47 So you would be earning,
0:04:48 as I did in this case,
0:04:52 70% of the 15%.
0:04:53 So in this case,
0:04:55 that was $256.
0:04:55 Okay.
0:04:58 We already have a $100 planning fee
0:05:00 and $256.
0:05:05 So that’s $356 already on this trip.
0:05:06 And so far,
0:05:08 the only thing I’ve booked for them
0:05:09 is the hotel.
0:05:09 Right.
0:05:11 Now for this particular trip,
0:05:14 I offered them a private airport transfer.
0:05:16 That wasn’t something they were interested in.
0:05:17 They’re pretty frequent travelers.
0:05:19 They wanted to use the tube,
0:05:20 the Gatwick Express,
0:05:22 or the Heathrow Express,
0:05:22 whichever one it was,
0:05:24 and things like that.
0:05:25 they didn’t need a rental car.
0:05:26 But I’m mentioning these things
0:05:28 because you can get commissions
0:05:29 on these as well.
0:05:31 Your job as the travel advisor
0:05:32 is to be thinking about
0:05:34 all of the different elements
0:05:35 that someone is going to need
0:05:36 on their trip
0:05:37 to make it actually happen
0:05:39 and also to make it enjoyable.
0:05:40 It doesn’t mean that the client
0:05:41 is going to take everything
0:05:42 that you propose.
0:05:43 That’s why you’ll go back and forth
0:05:45 with them on the itinerary
0:05:46 to see what they want,
0:05:47 what their budget is.
0:05:48 But at the end of the day,
0:05:50 you can be earning commissions
0:05:51 on all these different things.
0:05:54 Okay, so I could set up shop today
0:05:56 and call myself a travel advisor
0:05:58 and help book these itineraries
0:06:00 and do the travel planning part
0:06:01 for this upfront free.
0:06:03 But if I want to get commissions,
0:06:04 then I have to go through
0:06:05 some registration.
0:06:06 I got to find this host agency.
0:06:09 And this is in lieu of becoming
0:06:11 a certified travel agent,
0:06:13 you know, going through hoops
0:06:14 and requirements like to do that.
0:06:15 Myself, this is kind of like
0:06:18 an easier barrier to get into
0:06:19 earning those types of commissions?
0:06:20 Basically, yes.
0:06:21 So essentially,
0:06:23 in order to book on behalf
0:06:25 of a client and get paid
0:06:25 your commissions,
0:06:26 you’re going to need something
0:06:28 called an accreditation number.
0:06:30 The most famous or most common
0:06:31 is something called IATA,
0:06:33 I-A-T-A.
0:06:34 I think it stands for
0:06:36 International Air Transport Association.
0:06:38 But the reality is
0:06:39 this particular number
0:06:40 is something that you are going
0:06:42 to use at time of booking
0:06:44 to let the vendor,
0:06:45 like the hotel,
0:06:47 know that you’re a travel advisor
0:06:48 or travel agent,
0:06:49 we use those terms interchangeably,
0:06:50 and you’re booking
0:06:51 on behalf of a client.
0:06:54 And this particular accreditation number
0:06:56 is linked to the organization
0:06:58 that’s going to get the commission.
0:07:00 So you have two routes here.
0:07:01 You can either choose
0:07:03 to become an independent agent
0:07:05 and go through the entire process
0:07:08 yourself of becoming accredited,
0:07:10 which is going to take many months
0:07:12 and quite a significant amount of money.
0:07:14 And it’s a very long process.
0:07:16 Or you can do something else,
0:07:17 which is what I recommend
0:07:18 to all of my students and friends,
0:07:20 which is that you should join
0:07:21 a host agency.
0:07:23 So a host agency is a company,
0:07:24 a travel agency,
0:07:26 that’s already gone through
0:07:27 the time and effort
0:07:28 and paid the fees
0:07:29 to become accredited.
0:07:31 They have one accreditation number,
0:07:33 and they share that accreditation number
0:07:35 with all of the travel advisors
0:07:37 that come to work for them
0:07:39 as 1099 and contractors.
0:07:41 Essentially, you’ll be able to use
0:07:42 their accreditation number
0:07:43 when booking.
0:07:44 When they go out
0:07:45 and form the relationships
0:07:47 with all of the hotels
0:07:48 and tour providers
0:07:49 and car rental services
0:07:50 and all of the stuff.
0:07:51 So you don’t have to do that.
0:07:52 And in exchange,
0:07:54 they take that 30% fee
0:07:55 of the commissions.
0:07:55 Absolutely.
0:07:57 So the host agencies
0:07:59 do so much work
0:08:00 for the travel advisors up front.
0:08:01 As you mentioned,
0:08:02 forming those relationships
0:08:04 is a huge part of it.
0:08:05 But there’s also things like
0:08:06 bringing the travel advisors
0:08:08 together in a community,
0:08:09 hosting trainings
0:08:11 about how to run your business,
0:08:12 how to do bookings,
0:08:14 but also about suppliers
0:08:14 or destinations.
0:08:16 They offer support
0:08:18 and they also chase down
0:08:18 your commissions.
0:08:20 So it’s a really great system
0:08:21 because you are not going
0:08:22 to be out there
0:08:22 sending invoices
0:08:23 and trying to chase down
0:08:24 commissions from all
0:08:26 of these different suppliers.
0:08:27 The host agency
0:08:28 is going to do that for you.
0:08:29 And then when it comes,
0:08:30 you know, time for taxes,
0:08:31 it’s super easy
0:08:33 because you’re just getting paid
0:08:34 from one place.
0:08:34 Got it.
0:08:35 Got it.
0:08:35 Okay.
0:08:36 Any host agencies
0:08:37 that you like
0:08:38 or where should people
0:08:39 begin their search here?
0:08:41 Hostagencyreviews.com
0:08:43 is a fantastic website.
0:08:43 I know.
0:08:44 It’s such a great name.
0:08:46 It’s such a great website
0:08:47 to learn more
0:08:48 about the different
0:08:49 host agencies available.
0:08:51 The host agency
0:08:52 I belong to
0:08:53 is called Fora.
0:08:54 And I think
0:08:56 they’re a great host agency,
0:08:57 especially for beginners,
0:08:58 but that doesn’t mean
0:08:59 that’s the only option.
0:09:01 There are many things
0:09:02 you need to consider
0:09:03 when choosing
0:09:04 your host agency.
0:09:05 For example,
0:09:06 what is that
0:09:07 initial commission split?
0:09:08 Are you comfortable
0:09:10 with a 70-30 to start
0:09:11 or do you need
0:09:12 something higher?
0:09:13 What type of support
0:09:15 does the host agency
0:09:16 offer
0:09:17 in terms of
0:09:18 a community trainings,
0:09:19 but also tech?
0:09:20 Of course,
0:09:21 you’re running a business here,
0:09:22 so there’s going to be
0:09:23 some tech involved.
0:09:24 Your host agency
0:09:25 may provide
0:09:26 some tools for you.
0:09:28 They also may not.
0:09:28 You might have to get
0:09:29 those separately.
0:09:30 So there are many
0:09:31 different questions
0:09:31 you’ll need to ask
0:09:32 before you choose
0:09:33 the right one
0:09:33 for you.
0:09:34 And I’m on
0:09:36 ForaTravel.com.
0:09:36 It looks like
0:09:38 it’s $300 a year
0:09:40 to request to join
0:09:41 to apply
0:09:44 under their host agency
0:09:45 as a travel advisor.
0:09:47 Is that fairly typical
0:09:48 where they’re
0:09:49 charging an upfront fee
0:09:50 to be part of their network?
0:09:51 Yes,
0:09:52 that’s a membership fee.
0:09:53 So to apply
0:09:54 is free.
0:09:55 When you are
0:09:56 accepted
0:09:57 or invited
0:09:57 to come
0:09:58 and join them
0:09:59 as a travel advisor,
0:10:00 then there is
0:10:01 that $300
0:10:02 is annual,
0:10:03 but you could also
0:10:03 pay monthly.
0:10:04 So there’s a monthly
0:10:05 or annual membership fee.
0:10:07 And that’s not just
0:10:07 with Fora.
0:10:08 That’s pretty much
0:10:09 with most
0:10:10 or any host agency.
0:10:10 There’s going to be
0:10:11 that upfront fee
0:10:12 to take care
0:10:12 of the services
0:10:13 they provide for you
0:10:15 in addition to
0:10:15 the commissions
0:10:17 as we previously discussed.
0:10:18 There’s somewhat common
0:10:19 in the East Side Hustle
0:10:20 they should Facebook group.
0:10:22 It’s almost a network
0:10:23 marketing pitch
0:10:24 or a multi-level
0:10:24 marketing pitch.
0:10:24 Like,
0:10:26 I book people’s travel
0:10:27 from home
0:10:28 and make
0:10:28 this amount
0:10:29 of commissions.
0:10:29 Like,
0:10:30 is there a network
0:10:31 marketing component
0:10:32 to this
0:10:32 or is this
0:10:34 something completely separate?
0:10:36 With some host agencies,
0:10:37 there is.
0:10:38 In fact,
0:10:39 I recommend
0:10:39 that people
0:10:40 stay away
0:10:41 from those host agencies.
0:10:43 Fora does not have
0:10:44 a network marketing
0:10:45 angle to it.
0:10:46 They do have
0:10:46 a sort of
0:10:47 affiliate program
0:10:48 where you can get
0:10:49 a little bit
0:10:49 off of your
0:10:50 membership fee
0:10:51 every year
0:10:51 if you recommend
0:10:52 a friend,
0:10:53 but there is
0:10:54 no requirement
0:10:55 to bring in
0:10:57 other individuals.
0:10:58 There are
0:10:58 some other
0:10:59 host agencies
0:11:00 that I shall
0:11:00 not mention
0:11:02 that do have
0:11:02 these sort of
0:11:03 requirements
0:11:04 or a very hefty
0:11:06 MLM-type arm.
0:11:07 And you make
0:11:07 a percentage
0:11:08 of, you know,
0:11:09 your referrals,
0:11:10 bookings,
0:11:10 and a percentage,
0:11:10 you know,
0:11:11 just on down.
0:11:12 That’s one more
0:11:13 thing you need
0:11:13 to think about
0:11:14 when joining
0:11:15 the host agency.
0:11:16 Is the focus
0:11:17 really on supporting
0:11:18 the travel advisors
0:11:19 in their quest
0:11:20 to serve their clients?
0:11:21 I believe
0:11:22 at Fora they are.
0:11:23 Or is it
0:11:24 more focused
0:11:25 on just bringing
0:11:26 more people in?
0:11:27 So, yeah,
0:11:28 there are definitely
0:11:28 some host agencies
0:11:29 out there like that,
0:11:30 but they’re not
0:11:31 all like that.
0:11:32 Definitely not.
0:11:32 Okay.
0:11:33 So this is helpful
0:11:34 to know host agency,
0:11:35 love of travel,
0:11:37 and now let’s talk
0:11:38 about the client
0:11:39 getting side.
0:11:40 I imagine everybody
0:11:40 has somebody
0:11:41 in their network
0:11:42 who’s like the
0:11:43 travel person,
0:11:44 the go-to person
0:11:45 who, you know,
0:11:45 knows about,
0:11:46 you know,
0:11:47 trips and hacks
0:11:47 and travel planning.
0:11:48 Like my sister-in-law
0:11:49 is like the go-to
0:11:50 Disney person
0:11:51 in our house,
0:11:52 and there’s got
0:11:53 to be other people
0:11:54 like that in your
0:11:54 own network,
0:11:55 or maybe that’s
0:11:55 you to your own
0:11:56 network.
0:11:56 It’s like,
0:11:56 well,
0:11:57 start out with
0:11:58 friends and family.
0:11:59 I imagine this kind
0:12:00 of starts with
0:12:01 organizing perhaps
0:12:02 family trips
0:12:03 and earning a
0:12:04 little bit of
0:12:05 referral commissions
0:12:06 on that or
0:12:07 planning fees on
0:12:07 that.
0:12:08 What happens after
0:12:09 that, like to get
0:12:10 the client base
0:12:11 spinning here?
0:12:12 Bailey’s response
0:12:13 in several more
0:12:14 creative ways to
0:12:15 market your travel
0:12:16 advising service
0:12:17 coming up right
0:12:17 after this.
0:12:20 Remember data
0:12:21 from the Goonies,
0:12:22 the guy with all
0:12:22 the gadgets,
0:12:23 or data from
0:12:23 Star Trek?
0:12:24 I think that’s why
0:12:26 I say data instead.
0:12:27 And one thing I love
0:12:28 about our sponsor
0:12:29 Mint Mobile is I
0:12:29 can get all the
0:12:31 data I need for
0:12:31 one low monthly
0:12:32 price.
0:12:33 That’s right,
0:12:33 down here,
0:12:34 it’s our time.
0:12:35 Mint Mobile is
0:12:36 rescuing people from
0:12:37 overpriced wireless
0:12:38 and they’re jaw-dropping
0:12:39 monthly bills and
0:12:40 unexpected overages.
0:12:41 All Mint Mobile
0:12:42 plans come with
0:12:42 high-speed data,
0:12:44 or data, I guess,
0:12:44 your choice,
0:12:45 and unlimited
0:12:46 talk and text
0:12:47 delivered on the
0:12:48 nation’s largest
0:12:49 5G network.
0:12:50 You can use your
0:12:50 own phone with
0:12:51 any Mint Mobile
0:12:52 plan and bring
0:12:53 your own phone
0:12:54 number along with
0:12:54 all your existing
0:12:55 contacts.
0:12:56 Join me in ditching
0:12:57 overpriced wireless
0:12:58 and get 3 months
0:12:59 of premium wireless
0:13:00 service from Mint
0:13:01 Mobile for just
0:13:02 $15 a month.
0:13:03 No matter how you
0:13:04 say it, don’t
0:13:05 overpay for it.
0:13:07 Shop data plans at
0:13:08 mintmobile.com
0:13:09 slash sidehustle.
0:13:11 That’s mintmobile.com
0:13:12 slash sidehustle.
0:13:13 Upfront payment of
0:13:15 $45 for 3-month
0:13:17 5GB plan required
0:13:18 equivalent to $15
0:13:19 per month.
0:13:20 New customer offer
0:13:21 for first 3 months
0:13:22 only, then full
0:13:23 price plan options
0:13:23 available.
0:13:24 Taxes and fees
0:13:25 extra, see
0:13:26 Mint Mobile for
0:13:26 details.
0:13:28 One strategy I
0:13:29 didn’t fully embrace
0:13:29 or maybe wasn’t
0:13:30 fully aware of when
0:13:31 I was starting out
0:13:33 was this idea of
0:13:33 the piggyback
0:13:34 principle.
0:13:35 In the startup
0:13:35 phase, that means
0:13:36 you don’t have to
0:13:37 start completely from
0:13:38 scratch, but instead
0:13:38 you can take
0:13:40 advantage of existing
0:13:41 tools, templates,
0:13:42 playbooks, best
0:13:43 practices from the
0:13:44 people who’ve gone
0:13:44 before you.
0:13:46 A perfect example of
0:13:46 this is our
0:13:47 partner Shopify.
0:13:49 Shopify is the
0:13:50 commerce platform
0:13:51 behind millions of
0:13:52 businesses, from
0:13:53 household names to
0:13:54 side hustlers on
0:13:54 their way to
0:13:55 becoming household
0:13:55 names.
0:13:56 With hundreds of
0:13:57 ready-to-use
0:13:58 templates, Shopify
0:13:59 helps you build a
0:14:00 beautiful online
0:14:00 store and start
0:14:01 selling.
0:14:02 Plus, Shopify is
0:14:03 packed with helpful
0:14:04 AI tools to
0:14:04 accelerate your
0:14:05 workflow.
0:14:05 We’re talking
0:14:06 product descriptions,
0:14:07 page headlines,
0:14:08 and even enhancing
0:14:09 your product
0:14:09 photography.
0:14:10 You can even
0:14:11 easily create
0:14:12 email and social
0:14:13 media campaigns to
0:14:13 reach your target
0:14:14 customers wherever
0:14:16 they’re scrolling or
0:14:16 strolling.
0:14:17 If you’re ready
0:14:17 to sell, you’re
0:14:18 ready for Shopify.
0:14:19 Turn your big
0:14:20 business idea into
0:14:22 with Shopify on
0:14:23 your side.
0:14:23 Sign up for your
0:14:25 $1 per month trial
0:14:25 and start selling
0:14:26 today at
0:14:27 shopify.com
0:14:28 slash side hustle.
0:14:29 Go to
0:14:30 shopify.com
0:14:31 slash side hustle.
0:14:33 Shopify.com
0:14:34 slash side hustle.
0:14:38 You’re absolutely
0:14:38 right.
0:14:39 Pretty much everybody
0:14:40 starts off either
0:14:41 booking a trip for
0:14:42 themselves or for
0:14:42 their family and
0:14:43 friends and I think
0:14:44 that’s a great
0:14:45 stepping stone because
0:14:46 that’s how you really
0:14:46 learn.
0:14:47 Even if you’re
0:14:48 someone like me who
0:14:49 has decades of
0:14:50 actual travel experience,
0:14:51 doing it for other
0:14:52 people and serving
0:14:54 clients in that way is
0:14:54 a little bit of a
0:14:55 different ballgame.
0:14:56 But once you have
0:14:58 done that, there are
0:14:58 many different ways.
0:14:59 So the first way I
0:15:00 always recommend to
0:15:01 people is by creating
0:15:03 some sort of referral
0:15:03 incentive.
0:15:05 So as I mentioned
0:15:06 earlier, there are
0:15:08 these planning fees and
0:15:09 you can waive those
0:15:10 planning fees under
0:15:11 certain circumstances
0:15:12 for any client.
0:15:13 So for example, you
0:15:14 could say to someone
0:15:16 who was a successful
0:15:17 client that might be
0:15:18 interested in booking
0:15:19 with you again, hey,
0:15:21 you know, if you refer
0:15:22 another person to me who
0:15:23 ends up successfully
0:15:25 booking a trip, I’ll
0:15:26 waive your planning fee
0:15:28 for your next trip.
0:15:30 Yes, for that
0:15:31 particular client who’s
0:15:32 going to book with you
0:15:33 a second time, you are
0:15:34 losing a little bit of
0:15:36 that planning fee, but
0:15:37 in the long run, you’re
0:15:38 going to gain another
0:15:39 client, which could
0:15:40 result in many trips
0:15:41 down the road, you
0:15:42 know, if they end up
0:15:43 really liking working
0:15:43 with you.
0:15:44 So that’s the first
0:15:44 thing.
0:15:45 Got it.
0:15:46 Yeah, it seems like you
0:15:47 almost have to target a
0:15:49 higher end clientele or
0:15:51 a more complex trip than
0:15:52 somebody going to Vegas
0:15:54 for the weekend, where
0:15:56 it’s just, I just go, you
0:15:56 know, book to the hotel
0:15:58 directly or go on
0:15:58 Expedia or whatever.
0:16:00 The DIY part of travel
0:16:01 over the last 20 years
0:16:03 has become easier in one
0:16:03 sense and like
0:16:04 overwhelming with choice
0:16:06 on the other sense, but
0:16:07 there’s the, there’s a
0:16:08 sweet spot for, you
0:16:09 know, helping somebody
0:16:10 with a complex itinerary
0:16:11 or it’s got to be almost
0:16:12 a higher end travel
0:16:13 experience.
0:16:14 That’s a really great
0:16:14 point.
0:16:15 I think that there’s a
0:16:16 couple of ways to look
0:16:16 at that.
0:16:17 So I do think that there
0:16:18 are lots of travel
0:16:19 advisors who choose to
0:16:20 focus on luxury travel
0:16:22 because ultimately if a
0:16:23 client spends more on a
0:16:24 trip, you’re going to
0:16:25 make more commission, but
0:16:26 that’s not everyone.
0:16:27 There are plenty of
0:16:28 people who are just
0:16:29 serving their, you
0:16:30 know, friends and
0:16:31 family that don’t
0:16:33 necessarily have $25,000
0:16:35 per trip budgets, but
0:16:36 the reason they might
0:16:37 enjoy working with a
0:16:39 travel advisor is
0:16:40 because they don’t
0:16:40 know anything about
0:16:41 travel.
0:16:43 They are unfamiliar with
0:16:44 all of the DIY options.
0:16:45 Like you said, they’re a
0:16:46 little overwhelmed.
0:16:47 They want someone who’s
0:16:47 an expert.
0:16:49 As you said, there might
0:16:50 be just a go-to travel
0:16:51 person.
0:16:52 I’m that person in my
0:16:53 family and friends group.
0:16:54 People are constantly
0:16:55 messaging me.
0:16:56 Hey, you know, do you
0:16:57 have any recommendations
0:16:57 about this?
0:16:58 I know you went to
0:16:59 that country a couple
0:16:59 years ago.
0:17:00 What do you think?
0:17:00 Yeah.
0:17:02 And so there is this
0:17:04 desire amongst people to
0:17:06 hire people they trust for
0:17:07 something like this.
0:17:08 And so I just want to
0:17:09 reassure people that it
0:17:10 doesn’t mean that if you
0:17:12 don’t know a very wealthy
0:17:13 CEO to be your client that
0:17:14 you can’t do this or be
0:17:15 successful because I
0:17:17 certainly, you know,
0:17:17 didn’t start out that
0:17:19 way and all my clients are
0:17:20 not wealthy CEOs.
0:17:20 Yeah.
0:17:21 Well, that’s another angle
0:17:23 is like business, maybe not
0:17:24 business travel and it’s
0:17:25 probably like built in
0:17:26 processes for that, but
0:17:29 some sort of, you know,
0:17:30 incentive trips for
0:17:30 companies.
0:17:31 Like when I was working
0:17:32 corporate, like that was
0:17:33 a big part of it.
0:17:34 Like how do we incentivize
0:17:35 these people and organize
0:17:36 these big trips that there
0:17:37 was a whole agency involved
0:17:38 with that, but like maybe
0:17:39 for smaller companies,
0:17:41 there’s a little niche or
0:17:42 angle or to specialize in
0:17:44 a specific location.
0:17:45 Like I’m the go-to expert
0:17:47 on Vietnam or whatever it
0:17:47 may be.
0:17:48 Absolutely.
0:17:50 I mean, getting involved
0:17:51 with your local business
0:17:52 community group, chamber
0:17:53 of commerce, you’re getting
0:17:54 involved there and kind of
0:17:55 letting local businesses
0:17:56 know that this is a
0:17:57 service you offer because
0:17:59 surely that office down
0:18:00 the road is not going to
0:18:01 have an in-house full-time
0:18:03 employee, you know, doing
0:18:04 their, you know, travel for
0:18:05 their organization, but
0:18:06 they might be looking to
0:18:08 do a company retreat for
0:18:09 20 people and you would be
0:18:10 able to help with that.
0:18:12 That sounds perfect.
0:18:13 Yeah, there’s a lot of
0:18:14 different directions that
0:18:15 you can go with here.
0:18:16 So what else, as you’re
0:18:16 opening up your marketing
0:18:18 playbook, we’ve got the
0:18:18 word of mouth, we’ve got
0:18:19 the referral incentive.
0:18:20 Hey, I’ll waive your
0:18:21 planning fee on your next
0:18:23 trip if you send me a new
0:18:24 client and hopefully that
0:18:25 starts to tap into your
0:18:26 network’s network a little
0:18:26 bit.
0:18:27 What else have you found
0:18:27 effective here?
0:18:28 Events.
0:18:30 So both going to and
0:18:31 hosting your own.
0:18:33 So I know of someone who
0:18:35 specializes in planning
0:18:36 honeymoons and romantic
0:18:37 trips all over the world
0:18:39 and she loves to work with
0:18:42 newlyweds and brides and
0:18:43 so she will actually go to
0:18:45 these sort of bridal, you
0:18:46 know, they have these
0:18:47 bridal vendor shows where
0:18:48 the brides are coming to
0:18:50 learn about cake and other
0:18:51 sorts of incredible things.
0:18:53 but she doesn’t even set
0:18:54 up a vendor booth herself.
0:18:55 Certainly that’s an option
0:18:57 but, you know, that’s
0:18:57 costly.
0:18:59 So she literally just goes
0:19:01 and mingles with all of
0:19:02 these brides and talks to
0:19:03 them and just tells them
0:19:04 the truth that, you know,
0:19:05 I plan incredible
0:19:07 honeymoons and romantic
0:19:07 trips.
0:19:09 So going to places where
0:19:10 your ideal client, if you
0:19:11 really have a focus niche,
0:19:12 can help.
0:19:14 But also hosting your own
0:19:15 sort of events on a much
0:19:16 smaller scale.
0:19:17 You don’t have to host a
0:19:18 gigantic conference or
0:19:18 convention.
0:19:19 but you could host, for
0:19:22 example, a local, I don’t
0:19:22 know, let’s pick a country,
0:19:23 Japan.
0:19:24 You could host a local
0:19:26 Japanese themed evening
0:19:28 where you serve foods
0:19:30 traditional to Japan and
0:19:31 you could, as the travel
0:19:32 advisor and host, give a
0:19:34 presentation on a few
0:19:35 interesting facts about the
0:19:37 country, highlight some
0:19:38 places people might want to
0:19:40 go, highlight a couple of
0:19:41 the interesting resorts or
0:19:43 hotels that you could book
0:19:44 for them and the perks you
0:19:45 could get them as a travel
0:19:46 advisor, and of course,
0:19:47 pass out your, you know,
0:19:49 information business cards
0:19:50 at the end, something like
0:19:50 that.
0:19:52 Okay, so I’m hearing the
0:19:53 opportunity to focus on
0:19:55 either a location-specific
0:19:56 niche, like the Japan
0:19:57 specialist, the Disneyland
0:19:59 specialist, or the theme
0:20:00 specific.
0:20:01 Oh, I specialize in booking
0:20:02 epic honeymoons to
0:20:03 wherever you want to go.
0:20:05 That’s a cool angle.
0:20:06 I love the approach of
0:20:07 going, you know, always
0:20:08 that’s the marketing
0:20:09 one-on-one question.
0:20:10 Where are my target
0:20:11 customers already hanging
0:20:11 out?
0:20:12 Well, these brides who are
0:20:13 about to, you know, plan
0:20:14 their wedding and
0:20:14 eventually the honeymoon
0:20:16 are hanging out at these,
0:20:17 you know, bridal vendor
0:20:18 shows, you know, they’re
0:20:19 looking for photographers
0:20:20 and caterers and DJs and
0:20:21 venues.
0:20:22 It’s like, okay, here’s a
0:20:24 natural next step to get in
0:20:25 front of those customers.
0:20:26 I love that strategy.
0:20:28 And then this, you know,
0:20:30 themed dinner or location
0:20:31 specific event.
0:20:32 We see people do this
0:20:33 online.
0:20:33 We see people do this
0:20:34 offline.
0:20:35 The online strategy would
0:20:36 be the, you know,
0:20:38 partner workshop type of
0:20:40 person where if you, you
0:20:43 try to find some, some
0:20:44 organization that already
0:20:46 is catering to people who
0:20:47 might be interested in
0:20:48 traveling to Japan or
0:20:48 something.
0:20:49 I don’t know what
0:20:50 organization that might be
0:20:52 off the top of my head, but
0:20:53 offer to host that
0:20:53 workshop.
0:20:55 Maybe it’s that hour long
0:20:56 webinar presentation or
0:20:57 maybe it’s that in-person
0:20:59 dinner with the sushi and
0:21:00 sake sampling or whatever it
0:21:01 is.
0:21:03 And you’ve cut through the
0:21:05 clutter and now you’re the
0:21:07 go-to expert on that topic
0:21:08 and whether they end up
0:21:10 hiring you or not, you’ve
0:21:11 kind of jumped the line and
0:21:12 say like, well, if we want
0:21:13 to do this trip and you’ve
0:21:15 got us all excited about
0:21:17 it, like there’s a natural
0:21:17 person that they’re going
0:21:19 to call instead of going
0:21:20 back to Google and looking
0:21:22 for other travel advisors
0:21:23 to help them out.
0:21:25 And, you know, you might
0:21:26 be thinking, well, somebody
0:21:27 who’s going to be at this,
0:21:28 you know, Japanese themed
0:21:30 evening is maybe only
0:21:31 considering planning a trip
0:21:32 for themselves or their
0:21:34 family, but that’s not
0:21:34 necessarily true.
0:21:36 When you plant that seed of
0:21:37 excitement, you might find
0:21:38 that that person you were
0:21:40 talking to is in a book
0:21:41 club and they just finished
0:21:42 a book that was all
0:21:44 about Ireland, maybe, or
0:21:45 Scotland, they were reading
0:21:46 about Outlander or
0:21:46 something, right?
0:21:47 And so now they want to
0:21:49 plan an entire trip for
0:21:50 the book club to go.
0:21:51 Naturally, you’re the
0:21:52 person that they’re going
0:21:53 to come to and talk to
0:21:54 about that, right?
0:21:56 So you never know, you
0:21:56 know, where these things
0:21:57 are going to lead to.
0:21:58 But one thing I also want
0:21:59 to mention, you said that
0:22:01 as far as picking a niche
0:22:02 that you could do, you
0:22:03 know, the location-based
0:22:04 or you could do, you
0:22:05 know, the activity-based.
0:22:06 There are other very
0:22:07 popular types of niches
0:22:08 as well.
0:22:09 I know some people that
0:22:11 specialize in only cruises.
0:22:13 I personally don’t really
0:22:13 do cruises.
0:22:15 I might add a river cruise
0:22:16 or something to somebody’s
0:22:16 expedition.
0:22:18 But if somebody wants to,
0:22:19 for example, just take,
0:22:20 you know, a weekend-long,
0:22:21 you know, princess cruise
0:22:22 or Norwegian cruise, that’s
0:22:24 not really my specialty
0:22:26 because there is so much
0:22:27 to learn about cruises.
0:22:28 I mean, really, it is an
0:22:29 entire market in and of
0:22:30 itself.
0:22:31 And so going to somebody
0:22:32 who really knows everything
0:22:34 about cruises, which type of
0:22:35 ship you should take and
0:22:36 what the different routes are
0:22:37 and what the best pricing
0:22:39 is, you know, we were
0:22:40 talking earlier about why
0:22:41 you’d want to hire a travel
0:22:41 advisor.
0:22:43 I don’t really go cruising
0:22:44 ever.
0:22:46 And so that’s something that I,
0:22:47 you know, would want to talk
0:22:48 to an expert about as well.
0:22:49 Yeah, there’s a lot of
0:22:49 pressure.
0:22:50 If this is going to be a
0:22:52 once-in-a-lifetime trip,
0:22:53 and for a lot of people I’ve
0:22:54 been saving for years to
0:22:55 make this happen, I don’t
0:22:56 want to screw it up.
0:22:57 Like, I want to make sure it
0:22:59 is done right and it’s
0:23:00 absolutely worth it to hire
0:23:02 the expert for the planning
0:23:03 fee and make sure you pick
0:23:04 the hotel in the right
0:23:05 location from somebody who’s
0:23:06 been there, done that,
0:23:06 knows the area.
0:23:08 it’s a long way to go
0:23:08 depending on where you’re
0:23:10 going to not have a great
0:23:11 experience.
0:23:12 And so if you could spend a
0:23:13 little bit more up front, I
0:23:14 think it makes a lot of sense
0:23:15 on the client side.
0:23:17 And to come to think of it, I
0:23:18 feel like I’ve seen these
0:23:20 flyers at the library for, you
0:23:22 know, come listen to our talk
0:23:25 about exploring, you know, the
0:23:27 architecture of ancient Egypt
0:23:27 or something.
0:23:29 And I got to imagine it’s
0:23:31 probably a travel advisor who’s
0:23:31 putting that on.
0:23:33 We had a guy who was doing
0:23:35 a tutoring business and it
0:23:36 was like workshops, you know,
0:23:38 hosted at the local coffee
0:23:39 shop or the library.
0:23:40 Bonus points if you can have
0:23:42 them promoted to their
0:23:43 audience, their email list.
0:23:44 Absolutely.
0:23:45 You know, here’s the seven
0:23:46 things you need to know about
0:23:48 the new ACT changes for your
0:23:50 high school student and totally
0:23:51 free to attend.
0:23:52 But by the way, if you need
0:23:54 tutoring services, I’m your
0:23:55 guy.
0:23:56 It’s a very similar strategy
0:23:57 here.
0:23:58 Absolutely.
0:23:59 And, you know, it’s funny that
0:24:00 you mentioned the library and
0:24:02 those info sessions because
0:24:03 one other strategy that I’ve
0:24:05 seen people do is it doesn’t
0:24:06 even necessarily have to be
0:24:07 location specific.
0:24:09 It could just be focused on
0:24:09 how to travel.
0:24:11 You’d be amazed at how many
0:24:13 people simply are not as
0:24:14 familiar with the world of
0:24:16 passports and visas and what
0:24:18 is a WHO vaccination card and
0:24:19 all of these different
0:24:19 things.
0:24:21 I have heard of people going
0:24:23 to different countries.
0:24:24 Let’s say Vietnam, I think.
0:24:26 You have to apply many months
0:24:28 in advance to get your visa.
0:24:29 It’s not like just showing up
0:24:30 in London where you can say,
0:24:31 oh, I’m from the USA.
0:24:32 I’m here for a week.
0:24:33 I just want to be a tourist.
0:24:35 The relationships with all
0:24:36 countries are not like that.
0:24:38 And so hosting some of these
0:24:40 how to travel info sessions
0:24:42 can be such a really great
0:24:43 way to get clients because
0:24:44 once people get into that
0:24:45 info session, and you’re
0:24:46 certainly not trying to scare
0:24:48 anyone, but they realize that
0:24:49 they just don’t know as much
0:24:51 as they need to know in order
0:24:52 to have a successful trip,
0:24:54 they’re immediately going to
0:24:55 think, I’m going to be a lot
0:24:56 safer in the hands of this
0:24:58 travel advisor who’s hosting
0:24:58 this session.
0:25:00 It’s not even an ageist
0:25:01 thing, but certainly there
0:25:02 are people as well that
0:25:04 maybe are not as online as
0:25:04 much, right?
0:25:05 So they don’t know all of
0:25:06 the different, you know,
0:25:08 resources available to them.
0:25:10 And so they would just
0:25:11 benefit from doing, you know,
0:25:12 work face-to-face with
0:25:12 someone.
0:25:13 Yeah, the amount of
0:25:15 information out there is so
0:25:16 overwhelming where it’s like
0:25:17 if somebody could cut through
0:25:19 the clutter and help
0:25:21 streamline that process, it
0:25:22 makes a lot of sense.
0:25:23 I feel like my parents have
0:25:24 gone to, you know, the
0:25:26 Rick Steves info session and
0:25:27 then they end up booking
0:25:28 the Rick Steves tour.
0:25:29 So it’s like, this is a
0:25:31 strategy that clearly can
0:25:31 work.
0:25:31 Absolutely.
0:25:32 And if you show them
0:25:34 something that they don’t
0:25:35 think they could have found
0:25:36 on their own, so going back
0:25:38 to that Japan info session we
0:25:39 were talking about, if you
0:25:41 show them, hey, here’s this
0:25:42 incredible, you know,
0:25:44 activity, tour, private
0:25:45 cooking class, whatever it
0:25:46 might be, they’ve never
0:25:47 heard of before, right?
0:25:49 You’re not going to give a
0:25:50 talk and you’re not going to
0:25:51 name the top five spots that
0:25:53 they can easily find by just
0:25:54 Googling what to see in
0:25:54 Japan.
0:25:55 Yeah, the insider
0:25:56 knowledge, the off the
0:25:57 beaten path stuff.
0:25:59 Yes, that’s exactly what
0:25:59 people want to know.
0:26:00 That’s what I based my
0:26:01 business around.
0:26:02 You mentioned earlier
0:26:03 Unlisted Travel.
0:26:04 That is my bread and
0:26:04 butter.
0:26:06 I love, love, love to be
0:26:07 able to delight my clients
0:26:09 by saying, hey, I’m super
0:26:10 excited you’re planning a
0:26:10 trip to London.
0:26:12 Did you know that I can get
0:26:14 you this private tour of
0:26:14 Stonehenge?
0:26:15 Did you know I can do this
0:26:16 private thing?
0:26:18 And they’re always, what?
0:26:18 You can?
0:26:20 I’m so excited about this.
0:26:21 Yeah, that’s very cool.
0:26:23 And then through Fora, you
0:26:25 have a relationship with that
0:26:26 private tour provider and you
0:26:27 get your finder’s fee, your
0:26:28 referral commission on that.
0:26:29 Oh, exactly.
0:26:30 And that’s one of the other
0:26:31 great things about working with
0:26:33 these host agencies is that it’s
0:26:34 not just about the
0:26:35 relationships between, you
0:26:37 know, the host agency and
0:26:39 one hotel, but it’s also these
0:26:41 other companies like a
0:26:42 context travel.
0:26:44 They’re a tour operator that
0:26:45 Fora has a relationship with
0:26:46 and they do, you know, these
0:26:49 really authentic guided tours all
0:26:49 over the world in all
0:26:51 different cities or
0:26:53 eatwith.com, which is a
0:26:54 really great way that you can
0:26:55 get, you know, cooking
0:26:57 classes or group dining
0:26:58 experiences, private dining
0:27:00 experiences with local chefs
0:27:00 and things like that.
0:27:02 And so we can book all of
0:27:03 those for our clients and
0:27:04 all of these different
0:27:06 companies and suppliers and
0:27:08 resources that client that
0:27:08 you’re working with, you
0:27:09 know, they’ve, they’ve
0:27:10 never heard of these things.
0:27:11 They’re just not as plugged
0:27:12 into the travel community.
0:27:13 And also, you know, I
0:27:15 mentioned community, your
0:27:16 host agency likely is going
0:27:17 to have something, whether
0:27:18 it’s akin to a Facebook
0:27:19 group or some sort of
0:27:20 online community where
0:27:21 you’re going to be able to
0:27:22 mix and mingle with all of
0:27:23 the other travel advisors
0:27:24 that belong to that host
0:27:25 agency as well.
0:27:27 And it’s such a great
0:27:28 resource because if the
0:27:29 host agency is doing a
0:27:30 good job, they’re going to
0:27:31 foster collaboration.
0:27:33 And so you can post in
0:27:34 there, hey, I have some
0:27:35 clients that want to go to
0:27:35 Egypt.
0:27:36 I’ve done my research.
0:27:38 I found incredible things,
0:27:39 but I’m just not really
0:27:40 sure where I can find a
0:27:42 private driver I can trust.
0:27:43 Does anybody have a
0:27:43 recommendation?
0:27:44 Boom, boom, boom.
0:27:45 You know, you’re going to
0:27:46 see lots of
0:27:47 recommendations.
0:27:48 And that’s, you know, it’s
0:27:49 a really great resource.
0:27:51 Oh, this is inside of the
0:27:53 Fora forums or the Fora
0:27:54 Facebook group?
0:27:55 Exactly.
0:27:56 That’s what they call it.
0:27:57 They call it the Fora
0:27:58 forum, which is such a
0:27:58 great name.
0:27:59 I love that.
0:27:59 Okay.
0:28:00 Yeah.
0:28:01 So be able to crowdsource
0:28:02 a little bit of
0:28:03 recommendation if it’s a
0:28:04 place that you don’t have
0:28:05 experience with on the
0:28:06 ground per se.
0:28:08 So that makes sense.
0:28:10 One strategy that I want to
0:28:11 highlight that just came to
0:28:14 mind is Rob Petingalo runs a
0:28:15 walking tour company in
0:28:16 Washington, D.C.
0:28:18 And the way that he drove
0:28:19 business, I thought was
0:28:20 really creative.
0:28:22 It created a lot of Q&A
0:28:24 content for future D.C.
0:28:25 travelers.
0:28:26 Like, how does the metro
0:28:28 work in D.C.?
0:28:29 Or what is the best time to
0:28:30 visit the Lincoln Memorial?
0:28:32 And come on and say, hey,
0:28:33 I’m Rob.
0:28:34 I, you know, I run this
0:28:35 tour company or walking
0:28:36 tours in D.C.
0:28:38 And, and here’s the
0:28:38 answer to your question.
0:28:40 Like fill in the gap with
0:28:41 that and really well done
0:28:42 content.
0:28:43 But, you know, like all
0:28:45 things, uh, in content
0:28:46 marketing, a certain
0:28:47 percentage of those people
0:28:48 were like, I really like
0:28:48 Rob.
0:28:49 I want to book his tour
0:28:50 when I go on this trip.
0:28:51 And so targeting these
0:28:52 like future, you know,
0:28:54 high buyer intent type of
0:28:55 keywords, like beyond what
0:28:56 are the best things to do
0:28:57 or just, you could
0:28:58 probably any number of
0:28:59 different keyword tools or
0:29:01 answer the public or
0:29:02 something, something to
0:29:02 figure out what questions
0:29:04 are people asking on their
0:29:05 way to, it probably works
0:29:07 better if you’re targeting
0:29:08 a specific location like
0:29:10 he was, but an interesting
0:29:11 way to get in front of
0:29:11 new customers.
0:29:12 You’re absolutely right.
0:29:13 And again, it’s about
0:29:14 just building that trust.
0:29:15 I mean, when it comes
0:29:16 down to booking that
0:29:17 tour, are you going to
0:29:18 book with this individual
0:29:19 who gave you all the
0:29:20 answers to your questions
0:29:22 and seemed super helpful
0:29:23 and honest and
0:29:24 trustworthy, or are you
0:29:25 going to book with kind
0:29:27 of a faceless company
0:29:29 that you’re not really
0:29:29 sure if you can trust
0:29:30 them because the reviews
0:29:32 are only 3.5, you
0:29:34 know, it’s a no
0:29:34 brainer at the end of
0:29:35 the day.
0:29:36 Yeah, how do you
0:29:37 break down those no
0:29:38 like and trust barriers
0:29:40 as quickly as you can?
0:29:41 Anything else you found
0:29:42 effective on the
0:29:43 marketing side?
0:29:44 Well, like you
0:29:45 mentioned, there’s always
0:29:46 the online strategies as
0:29:47 well, creating a
0:29:48 location specific Facebook
0:29:50 group or, you know,
0:29:52 travelers or people who
0:29:53 want to travel to Japan
0:29:54 type Facebook group or
0:29:54 things like that, or
0:29:55 even online events.
0:29:56 If you’re not able to
0:29:58 do them in person, you
0:29:59 can host these sort of
0:30:00 online info sessions that
0:30:01 you can record and then
0:30:02 post on your YouTube,
0:30:03 things like that,
0:30:05 creating this library of
0:30:06 content are all going
0:30:07 to ultimately, you know,
0:30:08 help you.
0:30:08 Got it.
0:30:09 Actually, we were just on
0:30:11 the Reddit forums about
0:30:12 Japan last night.
0:30:13 Like, how do the train
0:30:14 cards work?
0:30:15 Can you get the kids
0:30:16 discounted train card at
0:30:16 the airport?
0:30:18 And there’s a lot of
0:30:19 questions out there on the
0:30:20 internet that are probably
0:30:21 ripe for you to answer.
0:30:22 if it’s a topic you’re
0:30:23 knowledgeable on.
0:30:24 I have seen a couple
0:30:26 people who are actually
0:30:27 American expats who have
0:30:28 moved to different
0:30:30 countries and they’re
0:30:31 there for school or
0:30:32 something, but they’ve
0:30:33 ended up doing the travel
0:30:35 advising thing on the
0:30:37 side, I think, because
0:30:39 people want someone in the
0:30:40 country they can trust who
0:30:42 knows exactly how it
0:30:42 works.
0:30:43 So those are some people
0:30:44 that choose the location
0:30:46 specific niche as well.
0:30:46 Very good.
0:30:48 More with Bailey in just a
0:30:49 moment, including the tools
0:30:50 and tech that might be
0:30:51 helpful in running a
0:30:52 travel advising business,
0:30:54 the role AI can play, and
0:30:55 how to potentially score
0:30:56 your own discounted
0:30:56 trips.
0:30:58 Coming up right after
0:30:58 this.
0:31:00 Who, not how.
0:31:02 That’s the unlock that
0:31:03 transforms side hustlers
0:31:05 into business owners instead
0:31:06 of business doers.
0:31:07 You’re always going to run
0:31:08 into problems and problem
0:31:09 solving is a really
0:31:11 important skill, but I’m
0:31:12 constantly trying to
0:31:13 remind myself, I don’t
0:31:14 need to know how to
0:31:14 solve everything.
0:31:15 I just need to be able to
0:31:17 find the people that do
0:31:18 know how to solve it.
0:31:19 who, not how.
0:31:20 And when you need to
0:31:22 hire great talent fast, you
0:31:23 need our sponsor Indeed.
0:31:24 Stop struggling to get
0:31:26 your job posts seen on
0:31:27 other job sites.
0:31:28 Indeed’s sponsored jobs
0:31:30 help you stand out and
0:31:31 hire fast.
0:31:32 On top of that, sponsored
0:31:34 jobs posted directly on
0:31:36 Indeed get 45% more
0:31:37 applications than
0:31:38 non-sponsored jobs, all
0:31:39 with no monthly
0:31:41 subscriptions and no
0:31:42 long-term contracts.
0:31:43 There’s no need to
0:31:43 wait any longer.
0:31:45 Speed up your hiring
0:31:46 right now with Indeed.
0:31:48 Side Hustle Show listeners
0:31:50 get a $75 sponsored job
0:31:51 credit to get your jobs
0:31:53 more visibility at
0:31:54 Indeed.com slash
0:31:55 Side Hustle Show.
0:31:57 Just go to Indeed.com
0:31:58 slash Side Hustle Show
0:32:00 right now and support
0:32:01 our show by saying you
0:32:02 heard about Indeed on
0:32:03 this podcast.
0:32:05 Indeed.com slash
0:32:06 Side Hustle Show.
0:32:07 Terms and conditions
0:32:07 apply.
0:32:09 Hiring, Indeed, is all
0:32:09 you need.
0:32:11 When you’re running a
0:32:12 business, every missed
0:32:14 call is money left on
0:32:14 the table.
0:32:16 Customers expect speed.
0:32:17 Think about the last
0:32:18 time you had a plumbing
0:32:18 emergency.
0:32:19 If the first plumber
0:32:21 didn’t answer, my guess
0:32:22 is you moved on to the
0:32:23 next one on the list.
0:32:24 With our sponsor,
0:32:25 OpenPhone, you’ll never
0:32:26 miss an opportunity to
0:32:27 connect with your
0:32:27 customers.
0:32:28 OpenPhone is the
0:32:29 number one business
0:32:30 phone system that
0:32:31 streamlines and scales
0:32:32 your customer
0:32:33 communications.
0:32:34 It works through an
0:32:35 app on your phone or
0:32:36 computer, so that means
0:32:37 no more carrying around
0:32:38 two phones or using a
0:32:39 landline.
0:32:40 with OpenPhone, your
0:32:41 team can share one
0:32:42 number and collaborate
0:32:43 on customer calls and
0:32:44 texts, just like a
0:32:45 shared inbox.
0:32:46 That way, any team
0:32:47 member can pick up
0:32:48 right where the last
0:32:49 person left off,
0:32:50 keeping response times
0:32:51 faster than ever.
0:32:52 Right now, OpenPhone
0:32:53 is offering Side
0:32:54 Hustle Show listeners
0:32:56 20% off your first
0:32:57 six months at
0:32:59 openphone.com slash
0:32:59 side hustle.
0:33:03 That’s O-P-E-N-P-H-O-N-E
0:33:05 dot com, openphone.com
0:33:06 slash side hustle.
0:33:07 And if you have
0:33:08 existing numbers with
0:33:09 another service,
0:33:10 OpenPhone will port
0:33:11 them over at no
0:33:12 extra charge.
0:33:13 OpenPhone, no missed
0:33:14 calls, no missed
0:33:15 customers.
0:33:16 All right, that was a
0:33:17 ton of different ideas
0:33:18 on how to generate
0:33:19 interest and potential
0:33:20 clients in your
0:33:21 services.
0:33:21 I think those are
0:33:22 great.
0:33:23 I wanted to ask, you
0:33:24 know, the percentage of
0:33:24 people that you’re
0:33:26 serving, you know,
0:33:27 remotely, is this like
0:33:28 an online only side
0:33:28 hustle?
0:33:29 Are people coming over
0:33:30 to your house or the
0:33:31 coffee shop and we’re
0:33:31 hammering out the
0:33:33 details of this itinerary?
0:33:34 What does it typically
0:33:34 look like?
0:33:35 I think in the
0:33:36 beginning it can be a
0:33:37 little bit more face to
0:33:38 face, especially as
0:33:39 you’re working with those
0:33:40 friends and family who
0:33:42 likely live with, you
0:33:44 know, within 10 miles of
0:33:44 you probably, at least
0:33:45 that’s how it definitely
0:33:46 was for me.
0:33:48 And I do enjoy that
0:33:49 element of it, you know,
0:33:51 working with my uncle who
0:33:52 wants to go to Costa Rica,
0:33:54 sitting down at his house
0:33:55 and, you know, going over
0:33:56 in person, all the
0:33:56 different things.
0:33:58 Because one of the
0:33:59 greatest things we can do
0:34:00 for our clients is help to
0:34:01 get them excited, right?
0:34:02 And say, don’t worry, I’ve
0:34:03 got you, this is going to
0:34:04 be so fun.
0:34:05 Oh, I’m already thinking
0:34:06 of all these great ideas,
0:34:06 right?
0:34:07 And make sure, again,
0:34:08 you’re building that
0:34:08 trust.
0:34:10 But naturally, if you want
0:34:10 to really grow your
0:34:11 business, you’re going to
0:34:12 end up working with
0:34:13 clients who don’t live
0:34:15 within 10 miles of you
0:34:16 and who are not related
0:34:17 to you or that you do
0:34:17 not know.
0:34:19 And so that’s when all of
0:34:20 the online infrastructure
0:34:22 really starts to come
0:34:23 into play.
0:34:24 And so for that, you’re
0:34:26 going to need things like
0:34:27 a website, scheduling
0:34:29 software, you know, tools
0:34:30 to be able to really run
0:34:31 your online business.
0:34:32 And we can go into
0:34:33 those if you’d like.
0:34:34 Yeah, if you’re doing,
0:34:35 you know, onesie, twosie
0:34:37 trips at a time, it’s
0:34:38 probably relatively
0:34:40 straightforward to keep
0:34:41 track of in Google
0:34:43 Docs or Google Sheets or
0:34:43 something like that.
0:34:45 But if all of a sudden
0:34:46 you’re juggling multiple
0:34:47 different itineraries,
0:34:48 multiple different
0:34:50 locations, now it gets
0:34:51 a little bit more
0:34:52 difficult to juggle in
0:34:53 your mind.
0:34:54 Anything you found
0:34:55 useful on the tools
0:34:56 tech organization side?
0:34:57 Yeah, absolutely.
0:34:59 There’s actually a large
0:35:00 number of tools
0:35:01 specifically designed
0:35:03 for travel advisors.
0:35:04 The most important one
0:35:05 you’re going to need if
0:35:06 your host agency, again,
0:35:07 doesn’t provide something
0:35:09 for you is a CRM, a
0:35:10 customer relationship
0:35:11 management software, which
0:35:12 is where you’re going to
0:35:13 keep track of all of your
0:35:15 clients’ information and
0:35:17 where they’re at in the
0:35:18 process of working with
0:35:19 you on their trip.
0:35:21 And so a few famous ones
0:35:23 are Travify, Travel Joy,
0:35:26 or Tern, T-E-R-N, super
0:35:28 popular, very common.
0:35:29 But it should be noted
0:35:31 that not all CRM
0:35:33 softwares for travel
0:35:35 advisors have an
0:35:36 itinerary builder
0:35:38 component, which is
0:35:38 something you’ll
0:35:39 definitely want to
0:35:40 invest in as well.
0:35:41 So if your CRM
0:35:42 doesn’t, you might need
0:35:43 to get that separately.
0:35:45 A really popular one is
0:35:47 Safari Portal creates
0:35:48 beautiful online
0:35:49 itineraries where you can
0:35:50 upload lots of pictures,
0:35:51 show people what they’re
0:35:53 going to be doing day by
0:35:54 day because when you
0:35:55 deliver that first
0:35:57 edition, that first
0:35:58 version of the
0:36:00 proposed itinerary, you
0:36:00 really want to make it
0:36:01 your best.
0:36:02 You really want to knock
0:36:03 their socks off and you
0:36:04 want to make it visual.
0:36:06 Show people exactly what
0:36:07 they’re going to be doing.
0:36:08 Oh, you’re going to be
0:36:09 going to an ethical no
0:36:11 touch observatory
0:36:12 elephant sanctuary?
0:36:13 Well, what are you going
0:36:13 to do?
0:36:14 You’re going to put
0:36:15 pictures of these really
0:36:16 cool elephants, you
0:36:17 know, bathing in a
0:36:18 local stream so people
0:36:19 can start to visualize
0:36:20 what their trip is
0:36:21 really going to look
0:36:21 like.
0:36:22 So in the beginning,
0:36:23 when you’re trying to
0:36:24 do this all very
0:36:26 inexpensively, I have
0:36:28 even seen people build
0:36:29 itineraries in Canva.
0:36:31 Obviously, that’s not
0:36:32 going to work at scale.
0:36:33 You know, that would be
0:36:34 very tiring to try to
0:36:35 manage.
0:36:35 Yeah, if you’re moving
0:36:36 stuff around, like it
0:36:37 could get a little
0:36:38 trickier, but visually
0:36:39 it’ll look nice.
0:36:40 Yeah, exactly.
0:36:41 Well, the CRM
0:36:42 softwares and things
0:36:43 allow you to have
0:36:44 different features that
0:36:45 you might really like.
0:36:46 So, for example, if
0:36:47 somebody goes in and
0:36:49 requests a change to a
0:36:49 certain part of the
0:36:51 itinerary, you can make
0:36:51 that change and then you
0:36:52 can ask them to
0:36:53 approve it in the
0:36:55 CRM software so you
0:36:55 have evidence that they
0:36:56 approved the change,
0:36:57 right?
0:36:58 So these are some
0:36:58 advanced things that
0:36:59 would be really nice to
0:37:00 have if you’re taking
0:37:01 your business, you
0:37:02 know, seriously and
0:37:02 you’re looking to grow
0:37:03 and expand and you’re
0:37:04 trying to be efficient
0:37:05 and keep track of all
0:37:05 this stuff.
0:37:07 In the beginning, when
0:37:08 you have less capital
0:37:08 and you’re really
0:37:09 trying to do it
0:37:11 inexpensively, use the
0:37:11 tools that are
0:37:12 available to you.
0:37:14 imagine AI could be a
0:37:15 helpful planning tool
0:37:16 like, hey, give me a
0:37:18 five-day itinerary to
0:37:19 London that would be
0:37:20 good for a
0:37:21 honeymooning couple
0:37:22 and, you know, fill in
0:37:23 a few more qualifying
0:37:24 prompts here.
0:37:26 To what extent is AI a
0:37:27 threat to the travel
0:37:28 advising business?
0:37:30 Well, if I just throw
0:37:31 in a few prompts, it’s
0:37:32 going to tell me where
0:37:33 to go, what time, you
0:37:34 know, where to stay.
0:37:34 Like, it’s going to
0:37:35 throw out all these
0:37:36 recommendations and
0:37:37 potentially cut you
0:37:37 out of the picture.
0:37:39 It’s possible, but I
0:37:41 like to think that those
0:37:42 people who are using
0:37:43 AI are not really my
0:37:44 ideal client anyway.
0:37:45 The people that are
0:37:47 going to work with me
0:37:48 are either people that
0:37:49 are not that tech
0:37:50 savvy, people that
0:37:51 don’t have the time to
0:37:52 organize these trips, so
0:37:53 even if they had an
0:37:55 itinerary, they don’t
0:37:56 know how or where to
0:37:58 book it, they are not
0:37:58 as experienced in
0:37:59 travel, so they don’t
0:38:00 know everything that
0:38:01 can fall through the
0:38:02 cracks, they want
0:38:03 someone to guide them
0:38:04 through the process of
0:38:05 obtaining all their
0:38:06 travel documents and
0:38:07 things like that.
0:38:08 My issues with AI
0:38:10 aren’t that it can be a
0:38:10 useful tool for
0:38:11 people that want to
0:38:12 discover interesting
0:38:13 travel things, but
0:38:16 AI doesn’t think, it’s
0:38:17 not a human, it can
0:38:18 only regurgitate the
0:38:18 information that’s
0:38:20 already inside of it,
0:38:21 and so if you are
0:38:23 going to want to have,
0:38:23 as you said earlier,
0:38:25 the best trip possible
0:38:26 because you’re spending
0:38:27 all this money, then
0:38:28 you want to go with
0:38:29 somebody who actually
0:38:31 has been there or
0:38:32 knows the area well or
0:38:33 has all the
0:38:34 connections because
0:38:35 another thing that
0:38:36 that AI is not going
0:38:37 to do, just to give
0:38:38 you an example, it’s
0:38:39 not going to say, oh,
0:38:41 I actually happen to
0:38:42 know the name and
0:38:43 the WhatsApp number of
0:38:45 a private driver who
0:38:46 I’ve actually worked
0:38:47 with before in
0:38:48 Colombia, totally
0:38:49 trustworthy, I’m going
0:38:50 to go and message him
0:38:51 right now, right?
0:38:52 The only thing that AI
0:38:54 can really do is give
0:38:55 you the name of a
0:38:56 company that, you know,
0:38:57 you might have already
0:38:58 been able to find
0:38:59 through Googling
0:39:00 anyway, and again,
0:39:00 you know, how do you
0:39:01 know if that person is
0:39:02 trustworthy or not,
0:39:03 right?
0:39:04 I use that example
0:39:06 because I was
0:39:07 recommended to somebody
0:39:08 else to use a man
0:39:09 named Oscar whenever I
0:39:11 was traveling down in
0:39:12 Colombia by myself and
0:39:13 needed somebody to drive
0:39:14 me around to show me the
0:39:15 sites and who I could
0:39:16 trust, and he was
0:39:17 fantastic, would
0:39:18 recommend him every time.
0:39:19 You’re not going to get
0:39:20 that from AI.
0:39:21 Right, he’s not going to
0:39:22 show up in a Google
0:39:23 search.
0:39:24 Right, no, he does not
0:39:25 have a website, right?
0:39:27 In all parts of the
0:39:29 world, these, you know,
0:39:30 travel services and
0:39:31 suppliers aren’t
0:39:32 necessarily as, you
0:39:34 know, professional or
0:39:35 as formal as we might
0:39:35 like to think.
0:39:36 Sometimes it is really
0:39:37 built on those
0:39:38 relationships.
0:39:39 Yeah, those
0:39:39 relationships are what
0:39:41 can lead to hopefully
0:39:42 recurring customers
0:39:43 coming back for their
0:39:45 vacation or their trip
0:39:46 year after year, where
0:39:47 it’s, you know, maybe
0:39:49 you waive that planning
0:39:51 fee up front to get
0:39:54 some reps in and down
0:39:55 the road, that can turn
0:39:57 into a, I imagine the
0:39:58 lifetime value of a
0:39:58 customer in this
0:39:59 business can be pretty
0:40:00 big if people have, you
0:40:01 know, 20, 30 years of
0:40:02 their traveling life
0:40:03 ahead of them.
0:40:03 Absolutely.
0:40:05 And one thing we haven’t
0:40:06 really talked about yet
0:40:07 as well, but really goes
0:40:08 into why you would want
0:40:09 to work with a travel
0:40:10 advisor and making sure
0:40:11 those clients come back
0:40:13 is the support that you
0:40:14 can provide to that
0:40:15 person while they’re
0:40:16 traveling.
0:40:17 And so one of the
0:40:18 things that we as
0:40:19 travel advisors do
0:40:20 before someone leaves
0:40:21 for their trip is try
0:40:23 to prepare them in
0:40:24 every way possible so
0:40:25 they don’t have to
0:40:26 contact us as much
0:40:27 because we want them
0:40:28 to be able to
0:40:30 resolve any issues on
0:40:31 the ground immediately
0:40:32 if we are not
0:40:33 instantly available.
0:40:35 But that being said,
0:40:37 very often somebody
0:40:39 will message us on
0:40:40 the trip, you know,
0:40:41 oh, my flight was
0:40:42 just delayed, you
0:40:43 know, I’ve already
0:40:45 talked to the flight
0:40:45 attendant or the
0:40:47 person at the counter
0:40:48 about it, but what
0:40:49 happens when I get
0:40:50 into country?
0:40:50 Are they going to know
0:40:51 my flight is delayed?
0:40:52 You know, they just,
0:40:53 they have these concerns
0:40:55 and we give them
0:40:56 documents, we give them
0:40:57 phone numbers, we say,
0:40:57 oh, well, if you
0:40:58 need to call the
0:40:59 airport pickup people,
0:41:00 this is who you call.
0:41:02 But so often they’re
0:41:03 going to come back to
0:41:04 us because we are the
0:41:05 ones that they trust.
0:41:05 Okay.
0:41:07 It’s just a little bit
0:41:07 of hand-holding.
0:41:08 Somebody called it a
0:41:09 handler where it’s like,
0:41:10 I just, I want to show
0:41:11 up and I want it to be
0:41:13 the easy button where,
0:41:13 you know, the person is
0:41:14 waiting for me at the
0:41:15 airport and just, just
0:41:16 things work.
0:41:17 And it’s like a
0:41:18 different kind of travel
0:41:19 than the more like
0:41:20 adventure travel.
0:41:20 We’re going to go
0:41:21 figure out the public
0:41:21 transport.
0:41:22 It was like, you know,
0:41:23 serving a different
0:41:24 client base.
0:41:25 So we mentioned the
0:41:26 upfront travel fees,
0:41:27 either, you know, flat
0:41:28 fee based on the
0:41:30 itinerary option, you
0:41:31 know, to waive that if
0:41:33 you want early on or a,
0:41:34 you know, dollars per
0:41:36 day, you know, $50 per
0:41:38 day will help map out
0:41:39 your, your two-week
0:41:39 thing.
0:41:41 The commissions on
0:41:42 hotels, rental cars,
0:41:43 tours, experiences,
0:41:45 travel insurance,
0:41:46 anything else on the
0:41:47 revenue side that we
0:41:48 missed or other
0:41:49 opportunities that, that
0:41:50 you see for travel
0:41:50 advisors?
0:41:51 Well, as far as the
0:41:53 travel advising services
0:41:54 go, that’s pretty much
0:41:55 the main two revenue
0:41:56 sources.
0:41:57 But I will say that some
0:41:59 travel advisors branch out
0:42:00 beyond that into things
0:42:02 like selling online
0:42:03 guidebooks or, you know,
0:42:05 travel coaching or
0:42:06 something where they
0:42:07 will actually teach or
0:42:08 like charge for
0:42:09 workshops about, you
0:42:10 know, passports and all
0:42:11 this sort of stuff.
0:42:12 So there are other sort
0:42:13 of tangential revenue
0:42:15 streams related to being a
0:42:17 travel expert, I’ll say.
0:42:17 Got it.
0:42:18 Got it.
0:42:18 Okay.
0:42:19 If you’re the go-to
0:42:19 expert for this
0:42:20 particular location,
0:42:22 you know, just, you
0:42:22 know, download my
0:42:24 guidebook, you know,
0:42:25 it’s, it’s the Rick
0:42:26 Steves playbook.
0:42:26 Yeah.
0:42:27 You can book the tour
0:42:28 or you can buy the, uh,
0:42:29 the guidebook or, you
0:42:30 know, watch the free
0:42:32 content on PBS or
0:42:33 YouTube or whatever it
0:42:34 is in this case.
0:42:36 What, what kind of
0:42:38 mistakes or what, what
0:42:40 separates the people
0:42:41 who pay the $300 fee
0:42:42 to Fora and then never
0:42:43 do anything with it
0:42:45 versus the people who
0:42:45 start to see success
0:42:46 with this business?
0:42:48 It really all comes
0:42:50 down to being willing to
0:42:51 put yourself out there
0:42:52 and willing to
0:42:53 advertise and market
0:42:54 yourself and get
0:42:55 those clients.
0:42:57 So I do often see in
0:42:58 the community that
0:43:00 people will say, you
0:43:00 know, I, I just
0:43:02 started with this, you
0:43:03 know, three months
0:43:04 ago, six months ago,
0:43:05 and I’m having a little
0:43:06 bit of trouble getting
0:43:07 some clients.
0:43:08 And when you dig a
0:43:09 little deeper and you
0:43:10 ask them, what have
0:43:11 they done?
0:43:12 Well, the truth is they
0:43:13 really haven’t done
0:43:13 much, right?
0:43:14 They told their
0:43:15 friends, they told
0:43:16 their family, and
0:43:17 that’s kind of it.
0:43:18 So they haven’t
0:43:19 bothered to set up
0:43:20 any website, any
0:43:22 social media pages.
0:43:22 They’re not posting
0:43:23 regular content.
0:43:25 They haven’t tried to
0:43:26 do any of these events
0:43:27 like we were talking
0:43:27 about.
0:43:28 Maybe they haven’t,
0:43:29 you know, waived that
0:43:31 planning fee and done a
0:43:32 couple of trips for free
0:43:33 up front in order to get
0:43:34 those testimonials.
0:43:35 They don’t have any
0:43:36 systems.
0:43:37 They’re not doing any
0:43:38 email marketing.
0:43:38 You know, they don’t
0:43:40 have a free travel guide
0:43:42 PDF for people to get
0:43:42 on their list.
0:43:44 And they, in some
0:43:45 cases, not all, but in
0:43:46 some cases, people
0:43:47 think that the host
0:43:48 agency is just going to
0:43:49 feed you the customers.
0:43:50 And that’s not the
0:43:51 case.
0:43:51 That’s not what the
0:43:53 host agency is there
0:43:53 for.
0:43:54 Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:43:56 It is true that in
0:43:57 some cases, and this
0:43:58 isn’t for all host
0:44:00 agencies, but it can be
0:44:01 true that if you prove
0:44:02 yourself to be one of
0:44:04 the top earners, that
0:44:05 sometimes host agencies
0:44:06 get leads, and of
0:44:07 course, they’re going to
0:44:07 give them to their best
0:44:09 agents because they want
0:44:09 to have the best
0:44:10 reputation.
0:44:11 So if you have just
0:44:12 started and you’ve
0:44:13 really not made that
0:44:15 many sales, ultimately,
0:44:16 you’re not going to
0:44:17 be getting a ton of
0:44:18 leads from the host
0:44:19 agency, so you can’t
0:44:20 rely on them, and
0:44:21 that’s an important
0:44:22 thing to acknowledge.
0:44:23 Are they going to
0:44:23 kick you out if you
0:44:25 don’t book anything, or
0:44:26 if you only book your
0:44:27 own travels, like, oh,
0:44:28 could I just get an
0:44:30 8% to 10% discount on
0:44:31 my own stuff if I pay
0:44:32 this membership and
0:44:33 spend more than $300
0:44:35 or whatever the math
0:44:36 is on the commission
0:44:37 on that?
0:44:38 That’s a really great
0:44:39 question, and we call
0:44:40 that self-booking.
0:44:41 Every host agency is
0:44:42 going to have their own
0:44:43 policy, so you’re going
0:44:44 to have to refer to
0:44:44 that.
0:44:46 It’s not uncommon to
0:44:46 book some travel for
0:44:48 yourself, especially in
0:44:48 the beginning.
0:44:49 It’s a stepping stone to
0:44:50 learning.
0:44:51 If you’re booking your
0:44:52 entire family’s vacation
0:44:53 and you’re going, of
0:44:55 course, you’re going to
0:44:55 be the one that’s
0:44:56 booking on your
0:44:57 family’s behalf.
0:44:58 There’s no problem with
0:44:58 that, really.
0:44:59 That’s not a big deal.
0:45:01 But if you are only
0:45:03 doing self-bookings,
0:45:04 there’s usually going to
0:45:05 be some sort of issue.
0:45:06 So there might be a
0:45:08 policy that says, look,
0:45:09 within the first six
0:45:10 months of you joining,
0:45:11 you have to book for at
0:45:12 least one other person.
0:45:14 It can be your mom, but
0:45:15 it just, it can’t be
0:45:16 under your name.
0:45:18 My experience has been
0:45:20 that the policies are not
0:45:21 difficult to adhere to.
0:45:23 So I just want to
0:45:24 reassure people that might
0:45:26 be thinking, well, I
0:45:27 can’t get started because
0:45:28 I can’t guarantee I’m
0:45:29 going to have 17 new
0:45:30 clients in the first
0:45:30 month.
0:45:33 We’re not talking those
0:45:33 big numbers here.
0:45:34 Yeah.
0:45:35 Do you get to write off
0:45:36 every trip that you take
0:45:37 as, you know, legit
0:45:38 research for your
0:45:38 business?
0:45:40 That is a great
0:45:41 question.
0:45:43 Now, I am not a lawyer
0:45:44 or tax expert, so I
0:45:45 don’t want to say
0:45:45 anything specific.
0:45:47 But what I can point
0:45:48 you to is a really
0:45:48 great guy.
0:45:49 He actually has a
0:45:50 website called
0:45:52 taxesfortravelagents.com.
0:45:52 His name is Andy
0:45:53 Rood.
0:45:55 He specializes in
0:45:56 doing this and that
0:45:57 I’m in that Facebook
0:45:57 group.
0:45:58 He gets that question
0:45:59 a lot.
0:46:00 So you should
0:46:01 definitely check with
0:46:01 your tax professionals.
0:46:02 Some of it may be,
0:46:03 but I just want to let
0:46:05 people know that if you
0:46:05 are a frequent traveler
0:46:06 thinking, oh, I can
0:46:07 just write all of this
0:46:07 off.
0:46:09 In fact, Andy just
0:46:10 shared a couple of
0:46:11 weeks ago a blog post
0:46:12 that he had written
0:46:13 that was about an
0:46:14 actual case.
0:46:14 It was a case study
0:46:15 that is going through
0:46:16 right now where a
0:46:17 U.S. citizen quit his
0:46:19 job and went to travel
0:46:19 around the world.
0:46:20 I don’t think he was a
0:46:21 travel advisor
0:46:21 specifically, but he
0:46:22 was going to write
0:46:23 books and sell e-books
0:46:25 and he really never
0:46:26 really followed through
0:46:27 with writing the books
0:46:28 and making any money,
0:46:30 but he tried to write
0:46:30 off all these travel
0:46:31 expenses and the IRS
0:46:32 said no because you
0:46:33 weren’t really running
0:46:34 a business and it
0:46:35 wasn’t really, you
0:46:36 know, part of it.
0:46:36 You’re like, maybe I
0:46:37 just suck at running
0:46:37 a business.
0:46:39 It’s just, you know,
0:46:40 there’s some startup
0:46:41 costs involved, some
0:46:42 market research involved.
0:46:44 I had the best
0:46:44 intentions.
0:46:45 I don’t want to get
0:46:46 anybody in trouble
0:46:47 with tax law.
0:46:48 The IRS really wants
0:46:48 to know that you’re,
0:46:49 you know, you’re taking
0:46:50 your business seriously
0:46:51 and not everything is
0:46:52 going to be, you know,
0:46:52 able to be written
0:46:53 off just because it’s
0:46:54 travel and you run a
0:46:55 travel business, I
0:46:55 think is the bottom
0:46:56 line.
0:46:57 But you bring up an
0:46:58 interesting point and
0:46:59 something I did want to
0:47:00 mention here, which is
0:47:01 FAM trips.
0:47:03 so FAM trips, that’s
0:47:05 short for familiarization
0:47:06 trips and this is
0:47:07 something that a travel
0:47:09 advisor can go on in
0:47:10 order to learn more
0:47:12 about a specific vendor
0:47:13 or location.
0:47:15 And so these are trips
0:47:16 that are sometimes, I
0:47:17 want to say sometimes
0:47:19 free, but often it’s
0:47:19 usually that maybe your
0:47:21 hotel gets comped or
0:47:21 something and you still
0:47:23 have to do the actual,
0:47:24 like, you have to pay for
0:47:24 the flight and stuff like
0:47:25 that there.
0:47:26 But ultimately these
0:47:27 are going to be trips
0:47:28 that you can take that
0:47:29 are organized by the
0:47:30 supplier or by something
0:47:32 called a DMO, a
0:47:32 destination marketing
0:47:33 organization.
0:47:34 You know, you’ve seen
0:47:35 ads for like Tourism
0:47:36 Cancun or whatever,
0:47:36 right?
0:47:38 So those types of
0:47:39 organizations that are
0:47:40 trying to increase
0:47:41 tourism to an area,
0:47:43 they might host these
0:47:44 types of trips.
0:47:44 Oh, okay.
0:47:46 Sometimes they do them
0:47:47 for cruises as well so
0:47:49 that you can come and
0:47:49 you can learn.
0:47:50 Yeah, how do you get
0:47:51 on the list for these?
0:47:51 That’s a great
0:47:52 question.
0:47:53 So there’s a couple
0:47:53 different ways.
0:47:54 So there are some
0:47:56 websites that just
0:47:57 specialize in doing
0:47:58 fam trips.
0:47:59 So I forget what the
0:48:01 exact website name is,
0:48:01 but there’s like
0:48:03 fam trips Mexico you
0:48:04 can go to and you
0:48:05 can see the different
0:48:06 vendors and, you know,
0:48:07 it might not be free,
0:48:07 but it could be a
0:48:08 reduced cost or
0:48:09 something like that.
0:48:10 And there’s usually
0:48:11 some sort of itinerary
0:48:12 where they’re going to
0:48:13 do a hotel tour.
0:48:14 They’re going to show
0:48:14 you all of the
0:48:15 different things and
0:48:16 talk to you about the
0:48:16 hotel and they might
0:48:17 have one evening
0:48:18 activity for you to
0:48:19 mingle with other
0:48:19 travel advisors.
0:48:21 But you might also be
0:48:22 able to get fam trips
0:48:23 through your host agency.
0:48:24 Again, you know,
0:48:25 do not expect this
0:48:26 if you just joined and
0:48:27 you’ve not made any
0:48:27 sales.
0:48:28 You know, these are
0:48:29 things that they’re
0:48:29 going to be giving to
0:48:30 people who have really
0:48:32 dedicated themselves to
0:48:32 growing their business
0:48:33 and proven themselves.
0:48:34 But you can also
0:48:36 contact the DMOs
0:48:37 directly.
0:48:38 So you can contact
0:48:38 vendors and you can
0:48:40 contact DMOs and you
0:48:40 can tell them who you
0:48:41 are and what you
0:48:42 specialize in and that
0:48:43 this is something that
0:48:44 you’d really like to
0:48:44 pursue.
0:48:46 Even if you’re not
0:48:47 doing an official fam
0:48:48 trip, you as a travel
0:48:49 advisor, you can
0:48:50 often contact the
0:48:51 business development
0:48:52 manager, the BDM,
0:48:54 at a hotel or, you
0:48:55 know, some sort of
0:48:56 tour agency and you
0:48:57 can say, I’m a travel
0:48:58 advisor, this is my
0:48:59 website, this is my
0:49:01 business, I’m this is
0:49:02 my I add a number, I’m
0:49:03 with host agency, you
0:49:05 know, this and I’m
0:49:06 going to be planning a
0:49:07 family trip to Cancun
0:49:08 this weekend just
0:49:10 because, but I and
0:49:11 we’re you don’t even
0:49:12 have to be staying at
0:49:13 their hotel.
0:49:13 You could say, you
0:49:13 know, we’re staying
0:49:15 down the street, but I
0:49:16 know that you are a
0:49:18 preferred partner with
0:49:19 our host agency.
0:49:20 I was wondering if you
0:49:21 wouldn’t mind if I
0:49:21 came over and you
0:49:22 could give me a quick
0:49:23 tour.
0:49:24 This business is all
0:49:25 about building
0:49:25 relationships.
0:49:28 And so if you can, you
0:49:29 know, establish yourself
0:49:29 as, hey, I’m going to be
0:49:30 the Cancun expert.
0:49:32 I want to I want my
0:49:33 name to be known with
0:49:34 all the hotels in
0:49:35 Cancun so that when I
0:49:37 call and I say I have a
0:49:38 VIP client, what can we
0:49:38 do for them?
0:49:39 You know, they’re going
0:49:40 to they’re going to want
0:49:41 to up the perks and make
0:49:42 sure it’s a really good
0:49:43 experience for them.
0:49:44 I like this strategy
0:49:45 becoming known,
0:49:47 becoming the go to
0:49:48 person, you know,
0:49:49 building relationships
0:49:50 with the people on the
0:49:50 ground.
0:49:52 And even if it’s not
0:49:53 a tax hack, sorry, that
0:49:54 was a total tangent.
0:49:55 But I was like, wait a
0:49:56 minute, if I start an
0:49:57 Instagram account about,
0:49:59 you know, travel family
0:50:00 stuff like is does that
0:50:01 mean I could just write
0:50:02 off everything?
0:50:03 But yeah, if only
0:50:04 that’s the wheels, the
0:50:05 wheels get spinning here.
0:50:05 Bailey, this has been
0:50:06 this has been great.
0:50:07 Anything that’s surprised
0:50:08 you the most over the
0:50:09 last couple of years of
0:50:10 doing this?
0:50:11 Well, to be honest, I
0:50:12 was surprised you could
0:50:13 get paid for doing this.
0:50:15 I planned my best
0:50:16 friend’s honeymoon.
0:50:17 I planned my dad’s
0:50:19 lifelong dream trip to
0:50:19 Montana.
0:50:20 I was with Engineers
0:50:21 Without Borders for a
0:50:22 while and I planned
0:50:23 three different trips to
0:50:23 Kenya.
0:50:25 I got to go on one of
0:50:25 those trips.
0:50:27 So truthfully, it was an
0:50:28 absolutely, you know,
0:50:29 incredible way to
0:50:30 practice these skills, but
0:50:31 I wasn’t getting paid
0:50:31 for them.
0:50:33 I was just doing it
0:50:33 because I love travel
0:50:35 and I just I was like
0:50:36 you had kept saying I
0:50:37 was the go to travel
0:50:38 person in my friends and
0:50:38 family group.
0:50:39 everyone always wanted
0:50:40 my opinion because I
0:50:42 was always even when I
0:50:43 had no money, I was,
0:50:43 you know, backpacking
0:50:44 around Europe and I was
0:50:45 trying to do things to
0:50:47 feed that travel passion
0:50:47 of mine.
0:50:49 And so it wasn’t until
0:50:51 2023 when I really
0:50:52 learned about the travel
0:50:53 advising industry.
0:50:54 I knew what a travel
0:50:55 agent was, of course,
0:50:56 but sure, sure.
0:50:57 I always talk about my
0:50:58 big fat Greek wedding
0:50:59 where Tula, you know,
0:51:00 is becoming a travel
0:51:02 advisor or travel agent
0:51:02 at the time.
0:51:04 And she’s like sitting
0:51:05 in this little building
0:51:05 with, you know, the
0:51:06 big windows on Main
0:51:07 Street and she’s got
0:51:08 this huge desktop
0:51:09 computer and she’s
0:51:10 wearing a headset and
0:51:11 she’s like talking to
0:51:12 people about cruise
0:51:12 packages.
0:51:13 And I was like,
0:51:14 that’s cool.
0:51:15 That’s not really what
0:51:17 I kind of want to do.
0:51:19 And so I had no idea
0:51:20 that the industry had
0:51:21 changed so much, right?
0:51:22 That we were
0:51:23 independent contractors,
0:51:24 not employees, that
0:51:25 you could set up your
0:51:26 own, you know, business
0:51:27 identity even while
0:51:28 you’re a part of this
0:51:29 host agency.
0:51:30 So I get to be a part
0:51:31 of Fora, but I have
0:51:32 unlisted travel.com,
0:51:33 which is where I run
0:51:34 everything in my
0:51:34 business.
0:51:35 They could be fully
0:51:36 remote, that I can
0:51:37 work with clients
0:51:38 outside of who’s in
0:51:39 my local town, that
0:51:40 I can sell the travel
0:51:41 that I want to.
0:51:42 That’s what we call it
0:51:42 sometimes is that we’re
0:51:43 selling travel.
0:51:44 You know, you get to
0:51:45 focus on the types of
0:51:47 trips and things that
0:51:48 you’re passionate about.
0:51:49 So all of this
0:51:50 surprised me because I
0:51:51 basically was like, I
0:51:51 could have been getting
0:51:52 paid for this for 10
0:51:54 years and I didn’t know.
0:51:57 And so when I kind of
0:51:58 dived into it, I didn’t
0:51:59 know how the industry
0:52:00 worked at all.
0:52:01 You know, I have been
0:52:02 an online entrepreneur
0:52:03 for a long time, but
0:52:04 this was a totally new
0:52:05 field.
0:52:06 I think that’s a
0:52:07 great marker.
0:52:10 If you’re already doing
0:52:11 something for free for
0:52:12 friends and family, it’s
0:52:13 like, wait, I can get
0:52:14 paid to do this at no
0:52:16 extra cost to the people
0:52:18 that I’m serving that’s
0:52:19 coming out of the hotel
0:52:20 in a lot of cases.
0:52:20 Yes.
0:52:21 That’s always a good
0:52:22 sign for potential side
0:52:23 hustles.
0:52:23 Like what are people
0:52:24 already naturally coming
0:52:26 to you for help with?
0:52:27 If it happens to be
0:52:28 travel, this seems like a
0:52:29 natural next step.
0:52:30 So you’ve got
0:52:32 unlisted travel.com.
0:52:33 If anybody wants help
0:52:34 planning an awesome
0:52:35 trip, go call Bailey.
0:52:36 You’ve got make travel
0:52:37 your job.com.
0:52:39 What’s next for you?
0:52:39 What are you excited
0:52:40 about this year?
0:52:41 I’m excited to keep
0:52:43 growing unlisted travel.com.
0:52:44 The truth is that’s kind
0:52:45 of a pretty new brand that
0:52:46 I’ve established because I
0:52:48 was just kind of doing
0:52:49 things inexpensively like
0:52:50 we talked about in the
0:52:51 beginning, serving the
0:52:52 friends and family and
0:52:53 realizing the niche that
0:52:54 I’m most passionate about.
0:52:56 So I’m excited to do
0:52:56 more.
0:52:57 I’d like to establish
0:52:59 myself as a travel
0:53:01 expert beyond my friends
0:53:02 and family group.
0:53:03 And so kind of teaching
0:53:04 people a little bit more
0:53:05 about travel through that
0:53:07 brand and then bringing
0:53:08 the world of travel
0:53:09 advising to others through
0:53:10 interviews like this,
0:53:10 which I’m really grateful
0:53:12 for to be able to show
0:53:13 people this incredible
0:53:13 industry.
0:53:15 I truly believe that there
0:53:16 are other people just
0:53:17 like me.
0:53:18 I mean, I’m a millennial,
0:53:19 so I definitely know that
0:53:20 there are other
0:53:21 millennials out there and
0:53:23 Gen Zers especially that
0:53:24 love to travel, wish they
0:53:25 could travel more maybe in
0:53:27 their own lives and would
0:53:28 love to find some way to
0:53:30 make it more a part of
0:53:30 their personal and
0:53:31 professional life, even if
0:53:33 they, like me, couldn’t
0:53:34 just, you know, up and
0:53:35 change careers and just
0:53:37 dedicate themselves to
0:53:37 flying around the world
0:53:39 like a like a pilot or
0:53:39 something like that.
0:53:41 Yeah, to be able to live
0:53:43 and breathe travel without
0:53:44 fully committing to a
0:53:46 digital nomad type of
0:53:47 lifestyle, realizing, well,
0:53:48 there’s constraints and
0:53:49 commitments, you know,
0:53:50 back here at home.
0:53:52 But here’s a way to still
0:53:53 make money from this
0:53:53 travel passion.
0:53:54 Well, this has been
0:53:54 awesome.
0:53:56 let’s wrap this thing
0:53:57 up with your number one
0:53:58 tip for Side Hustle
0:54:00 Nation 2025 edition, then
0:54:01 we’ll take a trip down
0:54:02 memory lane and revisit the
0:54:03 2016 advice.
0:54:05 This one is simple, but I
0:54:07 think it’s a good one.
0:54:08 Don’t buy that premium
0:54:09 domain.
0:54:10 Don’t do it.
0:54:11 It’s too expensive.
0:54:12 I was looking over my
0:54:13 books and I can’t even
0:54:14 tell you how many
0:54:16 thousands, thousands of
0:54:17 dollars that I have
0:54:19 wasted on not, I’m not
0:54:20 talking about buying like
0:54:21 20 domains that I
0:54:21 ultimately didn’t use.
0:54:22 I’m talking about buying
0:54:24 one or two or three
0:54:26 premium domains that
0:54:27 were thousands of
0:54:28 dollars for figures from
0:54:30 GoDaddy that at the end
0:54:31 of the day, I either
0:54:33 didn’t end up using or it
0:54:34 didn’t really pan out or
0:54:35 after I had bought the
0:54:36 domain, but then I got to
0:54:38 writing the website copy and
0:54:40 sort of realized the angle
0:54:41 that I was kind of going
0:54:42 for isn’t really going to
0:54:42 work.
0:54:43 What was your most
0:54:44 expensive domain?
0:54:46 My most expensive domain
0:54:49 ever was evergreenmachine.com
0:54:51 and I loved it so much
0:54:53 because of the cool rhyme.
0:54:54 It was simple and this is
0:54:56 when I was doing
0:54:57 evergreen marketing.
0:54:58 Like evergreen webinars
0:55:00 and like sales funnel type
0:55:00 of stuff?
0:55:01 Uh-huh, exactly.
0:55:03 And it was a very, I don’t
0:55:03 even want to tell you how
0:55:04 much it was.
0:55:05 It was so expensive.
0:55:06 And I did use it for
0:55:07 several years, but
0:55:08 ultimately at the end of
0:55:10 the day, like I just, I
0:55:12 could have built the same
0:55:14 platform on something else
0:55:15 and it would have been, or
0:55:15 I mean, could have just
0:55:17 bought the non.com version.
0:55:17 I could have just like
0:55:19 bought the .net or .co,
0:55:20 which I know, I know.
0:55:22 Like we all want the .com.
0:55:22 I do too.
0:55:23 Yeah, it’s like premium
0:55:24 digital real estate.
0:55:26 I know, I know.
0:55:26 But I think in the
0:55:27 beginning though, before you
0:55:28 have proof of concept,
0:55:29 like before you’re really
0:55:31 bring, you don’t even have
0:55:31 necessarily a minimum
0:55:32 viable product yet, or
0:55:33 you haven’t tested the
0:55:34 waters to like see if this
0:55:35 is going to have it, you
0:55:36 know, legs, if it’s
0:55:37 really going to like
0:55:39 actually stick with you
0:55:40 for, for years or
0:55:40 you’re really going to
0:55:42 be able to monetize it.
0:55:44 So my recommendation is
0:55:45 think long and hard about
0:55:46 the name and try to pick
0:55:48 something that you can
0:55:49 either get the .com
0:55:49 version when it’s not
0:55:51 premium 20 bucks, you
0:55:52 know, a year is like what
0:55:52 it should be, right?
0:55:55 But if you can’t, don’t
0:55:56 get so excited and buy
0:55:58 that four figure domain
0:55:59 before you’ve even ever
0:56:00 sold something because
0:56:01 now you’re just starting
0:56:03 in the red before you’ve
0:56:04 even really got up and
0:56:05 going.
0:56:06 That’s my opinion based
0:56:07 on personal experience.
0:56:09 I will, I will not be
0:56:09 doing that again.
0:56:11 No, this is, this is
0:56:11 great.
0:56:12 That came out of left
0:56:13 field, but we could talk
0:56:14 domain names in the
0:56:15 graveyard of GoDaddy
0:56:16 registrations.
0:56:17 And it’s like, well, that
0:56:18 project never went
0:56:19 anywhere or just never
0:56:20 dedicated the time to
0:56:21 that.
0:56:22 My most expensive is not
0:56:23 thousands, but it was
0:56:24 made two or three hundred
0:56:26 for like start my
0:56:27 side hustle.com or
0:56:28 something, something
0:56:28 side hustle related.
0:56:30 Side hustle nation was
0:56:30 already registered.
0:56:32 And so I had to pay, it
0:56:32 was only like a hundred
0:56:33 bucks.
0:56:34 Just approached the
0:56:35 previous owner of it.
0:56:36 But sometimes you get
0:56:37 married to that idea and
0:56:39 it is, it’s digital real
0:56:40 estate.
0:56:41 So, you know, hold on to
0:56:42 it long enough and pay
0:56:42 that registration fee.
0:56:44 Somebody else with an
0:56:45 evergreen machine, I
0:56:45 thought it was going to
0:56:47 be like a machine shop
0:56:48 in the Pacific Northwest.
0:56:49 Like we have like
0:56:50 evergreen fill in the
0:56:51 blank name of company.
0:56:52 It’s like super common
0:56:52 up here.
0:56:54 So somebody in the
0:56:55 Northwest will buy that
0:56:55 from you at some point.
0:56:56 Yeah.
0:56:59 2016 tip was related to
0:57:00 online courses and it was
0:57:01 to provide value, make it
0:57:04 a no brainer for, for
0:57:05 customers was like, just
0:57:07 I think it was in the
0:57:09 context of giving away so
0:57:09 much value for free.
0:57:10 Well, I can’t wait to
0:57:11 see what’s behind the
0:57:12 paywall.
0:57:13 I’ve built up so much
0:57:13 trust and authority and
0:57:15 credibility that, you
0:57:16 know, it’s a no brainer
0:57:16 for somebody to click that
0:57:18 buy button and, uh, and
0:57:19 keep doing business with
0:57:19 you.
0:57:20 I stand by it.
0:57:21 That’s excellent advice.
0:57:22 Pat myself on the back
0:57:23 for that one.
0:57:23 Yeah.
0:57:25 2016 Bailey was smart.
0:57:27 Well, I think it totally
0:57:28 applies to our conversation
0:57:29 here as well.
0:57:29 You know, everything we’re
0:57:30 talking about building the
0:57:31 know, like, and trust.
0:57:32 And I’ll just say this
0:57:33 related to that.
0:57:35 You know, so many
0:57:36 people, I think in the
0:57:37 travel advising space, I
0:57:39 have heard do get a little
0:57:40 frustrated sometimes that
0:57:41 now that they haven’t been
0:57:42 known as the go-to expert
0:57:44 for so long, giving away
0:57:45 their expertise, now
0:57:46 they’re going to monetize
0:57:46 it.
0:57:48 People still come to them
0:57:49 and say, oh, do you have
0:57:50 any recommendations for
0:57:51 Cancun or something like
0:57:51 that?
0:57:52 And then the travel
0:57:53 advisor, now a new
0:57:54 business owner, is kind
0:57:56 of like, well, I want to
0:57:57 gatekeep because if I just
0:57:58 give everything to you,
0:57:59 you’re going to book on
0:58:00 your own and that’s not
0:58:01 how this works anymore.
0:58:02 And I’m, you know,
0:58:02 creating a new business
0:58:04 model and I need people
0:58:04 around me to understand
0:58:05 that.
0:58:05 Yeah.
0:58:06 I totally, I totally get
0:58:07 that perspective.
0:58:09 Here’s my view on it.
0:58:10 I think two things.
0:58:11 First of all, communicate
0:58:13 how your business now
0:58:14 works, right?
0:58:15 And say, hey, you know, I’m
0:58:16 more than happy to share
0:58:18 with you everything I know
0:58:20 about Cancun, but if you
0:58:21 wouldn’t mind, you know,
0:58:22 could I help you with your
0:58:24 bookings because this is
0:58:25 how I get paid?
0:58:26 Because I just think
0:58:26 sometimes people aren’t
0:58:27 aware, right?
0:58:28 So they don’t realize
0:58:30 how you as the travel
0:58:31 advisor are missing out.
0:58:33 So I think that’s one
0:58:33 thing.
0:58:34 And then through that,
0:58:36 you can delight them,
0:58:36 right?
0:58:37 You can get them that
0:58:38 perks at the hotel they
0:58:39 weren’t expecting, put a
0:58:40 welcome, you know, gift of
0:58:41 champagne or something if
0:58:42 the hotel will work with
0:58:43 you on doing something
0:58:44 like that inside the room
0:58:46 when they arrive, you
0:58:47 know, those welcome
0:58:48 gifts can go so far.
0:58:48 And then make them
0:58:50 realize how working with
0:58:50 you in the future on
0:58:52 every trip is a no-brainer.
0:58:52 So I think that’s the
0:58:53 first part.
0:58:54 But the second part is,
0:58:56 it’s just like advice I
0:58:57 gave in 2016.
0:58:59 Just give so much
0:59:00 advice and value and
0:59:02 make yourself known as
0:59:03 the go-to person.
0:59:04 I think people get
0:59:05 hung up, especially
0:59:07 service providers, on
0:59:08 turning every lead into
0:59:09 a client.
0:59:10 Like they want a
0:59:10 hundred percent
0:59:12 conversion rate, right?
0:59:13 And that, in any
0:59:14 business, that’s not how
0:59:14 it works.
0:59:15 But in this business,
0:59:16 it’s not how it works
0:59:16 either.
0:59:18 Some people are just
0:59:19 ultimately, you know,
0:59:20 not going to be a
0:59:20 client.
0:59:21 Give them advice anyway
0:59:22 because word gets
0:59:23 around, right?
0:59:24 So you want, maybe
0:59:25 they’ll refer you to
0:59:27 somebody else and
0:59:28 they’ll become your
0:59:28 client.
0:59:30 And it comes down to
0:59:31 tapping into your
0:59:32 network’s network in a
0:59:32 lot of ways, especially
0:59:33 early on, where you can
0:59:35 occupy that little sliver
0:59:36 of brain space.
0:59:37 Or if somebody’s going
0:59:38 to Cancun or Egypt or
0:59:39 Japan or, you know,
0:59:41 they know, like, oh, I
0:59:42 know somebody who is
0:59:43 great at that.
0:59:44 They can help you.
0:59:45 And like, you’re trying
0:59:46 to get those referrals or
0:59:47 that word-of-mouth engine
0:59:48 spinning in your favor.
0:59:49 So I really like this
0:59:51 call to have some
0:59:53 semi-well-defined niche
0:59:54 or specialization where
0:59:55 it becomes easy to
0:59:56 make that referral and
0:59:57 that goes for just
0:59:58 about any service-based
0:59:58 business.
0:59:59 Different ways we
1:00:00 talked about to
1:00:01 establish that trust
1:00:02 and credibility and
1:00:04 meet your target
1:00:04 customers in their
1:00:06 natural habitat, hosting
1:00:07 workshops, going to
1:00:09 these bridal events
1:00:09 targeting the honeymoon
1:00:11 crowd, and then
1:00:12 potentially targeting a
1:00:13 higher-end, potentially
1:00:14 older demographic that
1:00:15 doesn’t want to do it
1:00:15 themselves.
1:00:16 They want that easy
1:00:16 button.
1:00:17 They want everything
1:00:18 handled, taken care of.
1:00:19 It’s like, I’ve been
1:00:20 saving for this trip for
1:00:20 a long time.
1:00:21 I want to make sure
1:00:23 that it goes well, or
1:00:23 it’s a complicated
1:00:24 itinerary, multiple
1:00:26 family members coming
1:00:27 in from multiple
1:00:27 locations.
1:00:28 There’s a lot of
1:00:29 resources for the
1:00:30 do-it-yourselfers, but
1:00:31 it also takes a lot
1:00:32 of time, as we’ve
1:00:33 learned firsthand with
1:00:34 this Japan planning
1:00:35 trip, which thankfully
1:00:36 my wife has taken
1:00:37 most of the reins on
1:00:37 that.
1:00:39 But it’s like every
1:00:40 evening, it’s like more
1:00:40 and more trying to
1:00:41 chip away at it.
1:00:42 So lots of different
1:00:43 ways you can go with
1:00:44 the travel advising
1:00:44 business.
1:00:45 We’ll link up
1:00:46 Bailey’s resources in
1:00:47 the show notes for
1:00:48 you for this episode.
1:00:50 Your listener bonus
1:00:51 for this week is my
1:00:52 big list of 101 service
1:00:53 business ideas that you
1:00:55 can apply some of
1:00:56 Bailey’s tactics to.
1:00:57 Maybe travel’s not
1:00:57 your thing.
1:00:58 Well, hey, we just
1:00:59 opened up the playbook
1:01:00 for lots of different
1:01:00 niches that you might
1:01:02 be able to use some of
1:01:02 these same marketing
1:01:03 ideas for.
1:01:04 You can follow the
1:01:05 show notes link in the
1:01:06 episode description and
1:01:07 it’ll get you over there.
1:01:09 Big thanks to Bailey for
1:01:10 sharing her insight.
1:01:11 Big thanks to our
1:01:12 sponsors for helping
1:01:13 make this content free
1:01:13 for everyone.
1:01:14 You can hit up
1:01:15 sidehustlenation.com
1:01:16 slash deals for all
1:01:17 the latest offers from
1:01:18 our sponsors in one
1:01:18 place.
1:01:19 That’s it for me.
1:01:21 Thank you so much for
1:01:21 tuning in.
1:01:22 If you’re finding value
1:01:24 in the show, help
1:01:24 spread the word.
1:01:25 Fire off that text
1:01:26 message to that travel
1:01:27 obsessed friend of
1:01:27 yours.
1:01:28 We all know that
1:01:28 person, right?
1:01:29 Let them know.
1:01:30 Hey, here’s a way to
1:01:31 get your next trip paid
1:01:31 for.
1:01:32 Until next time, let’s
1:01:33 go out there and make
1:01:34 something happen and
1:01:35 I’ll catch you in the
1:01:36 next edition of the
1:01:36 Side Hustle Show.