Hot Business or Hobby?

“I am a homemaker, and I love to travel. My friends and relatives are always asking me for advice. I’ve made a hobby out of researching and giving advice. I realized that I could do this for others, so I’d like to begin selling travel. If I turn this into a business, how much money can I make?”

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This is the kind of loaded question that I get almost daily from those who are interested in getting into the travel industry. Americans are creative, ambitious and industrious. Many are not content with a single paycheck and they are looking for alternate ways to be productive and earn income.

For some, retirement is a chance to start a business by doing something they love. For others, it’s following a dream. With today’s online marketplace, it also is easier than ever to reach and sell to a wider audience than just family and friends.

Here’s the good news: There are lots of ways that you can turn your passion or travel planning hobby into a business. Here’s the bad news that a lot of hobbyists don’t want to hear: It can still be fun, but you have to understand how to implement a plan and be willing to work very hard to turn your hobby into a full-fledged business.

Let’s first focus on the good news. First, do you have a plan to make this business run? If not, you will need to figure out a few things.

Who will buy travel from me? This must go beyond just family and friends. Do you have an extended potential client base, such as a church, clubs or associations? Try approaching someone you don’t know and tell them why they should use you as their travel agent and see what kind of reaction you get. You also can use a free online survey company, such as Survey Monkey, and create a quick survey for your friends and acquaintances to see whether they would use your services for their future travel.

Why should they buy travel from me? Make sure to include in your personal and online survey such questions as: what would be the most important reasons why your potential clients should use you as their travel agent? Don’t ever try to sell on price. It will only get you into bidding wars with the big online travel players. Figure out first what hits your clients’ trigger buttons, such as personal service and experienced guidance.

What do I need to get started? Most new agents entering the travel industry want to get an answer to this question, such as: Let’s get you a website and you will get all the business you need to be successful. Others want to hear about the success of social media marketing. They like the idea of enjoying a nice cappuccino and then watching all the leads flowing in their direction. Most of us wish it were that easy. More often it’s not.

How do people know you exist? When I started my business in 1992, there were travel agencies on just about every street corner. But I wanted to run my business out of my home, which was not as common as it is now. My number-one observation was that I had to make my business visible, otherwise nobody would know I was out there. And you still need to do that today.

You need to develop a promotional campaign that involves advertising, publicity and personal contact. But keep in mind that you should not sell travel as a product; you should sell what travel will do for people. A car company doesn’t sell cars so much as it sells an image that a car will provide to its owner. You are delivering dreams, experiences and cherished memories. Use this in your promotions.

Word-of-mouth advertising is particularly valuable for a home-based business because it’s free. But make sure the word passed on about your business is favorable. Be professional, prompt, meet deadlines, keep appointments and do not accept more work than you can deliver. When I got started, this was my only means of advertising. And don’t forget to ask for client referrals.

It’s true that not everyone is going to wind up a star by trying to turn a well-loved hobby of travel into a professional business. However, it can be done. The travel industry has so many tools out there to help you turn a beloved hobby into a full-time lucrative business. There are many very successful home-based travel professionals to prove this theory. So seek them out and follow their models.