Recently I had the pleasure of meeting a woman who wants to be a
travel agent. Some of the naysayers may read this first sentence
and are saying to themselves, “Boy, is she nuts? Why would someone
want to be a travel agent in today’s industry environment?” Well, I
found this woman to represent one of the most refreshing and vital
elements in our industry: the freedom to do what we want to do as
Americans and the passion to follow our entrepreneurial dreams.
Let me share a bit more about our conversation and why I would
nominate her today to be the mascot and ambassador of “positive
thinking” for the travel-agent community. Her enthusiasm and energy
about starting her new home-based travel agency was contagious and
refreshing.
She had worked as a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines and
fell victim to a cutback, forcing her and yet helping her at the
same time to make some life choices. She lived and continues to
live in my hometown of San Diego and she simply did not want to
move, if at all possible. There had to be something, she kept
telling herself. Something she would like to do, wanted to do and
could do. Something that had to be the perfect blend: using her
skills in customer service (remember, this was when airlines
focused on that a bit more), combined with her love of traveling
and the incredible amount of experience and education she had
gained over the years. Now, faced with wanting to begin a new
career, she, of course, considered travel as an option. So, she
began asking others what they thought about it for her new business
direction. She found the response less than positive. Folks told
her she would never make money in this business and that the travel
industry was a dying breed. She started thinking about other
options, such as opening a coffee house or becoming a substitute
teacher. But she kept coming back to travel, no matter how hard she
tried to find another option. She decided that she would simply do
what she wanted to do and would start her own travel business.
This is when we met. She wanted to buy one of our books, “How to
Start a Home-Based Travel Agency.” We spent some time talking at a
nearby Starbucks, mostly listening to her story. She gave us her
gift of passion for travel and reminded me of why my husband Tom
and I have proudly spent our entire careers in the travel industry.
During these challenging times, let’s remember the positive reasons
why we are in this business and remember that, when times are
tough, they are always followed by times of great rewards. Join me
in being cheerleaders for our business and let’s tell the traveling
public how great it is to travel and be sure to give them your
card.
