Become a Home Based Travel Agent

Where to get Physical with Clients?
By Joanie Ogg CTC, MCC

Working from home is wonderful! However, there will be times when you simply must meet clients somewhere outside of your home or at their home or office without breaking the bank. I don’t know about you, but I am not comfortable bringing business associates into my home. I consider my home to be just that, HOME. I would not trade having my office at home for all the money in the world. Well, let me re-phrase that to say for all the tea in China. With all the money in the world, who would want to work anyway? Seriously though, the convenience factor having a home-based office is wonderful, however it may not be the ideal place to meet with clients.

Here are some ideas for places you might not automatically think of where you could consider hooking up with clients.

Your local chamber of commerce:
Believe it or not, some chamber offices have meeting rooms that are even equipped with computers and other office equipment that might be useful for your meeting.

Your bank:
Hard to believe but yes, some banks can actually be an option for a meeting place. Smaller local banks are probably your best target. Many banks have conference rooms that are hardly ever used. Next time you are in your bank, ask and see if it is possible to make this type of arrangement.

The local library:
Many local libraries have small rooms that are available to use for a meeting with clients.  As a community member (and a library card carrying citizen) you should be able to reserve a room and with branches in many cities, this makes a good choice to make it convenient for your clients.

A co-working facility:
This is a very cool option. Co-working has become very popular as a solution for those small business owners looking to just pay a drop-in-fee to access a professional office space. They have conference rooms, office equipment and will often rent out an office space for the day or week. I did a Google search here in San Diego and here is just one of many pages of options that showed up.

A restaurant banquet room:

Have you ever noticed those rooms off in a corner of many restaurants where there is no one sitting? Well, these are often available for free usage as long as you order some food and drinks. This is a great option for putting together a gathering of customers to promote a special cruise or leisure package.

A Virtual Office:

A virtual office can be a great tool for small businesses that want to limit their start-up costs and establish themselves with a professional image. Additionally, you might find it will enhance productivity. Essentially, a virtual office acts as an extension of the business’s physical presence, which for the purposes of this article is your home! An assistant at the “virtual” location handles incoming calls and answers them in your company name. They are set up to receive and forward email if you wish, snail mail and of course the occasional outdated fax option. You pick and choose the options you need and voila, you have a staff and a location to use for meeting clients.

A Google search for “virtual office” in San Diego brought me a long list of options.

No matter where you choose to meet with your clients, be it a Starbucks, local restaurant, library, hotel or perhaps in your home or your clients home, the important thing is to feel confident, professional and comfortable with yourself and your surroundings. Your attitude, knowledge and love of travel are sure to make the sell.