Become a Home Based Travel Agent

Putting People First in your Home Based Business
By Cory Andrichuk

It is said that the difference between a ‘good’ company and a great one is how they treat their employees.  Jim Collin’s famous book Good to Great (Harper Business), wrote that consistency in practising this concept is also key and is a big reason why many companies drop the ball in ever trying to transition from ‘Good’ to a ‘Great’ company.

The question you may be asking yourself now is how do I, a home based travel entrepreneur transition from ‘Good’ to ‘Great’, as I am not a large company, with a corporate hierarchy, and teams of departments to practice the transition of ‘Good’ to ‘Great’.  Simple… Put people first in everything you do!  Home based travel entrepreneurs answer really only to their customer – the entrepreneur’s true “Boss”.  And you work in concert with your HOST agency, but you do not work FOR them!  So, how do I put people first in my home-based business?  Good question…

Let’s start with the idea of your board of directors… at your kitchen table!  I am always reminded of this concept when I listen to the song by Bryan Adams, “Everything I do… I do it for you”.  I love that song as it helps remind me of my priorities in life, and business.  The concept is about putting you and your loved one’s before anything else.  There is no customer for life, a repeat customer or referring client if you are not taking care of you and your loved one’s first.  I recommend sitting down on a weekly basis, if not more often to begin with, and determine your priorities moving forward in the direction that makes sense for all family member involved. 

A second place to focus on “Putting People First in your Home Based Business” is with your close customers.   YES, all your customers are important, but the customers that consistently book their cruise and travel with you, show their loyalty through repeat and referrals, and then gladly pay your professional service fees deserve extra time on a consistent basis.  Take THEM for coffee, treat THEM for lunch and or dinner and tell THEM through consistent actions how much you appreciate their support, friendship, and business. 

A third way to “Put People First in your Home Based Business” is through random acts of kindness.  I was reminded of this wonderful idea last week at my Toastmasters meeting and decided to incorporate it more into my life on a daily basis.  I was moved by some personal stories from my fellow Toastmasters, as how they tried to make a difference in people’s lives on a daily basis.  This random act of kindness reminder moved me into action that day!  I deliberately acted out 3 specific random acts to make up for lost past opportunities.  I encourage you to listen to my video-blog posts on my You Tube Channel to learn more about what I did in my day (3 x 1 minute video blog posts).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdJpluPtkhw

Putting people first is not a new concept, nor is it revolutionary, innovative or unique…. or is it these days???   Sometimes we don’t necessarily need to learn new ideas, or concepts, as much as we need reminders of the basics in life and business.