Become a Home Based Travel Agent

Do you like to listen to music while you work? I love to! Isn’t it amazing how music can so immediately change our mood and either put us at piece or rev us up if that is what the task calls for? So often, I forget to turn it on and just go about my workday with the hum of my fingers tapping the keyboard. Then suddenly I have this realization that something is missing. I need the sound of music!

I got to wondering if there was some real factual research or information that substantiated my claim to need music to excel at a task? Tom thinks I am a bit music obsessed because I have to have it on to complete most anything I set out to do. I recently purchased the coolest waterproof case for my shuffle so that when I swim laps I can listen to music. I have to have music to run, do yard work, and the list goes on. So, I find I am not alone. I think this is interesting and I hope you do too.

It is true that, research proves music adds to a person’s productivity. Workers in one test were provided with headsets so they could listen to music while they worked and the rest of the workers in the project went about doing their work without the sound of music. The research proved that there was more then a 10% increase in work productivity in those listening to music. I would have thought it might be even more.

Does it matter what kind of music we listen to while we work? It is unlikely that all kinds of music would bring about the same level of work productivity. If our goal is to increase our concentration then findings show music that provides a light melody will help get us in the right zone. Apparently, it helps up to focus. I suspect if we listened to rap, rock and or heavy metal would not allow us to concentrate but instead would have us listening to lyrics instead of honing in our work project.

On the other hand, music with an upbeat rhythm is known to release stress hormone levels. It is known as the “Mozart effect”. The story goes that a group of students asked to take some math tests while they listened to classical music showed their stress levels dropped dramatically and did really well on the tests versus the other testers. Now, I know why I did so badly in math. I never had the opportunity to listen to classical music while Sister Ruth administered her weekly “test from hell”.

So, the moral of this article is simply put, turn it on, turn it up and sell more travel!

Joanie Ogg CTC MCC
Joanie Ogg Marketing Group
Editor

Joanie Ogg is a thirty-five year veteran of the travel industry and has been involved with the independent contractor evolution since 1988. She is the principal of Joanie Ogg Marketing Group, which specializes in consulting and speaking on the topic of Home-Based Travel. She also provides marketing and sales for wide variety of products under the umbrella HomeBasedTravelAgent.com.

A demonstrated industry leader, Joanie most recently served as the President of the National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents (NACTA) and TravelSellers. She and her husband Tom acquired NACTA in 1996 and sold it to The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) in 2000. Joanie’s tenure in the travel industry includes owning and operating one of the first successful host agency models. She has owned and operated several storefront travel agencies (both commercial and leisure), as well as a Hawaii wholesale tour company.

Her decades of success have garnered her numerous accolades over the years. Her accomplishments have been recognized by receipt of two Lifetime Achievement Awards from major trade groups, being named as one of the “100 Most Powerful Women in Travel” by Travel Agent magazine on several occasions, voted as “Travel Agent of the Year” by the readers of Travel Trade magazine, and has been recognized by many other industry organizations throughout her tenure in the industry. In 2008 Joanie Ogg was inducted into the CLIA Hall of Fame, an honor held by some of the most influential executives in the travel industry.

Joanie is a Master Cruise Counselor (MCC) and a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC). Joanie has co-authored two popular travel industry books for cruise specialists and home-based travel agents and has authored hundreds of travel trade articles. She has inspired tens of thousands of travel agents attending her presentations at trade events, cruise seminars, international trade gatherings and numerous local educational venues throughout the United States. With a time-honored background and forward-looking vision, she is often featured as a speaker at many of the travel industry’s major conferences and events. Joanie’s speaking talents are widely sought as a travel industry emcee by the most recognized travel organizations. She has emceed such events as Cruise-A-Thons, ASTA’s CruiseFest, The Trade Show, The Travel Institute Forum and all of NACTA’s National and International Conferences.


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