Become a Home Based Travel Agent

I know I work hard, don’t you? Or should I say I think I do. Am I really working smart or just hard? I get up in the morning and log the hours and expend the energy needed to get loads of work done. In fact, I am starting out this Monday morning with my firs to-do, writing this article for the March Issue of Home Based Travel Agent News. I am pretty proud of myself today because instead of spending the first hour of my Monday morning catching up on emails, checking out www.HBTACommunity.com and logging onto Facebook. I am buckling down and doing the first SMART project of my day. I have turned down the volume on my laptop so that I cannot hear the email alert and I am focused! I

I am writing this month’s article about Working Hard and or Working Smart because I am guilty of sometimes losing focus and spending too much time wasting time. I am not sure if any of you are nodding your head in agreement or not right now, but if you are perhaps you might want to read on.

I have always admired Tom (my husband) for many reasons of course, but in particular I am amazed that he has never had this ailment, or at least in the last 33 years that I have known him. I am not certain if he had it early on in life and was able to find the cure or if he just never suffered from it. Suffice to say, he has been trying to show me the cure for years but I just keep coming down with it andI find myself getting so overwhelmed with my to do list. He then sits me down and asks me to tell him what I have to get done and by when. Somehow, he manages to sort through the list and before you know it, he has me on the right track to focus and I start feeling better right away.

I did some reading on this topic and found some terrific tips that are helping me cure my ailment and hopefully they will help you as well. I f you find yourself doing some of the following, perhaps like me, you will want to rework your plan to work smarter instead of harder.

* You find yourself making a few calls first thing in the morning, checking your emails and doing the easy things first to avoid the most important or more challenging tasks.

* Dealing with a difficult customer and then carrying that negative “vibe” over to your next customer without meaning to.

* You cut back on marketing due to the cost instead of changing and improving your strategy.

* Going to a great seminar, reading a great book, learning from an expert or mentor, and not implementing the ideas and skills learned.

* Being in sales, and using the excuse that the economy is terrible, and not making cold calls.

I am sure you could easily add to this list, but just recognizing that working smarter instead of harder can bring great rewards both personally and financially is reason enough to start the cure in motion.

Now, I have finished my article and will take a break to walk my dog Zoe on the beach. It is all about the balance.

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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