What I Can’t Live Without in my Business
I’m often asked what I can’t live without. Of course, I can’t live without the obvious things, like my family, clients and good fashion. But seriously, there are three people on my team that I absolutely cannot live without:
Writer: Whether you are writing an email, article, blog post or website copy, your words need to inspire the reader. Describing an exotic trip with just the right scintillating words can turn a homebody into a traveler and a prospect into a sale. A trip that’s described as fun is fine, but it really doesn’t include any details and doesn’t paint the picture of the journey they are about to take. A trip that’s described as a ‘hike to a top of a mountain where you will witness breathtaking views of the mountaintops,’ is much more enticing and informative.
If you’re not a wordsmith, you can hire a professional writer to do the writing for you. This also allows you to focus on what do best – being a travel agent. To find a writer, ask your local Chamber of Commerce for suggestions. You may also find a local writer’s group or place an ad on Facebook. They do not necessarily need travel writing experience, but if you need blog posts, they should have experience blogging and if you need website copy help, they should show you samples of the website copy they have written, etc.
Graphic designer: When it comes to travel, pictures are worth 1,000 words and a graphic designer is important to make sure that your website or flyers are appealing and informative. Stick figures and childish fonts won’t cut it on a professional site, but at the same time a fun font might be exactly what the flyer or site need to attract families. A graphic designer knows exactly how to bring a site alive and make it interesting. To hire a graphic designer, you can again try to get recommendations from your local Chamber of Commerce or you can ask an art school for a student who might be looking for freelance work to build up a portfolio.
Webmaster: A website isn’t any good if it crashes or the email doesn’t work or links are broken. I add a lot of travel information to my sites, as well as information on purchasing my webinars, books and travel packages. If it doesn’t work, I lose sales. My webmaster is key to my success. You do not want to scrimp here. There are students who know how to design and run websites, but you want to make sure that the webmaster you hire has experience in your kind of website. Ask to see samples.
In all cases, make sure you do your due diligence and check out their references.
The right team is vital to the success of every business person. This is only part of my team, but they are three very important players. Who do you need on your team?
TammyLevent founder of TravelAgentSuccessKit (T.A.S.K)