FORT LAUDERDALE — Running a business can be a roller coaster ride, taking owners from the lows of building from the ground up to the highs of booking $1.5 million in two weeks, according to travel agents participating in the “Business Evolution, Growth and Change” panel at Travel Weekly’s CruiseWorld conference here.
Panelists talked about how to decide if agents want to grow their businesses or stay at a good plateau, whether to open a storefront and how to hire staff.
A business can grow so much that its staff and owners have too much business and quality drops.
Jason Coleman of Jason Coleman Inc. in Los Angeles, who booked $1.5 million in business after being featured in the New York Times in 2011, said he now has an office manager and some independent contractors. He outsources some work to employees based in the Philippines.
His agency has now hit a plateau. Coleman, who also is a travel and tourism professor at West Los Angeles College, said that he wants to manage his agency but not work in it.
Coleman said agents pondering changes must decide what is essential to the business and what products or services they can dispose of. And finally, they have to delegate.
Deb Fogarty, owner of Be Well Travel, a Nexion agency in Hollywood, Fla., has begun to delegate some work and has four associates working under her.
One of her goals had been to get off the phone. But, she realized, because she had associated herself so much with her brand, clients want to talk to her. So she has opted to keep answering the phone as one of her core responsibilities but has farmed out other tasks, such as filing.
“But I will always answer my own phone,” she said.
Gary Smith, a CruiseOne franchisee and small business management professor at Lane Community College in Eugene, Ore., said business owners have to weigh the risks of decisions against the potential rewards and how they fit with a company’s goals.
He recently opened a storefront after running his business out of a home office. That home office was substantial — he built an addition to his home to accommodate employees and customers. But the house was still not the optimum location for meeting clients. He analyzed the cost vs. benefits and is happy with his decision to open a storefront.
“What I have been amazed at is, with people who didn’t think of us before, how it legitimatized us, especially at the high end, “ he said.
Smith talked about how to make sure staff sells in accordance with his philosophy and principles.
“It comes down to culture,” he said. “When we bring in someone new, the first training we give is who we are and what we stand for, our core value proposition.” He said he and his staff talk about their standards and hold themselves accountable to meet them.
Panelists also talked about analyzing their workflow and productivity levels to make sure they are using their time and skills effectively.
Smith gave panel attendees his 10-second time management principle.
“You’ve got to learn to say no,” he said.
View a video recap of Day 3 of CruiseWorld.