12 tasks for success in the travel business | Travel Research Online

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12 tasks for success in the travel business

So, you are in the travel business. At first, you may have thought it was all fun and games—traveling the world on someone else’s nickel, happy people just flocking to your store/home/website or local coffee shop to give you their hard earned dollars. But eventually, the reality of running a business sinks in. Over the year, I have made my share of mistakes and learned my lessons—sometimes the hard way.

Last week I was speaking to some friends (fellow business owners from different industries) and we decided to write down a list of difficulties you face when it comes to running a successful business. We all agreed that it is not easy by any means and you do need to do hard things—but you can succeed with enough determination. 

  1. Make the phone call you dread. Putting it off only makes it worse.
  2. Get up earlier than you want. A lot can be accomplished in the pre-dawn hours.
  3. Giving begets getting. Be a part of your community and be generous with your time, talent, money, or all three.
  4. You have to care more about others than they care about you.
  5. When you’re feeling unsafe and unsecure and the safe way seems easier; remember, nothing worth having is easy.
  6. Invest and believe in yourself. Others may not, but you must!
  7. You have to deliver results even though making an excuse is an option.
  8. You need to make mistakes. As long as you learn from them, you’ll be fine.
  9. When you fail, get up and do it again.
  10. Run faster than the competition.
  11. Meet the deadlines that are unreasonable; deliver results that are unexpected.
  12. When things go wrong—own your mistakes.

Keep moving forward. As Michael Batt, Chairman of Travel Leaders says, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.”

You have to do the hard things. You need to tackle the scary…the crazy…the unknown…the absurd.  The hardest tasks are the easiest to “excuse” away—you’ll do it tomorrow, maybe it will fix itself, maybe the client won’t notice.  It rarely works that way.

I thought it was interesting that money never came into the conversation. Determination will trump dollars every time.  The successful people are taking the leaps and doing the amazing things that the wealthier (or possibly more qualified) people are simply afraid to do.

Tackle the hard things head on—you just might surprise yourself!

 

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