Are you digging for gold with a sandbox shovel? | Travel Research Online

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Are you digging for gold with a sandbox shovel?

While working with a private coaching client recently, my parting words to her were, “you now know how far your gold is – it’s time to stop using the children’s sand shovel and start using an industrial-sized shovel.” It occurred to me that this is a common blind spot for many travel business owners. You can get so caught up taking every piece of business you can to “get ahead,”; yet not realizing you are actually following a path that will NEVER lead you to your goal.

So, how do you avoid this?How do you put down the children’s sandbox shovel and pick up a much larger, more powerful shovel? I will share with you the 5 steps I suggest to accomplish this.

  1. Get Aligned – this step may feel a little frustrating to those of you ready to jump into action, but my first piece of advice is to NOT act. In other words, my advice is to slow down, quiet the noise and line up with what you want. Albert Einstein’s greatest inspirations came during his “power naps.” There is a reason for this. Adopt your own daily ritual for getting aligned with your greatest desires for your business.
  2. Identify the Size of Your Gold – I see so many travel business owners blindly going after making money with no idea how much money they want or need to make to keep their business afloat. Establish how much money your business needs to run. Then establish an ultimate goal of how much you want to make after covering your business running expenses. Get clear on the size of your gold.
  3. Measure the Distance between You and Your Gold– Once you know the size of your gold for which you are digging, you have a clear idea of how far you are from it. Don’t worry if it’s a long distance. Knowing the distance is a critical piece to growing your business. For example, if you need to grow your business by 10% to get to your ultimate gold, then you only need to make some tweaks to what you are currently doing. But if you want to triple your business to get to your ultimate gold, you will need to make some major changes to what you are doing. You will finally have clarity on what business is serving you and what clients are not getting you closer at all. The airline ticket that nets you $25 doesn’t serve your path to tripling your business. You must put your focus on other types of business.
  4. Pick Your Marketing Vehicles – This is precisely how you put down the children’s sand toy. Now you know where you are going and how far you have to go, so put all your resources into the marketing vehicles that will get you there. Establish your marketing plan and follow it with faith.
  5. Measure Your Progress – Don’t worry if you are not keeping up with your goals immediately. The act of measuring your progress is a huge up-leveling of your financial mindset. It’s when you step into the shoes of a business owner making a lot more money than you are making right now. You have to act the part before it shows up. So act the part by regularly tracking your results.

If you can relate to this article and feel like you might be digging for gold with a puny shovel, it’s time to reassess. Go through these five steps and start using that bigger shovel.

Meredith Hill, ex-President of Hills of Africa Travel, founded the Global Institute for Travel Entrepreneurs (GIFTE) to empower frustrated and struggling travel consultants by helping them to connect with their passion again, attract ideal clients, and build a business that makes positive difference in people’s lives. Visit GIFTE at www.travelbusinessu.com.

 

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