Building a Balanced Business

Achieving balance in life is a goal shared by many people in the travel industry. For us, travel is our passion and a topic that energizes us. We spend our pre-vacation days counting down and sometimes even before we’re home, we’re planning our next trip. When your career is focused on a subject that you love so much, it’s easy to get wrapped up in it.

In all my years as a business owner and entrepreneur, I’ve learned that a well-rounded company includes three areas: creativity, production and fun. The intersection of these areas is where I’ve found that enjoyment – and success – is rooted.

Creativity

First up is creativity. It’s about trying new techniques and thinking outside the box. How often do you break away from your routine and ask “why” or brainstorm how goals can be accomplished differently? With the pandemic, we were all forced to get creative to survive a time when most of our business was put on pause. You may not even realize the innovative ways you adapted your mindset. If you’re reading these words, you’re still connected to travel and for that, you should be proud.

Use every travel opportunity to gather content and photos you can share throughout the year. Get involved in in-person networking or Facebook groups to see what other business owners are doing and find ways you can partner with them to increase clients. Sometimes a simple conversation or bouncing new ideas off another person can spark the best solutions.

Production

All the creative ideas in the world can help you stand out from the crowd, but without results, your time won’t be well spent. Setting specific goals and measuring progress along the way is a great way to stay on track. If you’re using a CRM, you should be utilizing the data at your fingertips and looking at your sales each month. If you made one additional booking per week, what would your sales look like?

There are also countless goals that aren’t directly tied to sales. Focus on two or three suppliers and take advantage of all the education they offer. Dedicate one hour a week to growing your knowledge of social media and the tools that can help you reach a wider audience. Those are just a few suggestions to help with the production piece of the puzzle.

Fun

Late last year, KHM Travel Group joined TikTok. If you’re familiar with the platform, you can understand why I mention this under “fun”. The team has had a great time embracing this platform and all the other social media avenues we use. Photos and short videos allow us to show our company culture and the fact that although we work hard, we also enjoy laughing together.

At the end of the day, people choose to book with you over an online travel website for your unique skills and personality. I encourage you to not be afraid to show it. If you’re not having fun with your travel business, you’re not fully appreciating the gift that comes with helping people make memories.

While each of these three components of business can stand on their own, the real magic comes when they intersect. There’s a special feeling when you can be creative, productive and have fun at the same time. Add to that the joy of traveling to new places and meeting different people and you’ll realize the amazing benefits that having a balanced travel business can bring.