Top Tips For Becoming A Home Based Travel Agent

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Of all the home-based business possibilities, it’s hard to imagine one that’s more fun or potentially profitable than operating a home-based travel agency.

Not only do you get the enjoyment of sending people off on their dream vacation, but you earn a good commission for selling services that you do not have to actually provide yourself. What could be better than that?

If you’d like to become a home-based travel agent, and enjoy discounted or even free trips for yourself as well, then the following Top Tips For Becoming A Home Based Travel Agent will get you started in the right direction.

1. Affiliate with a legitimate host agency that has all of the required certifications.

The most successful home-based travel agents are independent contractors who work with a host agency. You use the host agency’s resources and established relationships to tap into their network of travel vendors and suppliers. It’s important that your host agency has the proper industry credentials and that they have a program in place that allows you to use those credentials in order to establish yourself as a legitimate travel agency.

As a home based travel agent you need certain credentials like the CLIA card. CLIA stands for the Cruise Line Industry Association. This industry-recognized credential allows you special agent rates on discounted cruises and offers a whole array of benefits to you and your customer.

To be recognized as a travel agency most host agencies are usually bonded and accredited through ARC/IATAN. ARC was established by the travel industry to provide prompt, efficient, and secure distribution and settlement of travel purchased in the U.S. IATAN-International Airlines Travel Agent Network endorses travel agents and provides the IATAN ID card, which identifies you as a U.S.- based travel sales professional.

If you are considering working with a host agency that doesn’t provide you with their IATAN/ARC number, and other required credentials, move on and select one that does.

2. Choose a host travel agency that provides comprehensive training

Even though you are an independent home-based travel agent, you still need professional quality training so you know how to operate in the travel industry as well as what you are and are not allowed to do.

Getting up-to-date on the best places to travel, tourism trends, and how to fulfill the needs of your customer is vital to your travel business. You want to choose a host travel agency that offers comprehensive training and courses on various travel services, products, marketing, etc.

For some host agencies, taking a course or training is necessary in order to be eligible for certain travel credentials. And, although it is not required to book travel, your job will go much easier and you’ll develop more repeat business, if you are well-trained and well-informed.

3. Choose a host travel agency that will help you promote your business.

Don’t choose a travel company that does not offer some assistance with marketing your travel business. The best ones will offer a turn-key website or online booking engine for your clients to use when booking their travel.

Even better are the travel companies that also provide you with automated marketing tools such as auto responders to handle email campaigns and promotions.

You’ll save money, and gain more customers, if you partner up with a host travel agency that provides ready-made templates to print business cards, postcards, flyers, etc. These are all the tools in your marketing arsenal that will help you get the word out about your home-based travel business.

4. Choose a host travel agency that handles ALL of the travel details for you.

Most host agencies handle all the booking and routine travel details for your clients, but what happens if a name is misspelled on a plane ticket or your customer wants a refund? Find out what type of customer support is available and read their policies carefully before you sign on as a home-based travel agent.

At a minimum, look for:

How long your host agency has been in business and if they are reputable.
24/7 telephone support, not just e-mail or web-based.
Clear and easy-to-understand refund and cancellation policies.
A track record of speedy resolution to customer service issues.

5. Choose a host travel agency with a fair commission policy.

Notice that money is not mentioned as the #1 thing to look for when you’re choosing a host travel agency. Sure, the commission is important; it’s how you get paid. But the best commission policy in the world does you no good if the host travel company that you choose to partner with is not aboveboard and honest.

Once you have found a travel company that meet the requirements of items 1-4, it’s time to check their commission policy. Here’s what to look for:

Make sure that you know exactly how much commission you earn on every travel product you offer through your host agency. Be sure to find out if you earn commissions for add-on sales like trip cancellation insurance or lost luggage insurance. The best host travel agency partners pay you a piece of everything you sell.

Be sure you know what their commission chargeback policy is when a client cancels a trip or seeks a refund.

Find out at which point your commission actually gets locked in. Is it when the sale is made; when the client debarks on their trip, or when they return?

Find out how long it takes to get paid. Some agencies pay Net 30, some pay longer. Whatever the payment period is, make sure you can live with it.

6. Choose a host travel agency with the best perks for you

The opportunity to go on a FAM trip is the most appealing benefit to travel agents. FAM trips are short for familiarization trips’. These are special trips specifically for the travel agent. These trips are offered by hotels, cruise lines, convention and visitor bureaus, and tour companies.

The intent of the trip is to familiarize the agent with the product or service so that they can then sell the service or product to their clients. By experiencing the product, agents can sell it more effectively.

These trips are either totally free or have a small cost involved to cover the expense of the trip. These FAM trips are offered at a huge discount compared to what it would cost to the average consumer. If your host agency doesn’t offer FAM trips, you should think about finding one that does.

Also, since you will be working out of home and on your own, medical insurance plans or group coverage plans are sometimes offered. Check to see if the agency you are considering has a group plan that you can buy into. Group plans are usually less expensive than buying medical insurance on your own.

Some final thoughts

Owning your own travel business means you can take advantage of many tax breaks. Deductions are allowed for you initial investment, home office expenses, cell phone and land lines, automobile, computer, fax machine, insurance, and other equipment. In addition, when you travel anywhere in the world, it’s a business expense!

Overall, becoming a home-based travel agent has some major perks and benefits. The important thing is to find a good host agency and become familiar with your product so that you can offer the best travel experience for your customers. Doing this will keeps a consistent flow of repeat and new business coming your way.

Good luck and Bon Voyage!

Cosmetology Manicure Specialist (Nail Technician)-A Paradigm of Style

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With the boom in the fashion industry where women are becoming increasingly style conscious, nail fashion and nail care cannot be left behind. The Nail Technician field is a booming industry and offers great scope for those equipped with a license as a nail technician. Unlike the past, when people used to visit a salon only on special occasions or social gatherings, more and more people visit a salon at regular intervals for their weekly manicure and nail care needs.

Nail Technicians have opened new avenues in nail care and fashion with the introduction of different kinds of nail art and extensions. Instead of using basic nail polish, different types of artistic and seasonal pictures can be painted on the fingernails using various nail sculpting techniques. Though the job of a nail technician involves doing manicures, pedicures, nail painting, nail extensions, nail sculpturing etc., they are adopting several new methods to give your nails a dazzling look. From creating funky tattoos, glitter designs to airbrush paintings, and psychedelic colored gemstones etc., on your nails, stylists put in a lot of creativity in giving you fabulous nails.

Painted finger- and toe-nails capture others attention. With a wide variety of options in nail designing and sculpting, choosing to become a trained nail technician is an ideal option for those who have oodles of creativity. The Nail Technician profession has become increasingly popular over the last several years, and offers great money making potential. You could also be self-employed, and even start a home based business, which would provide you with more control and flexibility in your working hours over working in a salon.

With nail salons expanding nationwide, qualified and licensed nail technicians are in high demand, with numerous nail schools offering training in nail beautification and design. Besides classroom training, these programs provide you with hands-on practical training that prepares you in facing the challenges of this field. You develop strong interpersonal and communication skills while interacting with customers during practical training in on-campus salons that are open to the public. This provides an invaluable jumpstart in finding that hard-to-get first job.

To be successful, a nail technician should maintain a good balance of marketing and nail care in order to remain ahead of competitors. Moreover, nail technicians should have a strong background in the techniques of business: marketing new aspects and the latest trends in nail design and acrylic application in order to retain and expand a client base. In addition to being creative and prompt, technicians need to keep up with the latest trends in nail care so as to grow their business and improve their cash flow.

How To Avoid Home Based Business Scams

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Joining a legitimate Home Based Online Business was a long and thorough process for me. You see, when you are a stay at home mom just like me, it’s so easy to fall for online business scams. Although, there are so many legit home based businesses out there, there are still a few who would take advantage of your need to earn extra income for your family. They would do anything to convince you that they have what it takes, but the one thing that they do not have are the right credentials. I cannot tell you how many times I almost fell for these scams, but really, aside from the facts, theres a gut feeling that tells you that something is not right. When something is telling you that its not right, then its probably is.

How to avoid home based business scams and work at home opportunity scams, is a matter knowing that they are all about. This is what I am going to share with your now.

Here are some few tips on how to avoid Home based business scams and work at home opportunity scams:

– Research before your join. Never hesitate to contact the company directly, and inquire straight to the manager. If you tried several times and cannot contact a real live person, then don’t even go there. There are so many Online business that would promise you the world, but cannot even promise you are real long conversation about making money.

– When it comes home based business scams, the same process goes. Ask if you can talk to the person in-charge. A home based business should have a 24- hour online support where you can inquire and ask about anything. Like any other business, online or offline, inevitable problems tend to occur, that is why a support system is necessary.

– When an online business seems shady, try to contact the Better Business Bureau. When an online business opportunity is promising ridiculously large amount of money in no time, then it will tend to be a scam. This is a very important matter, look for the Better Business Bureau logo in the website of the online business you are about to join.

– When you are rendering your services, such as a typing job or article making, you should never pay money to work for a certain company. Thee are so many sites out there that helps you market your services, some do it for free and asks for commission in every transaction that you do, and there are also some who makes you pay through registration to give you a better exposure and visibility on the site.

– Never ever give your credit card information, unless of course, you have talked to a live person and have verified it to Better Business Bureau.

When you are careful in your online life the way you are cautious and mindful in your offline life, it’s not hard to succeed and ear as much as you can in a legitimate home based online business.

Top Ten Resources For Home-based Business Success Part I

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If you are considering starting a home-based business, or if you already have one and are looking to increase your profits, I would like to share with you what I consider to be the

Top Ten Resources for Home-based Business Success.

1) First, having a great home business that is automated, has a spectacular sales presentation, and pays out high commissions. This is important because it is not easy to make sales, so make sure that you join a business that pays a lot for each sale/signup. Do your research thoroughly!

2) A steady flow of high-quality leads is the lifeblood of every home business. At first it is difficult to generate your own, so I recommend partnering with a marketing agency that can get leads FOR you. My personal favorite sources of leads are:

a) MLM Lead Genie High quality leads, best price I’ve found.

b) FIS Marketing They actually run a unique ad campaign tailored for your business, AND teach you how to convert the leads into sales! They also provide you with 200 free business leads just for listening to their presentation.

3) An upline/mentor team that is going to really teach you how to generate wealth with this business. A good mentor will help you earn massive profits. A bad one will take your money and leave. Make sure you do your research so that you can tell the difference.
I am lucky to be part of the Mentors4u team, under the guidance of Megan Vallaincourt and Stephanie Sammour. These two are great teachers; they are both warm and caring and take the time to walk you through building your business step by step.

4) A Blog! Yes, business-blogging is taking the internet by storm and can get you moved up in the search engine rankings faster than almost any other method. Your mentor will teach you how to use it to earn money online!

5) Craigslist Craigslist is a great way to get free advertisements out there in every major city. It is free to sign up and you can post many different ads (your mentor will teach you how to do this properly and supply you with some pre-made ads you can use)

Stay tuned for my next article, Part II, which will finish explaining and providing links for the Top Ten resources for the home-based entrepeneur!

Kindest Regards,

Rob Hunter
Passport to Wealth Mentors4U Team

How Do You Create A Successful Business From A Legitimate Home Based Business Opportunity

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If you and your family are interested in a legitimate home based business opportunity, you may want to first generate a checklist for starting a business. This method is invaluable for determining and identifying the areas of focus you need to search for and start a legitimate home based business opportunity.

Some items to be included on a business start-up checklist are:

Identifying your reasons for starting up a business
Find a network of support
A careful, honest and extensive self-analysis
Identify your skills and expertise
Discovering your niche
An analysis of the market
The start-up plan and budget
Financing

For many people worldwide, business ownership is a lifelong dream. However, there is a tremendous gap between making your dreams a reality and dreaming about making your dreams come true. A legitimate home based business opportunity may offer success, but success starts with turning your dreams into a business plan. A business plan for any legitimate home based business oppportunity should be the first step on your road to financial independence and financial security.

Each of the above mention components contributes to the success of a legitimate home-based business opportunity. Many entrepreneurs start a new venture by asking themselves why they want to be their own boss. Perceived freedom from a nine-to-five routine, the ability to work when you want, or the prospect of enhancing their standard of living are among the most popular reasons for starting a legitimate home based business opportunity.

Examine yourself to identify your passions, do your homework about all of
the legitimate home based business opportunities out there, be practical and prepared by beginning a business with a business plan, find a mentor you can trust, and be sure your budget is set for a 6 month period. The planning will help to guide you in seeking success in your legitimate home based business opportunity, but there is no subsitute for passion, hard work, and persistence.