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December 29, 2007

How to Start a Home Based Travel Business

You are probably considering the travel industry as a home based career choice because travel is fun and always in demand. If that is the way you think, you are absolutely right! Starting your own home based travel business requires a little research.

The research is actually pretty simple, and I will tell you exactly what I did to get started; I asked a friend a few questions, and then I went to a timeshare presentation. That’s it! End of research. Now here are the details.

A friend of mine has five kids and he travels to the same beach each year with the whole family. So I asked him, "How much does your resort cost each year?" He did not mind telling me at all that it was around $3,500 for a one week stay each year, plus their travel costs, which were relatively low since they always drove.

I then told him how his family could stay at a higher quality luxury resort for $3,500 this year, and for only $300 to $800 per week each year thereafter, and in a wide variety of higher quality international resorts. That was a real eye opener for him.

Now remember, this was research, and for research reasons alone, the fact that my friend was recently unemployed was a plus, as I knew that he was not in a position to buy a membership right now. He had already booked the family vacation for this year, but was more than glad to know about my discount luxury resort membership, and that he could travel during any week of the year, or even multiple times each year at the same weekly rate.

My conclusion for this research was that I was in the right business. Since this conversation put such a big smile on my friend's face, I knew that I could help dozens of families with the luxury resort membership that I was selling from my small computer table and extra telephone line at my home office.

Here is research scenario two: I went to a timeshare presentation. I have avoided these for years, because everyone knows that the high pressure sales techniques of the timeshare sales force have turned many a No into a Yes.

True to form, those very nice timeshare sales professionals turned into pit bulls during the course of the presentation. I went through four managers on account of my unyielding No, and they even employed the good cop/bad cop technique on me.

Their last offer was substantially better than the initial offer (from $55,000 down to $14,000), but they mentioned the word ‘upgrade’ way to frequently. There was no getting over the math; timeshare ownership was a substantially inferior investment when compared to the timeshare alternative I was selling from my humble home office.

This was exceptionally valuable information for me. I have never owned a timeshare, but the condo and maintenance fees associated with ownership, compounded by blackout weeks, exchange fees and upgrade charges, really helped me to understand why so many people I know that love to travel have negative feelings toward timeshare ownership.

So there it is. Your research may be a little different, but you get the idea; ask questions and talk to people about their travel habits.

Go to places that may enhance your understanding of the travel industry, such as golf, ski, wilderness or beach resorts, or maybe even a tour of a cruise ship if that is available.

Count the costs, see what customers see, get educated, and then start your own home based travel business.
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Antony Mosley runs a home based travel business on a part time basis. Click on conference calls to attend the company's next call, and take your time to enjoy the audios and videos on the rest of the website. Bookmark www.YourHomeBasedTravelBusiness.com

Posted by David at December 29, 2007 2:33 AM

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