 Binoculars is a
weekly,
electronic newsletter serving as a tool for greater vision for the
travel consultant and small business selling travel, published by
Safari2Success.
Dear
~Contact.FirstName~,
We had a
rainy, soggy weekend here in NC, but we managed to find lots of
sunshine inside. My great friend, Cari Volmer
was in town and we had a wonderful, laughter-filled visit
together. See photo above.
Have you ever
been surrounded by people but felt totally alone?
This was how I felt in my business a few years ago. I was
surrounded by many people – friends, family, neighbors - but
none
of them really understood the trials, tribulations and complexities of
running your own business from home. I was lucky enough to
have
an awesome business partner, so I wasn’t totally alone, but we both
felt it.
The truth is, you need support as a business
owner.
You need to be supported by like-minded professionals who will pull you
up, when you are down, celebrate your successes with you, see you as
your full potential and not let you settle for less and share their own
experience when you feel like a beginner.
We found this kind of support through a
mastermind program.
In 2008, we joined our first mastermind group, and I would never be
without one again. Cari (middle in photo above) was
in that
first mastermind group with me. Our friendship is one of the
gifts coming out of that experience.
This
Week’s Article:
Do you feel under-appreciated and almost never acknowledged as a
professional travel consultant? Today, I honor you.
Read
this week’s article to find out more.
To your
success,
Meredith
"My manna
from heaven"
Having
gone through a dismal 2009 both personally and professionally, my
“manna from heaven” connection with Meredith has been incredibly
rewarding. She offers practical business techniques but with
a
personal twist. Because of her gift in seeing the whole picture and
intuitively knowing her clients she can gently yet effectively open new
doors for those who want to be the best they can be.
For me,
Meredith challenges me to think big, to move out of my comfort zone, to
believe in myself and focus on my inner talents. I can hear
her
say: do what you do best and delegate the rest.
With that
in mind I have created a signature talk that inspires women to live
their life with zest and passion for whatever brings them happiness.
For me that is travel so I now have 13 women traveling with me to
Umbria this June for a cultural immersion experience. Where to next?
Who knows so thank you Meredith for all your continuing inspiration.
--Mary Jo
Gregory, A Thoughtful Traveler
You are
invited to a special, FREE,
teleclass:
Meredith
Hill, founder of Safari2Success,
Interviews Michelle Salater
"ABC's of Blogging to Reel in Great Travel
Business"
On this call, you will learn to rethink the business blog and begin to
see all the possibilities creating a blog can do for your travel
business. Dispelling the myth that you need to be a great writer or
have editorial experience, you will discover how to generate content
that attracts prospects and makes them want to share your posts.
Specifically, you will discover . . .
- How to emotionally connect with your
readers and avoid Blog Disconnect.
- 5 blogging tips for the not-so-fabulous
writer.
- How
to let your personality shine and write from the heart.
- Using images and video to showcase your
expertise and attract tons of prospects.
Date:
Wednesday, March 9, 2011 |
Time:
4:00
PM Eastern
(That's 3PM Central, 2PM Mountain, and 1PM Pacific) |
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Women
Changing the World WebSummit
March 22, 23, 24
It’s a shift, a vibe that’s sweeping the
world. We women in business are coming into our own, getting in touch with our dreams, building
heart-centered businesses, doing our part to make the world a better
place…and people are
starting to listen to us. Finally!
So… what if we could make an even BIGGER
impact by coming together – like a tribe – and helping each other think and grow globally?
What if we could also help a sister in a developing country have all
the same business
opportunities as us?
We CAN and you can learn exactly how at the
Women Changing the World: 2011 ga’NEW WebSummit,
happening March 22, 23 and 24th- all from the comfort of home.
Learn more and sign up here; it’s
complimentary:
http://tinyurl.com/SummitLRivero
You’ll learn from powerful visionary women
who are making a profound difference in female global entrepreneurship;
women like Marianne Williamson, Mary Morrissey
and many other female agents of change.
Join these amazing women March
22, 23 & 24th:
http://tinyurl.com/SummitLRivero
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A Tribute to the Professional Travel Consultant
You
are passionate about travel, you’ve traveled the world, and you’ve
experienced many things. You
work hard for your clients, going above and beyond the call of
duty. You’ll spend hours researching a client’s
request.
You’ve been woken up at 3am to help clients with a cancelled flight
halfway around the world and you give the clients a calm, reassuring
voice. You have made the impossible happen – tickets to a
sold-out show, space on a sold out, last minute cruise, lunch with
Cinderella at her castle on Christmas Day. But you do it all
because you love travel.
As
you continue on in your quest to
make your client’s dreams a reality, the foundation upon which you have
built your business is falling apart and disappearing before your eyes.
You feel scared and beaten down. The airlines don’t pay
commissions anymore. Many suppliers have reduced theirs
too. The economy tanked and an entire segment of the
population
stopped traveling. Competition from online booking engines
make
it more difficult to charge a service fee and there are times you lose
business because you can’t come close to matching their
rates.
There are days you wonder if it’s worth it. You question if
there
is a place for the travel consultant in the future of travel.
I
say an emphatic YES! 
Today,
I want to celebrate you, the travel advisor.
I want you to know that I believe in you and your place in the future
of travel. You create magical, memorable experiences that are
worth more than your weight in gold. You do things no
computer
will be able to achieve. You are priceless.
But
you are under appreciated, very rarely acknowledged and no one is
throwing you a life preserver.
You are a silent hero. Today, I want that to
change. I want
the world to know that I respect you, I acknowledge you, I honor you
and I want to help you.
In
doing so, I am making a commitment to you today. In
a few weeks, I will be launching the Global Institute for Travel
Entrepreneurs (GIFTE). Here you will find a place for
passionate
travel advisors to discover the tools, resources and community they
need to re-build that foundation, take advantage of new opportunities
springing from the ashes, and transform from travel agent to travel
entrepreneur. The moral basis of GIFTE is the belief that the
travel advisor plays a critical role in the future of travel, but
he/she just needs some help, direction, resources and support.
The average travel
consultant makes $35,000 per
year. You don’t HAVE to be average. Isn’t time to
be better
than average?
There is
one thing I ask of you in return.
I ask that you be willing to re-invent yourself and your
business. There is an abundance of opportunity in this
business
and so many ways you can be much better than average. But you
will have to do things different. You may have to learn some
new
things, you may have to change the way you do business and you may even
have to start over. The rewards are worth it and I am going
to
give you as many resources as possible to make those easier and
doable. Are you willing? Will you join me in
revolutionizing the travel business?
©2009-2010
Meredith Hill, www.Safari2Success.com
Want to use this article in your E-zine or website? You can as long as
you include this complete statement:
Travel business entrepreneur Meredith Hill publishes the "Binoculars"
weekly e-zine. Visit her webiste at www.Safari2Success.com
 Meredith Hill, President and
co-owner of Hills of Africa Travel, founded Safari2Success in 2009 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.
In
2007, faced with a long-standing struggle of not having enough clients
in her travel business, Hills of Africa Travel was on the verge of
closing its doors. Instead, Meredith used her gift for
finding the path to success no matter what the odds.
Realizing they had to revolutionize their marketing, she and business
partner, Sandy Salle, looked to other industries for direction, and
began applying cutting edge, effective marketing techniques for the
small business, learning in the process, the importance of passion,
mindset and support for entrepreneurs in travel.
Thanks
to their determination and efforts, the company doubled its income
within the first year. During 3 of the most difficult economic years in
travel history, Hills of Africa quadrupled its business and was doubly
proud of hitting a milestone in 2010, when they surpassed $1.5 million
in sales.
Meredith
has a never-ending love for Africa, but her deepest passion lies in
empowering travel business owners who want to make a
difference. She founded Safari2Success after
noticing many travel professionals alone, at a standstill, trying to
navigate the unchartered waters of an industry experiencing major
change. Meredith’s goal is to revolutionize the travel
industry by helping people connect with their passion again, adopt a
mindset for success, get desperately needed support and build
successful travel businesses that change people’s lives.
Meredith continues to use her gift to blaze new trails and guide her
clients to their paths of success.
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