The Travel Agent Guide
The Travel Agent Guide is a podcast created for travel advisors at every stage of their journey.
Each episode shares practical tips, real-world experiences, and honest conversations about building a successful travel advisor business—from client boundaries and workflows to marketing, growth, and sustainability.
Whether you’re new to the industry or looking to refine how you work, this podcast is here to help you work smarter, feel more confident, and grow with intention.
The Travel Agent Guide
How Top Travel Agents Build Big Connections
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Success in the travel industry doesn’t happen overnight — and it definitely doesn’t happen in isolation. In this episode of The Travel Agent Guide Podcast, we’re joined by Byrd Bergeron and co-host Haley DeCarlo to unpack the real power of networking and relationship-building for travel advisors.
From local community groups to hobby-based meetups, we discuss how getting involved in activities you genuinely enjoy can naturally open doors to new opportunities, referrals, and long-term clients.
Bird shares her own experiences navigating the challenges of networking as a travel agent and explains how consistency, visibility, and authentic conversations helped her grow her business over time.
This episode is packed with encouragement and practical insights for travel advisors who want to expand their reach without feeling pushy or overly sales-focused.
Time Stamps:
00:00:00 - The Long Game of NetworkingDiscussing the importance of patience and consistency in networking for business growth.
00:00:31 - Welcome to the Travel Agent GuideIntroduction to the podcast and today's focus on networking.
00:01:02 - Getting Out from Behind the ComputerEncouragement to engage in networking events and activities outside of work.
00:01:31 - The Struggle for LeadsAddressing common frustrations agents face in generating leads.
00:02:37 - Overcoming Networking AnxietyAcknowledging the challenges of networking and the importance of stepping out of comfort zones.
00:03:52 - Finding Joy in NetworkingReframing networking as an opportunity to make friends and connections.
00:22:14 - Creating One-on-One ConnectionsStrategies for deepening relationships through smaller gatherings.
00:24:16 - The Power of AskingEncouraging proactive outreach to build connections.
00:25:19 - Crafting Your IntroductionTips for introducing yourself and your business in networking settings.
00:27:10 - Elevator Pitch StrategiesDiscussing how to effectively communicate your business without sounding salesy.
00:29:22 - Finding Networking GroupsAdvice on how to locate and join networking groups in your area.
00:32:18 - Understanding BNI and Chambers of CommerceExplaining the structure and benefits of BNI and local chambers.
00:33:41 - Utilizing Social Media for NetworkingLeveraging social media to find and connect with networking groups.
00:36:55 - Combining Networking with Family LifeStrategies for integrating networking into family and personal commitments.
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The lead is something that comes after six, nine, twelve months of being in these groups and being consistent. I don't want you to walk away from this podcast, join some nonprofit group, start going, and then like day one, get frustrated because you didn't get a lead. The more people that you're in front of, and the more you help the group, the more they want to help you.
SPEAKER_00You start now, the conversation in two years that you're having is gonna be my business is doing great, and I have referrals and it's growing. Welcome to the travel agent guide, the podcast pulling back the curtain and what it really takes to be a travel agent. We're talking real life, the challenges, the wins, the money, the mistakes, and the growth. Whether you've been in the travel industry for years or are new to it, we're in this together and you're exactly where you need to be. All right, guys, and welcome to today's episode of Travel Agent Guide. Of course, I have Bird Bergeron here with me today. We are going to talk about networking. So basically, the idea of today's episode is how we can close our laptop, get out from behind our computer, and open up your network to grow your business. By the end of this episode, my promise to you is simple. We'll have the confidence building in you starting so you can actually close your laptop, get out, get to some networking events, go to a luncheon, start playing some pickleball, do something fun that you love, and you know, stop working on your business so much in the back end and get in front of people. All right, Bird, let's dive in.
unknownAll right.
SPEAKER_01I'm excited about it. I've seen so many agents struggle to get leads. And I feel like the number one thing that I hear from agents that are saying, I really want to grow my business. I just don't have any leads. And then I ask them, How many times did you leave your house last week? And they say, None.
SPEAKER_00None. It's like, well, yeah, that's what's gonna happen. I think it's something I always talk about in coaching. It's the first thing any brand new advisor comes into the industry, understanding what networking is and how you can truly get out of your house. It's it's hard. I I'm not gonna lie, I struggled with it for the first year, year and a half, two years until I finally felt comfortable to say, all right, I have to go meet 10 random women today, and I'm gonna go talk at a luncheon and it's gonna be okay, Haley. It's hard. It's definitely hard unless you're used to it. It's not easy. It's very uncomfortable for some people. You know, we're busy, we're, you know, working from home, we're moms, we have our kids, and I think we continuously try to make excuses of why we don't or we can't do it and we don't have time to do it. But I'll tell you right now, that's not really an option, right, Bern?
SPEAKER_01Well, I'll I'll tell you, I think I hear that all the time, but it's really hard. I don't have time for it. It's just unrealistic for me and my lifestyle. And I had a business coach one time that I just really love the way he framed it because it kind of took it out of like, I've got to go meet some randos to like the worst case scenario. I don't want to call it networking because it's it's not what we're talking about today. What we're talking about today is just meeting like-minded people and helping you make more friends. And this business coach really changed my whole mindset around it because he's like, literally, the worst case scenario is you find new friends. Like, that is the worst case scenario. That is not a problem, right? I think we have, especially when you talk about today's society and there's so many issues with uh loneliness and isolation, it's like just put yourself out into your community. And I don't want you to think today's episode is about joining a BI group or doing networking, doing networking in a more formalized manner. We'll talk about those things because I think you guys should have an understanding of all the tools in the tool belt, but that's not how I network, and that's not how I built my audience, and it's definitely not how I built my business. So I will tell you there's a much better, easier, more fun path to go down.
SPEAKER_00And that's what we're gonna dive into. And I'm excited to hear about it. So let's talk about your networking burn. How you just put yourself out there, you're not afraid anymore. You were always in something, talking to somebody, meeting someone. How do you get over that hump? How do you get over that fear of just going to do it?
SPEAKER_01I mean, I want to acknowledge the fact that I am an extrovert and there are many, many, many introverted people. You can absolutely be, and I actually think the most successful people in sales are introverted because sales requires you to listen, not talk. And too many extroverted people forget that, right? And they end up talking over their clients and they they scramble the sales. So just because you're introverted does not mean this is not for you. But I think the main part in making this successful for you long term and not making excuses for it is simply the fact that you need to be in something that you like doing. So for instance, one of the groups that I spent the most amount of time with in the last decade, um, sadly I'm no longer part of them. We'll talk about that later. But um, I sat on the board of the junior league for a decade. And I really, really love the organization because it specifically served women and children and it focused on startup nonprofits. I love, I love working in that startup incubator kind of space. Doing it in the nonprofit sector was huge for me. And coming from just a really messed up childhood, I love the idea of me being able to step in and help other kids that were in my city. So it was great. And then, side benefit of it all was I got a shit ton of referrals and clients of it. But I never went into that thinking that that's what I wanted. And I think too many people go into it and they like leave a yoga class and they're like, I did exactly what you said. I showed up to the yoga class, I talked to three people, and no one asked me to book a trip. And it's like, bitch, that's not how this is done.
SPEAKER_00It is a long game, it's not gonna happen overnight.
SPEAKER_01But and you gotta do things you love. Like if you, if it's not something you're really excited about, here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna claim that you're busy. Busy is not a real word. I really hate that we use it the way we do in 2026. It's you're not gonna prioritize it. And if you don't prioritize getting out of your house, you're not gonna do it because you don't want to do it. So you got to find something that you want to do. I think that's the most important fundamental piece.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. So, what do you say for people who are like, I just don't want to go be part of a junior business league? Like, I don't want to do it. How do we convince them otherwise?
SPEAKER_01So I don't think that my path is everybody's path, right? So I think it's more of what do you like to do? Um, are you a big reader? Join two or three different book clubs. Are you a big, you know, like yoga is a real thing. Working workout classes are a real thing. I meet people in workout classes all the time. However, if you're the person that gets there one minute before it starts and leaves the second it ends, you're not gonna meet anybody. You know, if you're gonna if workout classes are gonna be what you do to get out of your house, well, you need to show up 10 minutes early and you need to kind of linger at the end and just be like, oh man, what a great class, right? Hi, I'm Bird. So nice to meet you. Like, you have to be consistent in whatever the group is and you have to make space to make friends. If you are just doing the bare minimum and barely showing up and not talking at all and whatever the meaning is, that's gonna be really hard as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Nope, great points. I think you're absolutely right. It's you have to do something you love. I had my brother actually text me last week and he's like, Haley, I want to talk to you about networking because I hear you talking about it all the time. He's like, I just don't want to do it. And I'm like, well, here's the thing: if you don't want to do it, that's a problem you have to deal with yourself. You either have to want to do it to go do it, or it's not gonna happen, right? And growing any business, you have to be willing to talk to people no matter where they are. I think a lot of people sometimes I hear like, oh yeah, I network today. Like I spent some time on social media. Like I want people to understand that that is not networking, at least in my idea. Like, what do you feel about that, Bern?
SPEAKER_01No, it's a fair point to make. I think a lot of people get their social fix for the day from social media, and they're like, Well, I commented on a bunch of posts and I did have a bunch of great conversations. And I don't think that's bad, but I I know for a fact it's not uh the best way to create any type of deep, meaningful connection. So one of the things I would say is again, like, I would want to throw that networking word out of the window. What we're talking about today is how can you make more connections? We're not saying your current best friend needs to no longer be your best friend. All I'm saying is you want to have some uh loose ties is the word I'm gonna use. I stole it. Uh, Harvard Business Review did a fantastic quart years ago, and it was, it just was called the strength of loose ties. And the idea behind it was it's not usually your best friend that builds your network or builds the right connections to grow your career. It's usually like your best, your friends of a friend kind of people. You know, people that are in your orb, but you're not really best friends. Our idea today is how do we just grow your orb? People that are like, oh yeah, I've heard of Ashley. Oh yeah, I know a travel agent actually. Hold on, she's in my rotary group. Whatever it is, it's more of that second layer of friends, if that makes sense. And all it really takes is one meaningful connection with somebody for you to stay in their orb for years. So that's kind of the idea today is how do I get out there and just make some meaningful connections, feel good about myself, feel good about who I am, and how do I get that conversation started? I think most people really struggle with hi, I'm X. You know, like that is really hard to open up the conversation with somebody. Do you agree? Like, do you struggle with it?
SPEAKER_00I do. I feel like sometimes walking into the room, you truly never know what to expect. So you kind of build up that, you know, anxiety a little bit of, oh, what am I walking into? But the second you get in there and you finally say, like, hey, how's it going? It's you're like, why did I worry so much about this? This is silly. And what I try to remind everyone is odds are everybody else in that room felt the same way you did prior to getting there, right? So you're not the only one who's feeling uncomfortable unless you're burned. Right. And then you're just, you know, going for it. So I don't know. I think it's it's definitely just getting out there, go and do it, um, lean into every network that you can. Now, when we think of networking to gain business, what do you think about industry networking?
SPEAKER_01Well, let me back up for one second. I want to give you guys a line. If you walk into a room and you feel uncomfortable, there's one line that just endears you to everyone. Hi, I'm brand new here. Like, I would just walk up to a group of people and say, Hey, I'm brand new. I've never been to one of these meetings, I've never been to one of these, whatever it is. Can I can I chat with you guys? Right. Like everybody, it's a it's a sense of vulnerability right off the bat. And people love when you're vulnerable. And you they immediately will say, like, oh, you can be my new best friend, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, come be my best friend.
SPEAKER_01Sit with like who's gonna, yeah, who's gonna look over and be like, no, mm-mm, not interested. Like, no one's gonna do that. So I think you should call the spade the spade. If there is anxiety behind you, say that. Say, hey, I'm brand new here and I don't know anybody, and just wait for them to respond. They're gonna be like, oh, come to come sit with us. Don't worry about it. Like, very rarely in adulthood do you ever interact with the mean girls' club that existed in high school. But we are all walking around with these really deep scars of who those women were, and and everybody's had their moments, don't get me wrong, but who those women are, and we believe that their maturity stopped then. And I think it's really something important for us to realize most people are out of that now. Once you hit your 40s, you don't give a shit anymore. Like we're not worried about it. I'm not worried what you think. So you need to not worry what I think, and we can kind of just move on with life. So I think just using that vulnerability is actually a strength. I'm brand new here. I'm I'm excited about learning more. How long have you been in the organization or whatever it looks like, right? And just let them jump in and let them wrap around you. People are friendly, inherently.
SPEAKER_00Yes, very much so. I love that.
SPEAKER_01And if they're not, fuck them.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. This is an explicit episode, by the way, which I love. Sorry. Um, I love it. All right, so I hear advisors tell me all the time, Haley, I went into networking today, be so proud of me. And then they show up to like an ASA group meeting. What are your thoughts on that? Like as far as that type of networking goes in the industry, obviously it's so good for you and your business, absolutely. But tell me your approach on that.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I'm a bit jaded, if I'm gonna be honest, on in industry networking. Not that I don't think it's beneficial. I have some great friends in the industry, but the reality is I started my business in November of 2019 and didn't grow it to 20 million by industry networking. I did that from being engaged in my community. So, what I will say is November of 2019, if you guys didn't remember what happened four or five months later, um, it wasn't a great time to start a travel agency. However, it gave me a really good moment to know exactly what I wanted out of the travel business. And then I had several years of building my business, kind of, you know, I had a solid six to nine months behind the scenes where nobody was doing anything, where I built the foundation and that was awesome. Like I was so excited. And then we're really like end of 2020, we started selling again. 2021, we hit 2 million in sales and 2022 and on, it started blooming. And I was seeing advisors posting in 2022 and 2023, oh, well, now that the world's finally back up again and now that we can start selling again. And I'm like, what? Like I've been doing this this whole time. And I will say, one of the things that I had learned from that is I wasn't able to do those industry networking. And I wasn't able to, I mean, I leaned on advisor Facebook groups a lot. Those are absolutely invaluable to answer questions and shoot you in the right direction. And the people that actively participate in answering questions, you're all heaven-cent for sure. But the reality of do you need the industry networking to be successful? No. Can it be helpful to have a BDM to lean on if something goes wrong? Yes. So here's what I'm really getting at. If it is not a busy, we don't use the word busy, but if it is a very, very packed week and you need to prioritize, I don't believe the industry networking is the priority. I think the priority is what have I done for my community today? Because the more you do for your community, the more your community will do for you.
SPEAKER_00I love that. What type of community things do you get involved in?
SPEAKER_01Okay, so sit back right now and think in your head. Like, what do you like to do? Are you like a sporty person? Are you very artsy? Are you into music? Whatever you're into, I think the real problem with like people feeling isolated or people struggling to feel happy as if it's a destination. That's not how it works, guys. But the the struggle to get there is simply because we've let go of a lot of things we really like doing. Haley, you and I both have three-year-olds. They're terrible humans sometimes. And it's really hard to be like, oh yeah, bird, I loved softball in college, but I'm not realistically going to join a softball league right now, like a rec league, because I've got to take care of my three-year-old. So I want to acknowledge that we're not all in the same life space to get to do things. I don't get to do things between 6 and 9 p.m. Period. Dot. My husband travels for work. I'm single mom and it up during the week. It's whatever. But that doesn't mean you can't not do anything, right? So I would the first thing I really, really want to get across is like knowing your passion and knowing what you're excited about, but then trying to leverage that. So I am obsessed with hiking. So when I ask a girlfriend to like go to lunch or get wine with me, I try to not ask for that. I ask him, like, do you want to go for a walk? There's a trail, like, there's a lot of trails in Charlotte. I'm very blessed with that. But to get to say, like, let's go for a walk together instead of let's go get wine. I sound like a Gen Zier, don't I? We're gonna take our peptides right after that. No. But really, I think it's something where it's like, I get me out of it. I get to be in nature, and that's exciting to me, and I get to make the connection. So if there's a way where you can think of what is the thing I like to do. So let's go back to the softball example. Like lots of baseball games are during the day, during the summer. Could you take off during the day and go with a girlfriend or go with a friend? I guess there's guy travel agents too. I forget that. Sorry, guys. Um, go with go with a group of friends and say, like, hey, I want to get a group together and we're gonna go watch this baseball game in the middle of the day, games at 1:30 on a Friday. Uh, I invited 20 people. This will be so fun. And you coordinate that, right? So again, I want to step back. If your passion is not the cornerstone of it, this is not gonna work for you. Just stop listening to the podcast. It's not worth it. If you are willing to say, I want to find happiness, I want to make more connections, and I want to grow my business and I want to do it all at the same time. This is exactly what we're talking about here. So it's got to be something you like, and then you have to think, well, how can I dovetail what I like into how do I meet more people?
SPEAKER_00Love it. Second, oh, it does. Absolutely. And I think you're right. You need to really focus on connection, not conversion, right? You're going into this to build long-term relationships and the network around you, you're not going into it for a sale. So that's a different mindset to kind of have going into this. But you're right, if you don't want to get out of your house, if you don't want to go for a hike, and there's nothing fun you find besides being behind your computer all day, then I'm not sure I'll know how to coach you, to be honest, right? You you're you're gonna have to figure out what that is to get out and just go.
SPEAKER_01One of my favorite realtors, so realtors are the same as us. So if you're really struggling with this conversation, go find a realtor. There's a lot more of them than travel agents. Go find a realtor and ask them what they do for networking. They're gonna have a laundry list of things they do. Um, but my favorite realtor always says, like, so he eats lunch out every single day. And he's like, Yeah, but all year, it only adds up to like $2,000. It's not crazy expensive to do it, but it's like I eat lunch every day and I sit at the bar um and I just talk to people around me. And I was like, but why do you do that every day? Like that takes up an hour and a half of your time every day. And he's like, Because I never once met a client sitting in my living room.
SPEAKER_00I love that, right? Yeah, love that. Yeah, yeah, that's a perfect way, right? Just go sit at a bar, have a lunch. Um, I love that, right? So again, worst case scenario, you got a great lunch out of it. Who cares? Exactly. And you have your laptop and work, and it is what it is. All right, so I love that. So, Bert, my question for you out of all the years of networking and you know, just getting into random rooms, what is one opportunity that came from your networking that you never expected? Like one specific.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So I'll I'll use one that I'm I'm dealing with right now that was really exciting. Um, and it's actually an opportunity for someone else. Because again, remember those little kids I have? I don't get to jump on every opportunity, but it's one I'll have in the future. So I um I joined, okay, I'll take you guys back to the junior league, right? Remember, I spent a decade. Love the junior league. If you have one in your city, please join it. It's incredible. Um, however, all their meetings are at 6 p.m. Remember that whole 6 to 9 p.m. problem I just spoke about? I have argued till I'm blue in the face with that organization. Like, if you truly support women, you will have meetings at different times. But it is what it is. So when I moved to Charlotte, I was like, I met with the junior league here. They're like, our meetings are at 6 p.m. I was like, it's not gonna work. So instead, I joined, I still love nonprofit work. It's always been very important to me. So I try to dedicate around a day a week to nonprofit work. And what I found was our local rotary group was actually really big and um pretty influential in the city and very active. So I was like, oh, rotary could be it. They do lunchtime on Tuesdays. Um, so Haley, if I never answer your call at noon on Tuesdays, I might rotary. So I joined the rotary group there, and I'll tell you, I didn't get as much business out of it as I thought I would have. So I've now been a member of two years, and I'm just being transparent with you guys. Like, I go to every meeting, I sit on the board, I'm very active, and I have made some money. I pulled the numbers uh about a week ago and we made 17 grand in commission off of it. Fine, but it's not what it's not the 50, 60, 80, 100 grand that I would want to make in two years off the group. So I was like, you know, I didn't join it because of money, but okay, I'm making some money off of it, but it's not exploding. So I was like, is this the right choice? And I've kind of been, you know, contemplating do I want to keep investing this much time? And again, you have to remember if it fills other needs, it's okay. But here's where I went wrong with this group. When I walked in the room, I should have noticed. When I first walked into the room in junior league, it was a bunch of people that looked like me and that were my age, they were excited about things that I loved. So the connections came very easy. When I walked into my local rotary group, everybody was about the age of 60 to 70. No exaggeration, they'll admit it too. I'm the youngest by far in the group. It is 95% males, and it is at least 140% white. So, like, it's a bunch of old white dudes. Shocking that it's been harder for me to make connections in this group than it was in another. So I will be honest, at this point, I've been in the group long enough that I am starting to find closer connections and starting to really understand. But if you're going to put in the effort, try to find someone that would be easier for you to connect with, especially if you're scared of this or you're nervous about this. I've seen that group run off a million different people. I think it's just because it's intimidating to walk into a group that's not like you. So I think that would be number one is like make sure it's a like-minded group. Have you ever had that situation?
SPEAKER_00I well, I love what you're saying. So you walked into this room, and at first you were probably like, oh, I don't know if this is gonna be for me, but you've already committed for like two years.
SPEAKER_01Okay. So I walked into the room and I said, Well, these aren't gonna be my new friends, but yeah, these people look like they might be clients. Yeah, you catch me. Where so that that was my initial mindset is I wasn't doing it from the heart. And I think that's why it hasn't been as successful as I wanted it to. If I'm gonna be very honest with myself and hold up a mirror, I had been networking for so long that there was a separate end game to this particular venture. Had I gone in there saying I just want to do nonprofit work and make friends, that wouldn't have been. Group I stayed in. So I think that authenticity piece is really staring me in the face right now. And really one of those where I'm like, oh, had I done it differently, it might be a different result at the end of the day. Okay, so so I've got a couple of these like large nonprofit groups, but the areas where I think you you're going to shine and you're going to find the most business coming out of them are when it's something that you're super excited about. I have found literally but clubs of 10 people that have been way more profitable in the long run than nonprofit groups of 200 people. So I don't think size is always the situation. Size can help. You don't want to have a group of just one. Um, but you should do something. And then I like to take that to one more step. I'm gonna, and then I'll shut up. The one last step that I would say is like be part of the big group, but make the one-on-one connections. So in junior league, I always made it a point to kind of just ask people. Um, and I've been pretty good with it at Rotary too, is ask people to go to lunch outside of the normal meetings. Hey, you seem like someone that I would really get along with, and I'm just I'm really, you know, love who you are. I want to get to know you better, however, you want to word it, whatever that looks like, or you know, they say something interesting in a conversation, be like, I'd love to hear more about that. Any chance you would go have lunch with me sometime? It's pulling the person out of the group, it's an instant connection. If you can find a way to do that where you don't, and if lunch is too big of a commitment, grab coffee. Or because some people are like, well, Bert, I don't want to spend two grand on lunch every year. I hear you. Go grab coffee. It's a couple bucks. Don't go to Starbucks. If you're into wine, go grab wine, whatever it is, just pull them out of the big group and pull them solo. So my networking today consists of doing one large group a week. And then I try to have at least two to three coffees slash lunches, whatever that looks like. So I'm kind of recommitting a week. Yeah. Yeah, that's impressive. Take notes. So I'm like recommitting those smaller relationships as I have the big group.
SPEAKER_00Does that make sense? Absolutely. I think that is a hundred percent the way you're gonna get somebody to trust you, to fall in love with you and understand what you truly do. And that's how you're gonna build your network right there. It's the smaller one-on-one, the four-person luncheons versus the 200-person networking group. I love that. That's awesome, bird.
SPEAKER_01But when I tell people to grab lunch with two or three people a week, they run out of people in the first three to four weeks, right? They're like, Well, I don't know anybody else I can grab to lunch. So the point of being in the 200-person nonprofit group is to have more people to ask to lunch. I mean, at the end of the day, that's what it is. Because even if you only went to lunch with that person one time in a whole year, they still know you better and they still feel more connected to you. And humans innately, our human brain wants to help other humans societally. That's why we live in the cultures we live in, right? We live in groups because that's how our brains are wired. So, like if you get to know somebody even a little bit and tell them about your business and whatever struggle you may be facing, they're gonna want to help you.
SPEAKER_00That's amazing. So walking into a group, how do you like formulate what you say? How do you come into it and just naturally talk about what you do without it being an elevator pitch right in your face? And how do you speak with just confidence and get the point across of what you do?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I so our industry is really you guys, I don't think you understand how easy we have it. We could be selling real estate, like it's so hard to turn a conversation to like, have you thought about selling your home recently? Like that's so hard to do in travel. I think you have a couple of avenues here. You can always ask what someone does. I think it's the most vanilla way to approach it, but they will inevitably ask you what you do. I think if you're an independent contractor, you should be saying, I own my own travel, I own a travel agency, even if you are working under somebody else. So, Haley, I'm thinking of like the travel birds and the ICs that work under the travel birds. I still encourage them to say, I own a travel agency. They don't need to say what the structure looks like. As an independent contractor, technically you do own a travel agency, right? So I think that's the easiest way to do it. Um, some people feel the need to really follow up with their niche or to lean in with the niche. I think unless you have a very strong niche. So if you guys listened a couple episodes ago, we had Cam, who only does virgin voyages, that man is incredible. Like, we'll absolutely turn down a Regent Seven Seas cruise. And I'm like, I'm sorry, what? Why would you do that? But his business is absolutely exploding right now. So he's doing it the right way. So if you have a really aggressive niche, yes. But if you're just like, I do Europe, but if somebody came to you with a $50,000 African safari, you're like, I'm gonna figure that out, then you probably shouldn't say I do Europe, right? You should probably say I own a travel agency. The other avenue is just simply asking people, like, so do you have any fun travel plans coming up? And get them talking about it. And then if you have a tip that you can share, share it. So say something along the lines of like, oh, when you're there, definitely try to find X, Y, Z. I I'm actually a travel agent. I love this stuff. That's all you have to do.
SPEAKER_00That's a perfect way to put it.
SPEAKER_01All you have to do. It's simply like planting the seed. It is not anything more. They will almost always ask questions about it. And if not, again, just keep bringing up owning a business, keep bringing up travel and do it subtly. You never, I have never once been in one of those meetings and been like, anyone here planning a vacation soon? Here's my card.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, don't do that.
SPEAKER_01No, we don't want to look like uh, you know, car salesmen. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00That's the best way to do it. Just lean in. I love how you said, you know, ask what travel plans are, and then they say, Hey, I'm going to Iceland. That's amazing. I actually am a travel agent. I love talking about Iceland. I've been in that situation too, where I've definitely heard people bring up.
SPEAKER_01I would throw out I would throw out the value as quick as you can. Sorry, I didn't mean to kick off. I would throw out the value as quick as you can before you throw out I'm a travel agent. And I'm only saying that so you can almost say, like, okay, so we could use Iceland. Like, did you know in Iceland there are two tectonic plates that actually come together and you can scuba dive or snorkel if that's not your thing, but you can actually like snorkle in between the tectonic plates. It's super, super cool. I'm a travel agent. I I'm sorry, I love talking about Iceland. That's like the value first, not the ask first. Because it's not an ask, but it kind of is, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And then you get in. Did you use another travel agent? Do you and it just it becomes a conversation and they're a connection and they know that you're the go-to person now for travel questions. That's perfect. All right. So let's kind of dive into elevator pitch. I feel like this is something like if you ever go to a more structured event or a more structured luncheon, and sometimes the person hosting, you're like, okay, who let's round Robin and let's all talk, let's do a quick elevator pitch. It's kind of like an icebreaker to get in, get to know people. The one thing that I've learned from you, Bird, about elevator pitch is we're not going to go into it and say, hey, I am a travel agent. You figure out what you're selling like mysteriously, right? So I collect great stories, right? So that's a way to approach it. What is your elevator pitch? Like if you were to give back an example.
SPEAKER_01So that's our um, that's our like company mission for um the travel bird. So I own two travel agencies, Sava Travel and the Travel Birds. The travel birds, the way we've always said is we help people collect great stories. So I often use that tagline because people are like, tell me more. I love a great story, right? Um, when I used to drink, it was always more of a fun that you could play off a whiskey story at that point. So now I lean into like, well, the reality is we help you collect great memories all over the world, you know. And then they're like, oh, so you're in a travel. Yeah, we're a travel agency, right? It kind of evolves from there. I think one of the easiest ways is simply just saying, like, uh you can either play off the like, I love to be research-oriented and detail-oriented, or you can play off the like, I know things you don't. So, right? Like play off of this, yeah, play off of this. Uh I I dig deep for uh knowledge about different countries all over the world every single day. You know, something along those lines is usually that fun one where people are like, I'm sorry, what?
SPEAKER_00What do you use? What's your uh go-to here? Yeah, it's just creating experiences that last a lifetime, whatever comes out of my mouth in the moment, but I never come out and say, I'm a travel agent. And then of course, everybody asks, like, Well, what do you do? What are you creating for people? And then it you just it evolves from there, the conversation.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, I just that's I also think when I throw out travel agent, I almost always use the like, oh yeah, they still exist.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah. Everybody's like, wait, travel agents still are around. Call it out. I'll I'll be honest, it still does irritate me a little bit. I'm like, yeah, they sure do. People don't get it. Um, but some people do, right? So awesome. I think my next question for you, Bert, is obviously being authentic with people, but where do people find these groups? Like, if I wanted to go find a junior league or a BI group, of course, Google networking groups, what does that look like? How do you what's the best way for people to dive in?
SPEAKER_01I think we should talk about the the normal, true to business networking groups that every major city has. So every major city is gonna have a BI, a business, business networking institute. What does CI stand for? I think so. Um, a B and I group is basically a group you commit to for one year, you pay to be a part of it. It's usually about eight or nine hundred dollars. The group typically consists of about 10 people, and they can only have one person in each industry. You show up once a week and you give referrals. So you may have a realtor in there, a landscaper in there, an architect in there, whatever it is. And you show up and you're like, oh, my neighbor told me he needs a new patio. Here's my neighbor's information. And they say, Oh, my friend told me they're going to Italy. Here's my friend's information. They're kind of high stakes. It's required to have referrals pretty consistently. I don't think it's the best way to do it, but those are in every single city. So if you want to give it a shot, give it a shot. Some people find a lot of success with it.
SPEAKER_00Are memberships pretty expensive for BI?
SPEAKER_01About eight to nine hundred dollars is what I've been quoted in the past. So I think that's a pretty good ballpark, I would say. Chamber of Commerce, every big city and most little cities. I think people, okay, so I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina. We, of course, have a Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, but I think people forget that if you live out in the suburbs, a lot of times the burbs also have like a separate chamber of commerce that can be sometimes a lot more powerful. We have one called Ballantyne that's about 30, we have about 20 minutes south of like the main city. And there are a ton of businesses in it. It's really tight, it's really good networking. So, I mean, there's things that you can do like that that aren't the main chamber of commerce, but that one's gonna be everywhere you go. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00There's one six miles from my house. And so they're everywhere. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01They're all over. And I'm also gonna say there's a lot of times connected to the chamber, you'll find special interest groups, you'll find like a women's business owners or stuff like that. Again, if you're an independent contractor, you are a business owner. So go to Google and type in business owner networking if you want to. Um, and you could find stuff that way as well. There's there's plenty of stuff. And if you're in a large-ish city, it doesn't have to be huge, but if you're in a city or close to one, you're gonna have a ton of those networking type events. Um, meetup is kind of dying, but it's still out there and absolutely is a way to meet with people. Um, what else? What other things have you done, Haley? What else have we had on the list?
SPEAKER_00I think for my big networking group that I'm in, I actually found on social media. So I always uh a lot when I'm in coaching calls, I always will have advisors. We sit there live time and we start just going to look up Facebook groups to see what type of again, women networking groups. I lean into women networking groups. It's just how it works for me. And we sit here and just start doing some research and start pulling different groups that there are in the closest city to them or the biggest city and get join it and go to the website and start doing some research to see what makes sense. If you're going into a group and you see like 140 people, it's probably not that active and you're not gonna get much out of it. However, just do a little research on it. Maybe this 150 is similar to your group bird, right? And it's all women who get together once a week, and it's just a lot of research. But I think social media is a key tool to finding some pretty cool and unique um networking groups. So, what we did from our business networking group, uh Boston Business Women, huge networking. Um, the CEO of Boston Business Women, there's like 55,000 women in it. You can go in for free, or yeah, or you can get a membership. So I have a membership, it allows me to post um into the website as I need to or into the Facebook group. And you can pay more as you go, right? If you want to pay the higher membership, you can. You can be featured in you know certain um newsletters and things like that. But there's luncheons that they always have available. So a calendar of events that are going on all the time. Every week, there's something they even have virtual events, they do have luncheons in usually in your chapter. So Central Mass or whatever that looks like for you. But you kind of have to dig. So some of the networking here in Central Mass for me is harder than it is towards Boston. And getting into Boston during the week is just it's rough. Like next week, we have uh we're gonna go do top golf, right? So 10 of us get together, we're gonna go play some top golf and some repeat women that I know. Um, but you just show up and get to know more people and you know it builds from there. And these women, you know, they ever see a travel agent right away, they're sending referrals to me all the time. So and I like some top golf.
SPEAKER_01I will say business owners, in my opinion, seem to be much more willing to support other business owners. It's like they know the struggle, right? And they're really excited to do it. Um, but it is a matter of like other business owners tend to also be scatterbrained and they tend to want to bootstrap things. So they might not be the best clients, but they usually have great referrals.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01It's kind of how I think of it.
SPEAKER_00It's exactly what it is. So it's all women entrepreneurs, right? And then from there, I connected with a couple wonderful women and leaned in, went to uh another random Fenway Park event. And from there I loved it. And then we branched off into like a new networking group, right? So it's fun. You just have to be willing to get out there and talk and meet people and not be afraid to sit back and wait for the business to come to you. It's just it's gonna be hard if if that's what you choose to do.
SPEAKER_01So, and I guess I want to really make sure that we're just highlighting it's not necessarily that you have to get out and talk about your business. It really is get out and make some kind of connection. You know, it's really hard if you're only willing to talk about service level things. So I think it's a lot more important instead of like, hey, how are you doing? And then the typical American says, Oh, you know, just really busy. Like that conversation is is worthless at the end of the day. That was wasted breath for and time for both of you. So instead, try to come up, and if you Google, there's 800 different things to say, but try to come up with a handful of like questions you feel comfortable asking people. Um, if someone tells me it's been a hard week, I would say, Oh, yeah, what was it that you tackled? Tell me more about that. Just the simple say more is always a really good thing to rely on. If you can get the other person talking to you, they're gonna feel more connected to you. So I don't want you to walk away from this podcast, join some nonprofit group, start going, and then like day one, get frustrated because you didn't get a lead. The lead is something that comes after six, nine, 12 months of being in these groups and being consistent. And then the other thing that I really want to highlight is if you're not visible in the group, it's not gonna pay off. You get out of it what you put into it. So the very second you have an opportunity to raise your hand and do something, join the board or head up a committee or whatever it looks like, you should be doing that. The more people that you're in front of and the more you help the group, the more they want to help you. It's it's a tit for tat. So yeah, but if you're sitting here telling me you have no business, you should have plenty of time.
SPEAKER_00You've always told me if you lean into something, you might as well go all in and and try to be part of the leadership and try to just put yourself out there to the full potential.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, why show up to every single lunchtime meeting for Rotary and not add the one extra hour a month to join the board? You know, like that doesn't make sense. It's like, no, just lean into it. Just give the 10% extra because that will typically get you a ton more return on your time.
SPEAKER_00So I think that's exactly why new advisors coming into the industry. It's important to listen to this and understand if you start now, the conversation in two years that you're having is either going to be my business is doing great and I have referrals and it's growing, or if you wait two years to do it, you're just gonna put yourself back a couple of years because it takes 12 months to two years to really grow.
SPEAKER_01It does for sure. And and for all the moms out there that are like, and I'm specifically talking to women for a reason, all the moms out there that are like, I have a different full-time job, I'm trying to grow this, and I have kids. You can combine the situations. There is no reason these need to be separate. So, number one, join your school, your kids' school PTA, sponsor a booth, right? Like we had this cute little Christmas thing, and they had these like photo ops. And I was like, why don't we sell sponsorships to those PS, I'd like to sponsor all three of them. So then we had a little sign like, Welcome to the Candyland by the Travel Birds or whatever in front of each. You can do those things at every school wants money. If you offer it, they will find somewhere to put your name and logo somewhere. But if you show up to more and more of those events and they get to know, oh yeah, you're Layla's mom, oh yeah, you're Layla's mom, all of a sudden again, it's putting the time in. So you don't have to do something outside your kids and you don't have to do something necessarily outside your other job. When I first started, uh, the majority of my clients were people I worked with. Like I was open with my boss about what I was doing. I was really excited about it. And because she loved and cared for me, she encouraged me to do it. And if you have a boss that doesn't encourage you to do something that makes you very happy, we should be evaluating that situation anyway.
SPEAKER_00Which is probably why they're here, right? Right. I I mean, I agree. Bartending, it was a great way for me to have conversations, get in front of people, and I definitely brought being a travel advisor into bartending. With the kids though bird, I'll tell you, with Jasper on this go-around, I think it's gonna be a lot different. I could not imagine 15 years ago being part of PTO, but I was young. So I don't know. I'm gonna give it a go this year. Kindergarten starts in September, so wish me luck.
SPEAKER_01Um, I will, you'll be very proud of me, Haley. I had my application all filled out to do one of the VP roles on the PTA this year. And I was like, I'm not gonna do it. I'm not gonna, I do not have that time. I am not gonna do it. And I pulled back, and my husband was literally like, I would have beaten you.
SPEAKER_00Like that's not an option. Imagine if. Um, yeah, I mean, find a good role that you truly like and go all in on that one thing. So I think it was probably why she pulled that bird. You're you're doing a lot all the time, right?
SPEAKER_01It was also something where I was like, not now, you know, like it's a hell yes for me, but it's not a hell yes right now because we're so invested in making sure that Sava Travel is so supported and has a really good foundation under it and we're growing so fast right now. Like that's the focus. But my kids in kindergarten. I've got years. My oldest is in kindergarten, right? I've got years to run the PTA and I'll get there, but it's not, you know, it was not this year. And I was glad to find it. Um, glad to find that boundary because I am often somebody that struggles with that. So if you're hearing this and you're struggling with boundaries, like you do have to say no to things sometimes, and that's okay as well.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you sure do. I just said no to bartending for this summer bird, which usually I'm all about it. It's great. I find clients from it, but I said, you know what? I just don't have the time for it this year. So I just am not gonna be able to do it.
SPEAKER_01So proud of you. Look at us.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Thank you for coming along here.
SPEAKER_01Also, I the last thing that I'll say about the the networking aspect is again, take your mindset out of networking where you have to stand up and be like, my name's Bird, and this is what I do, and here's my three fucking fun facts. Like, that's the worst. You know, if if you are at an event and you're genuinely not having a good time, leave that event. It's okay. You want to find something that you're having a great time at and you're excited about it and you're finding value about it that is not for your business. Because if you're finding value out of being in that environment outside of travel, the bus the travel business will come. So I want you to leave this podcast and leave this time today thinking, what am I gonna do for myself that will help me meet other people? That's all you need to think about. It should not be what's my elevator pitch, what am I gonna say? How am I gonna introduce people? How am I gonna afford the yearly? You know, a lot of them have yearly dues and that like, how am I gonna find people that I like to meet that will like me?
SPEAKER_00That's what you should find other people who want to meet new people too. That's all you have to do. Yep. Yes. Awesome. Any other final thoughts, Byrne?
SPEAKER_01Just go do it. Just stop sitting in your house. You're not gonna meet clients sitting in front of your computer. I will also say, block off time on the calendar to do it. As Haley said earlier, it takes a lot of research to find the right thing for you. So if it's not this week, block off some time next week and say, Hey, I'm gonna spend 30 minutes just Googling some groups in my area, something that I like. I'm gonna spend some time with ChatGPT because all the things Bird mentioned today, none of those excite me. So I'm gonna tell ChatGPT here's all the things that do excite me. And I want to get out and meet more people. What kind of groups should I be looking for? And let it spit out some options for you, right? I don't think everyone's like me. So you got to find the thing that's for you, but it accomplishes the same thing. All I want to accomplish is I want to meet new people.
SPEAKER_00Or surround yourself by somebody like Bird. And then eventually you'll have no choice. Right.
SPEAKER_01She'll just be like, here's some friends. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00This is what it is. I love it. No, that's that's great. I think great episode. So basically, everyone listening, close laptop, open your network, show up, lean in. The sooner you do it, the sooner you're going to be talking about the success in your travel business. So I wish you all luck. Please keep us posted. Go to our Facebook page, travel agent guide. I would love for you to share some feedback on your networking. Let us know what you're doing. I would love to hear it. I would love to support you. Um, so please do that. Talk to y'all soon. Bye.