Start a Home Travel Business and Profit From the Multi-Billion Dollar Online Travel Industry

Yes, it is true. You can make money online working from home and can actually make a lot of money if you work hard, stay focused and execute. You can build a home travel business and live the Internet lifestyle you always dreamed of by operating an online home travel business. This article will put to rest any misgivings you may have had about starting an online travel business. I will not sugar coat it. In fact much of what I have to say will probably cause an up-roar in some parts of the online travel industry. I am aiming to tell it like it is.

The TRUTH!
Who really Makes Money in Online Travel. The truth is that you can't really make a lot of money reselling other businesses travel products. This statement is directed towards the home-based travel agent market. Yes, its easy to get started as a home-based travel agent and the online travel agencies can provide you with your own personalized white label branded website, including quality customer support but in the end you are NOT building a business, you are only paying yourself a salary.

Don't be fooled.

I am amazed at the amount of junk that there is online out there catering to the make money online from home crowd, touting selling travel as the route to freedom and riches. This truth is probably the most important fact anyone will ever tell you if you are just thinking about entering the online travel business. Let me repeat this for you one more time.

It is difficult to become rich and build a company reselling other companies travel products. You can become rich over time by building a business that sells your own uniquely branded travel products. You can get rich and build a business if you "own the travel product."

Owning the travel product means that you are contracting directly with travel suppliers under your company's own contracts, you are not just reselling a travel product owned by another travel business, tour operator, travel agency or travel consolidator. Your business creates the travel product by doing deals directly with travel suppliers. Your contracts with the travel suppliers become your businesses own unique inventory for the travel products you will be selling. The new travel product becomes your own brand. Your online travel business sells the travel product directly to consumers online or wholesales it too other travel agencies, travel agents, tour operators and resellers.

The Home based Travel Agent Dilemma.
I know I am opening up a can of worms here by disclosing this information but it's really the truth. My intent is not to knock anyone down but to provide insight into how the online travel business really works and to show you WHO is really making the money and how you can make real money by deciding from the get go to actually build a business.

Yes, if you want to make $20,000-$50,000 working from home then reselling cruises or popular travel products will be the best option for you but if you want to make real money, six or seven figures and you want to build a business that has real tangible value and can be sold later then you need to develop and sell your own travel products.

The Internet is NOT causing Travel Agencies too shut down.
I believe that the main reason that brick and mortar travel agencies are closing is not because of the Internet but because all they are really doing is reselling other companies travel products. The Internet contributed to the destruction of the traditional brick and mortar travel agency but the biggest factor in the down fall of travel agencies and travel agents in the travel industry is due to the fact that they are not selling anything unique or different from anyone else. It's really a business model established to fail in the long run.

How do you own your own travel product? You can own your own travel product in two different ways.

1. Your business acts as a travel supplier providing tours, guiding, travel and tourism related activities or you own a lodging property.
2. Your business partners with two or more travel suppliers to resell their individual travel products under a unique package that you own.

What type of Online Travel Business do I need to start where I can own my own travel product, sell packages and build a real business?

-Online Travel Agency
-Online Tour Operator
-Online Tour Guide
-Online Travel Broker
-Receptive Tour Operator
-the Hybrid

Let's discuss a little about each type. There are many directions you can go.

OTAs or Online Travel Agencies traditionally sell everything underneath the sun; including lodging, air, cars, vacation packages, and much more. On a hierarchy level of all online travel businesses, this would be the most expensive and most challenging type of online business to start. It's doable don't get me wrong it would just take much longer and be more expensive to startup.

If you second tier niche and focus on contracting your own lodging deals and contracting with activity suppliers you could easily build a smaller more focused OTA. Another option would be for you to utilize the Global Distribution System (GDS) for air, car and for lodging that you could not contract yourself. I don't recommend this last option as you'll be just reselling product you don't own but as long as you can combine the non-owned GDS products with your own contracted travel products you could create a nice win-win for the bottom line.

Online Tour Operator's sell dynamically packaged trips and pre-packaged trips to vacationers. I believe building an online tour operator business is your best option at building a successful online travel business.

Now let me first state that the name is a little miss conceiving because of the word "Tour." There is a big difference from a tour and a trip. On a tour there usually is a tour guide or person leading the tour with the travel participants. On a trip the traveler is traveling by themselves or with other people but there is no tour guide involved. In the travel business they call this a FIT trip, Drive vacation or Fly-Drive package.

I favor selling trips, where the traveler buys a tour or trip product then attends the trip by themselves on their own time. The reason being for this is two parts.

1. You don't have to be the tour guide and you don't have to hire one either.
2. You have 100% more freedom by not actually participating in the tour itself. Just think of the time involved of actually going on a tour with a group or individual people.

We operated tours when my wife and I owned the Yellow Breeches House Fly Fishing Lodge and B&B. We ran fly fishing excursions with lodging and guiding. Guess who was one of the guides? Yes, you got it. Yours truly. I would not change the past for anything. I learned so much from being a fly fishing guide and owning a lodging property. I just wouldn't want to run that type of business again. There are much better travel business models out there. That's part of the beauty about this report is that I am able to share some true life, realities for you.

Sell Trips not Tours. This is the most important thing I can tell you regarding wanting to live the Internet life style and working from home enjoying the freedom that comes from owning your own online travel company. You won't be living any Internet lifestyle if every week you are giving tours.

Online Tour Guide's provide tours to individuals and or groups. If I didn't scare you off from above that's ok, the tour guide business is a great business and it's easy to get started with limited investment. This is a great business to enter the travel business and starting learning about how to build a business.

If you love dealing with people and spending much of your time outside then this is probably the best travel business for you. This is serious work, day-in-and-day-out, as you are always outside in the elements. This travel business could be a stepping-stone for you to then go ahead and build an online tour operator business. I have a really good friend that owns a kayaking guide service. He runs eco-adventures that include island hoping for three to five nights. He just loves it.

Let me share a little strategy with you that will totally change the way you build or grow your existing tour guide business. Hopefully by now you'll already see it and be way ahead of me but if not here it is.

Create packages for your tour guide business that includes lodging, meals and your guide or tour service. You probably sell trips, guiding and or tours as an hourly or day product. Take the next step and package in lodging and meals and maybe a third activity. Sell packages to your clients and you will super-charge your revenue in a very big way.

Example:
Take an existing kayak guide that sells day trips for $250 for 2 people. Now create overnight packages. Create a new product line for your business.

1. Contract with a lodging supplier to buy lodging for your kayak packages.
2. Contract with two local restaurants to buy dinners for your kayak packages.
3. Sell a 2 night, 1-day kayak excursion, with 2-dinners. Make money off the lodging, dinners and a 3rd activity and you can seriously start adding more profits to your business.

Online Travel Broker - this is a new business category I stumbled upon. I believe this is a type of business you could start with literally no money. It's just a matter of understanding the travel business. Here is how an online travel broker operates.

Every travel supplier needs sales representatives. Your travel broker business contracts with travel suppliers to represent their business and help them sell more of their travel products. Many smaller travel businesses don't have sales representatives. This may be your entry into the online travel business industry.

Let's say you live in a resort town or area and there are 4 golf courses nearby or 3 ski resorts. You represent the travel supplier's products, finding larger partners and or resellers that would resell or distribute your client's products. This business is just a matter of finding other travel suppliers that need sales representatives and finding larger companies looking for new travel products to sell and distribute. You make money by earning a percentage of all future sales booked or earn a flat fee per contract you sign. This would be a great way to enter the travel business as a part-time business. You could start with not much investment and build out slowly.

Receptive Tour Operators receive inbound travelers from foreign countries. This is a B2B business (business-to-business). You build an Online Tour Operator business but you don't sell your travel products directly to consumers or vacationers online, you sell your owned travel products to wholesalers or other tour operators in foreign countries that then resell them directly to travel agencies and the consumers in their country. If you live in a world- renowned destination area or region where foreigners come visit you can build a successful receptive tour operator business. The receptive tour operator business takes longer to develop as the buyers of your travel products will be other travel companies, tour operators and seasoned travel business won't necessarily want to do business with a company that is new or just in startup mode. Adversity can be overcome though, through focus, determination and having an owned travel product that a wholesaler or foreign tour operator believes he can sell and make money.

The Hybrid - build an Online Tour Operator business that caters to individual vacation travelers. After the business starts selling trips and or tours, start building a Receptive Tour Operator business component.

I hope you have enjoyed a little insight into the world and possibilities of the online travel business and what it will take to start a home travel business.

You can get my FREE 35-page report called SECRETS of the online travel business. It has been downloaded by hundreds of people and business across the world and it will give you a huge advantage as you review and discover the opportunities of running your own Home Travel Business. I have built and sold two travel business both working from my home. My businesses have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, on CNBC TV, and many other major media outlets. Online Travel Business SECRETS report

Matt Zito delivers travel marketing strategies, business building ideas, insight and thoughts about the travel and tourism business at Travel Business Profits. Matt Zito-Travel Business Profits

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18 Essential Tips That Get Businesses Sold Fast & For Top Dollar

For most people, selling their business means cashing in their biggest asset. In other words, in must be handled with great care if you hope to protect and capitalize on your investment.

This guide was written with one goal in mind; to give you the tools you need to maximize your profits, maintain control, and reduce stress that comes with the business selling process.

1. Know why you are selling. The reason you look closely at why you want to sell is that your motivations play an important role in the process. They affect everything from setting a price to deciding, when is the right time to sell your business.

For example, what's more important to you: the money you walk away with, or the length of time your business is on the market? If your goal is a quick sale, that can dictate one kind of approach. If you want to maximize your profit, the sales process will almost certainly take longer.

2. Once you know why you are selling, keep it to yourself. Your reasons will affect how you negotiate the sale of your business, but they shouldn't be given as ammunition to the person who wants to buy it. For example, a prospective buyer who knows you must move quickly has you at their mercy in the negotiation process.

3. Do your homework before setting a price. Settling on an offering price shouldn't be done lightly. Do not try to sell your business without having it priced correctly and knowing how that price was derived. Even though the final price will be decided on whether you decide to take all cash or elect to participate in financing some of the purchase price, you will need to have a starting point that has some substance and basis to it. Too many people decide to sell their business, advertise it and then expect the buyer to know what it is worth. Most of the time they don't sell their business, because they are unprepared and if they do manage to sell their business they may sell it for less money than what it was really worth. Don't make these mistakes. Be prepared.

Once you've set your price, you've told buyers the absolute maximum they have to pay for your business. The trick for the seller is to get a selling price as close to the true value of the business as possible. If you start out pricing to high, prospective buyers might not take you seriously. A price to low can result in selling for much less than you hoped for.

Ask a business broker to do a valuation of your business based on the current market for your kind of business. A knowledgeable business broker will have the information and tools available to give you a current market valuation.

4. Find a good business broker. The majority of the people who sell their own business say they wouldn't do it themselves again. Sellers surveyed point to difficulties in setting a price, marketing handicaps and liability concerns among the primary reasons they would turn to a business broker next time. And selling a business yourself usually eats up more time and effort than you might initially expect. Plus the concern that when you are dealing directly with a buyer you are in an adversarial situation. As the old saying goes, "Do what you do best in your profession and let the professionals do what they do best".

Once you understand how much work it will be to sell the business yourself, talk to a business broker you trust, even if you decide to strike out on your own. At least you will have a relationship with a broker if problems do arise that requires professional help.

If you decide to work with a business broker contact two or three. Explain to each that you're thinking about putting your business on the market and you'd like to meet to talk about pricing and marketing. By having this group "evaluation" done, you should end up with a fairly tight price range to help guide your decision. The business broker who is substantially higher or lower than the group should be able to justify their valuation. Just as you should be concerned about to low of a price, beware of a broker who gives you the highest price, they may be trying to buy your listing.

A good business broker knows the market. They will supply you with information on past sales, a marketing plan, something on their background, and references from past clients. Take the time to carefully evaluate candidates on the basis of their experience, qualifications, enthusiasm, and personality. More importantly, make sure you choose someone who's going to put in a lot of hard work on your behalf.

5. Give yourself room to negotiate. Make sure you leave yourself enough room in which to bargain. If what you ask for is unacceptable to the buyer, and their first offering is unacceptable to you, then you better make sure you have someplace to go that it is acceptable to you.

Start with the absolute minimum price you would accept, and then pick the price you'd get if the world were perfect. This gives you your range to keep in mind when working with your business broker to negotiate the sale.

In setting your asking price review your priorities. Do you want to maximize your profit or sell quickly? You'll price high for the former and closer to market value if the latter is the case.

The rule of thumb when selling a business is, if a buyer is going to pay all cash for a business the business will generally sell for lower than the asking price. However, if the seller is willing to carry some of the financing in the form of a note, with the buyer paying a substantial down payment, the seller is more likely to get a sale price much closer to the asking price.

6. Rely on other people's judgment as well as your own. The key to effective marketing is knowing your products good and bad points. In the case of your business, accentuating the good can mean a faster sale for more money; failing to deal with the bad can mean months on market and a lower than desired sales price.

The biggest mistake you can make at this point is to solely rely on your own judgment. Are your books and records in order? Do your tax returns and profit and loss statements show the same gross sales? If your books and records in good order, and if they show an upward trend in sales and profits this will help you to achieve the sales price you are asking for.

After a business broker has reviewed your books, records, tax statements, and inspected the business, ask them what needs to be corrected. An experienced broker will not be bashful on sharing with you the pluses and minuses of your business.

7. Fix everything no matter how insignificant it may occur. Don't have unnecessary equipment or fixtures sitting around. Nor do you want non-functional equipment or fixtures, on site for the buyer to observe.

They might be minor annoyance to you, but they can also be deal killers. The problem is that you never know what will turn a buyer off. Even something minor that's gone unattended can suggest that perhaps there are bigger, less visible problems present as well. Don't leave the door open for possible deal killing items that may surface after price and terms have already been negotiated.

8. Let your business shine. I am sure you have heard the old clique that you only get one chance to make a first impression? Well, the first impression that your business gives a buyer will set the tone and mood for any future consideration that a buyer may have in pursuing the acquisition of your business. Do not stumble when making a first impression.

Present your business in it's best light. Have prepared and be willing to use a business profile. What is a business profile? A business profile tells a story about the business. It is a short story that is written answering the basic questions about the business, such as the history and background of the business, where the business is located, the amenities of the location, the physical assets, the operations, employees, working conditions, possible competition, skill level sought, owners reason for selling, the offering, price and terms and financial statements. You may ask why do I need all of this? Well, these are the same questions you would ask if you were buying a business. Well, you say why I am going to tell a buyer all of this? Because people will believe the written word before they will believe everything you are going to tell them. Plus most of the time they are either not going to be paying attention or forget to ask some of these questions and will want the answers to these questions sooner or later. It also gives the buyer a reference tool to refer to and discuss with any of the other parties involved in the purchase of the business. To many times I have seen people try to sell their business without any details of the business in written form. As a matter of fact when they talk to one person they tell them one thing and when they talk to a second person they will tell them something different forgetting to inform the buyer of the information needed to sell the business.

9. Disclose everything. Smart sellers proactively go above and beyond the laws to disclose all known defects to their buyers. If the buyer knows about a problem, he can't come back with a lawsuit later on.

10. The prospects, the better. By maximizing your businesses marketability, you'll increase your chances of attracting more than one prospective buyer. Why is this better? Because several buyers compete with each other; instead of a single buyer competing with you.

11. Don't get emotional during negotiations. The extent of most people's experience in the art of negotiation begins and ends at their local auto dealership. Few of us have pleasant memories of haggling with a car salesman. Just let go of the emotion you've invested in your business and approach negotiations in a businesslike manner, then you'll find the process to be a lot less painful. In fact, you might even enjoy it and you'll definitely have an advantage over prospective buyers who get caught up in the emotion of the situation.

Remember; "never fall in love with a business, because a business can't love you back." You may have grown the business from its inception to a thriving business, but it's still just a business.

12. Know your buyer. In the negotiation process, your objective is to control the pace and set the duration. The better you know your buyer, the more easily you can maintain control.

As a rule buyers want the best business they can afford for the least amount of money. Knowing specifically what motivates your buyer enables you to negotiate more effectively. Maybe your buyer needs to move quickly, or maybe the maximum amount he can spend is just a little below you're asking price. Knowing this information puts you in a better bargaining position.

13. Find out what the buyer can pay. As soon as possible, try to find out the amount of money the buyer is willing to invest and the size of their down payment. If you are dealing with a qualified business broker, they will be able to eliminate the "lookers" from the buyers. If the buyer makes a low offer, question the buyer about their ability to really pay what your business is worth.

14. Find out when the buyer would like to close. When a buyer would like to close is often when they need to close. Knowing this gives you his deadline for completing negotiations--again, an advantage in negotiations

15. Don't give yourself a deadline. Forcing yourself to sell by a certain date adds unnecessary pressure and puts you at a serious disadvantage in negotiations.

16. Don't take a low offer personally. The first offer may invariably be below what you know the buyer will end up paying for your business. Don't get angry or feel insulted; evaluate the offer objectively. Make sure it spells out the offering price, adequate earnest money, amount of down payment, mortgage amount and terms, (if you are to be carrying a note), the closing date and any special request. Now you have a point from which you can negotiate.

17. A really low offer may mean the buyer is not qualified. If you feel an offer is inadequate, now would be good time to make sure the buyer has is qualified and is capable of an opportunity of this size. Ask how they arrived at the figure, then suggest that they get additional information or contact a broker to establish what businesses are selling for in your marketplace.

18. Don't take a low ball offer seriously. An unacceptable a low offer should not be taken personally or seriously. Rather, it should be countered, even with the slightest reductions in your asking price. This lets a buyer know that their first offer isn't seen as a very serious one.

If this all sound like a lot of work, it is. But it's to be expected when you're selling anything of such great value. And you'll thank yourself for all expense and hard work when the outcome works to your satisfaction.

Terry Monroe is a Professional Intermediary, with achievement degrees in Entrepreneurship, Education, Law, Accounting, Finance, Operations, Management and Psychology and author of "The Art of Buying and Selling a Convenience Store". He is also the founder and President of American Business Brokers. To receive a Free report on on how to increase sales or maximize the sale of your business go to http://www.TerryMonroe.com.

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Pressure Is Building For A Big Move In The Aussie Dollar

Another month chalked up on the wall, and not much has changed for the little Aussie battler. It is trading around 1.05, just as it was when we last had a look (back on 26 May here) – but the pressure is building for a break one way or another…

All things considered, it has held up remarkably well. From all reports, its been central bank buying that has provided the support – everyone from the Chinese, to the Middle East, to South America, to Eastern Europe have been said to be on the bid.

The question then is who has been doing the selling?

One answer is hedge funds that have been taking advantage of the relative strength to exit long positions. We can see that open interest on the Aussie dollar futures contract has fallen back from its highs:

 

And that its been the leveraged accounts that have been closing out positions:

Historically, hedge funds have a reasonable track record in anticipating the changes in currents in foreign exchange markets. Hence the weakness in the money flow index as derived off the futures markets bears watching.

 

Still there’s no denying a central bank with a large cash balance if they have a mind to buy a currency whatever the price – barring a full blown currency crisis Bank of England 1992 style. Couple this with the anticipated inflows that are expected to support the capital spending commitments over the next 12 months and you can make a pretty convincing case for the Aussie dollar to revisit its highs. It could even break to news highs if a global government of substance decided to get the cheque book out again.

Without additional government stimulus however I remain positioned for more downside. Risk markets are showing a distinct unwillingness to embrace a world without monetary support. If the central bank bid were to step back, then I think we can expect a stop loss frenzy on a break of 1.0475.

 

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See Also:

• The Bank Of Australia Talks Its Book On Commodity Prices

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