Life In The Service Industry

The title "Service Industry" is a broad and encompassing term that includes business enterprises ranging from courier and delivery to the high tech industry; from the grocery to the gas station to the hospital and all businesses in between. Obviously, various business ventures are geared to present their wares to particular clients and customers but they all have a common thread - service to their clientele. This "service" may be excellent or it may be horrendous. In these articles we will explore the concepts of service and repercussions of the good, the mediocre and the bad with the intention of improving the service commitment of the readers to their customer.

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS

My personal background in the service industry is in the telecommunications field. Beginning my career in 1970 with the Bell System before Divestiture, I left after the government forced the breakup of Ma Bell and have been in the private business world of telecommunications ever since.

During the early years of my career I was taught the importance of customer service and maintaining the correct relationship to customers. Two of the Bell System's top priorities were "safety" and "customer service"; safety for the employees and service for the customer which included a high quality in the standard of work practices and ethic.

Becoming a business owner, I was introduced to business world situations that a novice could never have dreamed of and it is always rewarding to work through them. I believe that our strong commitment to service excellence is what has carried our company for 22 years. The service excellence ethic that I had been taught and conformed to was easily incorporated into my business. Instilling this ethic into the hearts of technicians that haven't come from that environment has always been the challenge. Some get it and make great team members. We all agree that everyone in our business has basically the same products and pricing. What sets us apart is our commitment to our customer's needs when they need us.

THE QUEST FOR SERVICE EXCELLENCE

The particular industry with which you are connected doesn't matter. The concepts that we will discuss remain valid for all with the result being to safely provide a quality product to your customer and make a profit in the process.

When we hear the word "service" in the context of the business world, it brings to mind someone providing a desired product, tangible or not, to someone else. This product should be designed to bring satisfaction to the customer and bring them to the point of willingly rendering legal tender to the provider. When it all works properly, the customer is satisfied with the product and the provider makes a reasonable profit and is able to comfortably seek another customer and not be apprehensive to invite former customers back.

Of course, I have just explained free enterprise and what happens when the system is employed properly. The proper understanding of providing service to customers and clients makes the American economy tick. The misunderstanding of providing customer service makes consumers sick.

May I say up front that making a profit is not a sin to be shunned but is the backbone of free enterprise. The potential of owning a profitable business keeps the entrepreneur focused on his goals and this in turn provides jobs to the economy. As in anything else in this world, overindulgence and the extravagant and unnecessary profit by taking advantage of others is wrong. But the enjoyment of a reasonable profit for a business will keep that business alive and healthy for you, the customer to return and claim that great product again.

IT ALL BEGINS WITH ATTITUDE

A Service Manager who I know told his boss, "We have spoiled our customers!" The boss said, "Yes, we want every one of them to think that we have our tools in hand and our hand on the doorknob just waiting for their call." That's the service attitude it takes.

In our next posts we will discuss Service Attitude, Performance, Leadership and Stories and Experiences of the sometimes roller coaster ride and never dull life in the service business.

LIFE IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY PART 2

IT ALL BEGINS WITH ATTITUDE

Providing great customer service starts when you get up each day. It begins with ATTITUDE. I don't believe this is just a simple cliché. The life you live each day begins with an attitude of some kind. Abraham Lincoln said words to the effect that a man is just about as happy as he makes up his mind to be. I have seen that to be true with a service mindset also. You can allow situations to occupy your thinking or you can put those aside, concentrate on providing properly for your customer and then pick them up later at an appropriate time. Don't worry. They will be there waiting for you.

We know that most days are filled with challenges of all kinds. Employees, schedules, equipment breakdowns, customer complaints...the list goes on. So if you know at the outset this is going to be the usual day, why begin in a grumpy mood? You already have a head start on it by knowing what to expect, so make it a positive. You are only making your day more difficult if you dwell on the negative that will come. Be tenacious as you greet each new challenge. When you work through it to success, your reward of satisfaction will be awesome; and if a customer witnesses your positive approach to their problem, you will raise your value with them.

A good example from our industry is when a customer is having problems with one of their service providers, i.e. local phone company, internet or long distance provider. Many times they can't relate the problem they are having properly and talk the tech language that is required. The customer is always relieved when we step in, spend the time with the support group and follow the trouble ticket to completion. We assure them that we will take care of the situation and that they can get back to doing what they do best in their business.

Sales turnaround specialist Lou Ludwig says, "If we don't wow them, it's likely that we won't do business with them...this is not a casual occurrence, it's a planned and consistent activity." Looking for ways to "wow" customers should be a daily exercise. Many times the seemingly insignificant things will speak the loudest to customers.

Another example from our experience is brought to mind. More than once we have been congratulated on leaving our work area like we found it or in better condition. We have all seen cluttered, dirty closets where communications equipment is located. That closet may not have been swept in the last 10 years, but when we left it was clean. For the observant customer, this speaks volumes about who we are.

Now, relate these examples to your personal industry. How can you perform a little better and provide a "wow" for your next customer? Maybe an extra special greeting to them when they walk in; maybe a little something additional added at no cost to their purchase; maybe asking them how their family is. One wise man said, "Everyone walks through life with a sign around their neck that says 'make me feel important'." If we can make that customer feel that they are important to us, they will be back time and time again.

I once employed a technician that was not a very good technician. However, he had the people skills that a service company should fervently seek. Customers loved him and even stood up for him when he needed to be reprimanded on a particular job. And they insisted that I and my service manager get to the bottom of the problem, because it certainly could not be the technician's fault. So, we reworked the job and solved the problem without pressing the issue. The customer relationship was worth more than the immediate understanding of where the blame actually lay.

Are you attacking each day with a great customer service attitude? Is your priority to provide service excellence or just to make a profit? These two goals go hand in hand, and I believe the attitude of customer service comes first. If you are striving daily to provide the quality product that your customer desires, you are stretching a long way toward continuing to build a profitable business.

So, as the old song says, "Put on a happy face" and enjoy providing the service that you are capable of.

This will bring us next time to performance. You can say it all day long, but you must do it!

LIFE IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY - PART 3

Performance

Performance is the key to your longevity in business. If you are in business, then you have put your reputation on the line as a performer that can get the job done. As you continually prove to your customers that you can perform, they will beat a trail back to your door when they need the service or product you provide. If you do not perform and have an unconcerned attitude for performing, then fold your tent, it's just a matter of time.

Over the years I have been a witness to many varied personalities and attitudes in the service industry. Here are some examples:

1 - I have seen megalomaniacs who wanted everyone to know that they were God's gift to their field of expertise. One such technician worked for me. He was a very intelligent person but could not perform when it came to customer or other employee relations. When I finally terminated him he was completely offended and questioned my decision, as he put it, "You don't want to work with me anymore?" This was after I had presented 2 pages of customer complaints that had been discussed previously to no avail. He just couldn't get past his own greatness. To my dismay, I waited too long to get this done and lost some business in the process.

Another such individual was a business owner. He was a friend and a very intelligent person. But his visions of grandeur about who he was became a flaw that he could not overcome and led to his company's collapse because of his non performance with his customers.

These types of individuals are not willing to do whatever it takes to perform and provide customer service. In their world they are right every time and in all situations, and this leads to a less than acceptable performance level.

2 - On the other hand, I have seen people enter the workforce with no background in our business and become outstanding service performers because they realized that the most important aspect of our business is our customer. As we said last time, it all begins with attitude. The attitude to learn the business and perform for the customer is a gold mine for a small business owner when he finds this individual.

One young man came from the retail industry as a store manager. He had no technical background or computer skills. My concern was how he would acclimate to the high tech world. His attitude and customer skills propelled him to eventually be our service manager, overseeing a team of technical service performers daily.

We have all had less than desirable experiences with service providers. Maybe it does not bother you as it does me or maybe you're not as sensitive to it as I. But when I see a waitperson or technician or delivery driver, etc with a frown or a trite attitude it really affects me in a negative way.

I realize that the situations in people's lives are many and varied and can very easily become outwardly expressed in facial and voice expression. But this is what we have been discussing; you must get past this and concentrate on your customer for the long haul. They have problems too. Don't provide an outlet in attitude and/or body language that potentially will ruin that relationship.

When a customer has a need, the good service performer goes to work to fill that need. If it's a product, they will provide it; if it's a service, they will get it accomplished; if it is working through a problem, their mindset will be, "It ain't over until I win!" The businesses that employ people with these attitudes will perform and be recognized as the best in their industry.

In the best seller Good to Great, Jim Collins writes, "When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magic alchemy of great performance." This is the prescription for maximum performance; the discipline of service excellence and the strong commitment to the work ethic. Mix them together and be proud of your service performance.

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Industry Case Studies - How Inbound Call Center Services Can Benefit Your Company

Call centers are devoted to handling a large volume of incoming calls, but inbound call center services include more than taking caller messages-they literally function as a customer service department and extension of your business. Inbound call center services include gathering information for order processing, checking order status, and providing answers to any questions customers might have about offered services and products, and more. Also consider that it's not just traditional order-placing businesses that benefit from inbound services-many other companies rely on inbound call center services to gather both specific and complex information from callers and potential customers in order to make sales and sell services.

Inbound Call Center Services: Bankruptcy Counseling

When declaring bankruptcy, an individual must complete both a pre-filing and post-filing bankruptcy counseling session to receive their confirmation certificate. These services are often available online and accessible 24/7 as courses to be completed on a company website. Bankruptcy counseling companies also provide a number for questions that can be answered by an inbound service providers, who are available at all times to answer any bankruptcy related questions and provide general assistance. Inbound call services for bankruptcy counseling businesses also record and collect all information as is appropriate so the necessary certifications can be filed on behalf of customers, making things easier for both parties-the business and the customer.

Inbound Call Center Services: Emergency Related Businesses

Inbound call center services are crucial for emergency related businesses, specifically the food-service industry and restaurants.Call centers specialize in responding to customer calls and coordinating necessary repairs rapidly. When emergency calls reach an inbound service provider, agents follow instructions provided to reach an appropriate contact, then arrange for a repair time while coordinating with the customer and seeing the repair process through to completion. Technicians also benefit from these services-for the heating and air conditioning industry, callers report an emergency and inbound agents reassure that the problem is being addressed. Then, a technician is dispatched or a future appointment is booked. The same services are available for pest control, animal control, seasonal emergencies, and more.

Inbound Call Center Services: Apartment Hunting and Online Businesses

Online businesses offering membership benefits to individuals also profit from inbound call center services. Apartment hunters, for example, pay monthly fees to receive information related to apartment hunting, as it becomes available. Online businesses providing these services include a toll-free number for visitors to call if they have questions or need assistance paying online or gaining membership-in many cases businesses accept payment over the phone. When inbound agents receive phone calls, they go beyond providing customer service, acquiring new leads, and sales closing, they also address caller questions and follow specific instructions as provided by you-callers are encouraged to sign up for services, become members, and agents work to finalize sales.

Inbound call center services are capable of covering a wide variety of business needs across many industries, and agents are able to customize services to accommodate a company's specific requirements, information, and customer-service.

Designed to handle a high volume of calls professionally, inbound agents receive the training necessary to provide exceptional customer service, recover information quickly, and dispatch individuals as is appropriate, as well as capture new leads, close sales, provide helpful information, and follow any instructions or methods you recommend and provide. Inbound services work to fully understand your business, to provide that level of understanding and customer service to customers. Learn more about the kind of support your business needs to grow and how inbound services can increase potential client conversion rates, with professional call services and both customized and cost effective solutions.

Erica Ronchetti is a freelance writer for Alert Communications. Alert has over 10 years or experience answering phones for small businesses and companies all over the nation. We will save you time, money, and help to grow your practice.Costs of hiring a receptionist can be enormous, and the costs of missing phone calls can be even higher.Our inbound call center services solve both of these problems by reducing employment costs, and answering the phones for you with the utmost professionalism and courtesy. For more information on Call center service CA (California) visit our website.

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The Party Industry - Service is Golden

The party services industry is a broad and large industry that encompasses services from the likes of party planners, inflatable rentals, tent rentals, children entertainers, clown service, table and chair rentals, videographer and photography service, catering service, concession machine rentals, DJ service and more. As large as the industry is and as many services as it encompasses, it still has one thing in common, it is in the service industry. This means that all companies provide a service, an intangible good to consumers. The quality of the service determines the quality of the company and its image to consumers. Just like the quality of products for retailers and manufacturers determine the success of the business, the quality of service determines the success of a service company. So what must you do to improve your company's image and service?

Every company must have a mission, goal, or objective in the endeavor. The company's corporate culture, along with the mission, goal, or objective, must be represented by every member in the organization. The members of the company and the quality of service they provide represent the company to the customer. This can be the customer service representative, the manager, the delivery personnel, or even the attendant service the cotton candy. Every direct line of communication is important and must be coherent in its level of quality and service. Yes it is difficult to align all members of an organization to provide the same level of service since individuals are different and act differently. However, managers and executives should seek to identify the levels of direct communication between the company and the customer, what information is passed, how communication is done, and how company representatives can be trained or directed to providing a service that's coherent to the company.

Customers view individuals within a service-oriented company as being the image of the company, and therefore it is important to create a corporate culture that establishes practices and rules for everyone to adhere to. Creating a corporate culture and mission for the company can be important for everyone to know, and it can help identify what the company's goals and objectives are. Without an established framework for people to follow, individuals are left to themselves to provide services at their discretion. This can be seriously damaging and can cause the company's image and perception to go down. Providing a corporate culture and establishing a framework helps reduce differences in the level of quality from everyone in the company and can contribute to creating a successful image that customers will value.

Training and education is also important in service-oriented industries because you want people that will be able to help answer any question a customer might have. Having a knowledgeable and experienced staff is key to providing a high level of customer service. However, as any business owner knows, it can be costly hiring experienced and talented staff members or establishing training programs. So how can this obstacle be tackled? Providing training for new products, or services, and how to deliver the good is a necessary start. Employees can learn by trial and error, but this can contribute to losing customers through mistakes and creating a bad image. Therefore, it is essential to train employees in the processes that they will be conducting. For a customer service representative, you want to train them on things such as communication skills, greetings, sales, and knowledge of the product or process to help answer questions. Delivery personnel must know how to setup and operate the product and also be good with skills such as communication, socialization, and timeliness. Each individual in a company has tasks that are specific to them and must know how to do them successfully that both adhere to the company culture and mission and portray a high level of service.

Quality and consistency of service are the golden keys to success in the party service industry. Being able to identify the levels of communication and the methods of communication are key to knowing who deals with customer and how they do so. Creating a corporate culture and mission statement for everyone to follow is essential for paving the way for others and having a framework for them to abide by. Then training and educating your staff on the processes that identify their tasks and giving them the tools to learn and grow can help create a successful workforce, company, and a high level of customer service.

By Arthur Bagumyan

President and founder of Party Jump USA a nationally listed party services and party rental directory and advertisement company. Arthur has over 7 years of experience in the inflatable industry, from manufacturing to rentals to advertising. Arthur is currently managing a inflatable rental company in Southern California and also handling the law related matters for a manufacturing company in Southern California.

http://www.PartyJumpUSA.com
http://partyjumpusa.com/ar-the-party-industry-service-is-golden.php

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Role of A Service Consultant in The Automotive Industry

The automotive industry has undergone tremendous changes and development in the 20th century and so far there is no stopping to it. Since the rolling out of the first car, the automotive industry news reports a steep rise in sales, as more and more cars are being produced. In recent times, with so much economic liberalization, attractive finance schemes and tax benefit laws and with increase in the income of the local people, car sales have been hitting new highs. However, with changing times, the mentality of people has changed and today services provided by car manufacturers play a crucial role, apart from car designs and models.

As more companies jump into the automotive sector, buyers have more freedom of choice to select the best of the lot. Unlike earlier times, buyers today pay more attention towards the services provided by the car producers. And with a variety of media around, buyers research and gather more information, before they step into any car dealerships. Hence, with so much of emphasis given on service, the role of the automotive service manager is vital to every car company in the market.

Not only does the automotive service manager coordinate and supervise the duties performed by the service staff, he looks after all the operations carried out by the service department. He has to make sure that all the employees working under him are adhering to company policies and other applicable standards and laws. Because the automotive service manager deals with customers and the service department, he has to be calculative about keeping both, the customer and his staff happy. Also, he does need to have a decent knowledge about mechanics of automobiles, and a pleasing personality to maintain customer satisfaction ratio.

Those employed in the service manager job have to ensure customer retention by not only providing repair and maintenance service but also by communicating and understanding customer's priorities. He has to analyze and identify market reports, and have a good understanding of current trends making waves in the automotive sector. With so many things in one platter, it goes without saying that the service manager job requires leadership qualities, management know-how, counseling skills, apart from the customer service parameters.

At times, it becomes an arduous task for the automotive service manager to cope up with so many responsibilities and duties, which is time when he needs a service consultant, who will help him to get out of his overloaded work schedule. The main purpose of the service consultant is to counsel service managers, who are buried under the work load which comes with their job profile. Service consultants help service managers on how they can perform their duties in an organized way, which will not only bring down their stress level, but also pump out more productivity.

Service consultants also provide insight to those in the service manager job or service director job on how to calculate the productivity of other employees, and educate them with work practices to enhance their customer service skills. Service consultants take service advisor training as part of the service consulting module and set standards to make sure employees always have a positive approach towards their work and are updated with skills and knowledge so that they can provide a better experience to their customers.

Want to learn the secret to turn an average day into a huge day, service manager time management, the role of service managers and much more. Just visit http://www.diggingforprofits.com and collect more information.

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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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Car apps: the future of the vehicle industry

By Haydn Shaughnessy Jul. 18, 2011, 2:10pm PT 4 Comments

Car companies are trying to get social, and 2011 could be the year of the car as a major platform for social and other types of apps. Projects like Toyota Friends, a social network run on Salesforce.com for Toyota owners, Ford’s American Journey 2.0 and the decade-old Sync and OnStar show that car companies want to capitalize on social but don’t quite know how to make it work. That’s a perfect opportunity for new apps and app developers. In a new GigaOM Pro report, I examine the in-vehicle app landscape, focusing on the different types of car apps, the major players in the space, what each has to offer and how those will fare as more and more apps come to the vehicle industry.

Two years ago most auto companies were preparing to go through app stores and the developer community. Enthusiasm stalled, however, over safety concerns. Now, even though companies like Toyota and Ford are actively courting developers, the process of getting an app onto an official car platform is stringent, with none of the benefits of quick sign-up, cheap SDK and turnkey retail apps.

That means that opportunities actually lie not only in cars themselves but also in transportation in general. Carmakers are toying with the idea of dashboards in the cloud, but the real business opportunities are going to be seen in big data, the use of location technologies, video, parking, road pricing and new ways of approaching mobility.

That is not to dismiss the car as an app platform. The new-car market and aftermarket comprise 800 million consumers globally, which is a distinct vertical opportunity when you look at per-mile or per-time-of-day road pricing, insurance discounts for good driver behavior, adaptable parking revenues and data systems that bring accurate up-to-the-minute data on traffic conditions into the car.

Many carmakers are agonizing over what they can do in-car, but smart movers like BMW are adjusting to a new horizon. BMW has invested $100 million in a mobility solutions VC fund and incubator in New York City called BMW iVentures. The first investment, startup MyCityWay, provides information about public transformation, parking availability and other urban information. BMW has also launched a car-sharing service.

These moves signal a dramatic shift by a major carmaker away from the traditional model of the car consumer — a person whose pleasure is derived as much from owning a particular car as it is from getting around. Changes in ownership taste and a preference for alternate modes of transport over ownership will be significant factors as the car industry transforms.

These alternate modes of transportation raise the stakes on the promise of connectivity and convergence. Carmakers have consistently failed to stay connected with the overwhelming majority of their buyers, but this too could now change. Mobility convergence (car, bus, train, plane, smartphone, infrastructure) offers an opportunity to build new relationships with a much broader public than the buyers of, say, a BMW 3 series.

Many carmakers are also focusing their efforts on electric vehicles and convergence with the smart grid. In this area, opportunities to develop new diagnostic and battery data services will probably happen after 2015. But the other convergence – transport modes – is different and is already further in process. Here the market is a big one: those 5 billion people who own mobile phones.

Thus short-term opportunities for the app landscape rest in the integration of the mobile phone with car control and car entertainment systems. Long-term opportunities, though, lie in how we as consumers, as well as the industry, can reconceive the concept of mobility.

To read more about the future of the in-vehicle app landscape, as well as to find out more about individual carmakers’ in-vehicle app efforts, see the full report at GigaOM Pro (subscription required).

Image courtesy Flickr user Yutaka Tsutano

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SIR MIX-A-LOT: The Forward-Thinking Hip-Hop Icon Is Getting Back Into The Entertainment Industry

Giant Thinkwell, a social game studio based in Seattle launched a new Facebook game today called Mix-N-Match that features Grammy Award-winning hip hop icon, Sir Mix-A-Lot. Mix-N-Match brings you and your friends along side Sir Mix-A-Lot to hang out, learn more about the entertainer, win stuff, and have a good time.

I woke up this morning to find out I had the opportunity to sit down with Sir Mix-A-Lot and Giant Thinkwell CEO Adam Tratt today for a little chat about the new project as well as the recent changes in the entertainment industry. When you sit with Mix, you get the feeling this man still knows what's going on. He is curious, quick-witted, and forward-thinking. You also get the feeling he is not done yet, and Giant Thinkwell is just getting started. Here is a transcript of our interview.

What attracted you to Giant Thinkwell?

These guys are geniuses. From my perspective, a guy who came along in an era where you were distant from your fans, not by design, that is just how it was. It was all systematic. They produced the record, they distributed the record, they promoted the record, you wait till you get the call. The way you sell records now is totally different. These Giant Thinkwell guys are rock stars. They are the mega pimps of this era, and they understand it really is about connecting with fans. They get it!

What did you do back then in the day?

It was really the label. They had a team of people who scripted how you were going to do things. They did everything. As an artist you were very removed from it all. Most guys have just pulled back. My manager has been talking about this stuff for a long time. And now today, your fans know everything, like what time you take your dumps in the morning to what kind of underwear you are wearing, ya know?

Adam, is this Giant Thinkwell's first app?

No, but it is our second. So our story is the company was born at Start-up weekend  In the beginning of social games it was the Wild West, and  Zynga was doing whatever they wanted on Facebook. Now, everyone else is now clamoring for a piece of it. Zynga already has their customer base of 500 million users. What we realized is there is very little in the area of Branded Entertainment, and what is out there is really not that good. So we thought, why don't we take two things people love — social games and entertainment — and put them together? This is going to be a huge market!

Where do you see this category of apps going?

Adam: What's happening on the sidelines in entertainment is the whole model is changing, people aren't buying records much any more. It's all changed. Entertainers and celebrities of all kinds musicians, actors, athletes, will be interacting with their fans on line, in fact they do it already. Social media right now is about talking AT your fans. So we think the model is going to change. The bar is going up. We think the way a guy like Mix announces and releases a new song will change. And we want to be a part of it.

Mix: from an artist perspective, this is the first time in my career I can shape my brand, my personality. They used to think "OK, this is a dumb guy who likes Big Butts and asses" (according to Mix only part of that is true) because that is how I was promoted by the record labels. But now, I come down to meet with the Giant Thinkwell team and they don't go, "this is what we're doing", they say "what should we do?" Finally I am able to deal with my fans one-on-one on my terms with my personality. It's great! I predicted the demise of the music industry back in 1999. So today, I'm not like Lady Gaga and the way she is with her fans, but it's on my own terms. You are your own marketing firm now. The gangsta element of record business is gone forever.

Do you think it's a better time to be a musician?

Good Question. From an old school cats point of view, no it's not a better time cause back then we were spoiled. But a new artist just breaking in, yes it is. Because Music is more honest now   You can get your stuff out into people's hands in so many different ways. So the cream is going to rise and the good ones will break out naturally.

You've seen success, what is the most important characteristic of successful people?

Mindset. I have never met a successful person who talked about failing. The glass is always half full. I don't even like being around negative talkers. And secondly, they always figure out a way to monetize something.  You find a hole in the market, find what people don't have enough of... and you supply it. There is a big difference between those people who have the entrepreneurial spirit and those who are talented, but scared of themselves. They are always sitting in the corner, shivering, wondering why they can't make it. Successful people jump at opportunity and take advantage of it.

What keeps you going?

Anything new. I just started new company called True Human Interface, software to help people make music easier. Right now we are finishing the brains of the software and we're thinking sometime early next year we'll have something released. If you look at a lot of the older artists, the only ones who are still profiting are the ones trying these new things. Our goal is to come out with a strong, serious product. I was watching them edit True Grit, and they edited the whole thing with mouse and keyboard. It was crazy! We think we can have some good ideas to help make things easier.

What advice to you have for young entrepreneurs?

Make sure that what you have is unique and necessary, make sure your dream is viable. Second, don't be afraid to fire someone early if they are not the right fit. You need to make sure you have the right people in the right places. Lastly, don't be afraid of criticism.

Watch a hilarious video of Mix talking about his latest iPhone app idea!

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

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See Also:

• How To Create An Online Life That Doesn't Destroy Your Real One

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