Becoming a travel agent

As some of you may know, but any don't, I am not an experienced travel agent. Except for any travel I have planned for my family and I. In the last 2 years I have went back to work after being a stay at mom to 5 kids for over 20 years. I did have the odd job here and there, but I hated them all. So when my youngest turned 12 I decided that I wanted to go back to work. I WANTED TO TRAVEL!

Buuuuut I didn't want just any job that I could get, I wanted something I would actually like. Well that turned to be harder than I thought. I hadn't worked for over 10 years, and the only experience I had was mainly customer service and I didn't want to do that again. I honestly wanted a stay at home job, but at the time Covid had hit pretty hard and there wasn't really any work from home jobs available that were legit. So instead I became a grocery delivery driver. I use my own car to pick up or shop for groceries and deliver them to the customer. I am considered an Independent Contractor which has it's advantages and disadvantages. I was also 42 at the time that I started this job, and though I'm pretty strong since I have been chasing and picking up kids for 20 years I have inflammatory arthritis. So the wear and tear on the body is awful. ESPECIALLY THE 40 PACKS OF WATER!

I started looking into becoming a travel agent a few months ago. I love researching new places to go and things to do. I sometimes just do it just for fun when I have time, but here's the thing. With no experience it is pretty hard to just start being a travel agent. So I decided to look for a host company that would train me and hopefully I would start getting new clients. I researched host agency's that would get me into selling Disney. BECAUSE I LOVE DISNEY! I looked into quite a few and checked reviews and finally found on that I liked. So I signed up and payed a fee to start my training. So here's where I started making mistakes.

Instead of doing my training, then setting my business, then setting up social media, I decided to do all at 1 time. Then I decided to get my certification as a travel consultant as well. Now you don't have to have a license to be a travel consultant in most states, but I wanted that little extra on my resume. So I am finished the training for the host agency, but I am still studying to get certified, and then trying to get social media set up. I have gotten this website up, plus a Facebook page, and instagram, and even posted my business on the neighborhood app. I still need to get Pinterest set up and a few others.

I am still working my grocery delivery job, but I study between orders. Then I come home and study some more. It is stressful, but I am loving every minute of it. I can't wait to help you plan your next journey.