A travel agent's life in one week
“So, just what does an at-home cruise sales agent do all week?” It is a question I am always asked. While it is hard to describe on the spot, I thought I would pick a week from my calendar, add some notes and explanations and demonstrate a week in the life of Chuck Flagg. This reflects the week of March 23-29, 2009. Most all of my activities outside of my home are completed between 7:15 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.when my daughter is in school. My travel booking and follow up is handled in the afternoons and early evenings and in the empty spaces.
Monday:
10:00 a.m. – Noon: Meals On Wheels I devote two hours a week every Monday delivering for Meals on Wheels as a volunteer. This keeps me centered and reminds me what is really important in life. When drawing up my business plan for 2009, giving back to my community was included, and this was priority number one.
Tuesday:
7:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.: Business Referral Club meeting. I couldn’t find a referral group that worked with my schedule so I started one right at the clubhouse for my neighborhood. This referral group has already paid off for me within the first month as one member of our group offered a referral which led to a profitable booking.
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.: Business after Hours. More than any other function I do with my Chamber of Commerce, these after work gatherings with other business owners and employees have afforded me the best networking opportunities. I have to arrange for child care for this. It helps to have good friends.
Wednesday:
10:00 a.m.: Ribbon Cutting ceremony. As an ambassador for my Chamber, I am asked to attend and support as many of these as possible. I am glad to do it as it allows me more chances to network. The members of my Chamber are very supportive of other members, especially when you do business with them. These members may not personally do business with me themselves, but they remember me and refer people to me.
Noon -1:30 p.m.: Toastmasters meeting. Membership in Toastmasters has allowed me to not only hone my public speaking skills, but my listening skills as well. Nothing is more important than listening to the desires and dreams of our clients. There are several roles in the weekly meetings that help participants improve both their speaking and listening skills.
Thursday:
8:15 a.m.- 11:15a.m.: Middle School Career Fair. This is a yearly event sponsored by our Chamber of Commerce.
6:30 p.m.: Dinner and a speech about fundraising cruises to Rotary Club. This invite came from someone I met at February’s Business after Hours event.
Friday:
8:00 a.m.- 9:00a.m.: First meeting of a free Book Club and Entrepreneurial Coaching seminar based on Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich. Several members of my Toastmasters group are taking part in this mastermind group.
Noon: 12@12 leads group at the Chamber offices. Twelve business owners in non-competitive fields meet over a ninety minute lunch to share about their business and what would make a good referral for them.
Saturday:
Noon: Appointment at the post office to renew my daughter’s passport. Both parents need to be present for this and luckily they offer Saturday hours. Her passport expires this year and now I will have first hand local knowledge of the process to obtain this important travel document.
Scheduled throughout this “typical week” are to-do lists, time to answer phone calls and emails, write a press release, or work on my group prospecting. My home based business requires that I be out in public as often as possible letting people know what I do; otherwise they would never know I existed or what I did. And besides, I don’t like having a blank day on my calendar.
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