April: Becoming the Main Character in Your Business and Your Clients’ Vacations

Hey everyone, welcome to the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. I'm Marcie Muensterman, your no fluff, no filter, tell it like it is coach. I'm so excited to bring you the stories, strategies, and straight up truths right from the mouths of your colleagues. So glad to have you here. Let's get to it. Hey, welcome back to the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. Today I've got someone who embodies exactly what this show is all about. Travel advisors juggling real life, demanding careers, family help and still building a massive travel business. I'm talking about April, founder of The Vacay Way, who has only been at this a year in July, and it's October 2025 for reference. She has over $600,000 in sales, is on track to hit her first million very soon. But what makes April's story so powerful isn't just the numbers, it's the life she's building alongside it. and how she's doing it. From being a nurse to homeschooling her daughter, caring for her mom, and even managing her own health journey with ADHD and anxiety, April shows us what this is all about, that you can create something that fulfills you and really puts meaning with this work. So welcome, April. How are you?

I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

We are so excited to have you. So let's just start with the fact that you are a Yes. And clinical operations manager. That sounds really intense. So tell me about your just day-to-day life, not to mention mom, wife, all the dog mom, all the things. So just tell me about that.

As I sit here with my RN job open on Teams right now, hoping there's no emergencies. No. So I am so thankful that I'm not bedside and I don't have to work in like, in out of the home. So I do work from home for the past 5 years, but it's a lot. It's a lot to be in management, especially in the healthcare field and a lot of responsibility on top of that. of everything that's at home. So I have a husband of 15 years, we have 2 dogs, we have an almost 12-year-old who's still at home because she has been homeschooled since kindergarten. We actually started charter school this year, but she's still at home for charter school. But she's actually— she's got a classroom in the basement, so I'm not teaching her this year, which is a freaking relief.

That's a big change.

Yeah.

That's a very big change.

Yes.

Okay.

She's in 6th grade. I was like, I'm not smart enough for 6th grade teaching, so you need real teachers.

That math, that math beyond like 3rd grade is so hard. I don't I don't even know how they do it. And Jude's in Algebra 2 or something, and she's in 8th grade. And I was like, I barely scooted by algebra in high school.

So. I don't remember it. 5th grade last year, I was like, man, this is very humbling. Yeah.

I can only imagine.

Yeah. And then we've got, my mom lives, it always sounds so creepy, but my mom lives in my basement. She has an in-law suite.

We know, we know you're not just like locking her in the basement, April. It's okay.

Like when I tell people that, I'm like, I promise it's, it's not creepy. She can come out on her own. No, we took her in when my dad passed almost eight years ago now. Literally same day, packed her up from Virginia. Well, that was in Northern Virginia, and we lived in Virginia Beach at the time.

Oh, I'm sorry. Moved her there, and your mom's lost.

Thank you. So she's been with us. It's it's been it's been a lot, but I get by. I make it work. Yeah, I thrive in the chaos.

Absolutely. Yeah, I mean, I think that it's. It's common to, especially for women our age, to be in that middle, like where we have to take care of our parents and our children at the exact same time.

Yes.

We're going through something really similar. And my mom doesn't live with us, but she's here with us several months of the year. And the other half of the year, my father-in-law's here, or like the other third. So it's like thirds. So I can completely relate. Not the full-time thing, but I definitely understand having that pressure of taking care of lots of people at the same time. Plus you're running this business as a travel advisor. And as with so many of us, like the ADHD is strong. I mean, my guest last week and my guest this week and my guest 2 weeks ago all have been diagnosed with ADHD in like the last, I don't know, 20 years. It's definitely one of those things where we're navigating it all at the same time.

Yes. And it's, it's very eye-opening, but it's taught me a lot. And I just got my ADHD diagnosis a couple of months ago and I was like, I was so I was like, thank gosh, like I finally have something to tell me why I am the way that I am. Um, and I'm managing it now. So yeah, my medicine might kick in here in a little bit and I will be off the walls.

You're gonna be fine. It's definitely worth having the diagnosis so that you can actually manage it because I think we, we were just taught to like figure it out and we didn't know that our brains were different.

And yep, exactly.

Definitely been a game changer to know what's going on. So I'm really glad for you. But you're basically how you have like 3 full-time jobs.

I know.

And you're out here like booking I mean, 15 luxury honeymoons and anniversaries. That's just next level, especially at the sales you're at. And I know a lot of advisors are gonna wanna know all about how you did this because it's obviously super duper fast. We typically say that it takes about 3 years to get into a flow of regular clients, but you have jumped that curve. So I would love to dive into that a little bit about how you got to that $400,000, well on your way to your first million in sales. Tell us a little bit more about how you became a travel advisor and why.

It's actually a funny story how I became a travel advisor. I stole it from my husband.

Okay.

So we started traveling, we started taking cruises, and our friends and family would see us post pictures and they're like, oh, can you help us? How'd you do that? And he jokingly one day said I should just become a travel advisor, meaning him. And he works from home, but he's away. He like, he's not in the home a lot, so he has a lot on his plate. So I said, let me take that off of your plate and let me research the information for you. And with that ADHD brain, I went full into all the research and like, that's all that I was focused on. And when I zone in on something, like I have answers within like a day, like that's my research process. And I found the answers.

A definite benefit for being a travel advisor.

I know.

Because you're gonna look up every single thing as fast as possible. Exactly.

Exactly. I'm like, I don't have time to sit here and yeah. So I did the research, I presented it to him, and then I, I started the process of Signing myself up to be a travel agent and didn't sign him up at first.

So you stole his idea.

I stole it.

Well, how does he feel about it now? Like, is he looking back going, oh, I wish that was me? Or is he so excited that you were able to really embrace this entrepreneurial spirit?

He's so excited. So he, at first he was a little salty, um, because I started, you know, I changed the business name. I changed my Facebook group just to have my name in it. And he was like, I guess I'm not the, cuz he's an associate advisor too. But he's like, I guess I'm not part of the business anymore. I was like, you don't book. You're like, you aren't here to do it. I do it all. So he's totally cool with it now, but it was funny at first. Yeah.

That is really funny. So as far as like you got your start, but how do you go from July of '24 to July of '25 and land at $600,000 in gross sales?

That's a really good question because I'm like, I'm still sitting here thinking about it. Like I didn't think it was possible, honestly. I like, I did my research obviously about how to be a travel advisor, looking at, you know, host agencies and stuff like that, but the true business portion of it. Of it, if I'm honest, I still had it in my head. Like seeing friends and stuff on Facebook that do like Disney. No offense to Disney.

I can't do Disney.

But seeing that it's just like I just thought it was another little side hustle, and I was like, you know, I might book some things here and there. But again, I when I get into something, I go hard. Like I go a thousand percent, and that's what I did. And I just started hustling. I was looking into any training and every training that I could. My husband actually at first mentioned your name, and I was like, let me look her up. And I yeah, and I found you. Uh, mentioned in Facebook groups and started researching and jumped into all of your trainings. And I honestly think it's just, it was a combination of everything kind of coming together that really drove me to want to succeed and do this, especially after I made my first booking, because I was like, ooh, I can do this. And it was a good booking. And they actually travel on October 11th. It's October 3rd now.

So they travel on October 11th. Oh, they're going in a week. That's amazing.

Yes. Yes.

That's full circle in that moment.

It is. It is. And that was like a $13,000 booking for my first booking. So I was like, ooh, I think I can do this. And it just really lit a fire under my ass and I just, I love it. Been going with it. Yeah. So it's just been, it's been amazing. Still, I'm like $600,000. How did I do that? But it really is.

Yeah. That's a lot of sales, girl. And I think, I think what they're really gonna wanna know is like, how are you balancing what really is learning how to serve, learning how to sell, and your full-time job with being a mom? Like how, how does your day really broken up? Cuz I read in there that you said you don't really know how many hours you're working because you kind of of like intertwine it with your day. So how does that actually look? Is it just because you have that time at your desk and you're able to split your time, or do you block schedule, or do you do anything special that would help them really define how you're not— I know you're hustling, but I know you don't work 24/7.

Yeah, exactly. I've set boundaries and the, you know, the more I get into this, I'm, I'm like rearranging those boundaries. But I'm very, very thankful for the job that I have. It is work from home, but I am not micromanaged. Basically, if I can be available, On my phone, on my computer. That's all that my boss cares about is that I'm available to them. So I have a 49-inch monitor and I open up 3 separate windows. I have Teams for my RN job, so when I'm needed, they tag me on Teams and I do whatever I need. And then I have browser window open with all of my RN things that I need.

Mm-hmm.

And then another one off to the right-hand side that is all travel. So any moment that I get during my workday of being an RN, my 9 to 5, I'm working travel too. It's just kind of the in-between. If I have If I have consults scheduled, if there's things that I, like, if there's a, like a workshop or a training or something that I wanna watch or a webinar, I put it on my RN calendar for my job and I just put busy. They don't overbook me. They don't ask me what I have on my calendar. They're very good about, you know, taking care of yourself, self-care, stuff like that. So I block it off on my work calendar for my RN job and I do what I need to do that's important for travel too. And then of course I do work in the evenings if there's stuff that I couldn't get done.

Sure.

But it's only things that I need. Like if I was like, hey, I promised to get a proposal out, or I wanted to respond to this, or I had deadline on something, I'll get it done. And then I turn my computer off and I don't respond after that until the next day.

That's awesome. I'm really glad to hear that because I think people think that when they work full-time or they have these other jobs that they have to like really hustle through the night, work weekends, and not really give themselves over. Obviously you have a really balanced job during the day that allows that because a lot of people don't. So when you're listening, guys, remember like April's situation is extremely unique and it's not going to be the same for every other person who has a full-time job because she She is able to work from home and do both jobs at the same time. And that's very much how I work since I have the coaching business and the travel business. I split my time and fit it in where it works each day. And each day's just a little bit different. I don't know if that's how you feel, April. Like, are you like, are you on a schedule when it comes to like scheduling your clients and then doing those proposals and things like that? Or are you just fitting it in where it fits in during the day?

So the only thing that is technically scheduled for me for my clients is going to be my consults. I set my Calendly up. I only accept consults for about a 4-hour window, 3 days a week. Um, and it's, I don't do 'em early in the morning cuz I'm not a morning person. I do do some evening times just because I know different people's schedules. Mm-hmm. But I, I don't do all day every day because I don't want to overwork myself. And again, I'm learning boundaries as I go. And if something really doesn't suit me, I'll change it. And that's what I've done a lot of times up until this point.

I think that's smart because obviously as a new advisor, you're not gonna know your boundaries until they're being pushed, honestly. And you're also not going to know what you like to do and how you like to do it until you've tried different things. So it's really important to be able to have like a super flexible, open mind as you navigate this career. And it can change. Like in a year, your schedule might look very different. So I think guys, just remember that too, as she's talking, is, you know, if you're very new at this, it's really interesting those first couple of years to kind of figure out what you like to do, when you like to do it. I love that you acknowledge and honor yourself in the morning. Like, I don't want to talk to people. talk to anyone on Mondays usually. So that's my day where I'm like resetting and I just, I don't want to have meetings. I don't want to be on the phone, you know, those types of things. So I totally appreciate that. You're like, I know exactly when I'm at my best. And I think recognizing that is huge.

That's exactly— yep. And just, you have to be flexible. And like you said, like things next year could be totally different for me. And that's, that's the big thing is just making sure that you're flexible. I mean, you can be the most rigid scheduled person ever, but even with any, any sort of job, whether it's travel or if you're doing, you know, like I am with— I'm a nurse. If you're working in the hospital, if you're working from home, whatever the case may be, just be flexible and make sure that it suits you because it needs to work for your schedule. It needs to work for your health, your mental health, your physical health. It all comes— that's the nurse in me coming out. But like, you have to see yourself as a whole picture.

No, we love a nurse in the picture. We need all that. We need to read all the statistics. You need to take care of yourself.

Yes, you need to take care of yourself. And nurses, I love you guys, but we are the worst at taking our own advice. And I'm really trying Um, and I'm learning that it makes a huge difference in everything that I do.

One of my girlfriends called, and we're not like calling friends. Like if she calls, it's like, you need to talk. And she has had a really rough summer. Like she had a surgery and she didn't really do a very good job of like resting after the surgery. And she eventually like, like basically the issue reoccurred and She's like, I'm so mad at myself because I just kept going because I thought I felt better. And I was like, I know women do this shit all the time. Like we ignore symptoms and we just decide, oh, that must be how it is now because we're over 40 or we're getting close to 40 or whatever. And she just does not like to miss out. She fully admitted, like, she's like, I just don't want to miss out on things. I want to go do all the things. And I'm like, yeah, but your body was literally telling you to lay down.

Yes.

And so it's like, we have to honor ourselves. Guys, like that is so huge, especially when you're new in business because your brain is full of all that new information. And I don't know, sometimes I get migraines now. I never got them like 10 years ago, but I feel like if I do too much with like research or whatever, it really, like I get a stress headache in the back of my ears from ear to ear. And of course now it's like, well, it's probably menopause, but it's like either way my body is telling me like, hey, you might be done for the day. You know?

Yes. And just like you said, when you're new, it's exciting. It's so exciting. It's like, Like all the things and you want to soak everything up like a sponge and do all the things and be everything for everybody and service everybody. You can't do that because you are going to burn yourself out and wear yourself down, and you cannot be the best travel advisor that you want to be for your clients if you do that.

Absolutely. Yes. I think people don't realize that the service piece, which is where we really quote unquote work for free, researching and stuff like that is part of the, where we earn the commission because we are looking for the right property and of course we We do hope that they have a decent commission, but at the end of the day, like where the real work comes in is after the deposit, right? Like you're like, okay, now I have to take care of all these details and make sure that there's a flow and our clients feel cared about and cared for. It's not just, I sold you this amazing vacation, but it's like, well, what happens now? That's the reason they hire us. It's not just to find a great property or a great whatever. I, I think that that can take a lot of brainpower when you're really new, because you don't know your workflow. And my friend Mary Beth, she always says like, you can't climb inside, like we can't climb inside your brain and see your workflow. So like having it somewhere where you can follow something specific, which is why, you know, my courses exist, are here to help those workflows ease in. So I know you've taken all the courses. Like I was looking at your form and I'm like, April has like in her— now I understand what happened. She was like, I have to have everything. So did you Did you like binge it all or did you one thing at a time or what happened here? Tell me, tell me how we got here, girl.

So I binged it all. At one point, I don't know if you still have it, but there was like a bundle. So I did the bundle, which had the Facebook course, Propose to Close, Close to Home.

Yes.

That's what I got you.

I actually just redid it. Like I just put those back on my website, like in the last 2 weeks. So.

I love that. Cause like those, if you get anything, get that because those are like super essential. Everything is great.

It's also 20% off. It's 20% off all the time. So it was for you too.

Good.

I promise.

Yeah. Pause, pause this, go get it. So I got the bundle and then I started getting into that and I was like, I love this. So then I went and I got Commission with a Comma. And then you did the Do the Damn Air. So I did Do the Damn Air on your first one. And then I just got into Lead the Manifest. So I'm like, if Marcie— Oh my goodness, you did?

That's how that happened?

Yes.

Like, I haven't paid full attention to you. I love you guys, but I was like so overwhelmed.

It was crazy. It was, it was like getting Taylor Swift tickets, but it was so good. It was so good. No. So I'm like, if Marcie has it, yeah. If Marcie has it, I want to do it because honestly, and like, you know, everybody, like if people have courses, if people have trainings, they're like, mine is the best, mine's going to help you. And I've done not only in travel but in, you know, being a nurse. I've done lots of different types of courses. This is the real deal. Like you are no bullshit. And it's very relatable because you're a person. Like you, it's not like cookie cutter, you're reading like a robot type of thing that I can get from anywhere.

Right.

So that's why I think I really resonate with your courses. And I think like, yeah, just your no filter, no BS. I'm like, I love this woman. Like, I have to take this stuff.

Oh, that's so sweet. That's awesome.

That's, yeah, that's where I got started with the bundle. And literally I just, I got all the things. I'm like, I've gotta do it. Yes, ADHD, but also it's worth it. It is totally worth it.

Yeah, because my courses are not short. Like, they are, like each module is anywhere from an hour to 2 hours because I break it down so far that When I first started writing the courses, April, I also am in the ADHD. So my coach Miranda was like, okay, but you have to tell them everything inside your brain. And I'm like, what? Like, there's so much in there. She's like, no, you—

Yeah.

She's like, I don't know what happened between this point and this point. Can you tell us? And then, I mean, that's how it got written. Cause I don't think it would have gotten written without her because she could see where I didn't tell the things. So now it comes very naturally to just share every little bit and part. And it's so funny, Do the Damn Air was supposed to be a 2-hour masterclass, and I started writing it and I'm like, there is way more out there that they're gonna ask me about, and we're gonna end up in a 6-hour Q&A. So I started writing and writing, and then I was like, okay, it's gonna be 3 hours, and then it was 4, and then it was 6, and I was like, I'm gonna throw up. And so now it's over 2 days because I— I cannot teach it in one sitting. I tried that in May. It was crazy. And I love that course too for you guys, especially if you're new, because error is so intimidating and the messaging coming into you all is like, oh, well, just don't do it. Let your client do it. And I'm like, whoa, wait a minute. They became travel advisors. Like they need to understand this piece. So I'm really happy that you dove into all those. Because they really are like all the things that we aren't really taught.

Yes.

Ever. I mean, unfortunately it's just not, not in the way that it's taught by me because it's like, yeah, there's a sales course over here or there's a product course or whatever, but then they're not telling you what to say to a client when they have a hesitation or when they are— like, I love the sales Q module in Propose to Close because I'm like, I don't think travel agents know what a sales Q And if you haven't been in sales, and most of you guys haven't, like nurses and teachers are the number 1 and 2. And I'm like, oh, they don't know how to sell anything. We have to teach them this. No offense to you. I just— But obviously you took it and ran with it because you must have some sales like vibe because $600,000 is so much. So like, where did you find your $600,000 in sales? Where did you find your clients?

Oh my gosh. Um, so crazy enough, I would say probably 98% of my clientele come from TikTok. Um, now I'm getting like repeat.

TikTok is blowing up.

Yes.

Wow.

So I, I do get repeat and I get referrals, but those initial clients are coming from TikTok.

And they're not budget. They're not budget clients, cuz I know you specialize in luxury.

They're not. So at first, ooh, ooh gosh, I could spend all day talking about this. At first, what I thought I needed to do was post all the deals that I was finding, or like I'd see in groups and stuff like that. And I did. I did do that on my TikTok and I'd get people that it just, it wasn't it. I was working too much. I wasn't doing propose to close. I didn't have a calendar. I was quoting in the DMs and getting a lot of tire kickers and getting ghosted by a lot of people. Or you get those folks that are like, I want 7 nights in Turks and Caicos with airfare and transfers at a luxury resort for $1,000 a person.

Okay. Um, so that's, I mean, that people just don't understand, girl. Like they don't. And they are seeing like deals and in many cases, like the MLMs out there going, oh, you can have this super discounted trip and get your own commission back and like things like that. And I'm like, even if you got your own commission back on a $1,000 trip, it's $100. Like, it's not like we're getting—

They don't understand.

I'm like, I mean, I don't take commission on very many of my own trips, but it's not like I'm saving that much money. Like it's just not that much. When you're already at a lower, like if you're trying to get a cheap trip, like it's not gonna make a difference at this point.

Exactly.

Exactly.

And you know, people also don't understand when you are, and again, no hate to anybody that does like put together things and post it as a deal or whatever, but that's not me. And that's not kind of, that's not how I run my business. Because people also, you do more time educating that just because I post that there's a deal for Punta Cana for $500 a person with airfare included, that is one type of airfare from one airport and one type of room category on a certain set It doesn't mean that when you come to me and you say, well, I want to go over Christmas, it's now $5,000 a person as opposed to $500. And then people get mad at you.

Or you're staying in shitty property too. Like whatever discounted property you decided because you were trying to put together this, you know, just get people through the door with the deal. But when you are doing it that way, you're only attracting tire kicker, deal seeker, window shoppers. Like they're not serious about a vacation and they're not going to book the exact 5 dates that you want. Like, that's just almost impossible. Yeah.

And I learned that very quickly, that it was a complete waste of my time. It was too much of my energy going into people that were never going to book with me.

Right.

Or if they did, I was not making any, hardly any commission off of it. It wasn't worth my time at all. So that's where I shifted gears. You know, my first client is the one traveling in a week. They're, they're going to Kiana Resort in Antigua, but it's like they got the— I know.

Oh my gosh.

And they got The beachfront sanctuary pool cottage. So the highest level of the room category, they, they went all out and it's, it's for a honeymoon. It's so amazing. And I was like, you know what? That was my first true client. Let me like stick with that. Let me market to that because this was so fun to like plan everything for him. And then it just kind of like—

It's fun to plan with money.

It is.

We don't— I mean, when somebody has the money to plan and you're not like stressing out about, do I wanna save the money on the transfer? Or do I wanna find the cheapest flight? Like when there's a flexible schedule or schedule, flexible schedule too, but flexible budget that is real, like a reasonable budget that we can work with. It's so much fun to plan.

Yes. And it's, it's, it's not as much work. It is not as much work because you're not like, oh gosh, can I make this fit in their budget? Are they going to be like, can I knock this off? Can we change this? Um, so yeah, I just kind of rolled with it and then I found I just found what I enjoyed booking. I don't really enjoy booking families. I will if they have the budget and if they're like not— I have vibes with people when I do the consult and I'm like, I don't know if this is one I want to take on. So that's another conversation about learn that it's okay to say no. You don't have to take on every single person you have a consult with.

Yeah.

My, my niche now after, you know, a little over a year is adults only for the most part, couples, and it's usually celebration, whether it's a honeymoon, an anniversary, just because, but that's what I love to plan. That's what I post. So when I put content out on social media, that's what I'm putting content out on.

Okay. I was just about to ask, when you made that shift away from posting deals, what does your marketing look like now? Like give us an example of something you've posted recently that had a conversion.

So what I actually post and I play with stuff to see if people want to see my face, they don't want to see my face. They want to hear my voice, but I've learned they do not care to see my face on videos.

Okay.

But I post, typically I'll pick a resort and I'll get clips of the resort. And I will say if it's Mexican Caribbean, I use Mexperts and it's—

we love Lori.

I know.

The best videos, you guys. And we talk about her throughout my podcast, but I know I always interrupt, but it's like you have to pause and be like, okay, go get this too. Mexperts is for the money, one of the Best investments. If you sell, if you sell Mexico at all or want to learn Mexico at all, you have to get MEXperts. There's like nothing else out there like it, literally. And it's the most valuable resource you'll ever have. And it will pay for itself in one commission, one, one small commission. Like it's $189 a year. Like it's such a deal.

It is. It is. It is totally worth it. And there are thousands of pictures of properties. There are videos. I'll take videos out of there.

Marcie lives at the resort.

Oh my gosh, she does.

She does. Her video is so good, and she's blowing up on Instagram too. So I know she's doing so much fun.

So good.

Yeah. Yeah. So you use her stuff. You also have your own, and I have my own.

And then you know, like if a property has like a media gallery or a media bank that you can use, pull from there, and don't hesitate to reach out to them or reach out to your BDM to see if they have those, because sometimes it's. not, you know, wildly known. Like, oh, here's their media gallery that you have to sign up for as a TA.

Yes.

But my typical content is going to be a TikTok video that I also reproduce into an Instagram reel, and it's just, you know, clips of a resort, and then I am doing a voiceover explaining the resort. And I'll tailor it to, you know, whether it's for a honeymoon or it's for an anniversary or just because, and I just wanna explain the property. And that's all I do. I explain the property. I don't talk pricing. I don't talk average I don't talk any of that. I just talk about the property, paint the picture, and then just, I post it and then they usually get thousands of views and people will comment, people will DM me, or they'll book a consultation off of that and they'll put in their notes, I saw your video on TikTok about such and such property. And then that's how it comes in.

That is amazing. Oh my gosh. It sounds easy, but we know it's not. So how long does it typically take you to piece together one piece content that you reuse in Instagram?

Oh gosh. It varies on—

This is the part, girl. Like, I know. You have to break it all the way down because they're going to go, oh, all I have to do is go do this. It's like, but how?

Yeah, but how? So ideally you will set some time on your calendar to work on social media content. Don't do as I do because I don't. But if I get a moment and I'm like, hey, let me make some videos, I haven't, you know, batched anything, I try to batch. What I'll do is I'll go into CapCut, I'll throw in all the clips of the property that I want, I'll name it that property. And then I actually use ChatGPT. I have the paid version, but I make it myself. And I'll say, this is what I want the feeling of my voiceover to be. This is the property. Let's cater it to honeymooners. Um, and it knows my brand. I've trained ChatGPT to know my brand, my voice, and the things that I like and don't like. Um, and then I'll tweak it because like, I'm not very— I'm not a good wordsmith. I'm not, like, to be frank with you. So I put it through and I'm like, that sounds too much like a robot. And I'll tweak it to where it sounds like me.

Right. Good.

And then I go in and I'll open up that property and I'll go in and just do a voiceover recording like this. And I try to do as many as I can. can in the time that I have and just save it in CapCut. It doesn't mean I need to edit. I don't need to put text and stuff over top of it or captions. I do that when I'm ready to post, but at least I have content in there to go to when I need to post something. I try to post daily.

So do you block time to batch? Does it take like an hour or 2 hours or?

Say anywhere from about 45 minutes to an hour, just because of getting that voiceover made and tweaking it to where it sounds how I want to say it. And even when I have the voiceover and I start reading it, I go completely off script because I'm like, I don't want to sound like a Right. But it gives me that idea of what to say so that I can be clear and concise and not scatterbrained when I'm doing that recording. Sure.

So 98% of these, of the 600,000 has come from this type of content. Like you're, it's very, very intentional content, you guys. Like if you're listening to what April is saying, she is very specific in what she chooses to share. She's not worried about the cheap vacationer anymore. She's like, that's not her client. She doesn't care if they, if they're following her or not. she is getting and attracting luxury clientele on TikTok, because I think there is a belief out there that it is very difficult to reach the luxury client in social media spaces, but you have obviously found quite a few clients this way.

Yeah, they're there. They are there. And I, I don't always post like a high-dollar luxury property. I do post those and it's usually like the private islands.

Mm-hmm.

And you know, that are $7,000 a night, I will get people that inquire about those. But you'll also get comments on social media of the people with negativity that say it's $6,000 a night, nobody can afford that. And I'm like, yes they can, because they reach out to me.

Thank you for the content. Thank you for the engagement. Exactly.

I don't delete those.

That's fine.

Don't— I don't go back and forth with them. Like, I won't argue with them, but I'll put a response and I'll be like, this is a luxury property. This is a private island. It's worth it.

Right. And also, it would not exist if people did not Go. Like, I, I say this all the time when people are like, well, how do you sell Beaches Turks and Caicos, for example? It is so expensive. It is so this, it is so that. Jade Mountain, you know, Bora Bora, these over-the-water bungalows. Yes, they're $5,000 a night sometimes. Well, they would not be able to still be here. They would not have sold out for 2 years straight and Christmas time in advance. Like, you cannot get Christmas 2026 at Beaches Turks right now. And so it's like, there is a clientele that exists and there's plenty of them to go around. That's just reality. I mean, I was working with my daughter on a trip, like a, like a fun for a class. So she didn't have a budget. They didn't give her a budget for this 2-week vacation wherever she wants to go, but she has to lay out each day what they're going to do, when they're going to do it, how long they're going to be there and what hotels and stuff. And of course I was like, well, where do you want to go? She's like, I want you to help. Italy, of course, that's your thing.

Mm-hmm.

So we decided to plan this and we were looking at the Four Seasons in Florence. And of course I want the Duomo view. So I was like, dude, we gotta get the Duomo view. $8,700 a night. $8,700. And I'm like, okay, this is just because you can reach out and practically touch the Duomo. Like it's the craziest room and it's just a normal room. I mean, it has a tub and it's larger than your typical European hotel, but like there's nothing included. No breakfast. Like no, all your fees are extra. Like, and it's sold out during certain dates. Like we had to look for the right dates to even get to stay in there. And I'm like, well, this is Four Seasons. They exist for a reason. And there is a clientele there.

Yeah, there is. So don't think that there's not. And don't think that they are not on social media just because they're luxury and they have the budgets for it because they're there. I get folks, look, I Google my clients before I get on a consult with them.

Always Google, always, always run it through the Google.

And it's not to be like, Like, do they look like they can afford? Where do they work? Or anything like that. But I'm just curious who they are and what they do. Or sometimes if I don't do it before, I do it after, once they give me like where they want to go and what the price point is. And I find out that some of my folks are like high-level execs at major corporations. And I'm like, I go to my husband, I'm like, oh my God, this client that I just got off the consult with is like from this major sports franchise. This one's from this, like, it's insane. And they found me on TikTok. So they're there.

And that's amazing. And they're going to start referring you. You're not even in your referral era yet.

I know.

Like, I've had a couple. I know. But like when I always say like the 3 years mark is when you really start to feel that referral piece come in. So just be ready, like physically and mentally ready because what happens is the ball is already rolling down the hill. You've pushed it, it's going well. But I think what happens is with a lot of newer agents who are very successful in the beginning, cuz that was me, I got the ball going very early in my My career, by the time I was in year three, I had zero time management skills. Like I was working 24/7. I thought that was the only way to do it. And by then, I was selling on average a million. You know, no matter what, before the next year had even hit. Like by September, I had a million for next year on the books. So then I was managing that, still taking clients, never said no. So it can really catch up to you if you're not strict with how you're managing your time. And so that will still be a thing, April. Like you're going to start getting referrals from these people that know you're good. Like, know, you know what you're doing. And of course have the social media to back it up because whether you guys want to believe it or not, social media is where we are. Like, period. So a lot of people say, I don't want to be on social media. I don't want to do it this way. That's fine. But the way, like these people are there too, and if you want to attract a certain client without leaving the The house. This is like, you're not out networking every day. You're not mingling in these luxury circles. So you had to create your circle.

Did. And where I, I live in rural Pennsylvania, I'm surrounded by, you know, cow farms and cornfields. I don't have a luxury circle in this area at all. So it is online for me. And I will say, like I kept saying, they're on there, they're on social media. They may not have a profile where they're constantly posting, People are using TikTok and Instagram as Google. They're using it to search. Look at the hashtags, look at popular things that people are searching. Go look up a resort and then see what— like, you know, on TikTok, if you click on comments, it usually gives you like the most common search at the top in blue. People are using it to look at things.

I just started TikTok, so I'm learning this stuff. It's, it's like a whole different animal than Meta.

It is. It is.

Like, I'm not Meta. Well, I feel very comfortable in Meta, but girl, TikTok and I, we're starting to get there. I, once you hit 1,000, it does seem to pick up like how much more they push your stuff. So I just hit 1,000 like 2 weeks ago.

Congratulations. You can put a link in your bio. Sorry. On that account, I want to say I have 24K as of this morning. So I, I'll be honest with you. When I started on TikTok, I have my own personal following for a separate reason, for my health journey, my weight loss journey and stuff like that. But I never intermingle the two. And promote because I that that following is not a travel clientele for me. They're there just to see me in my life. They're like cool, you travel. And like the times I've tried, like I've tried to get people to come on a cruise with me. I'm like let's make it a TikTok cruise. Nobody cares. They're like whatever.

Right.

So they're not my clientele. So I do not intertwine those two accounts. So don't think I've got eighty nine thousand on my personal account. That is not translating to my travel account. I posted daily for thirty days. I made a TikTok video for thirty days. I interacted or once a day for thirty days interacted. with comments, and I went from no following on that account to 16,000 followers in a month. And then it's like, it's growing, but it's a slow grow now. And it's more so people are like, because I've, I've niched down, I only put out specific content. So if they're looking for that, they're following me, their friends are tagging and stuff like that, and they're finding me. Yeah.

April, that is amazing. I'm so glad we dove into this. We had somebody on last season that also has quite the TikTok following, and I know this is a question all the time, and sadly I can't answer it because I'm learning TikTok too, and it was a choice I recently made because I did not want to get on TikTok. I was avoiding it, and it's not because I hate TikTok. I actually love to scroll, but just the additional output of more content, and I probably create 30 pieces of content a day, so in every other space I'm in, so I was like, what? I now have to create something different here too, like with a different vibe, a different energy, because TikTok's entire algorithm is set So different. So it's been a— but the thing I always tell people is you don't have to do it all at once. So if you're listening and you're like, well, I'm building my Facebook group or I'm on Instagram, you get to pick. Like, but her point and our point is that pick one, stay committed. That's my advice always.

Mm-hmm.

It's like, if you're gonna do something, stay committed for 30 to 90 days. And then if you have, if you start to see a change, stay with it another 30 days. Like, don't just throw in the towel after 2 weeks cuz you don't get a lead from it, or, you know, because it takes time. Yes, 100%.

And like TikTok, I spent the 30 days, I grew that following so that I knew that, you know, people were watching and it was showing up on algorithms. And then I go back and forth between Instagram and Facebook cuz I'm not really good with Meta, but I'm trying to focus more on Instagram right now and build that. I don't have a lot of followers on that account.

Mm-hmm.

Because honestly, I'm not putting the effort in, but I know there's people on Instagram that are searching and the algorithm is different. You can use more hashtags. It's more niched. They've got— what is it— Threads or something is another thing that's attached to it.

And you can actually post, depending on what it is, on both places at the same time and then link it up to your Facebook if you want to.

Yeah, so I'm trying to focus on the one platform, and then I need to go back to my Facebook group and really hone in and focus on that. I do like— I kind of piecemeal it. I'll go back and forth to, you know, like your Facebook Groups program, and I'll read some stuff. I'll pull from the And I'll post in there, but it's, it's steady in there. I have like 150 people in that group, in my private group, I would say. Um, and there's people that interact, the same people usually, like my like top 3 people.

And I'm grateful for them for interacting. I love our top 3.

But again, I'm like, I, I've slowly like told myself like, don't expect it to change overnight. I'm not spending the time on my Facebook group. I'm not spending the time on my Instagram. It's not going to look like my TikTok where I spent— I literally 30 days, every single day I made a point to post. If I went to bed and I was like, crap, I didn't post, I put something together really fast just to get it out there. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it really doesn't. It can be a 5-second clip with a trending audio and hashtags. People come and see it. Let me tell you, I'm gonna pull this up.

I have the weirdest thing that hits, like the weirdest stuff of mine hits, and it's usually more on the personal side that tends to get like more clicks. But I think, I think TikTok definitely requires you to show up, especially that first 30 days. So if you are thinking, I want to try this, that's great, but make sure you have the time invested, like set the time aside. Because if you don't set the time aside, you are more likely to let it fall apart. Like that's just how it is. But when you're new, you guys, you have to be marketing like 90% of time. I used to say, like I say a lot of the times, it's at least 10% of your week. But when you're brand new, um, it is so important to be where you want to be all the time, as much as possible. If you don't want to be networking, if you don't have time to be outside your house, because that's the only way the name is getting out there. And you can't worry about, I'm posting too much, or I'm this in their face, or I'm that in their face. It's like, it doesn't matter because they get the choice to keep watching or to unfollow or whatever. And we just have have to keep doing the thing to get to the results that we're looking to get to. I mean, that's exactly, that's the bottom line. So, okay. Well, this is, this has been awesome.

I know. I was going to say like really quick before we get off of the TikTok stuff. And when I said like, it does not have to be a masterpiece. I posted a like 5-second clip from Hawksbill Resort in Antigua of the pool, just the pool. It's panning the pool. You can see the ocean. put a, like a title on the screen that said POV, you arrive to your resort and this is the view from the pool. It almost has a million views. It has 400 comments and 42,000 likes. That is one of my most active ones right now. I didn't literally, it was just like, let me post something. I posted the pool and POV, this is your view. And I get people that book consults and say, I saw that resort and I want to know, can I go there? Can you get me there?

I love this. I'm so proud of you. Like it is so insane to Really just see the results of what you know all this effort that you put in this like like your ADHD pays off. Like if you can hone in on something and really commit, and I think what's important about what April is going through right now is or you know she's learning as she goes is really just honoring the things that she enjoyed. So she like a lot of you guys are always asking me like how do I know what Tanisha and it's like well what do you what are you attracted to? What what gets you out of bed in the morning? And it wasn't going to be the Punta Cana five night for $500 a person. It It just never was going to be that for April. So she stopped talking about it. She didn't worry about alienating, you know, really 90% of probably her original following.

Yeah.

Um, and she made a pivot. Like, these are huge decisions— or small decisions that have huge results. And really owning that she did not want to be a family specialist. And you don't have to, uh, defend being a— like, you don't— like earlier you were like, I will do it. It's like, you don't have to. There's no reason to do it. You're successful in what you're doing now. And Because technically you are part-time, it's important to really stay niched, like stay with the people that you're really clicking with and connected with and selling what you want to sell to them. So that is really cool. That is fantastic. I'm so excited for you. But it wasn't always like this, right? Like your confidence is soaring right now and we love that, but I know you had some imposter syndrome. So let's talk a little bit about those struggles because obviously people are listening like, oh my gosh, she just has it all together. She has this great confidence. She got on TikTok, she just went for it. And, you know, so what kind of, you know, just tell us a little bit about that part of your story. Okay, y'all, let's pause for a quick break. I know you are tired of fucking hustling for scraps and feeling stuck in the TA grind. It's time to flip the script, y'all. Commission with a Comet is your no BS guide to building a travel business that pays you what you're worth. Imagine working with high-value clients who trust your expertise and don't blink at your fees. This course gives you the tools to attract them, negotiate commissions that make sense, and upsell like a pro so you can finally see those commas in every paycheck. This is about breaking free from fucking burnout and building a business that aligns with your life, the one you actually The one everyone thinks you already have. Are you ready to make it happen? Because if you are, it's time to head to my website and grab Permission with a Comment. Don't forget to use the exclusive coupon code in the show notes. Okay, now back to the pod.

So fun fact, I am not a people person, but I keep finding myself in careers that require me to be a people person.

Right.

Even working from home as a nurse, I still have to interact with people on the daily just from a computer screen. Mm-hmm. And you know, a travel advisor, I may not have like a brick and mortar where people are coming in, but I'm still communicating with not only my clients, but suppliers and properties. I'm not, I don't like people. I love you guys, but I don't like people. So confidence was not always there. I'm still working on it. I told Marcie when I got on the pod this morning that I was shitting my pants cuz I was so nervous.

I know. I was like, what? You look great. What's wrong? She's like, oh my God.

Like, I, I'm really, really working on it. But in the beginning, even when I started making those bookings and I would see, you know, the commission amount go up and it may not even have been the commission amount. Sometimes it's just whatever their price point was and that total booking. And I'm like, how in the hell did I do that? It just felt like I was cosplaying a luxury travel advisor. I was like, this should not be me. I'm new. Nobody, I don't want to say nobody knows me, but it's like, I'm new. It's not like I've been around for 15 years and I have this huge like brand name that people know all over the world. It's just, I'm The Vacay Way in Pennsylvania and you find me on social media. How am I booking this? And it just felt like I shouldn't be able to do that. Look, so we're gonna get real, but a lot of stuff stems from— I'm, I'm a serial entrepreneur. Okay.

Okay.

And it's probably from, you know, my then undiagnosed ADHD. I'm very passionate about the things that that I like. Okay, so if I see something and I'm like, I really love that— it started with crafty things where it's like, I'm not spending the money for this in the store, I can make it myself. And I would make it, I'd be successful, I'd be really good at it, I'd turn it into a business, and then I would burn out. I would burn out, but it was because I didn't love it.

Right.

Like, I liked it because I was like, this is fun, people want it, people want to buy it, I'm making money. And then I would burn out less than a year, and then I'd move on to next thing. And I kept doing that for so many years until I started this. And even then, like, I had imposter syndrome. I'm like, my last venture was, um, I made custom hats, like custom cowboy hats and Western hats, and I would hand burn them with a wood burner. And I do shows. I follow some of those accounts. They are insane.

They are so much fun to watch. Yeah.

Yeah. And I, I got burned out. I was like, I like it, but I, I, I liked giving a nice product to somebody, but it did not bring me joy to do that. And I even then, I felt like an imposter because there's huge people in the Western community that make amazing, amazing hats. I'm like, I'll never be like them. Like, why are people coming to me? So then I just like get down on myself, I shut it down and move on to the next thing. And then I stole this idea from my husband again. Like, once I saw that I could bring these bookings in, people were coming to me, they were telling their family and friends about me, or they wanted to add on another room because they talked about, you know, with their parents, the consult, and she makes this so easy. And they were like, well, I want to come too. Like, have her Um, and I'm like, crap, I can do this. I can really do this. And I've been with it for over a year. It's the longest thing besides my nursing career that I've stuck with. Uh, but I still—

Now you're stuck with it because you book— I know, many months in advance.

Many months in advance. I've got people. Yes. So I can't leave.

But you needed some systems. You needed some systems, you said. Yeah. So that also has probably helped just figuring out all of the different pieces and parts to take care of.

It does. It does. Like last night, I, I went against my boundaries and I sent out a proposal last night at 9:30 because I was so excited for it, and she viewed it, and we've been chatting about it today. But I still feel like an imposter. It was a $20,000 proposal that I sent out for 5 nights, and I was like, oh my God, like, she's, she's going to think I'm insane. I was like, but it wasn't her price point. But still, I don't, I really don't know how to explain it, but it's like these dollar amounts, these people that come to me, it's like, why? Why me? Why do they come to me? Like, I just feel like I'm not worthy. I'm like, I don't want to get sappy, but it's just, I'm still in that mindset, Even with the clientele and the sales that I have, and, you know, I have the proof in the pudding that whatever I'm doing works and people want to book with me, but I still sometimes feel like, why? Like, why me?

Because you have built like no trust factor and you are very approachable, whether you think you're a people person or not. I am also not a people person, and yet here we both are. I understand how you feel. Because I wake up every day wondering when you guys are gonna start like dropping off, like stop following me, stop listening to anything I say.

That will never happen.

But it's true. Like it's the same thing. And I think it's because we're both new at what we're doing. I mean, I've only been a coach in travel advising for 3 years and now it's 3 years all of a sudden, but I still feel new and I still feel like it's, it's hard. Like I understand exactly what you're saying. Like they're trusting you with all of this money and you feel like you're nobody. Like you're just some random girl. in Pennsylvania. And the thing is, is like, I used to be a random girl in Indiana. So it's like, why do you guys trust me? Because we show up. That's why. It's consistency. It's, it's owning who we are and deciding, doesn't matter what anybody else thinks. We're good at this. We know we can do it. Like you said, you just kept saying, I can do this. I, I did this. I did that. And then you're like, that just doing the thing and then proving to yourself. And then obviously the, the financial piece is you are making money at this. You're not making small money. You're making, you know, the commission with a comma almost every time. And that also drives you because you're an entrepreneur, because we like to make money. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I think we have always been taught that we're not supposed to talk about it. We're not supposed to be proud of ourselves if we make it. I mean, girl, like I, I think I under— like I've been having a lot of imposter syndrome this week because of Lead the Manifest. I was like, what the fuck is going on? What is wrong with all of them? I mean, you guys sold that out in 90-some seconds. Like we could, we could see it. Kajabi sold 10 extra spots because you guys were buying it at the exact same time. And I like looked at my husband 'cause he was over my shoulder and he's like, Marcie, that's more than 44 people. I was like, no, no, no.

It was meant to be.

Kajabi said it was gonna cut off, but it didn't cut off 'cause it was happening so fast. But it's the same thing. I got off of the computer And I was like, oh, what? Fuck, what now? So it's the same thing. Like you take this money and then you're like, what now? So what did you do to make sure that you could continue to take care of these people? Because they aren't playing small with their money.

No, they're not. And I, I have that conversation with them when we're talking about what price is needed for what they want during the consultation. I don't ask budgets anymore. We talk about what they want and what that averages, especially time of year, stuff like that. And I, I never say this is the cost or you're spending this, I always tell them it's an investment. And I want them to know that I trust their investment. I'm going to take care of their investment because I truly understand that it's not an easy feat to be like, yeah, $20,000 on a vacation.

Oh yeah.

That's somebody's like, they could buy a house with that. They could buy a car with that. That's a lot of things that somebody could use other than a vacation. So I really, it's very important to me. So we have that conversation. As time has gone on, I need systems. I needed systems because in the beginning it was like, ooh, I've got, I use Travel Joy as my CRM. And I was like, you know, it keeps track of where they're at in the process based on proposal and when they leave. There's task lists I can put in there, but I was not using them the way that I needed to. Propose to close with the emails, with the texts. You know, I make them my style, but I follow that to a T. And I actually have my own Google Doc where I put in, okay, at this time point, send this exactly. At this time point, send this.

Love that.

I have different task workflows with automation and stuff now. I actually did that last month for Travel Joy, using all of that based on if it's pre-booking and if it's, uh, pre-travel and after-travel. All of those have automated task lists. Some stuff of course has to be personalized, but you have to have a system in place so that you, one, if you are taking on a lot of clients, you wanna make sure that they're all getting the same level of service. You don't forget something. Nobody falls through the cracks. Um, because of it, they're like, my people are coming to me because of the service that I provide. It's not because I can book something. And I tell them this, I'm like, you can book this on your own. Anybody can book a trip, but you come to me for service.

Well, I was gonna ask that about the TikTok thing. You have 400 comments. There's no way 400 people are making a consultation, but like some people are afraid of giving that information away and them just going off and booking it. Like, how do you feel about that piece of what you do?

I'm limited on what I give people online. I, you know, if they reach out in a comment or a DM, I send them straight to my calendar link and I explain like, I'm appointment only. I have to have a consult with all new clients so that I can get to know you and make sure we're a good fit for working I have that canned as well. Copy and paste goes straight into the message for everybody, straight to my calendar.

But I know you weren't sure about that. You said you were a little nervous about the appointment only.

No, because I thought I was going to be giving up business. I thought that if I made people make an appointment with me, if they were like me, not a people person, not wanting to be on Zoom, they wouldn't make the appointment because I wouldn't make the appointment because I'm so, I have so much social anxiety and I thought I would lose business if I did that. If I did that. Honestly, I don't wanna say it's brought in more business, but it's brought in my aligned client.

Right.

If they want to work with me, they are going to make that consultation booking. Mm-hmm. They're going to have the 30-minute or so call with me and go from there. If they are not my client, if they don't care about the services that I offer and they just wanted information so that they didn't have to do a Google search, they're not going to book it and I'm not going to give them that information for free. I might help them and give them some ideas and say, if you want to talk more, make a consult, but then that's all that I give them.

That's it. Yeah. That's amazing. I think it's hard for people, especially new people who are like, well, I have a lead. I have to take it right now. I have to do it right now. I think what's interesting about making the appointment that I learned when I started the process of this, because I was the same exact way, girl. I did not want to make the appointment. Didn't want to talk to them on Zoom, but I realized I cannot possibly do the things I need to do with you and in an efficient way without talking. Like I get so much more done. And when I started in 2006, I I met with people at Starbucks. It was so stressful. Like, I remember just being anxious and I like got a certain cover for my laptop and stuff so they could find me because I didn't want to put like Marcie out in front of it. Like, gross. So it was very stressful, but I could close on the spot if I got them in front of me. And then I got away from that because social media became a thing. Texting was bigger. God, I'm aging myself badly right now. But I mean, there was no social media other than MySpace when I started. You know, well, and Facebook wasn't really used the way we're using it now. It was just for college kids, mostly just chit-chatting and no photos or anything. So, but yeah, I used to, I used to talk about my business on MySpace. Like, I, I mean, when I first got started and stuff, because I talked about everything on there, you know, just kind of like this. But I think it's, it really took me back to my roots to start doing Zooms before Zoom was even really a thing. And it was hard at first, but if you, what happens that I explain and propose to close, and I probably had a chit-chat with you because I think sometimes you guys will message me like, this is, I don't know if this is going to work. Um, I think what it really does is it creates a professional face on your business. You're not just texting about a $20,000 vacation. Somebody who is spending that kind of money, you need to talk to them. I think spending anything over like $5,000, you need to talk to them. You have to talk because that is a substantial amount of money and talking about it allows them to get to know you. And it just, it's like we always say, you can't just walk into a dental office. You can't make an— you can't just walk up on your hairstylist. There's, there's certain people you have to make an appointment for and that you will also wait for. So you create that demand on your time by limiting how often you're available, which April does. She only blocks 3 days a week for 4-hour stints. Do you take more than 1 appointment a day?

I do.

I do. Okay.

Actually, just, I was doing 4 a day as my max, but I just changed it in Calendly. I only do 3 a day.

Okay. That's still quite a few appointments, girl. It is. It is.

But I do, I put buffers in between so that I'm not back to back because I want to have time to follow up with them. I'm very timely on everything and I'm, I'm sticking to my process. process for my sanity and for their experience as well.

Right. And I'm reading in your form right now, you really hone in on the client experience. That is like, I mean, the service piece is great, but like, what does that look like for you when you talk about a client experience? What are you giving them?

So this is something, and I don't know, like, so I sell, I do sell luxury, but not all of my clients are luxury clients. They're not always going to a luxury property. I sell like, I sell 4.5, 5-star properties. I don't do budget properties, but not everybody's spending $20,000. I will take on some clients that have a budget of $2,500 or $4,000 or whatever the case may be.

Okay.

My thing that I say to them is luxury is not always about the dollar sign. It's the experience that you receive from me. I want everybody to feel like a VIP. I want them to feel like the main character of their vacation, of their trip. And I don't care if you're spending $2,000 or $20,000. $3,000, you're getting a luxury service from me. So everybody's treated the same. Of course, I have my processes and stuff like that in place. I have, you know, the follow-up emails and sending them know before you go. So everybody gets that standard stuff. Um, but I just, my biggest thing is I want them to feel like they're being cared for and they're not just a number or another booking to me.

Love that.

They're a human being. Um, and I make that clear in the consult too. I'm like, cuz I don't tell them what my fee is until the end. after I've explained how I can be of service to them and how we can work together. I never open with it. I go, I get all the information, I get them excited about thinking about the trip and kind of picturing everything, and then I go into, okay, do you have any questions before I talk about how I can be of service to you and how we can work together? I go through everything and just let them know my goal is for them to feel like the VIP. I don't care how much you're spending.

I mean, you are following Module 5 to a T. People are always like, when do you bring up the fee? And it's like, well, you make sure it's noted in your Calendly, but a lot of people aren't reading that. So you still have to deliver the information. And I'm so excited that you charge a fee and you're brand new. Like, so many agents do not believe they can charge a fee from day one. And this is something I've been pushing hard since I came like into the coaching space. I wish someone had told me I could charge a fee And I had to build up to it in 2020, and I was already doing this for a long time before I ever took a fee. So what is your starting fee and does it range or is it flat?

So I have a flat fee. I'm actually going to increase it soon because a client told me I wasn't charging enough when she heard my fee after I told her my services.

Raise it up. Yes.

So I actually started, I was very, very scared and hesitant to charge a fee, but I was like, I have to because everything that Marcie's saying and everybody else that charges a fee So what she is saying is like, if I go into this and give them all this information and they book on their own, I just worked for free. It might've been only an hour, but I worked for free, wasted my time and got nothing from it. So cover your time, cover yourself for if they do go off and book on their own, which if you're offering the services and explaining it to them, they're not going to book on their own. They're going to want you, but charge a fee. I started at $100 and I was getting people that were like, okay.

Okay.

And, but I also got a lot of people that were very hesitant to pay $100, which made me very self-conscious. Too much. I raised one day out of the blue, I went up to $250. I just, in a consultation, I said, this is my fee, it's $250. Like, it just came natural to me to say it. I had no like plan to raise it, I just said it. They're like, okay. Um, so I feel like honestly, the higher my fee gets, and I feel like $250 is not a lot, but the higher my fee gets, the more people trust and actually want to pay it, if that makes sense. I think if they see a small fee, They're like, eh, is it really worth it? But if they see a larger fee, they're like, okay, I'm giving her this money. This is an investment. She's going to, you know, give me a turnaround and like give me the service that she promised because if I'm paying her, like she better.

There's a lot of skin in the game on both sides. If you're taking $250 from somebody and they're giving you $250 to do the job you promised to do, there is like this mutual respect. We both know we're in it now. Like, let's make money. Exactly.

Yeah, exactly. I do. The only other time that I change it is if it's within, uh, 45 days of travel. I do charge an additional $100, but I'll probably up that to just a flat $500 starting if it's a rush job, because I like to use Vacation Express and fax and stuff. And when you get in there, like, depending on which, uh, vendors and suppliers you're using, you might have to do manual paperwork and get credit card, you know, pictures of credit cards and IDs and things signed and faxed back. And it's a pain in the ass. You don't get to use the online system.

I hate That, like, where am I getting a fax machine? So I don't like get one of the, the online, like the app fax, fax apps or something. Yes. It's so much stuff. It's like, and I think that that's something as clients, people don't, when they hire us, they are like, oh, she's just pushing the book it button. And it's like, no, I have to collect your exact name, your birth dates. It's very detail-oriented. And then on top of that, we wanna make sure you have an amazing time, so we connect with the management. We prep everything. We do know before you go. We have a pre-travel call. Like if we're doing this white glove, and that's what I teach, you know, to do white glove with boundaries can be very hard, but it is 100% possible. And I just love that. I love learning too, all the different things that you guys as newer agents are doing. And we talked about it on Melissa's podcast a couple weeks ago. She was just like, I cannot believe these people came in after COVID. Like we talk like, but you guys are not traumatized. So it's like, It's like fresh face in the business. And I love that you are not afraid anymore to charge that fee because it shows the value and the expertise that you have obviously invested in yourself. Like you've paid for all these courses, you are studying these properties, you're connecting with management, and that is valuable. That just doing those activities. And the best way to get the ROI on that stuff is to charge a fee because you get immediate payment on the time you have invested already.

Exactly. And I very rarely get pushback. I will sometimes get I've had folks that you can kind of see the demeanor change once you tell them that there's a fee, it's upfront, it's non-refundable. And they're like, it's usually, I have to pay that before you send me anything? And then I very gently tell them, yes, because you're like, I don't start any work until I'm getting compensated for it because you could potentially, I'm not saying you will, but you could take it, everything that I send you and book it on your own.

Oh.

And I've just done all of that for free. And I have the knowledge, the expertise, the specializations, you know, the certifications. I have boots on the ground contacts in all of these destinations that I send you to. Like, I have a lot of stuff under, you know, in my sleeves and stuff like that that I want to get compensated for it whether you book with me or not.

Right.

And I'll tell them that. I also, I let them know too, especially you can always tell that's why you do the Zoom calls and hopefully get them on camera. I don't require it. I'm always on camera so they know I'm a real person.

Okay.

Because I don't share my face on my TikToks a lot. I've learned they don't, they, those videos do not pop off. They do not want to see me. They're like, just show me the property. That's hilarious.

'Cause I'm always telling you guys, they do want to see you and mine do pop off. My face ones pop off. So I'm like, okay, well, people don't like my face. They're like, they're like, April, we don't need your like little head at the bottom.

Get out of the screen, April.

Just show us the screen. Yeah. I think it's probably a little bit different because almost all my stuff is just telling you guys things about the business and not about a resort. Or whatever. So that is—

So, but like, I will tell them, you know, and I'll look at their face or I'll listen to the tone of their voice kind of change. And it kind of dictates if I need to kind of explain a little bit more in detail about what my services entail. And I, I'm not scared to say I'm not a cookie cutter travel agent. And I, I'm not scared to say it here. Like, cause we know there are MLM travel agents, there are cookie cutters. There are the ones that do it cause they think that they get free travel out of this, which You don't freaking get free travel out of anything. You gotta work for it.

She's literally sold 600,000 and she's probably never been anywhere for free.

I haven't. I haven't.

I have not been anywhere for free. I mean, you might get invited somewhere, but you're still paying for things to go if you do decide to travel.

Yes. And like there's freebie nights and stuff like that, but I had to work my ass off to earn those and I still haven't taken them cuz I've gotta pay for the other nights.

But— And they expire if they're through BE.

They do.

They expire. And be careful with that BE rewards card cuz you can lose it too if you are not Yeah. That's so, that's, I mean, it's, you're telling us, I feel like I have these conversations with you guys all the time, but I really hope you're listening to what April's saying. She's a new advisor. She's doing every single thing I say, like everything. Like that's the reason she's here because she wrote this beautiful testimonial that I did not ask her to write. And I read it and I was like, well, no wonder she's fucking popping off. She's doing every single thing I say. And that sounds so cocky again, imposter syndrome. Syndrome. Like, why would she follow? But this is why, you guys, because I'm not teaching you bullshit. And it's amazing to watch it come to life in front of me. Like, the work I put in so that you guys can be successful is like— I love seeing it. I love witnessing it. Like, bearing witness to it is my most favorite thing. Talking to you guys on here and online and reading your testimonial, really. I literally reached out to her and I was like, will you please be on the podcast? Because they need hear that you have done every single thing, the exact thing I've asked you to do. If you want to pop off, if you want to have success, she's doing TikTok instead of Facebook group for the most part. And that is fine. I never said, like, I do say, like, I choose Facebook group. I think everybody should choose it if you're deciding which social media, but she was already on TikTok. She already understood the algorithm. She already knew that was probably a good place for her. So these are the decisions you do get to make, but it doesn't change the advice that I give. It's like, if you're doing TikTok, you still have to be on there for at least 30 days and put yourself out there and do and try new things. And I don't know, I'm just so excited for you. Like it is badass. Like you're just a travel baddie. Like it is crazy. It's amazing.

And what's crazy too, I know, like you said, we end up talking about like Mexperts and stuff like that, but something that I share a lot, I probably shared in your groups too, when people ask for like recommendations for a Mexican Caribbean, one, as a As a travel agent, I, besides my own personal travel, like on a cruise and then my husband's work trip to Portugal in July, I haven't traveled to any of these destinations besides cruise ports when I've stopped. With the Mexican Caribbean, I sell a lot of the Mexican Caribbean because I know a lot about it. I first went there in February on a cruise. I went to Cozumel and Costa Maya. Prior to that, I'd never been there and I sold over 40 vacations to the Mexican Caribbean because I've—

Wow.

Learned so much and put everything into practice.

I'm learning.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So a little, a little plug for Lori.

More plugs for Lori, like literal snaps for Lori because also she's the most humble human being ever. So she would never come on here and be like, my shit is the best, but her shit is the best when it comes to training on Mexico because she's neutral. She doesn't have, I mean, she has her favorites, but she will teach you from 3-star. She went and visited every single 3-star last year, you guys, cuz you guys demanded it. You were like, I want to know more about 3-star. I wanna see the stuff that people are saying they don't like and tell me more about that and why we either should or should not like it, you know, should give it a chance or whatever. And she's so great in her testimonials and the pictures she chooses. It's, yeah, it's amazing. I mean, you were able to do that. And I do think, yes, you gotta travel, but look at April. She's just doing the work. Like when she has time, she does the work. She follows what we say, like whether it's Lori or me or whoever. She's following. And, um, Miranda and I said this last week when we spoke, but Miranda's like, you can hire whoever you click with. You can follow whoever you decide to follow, but you have to pick somebody. Because if you don't choose, like, like, let's be honest, April, if you would've saw me and you were like, okay, I'm gonna listen to her and then I'm gonna listen to this coach and then I'm gonna listen to that travel person. Like, it would've really convoluted her system because she would've like been piecemealing it together from like 3 or 4 different spots. And so she chose me, which means she was following everything I said. It doesn't mean these other coaches aren't doing what works for them and what they believe, but you have to pick. If you try to follow everything, every piece of advice you get from everywhere, and we know the advice is rampant and not always great, you're going to get confused. Your client's going to be confused. And that can get really— that's when you get bogged down and frustrated and burnt out. It's like, I thought I was doing it right. I listened to that person and then I listened to that person. And it's like, no, if some Somebody has a standard systems and workflow in place, and it works for this certain kind of person. And I do think my aligned travel advisor probably has ADHD, has a couple kids, like running all the like doing all the things: volunteering, PTA, church, maybe two jobs, maybe you know entrepreneur spirit. There is like an avatar of you guys that really clicks with me, and I think it's because our brains are the same. So if you're listening and you're like, okay, that really is starting to. to sound like me, then pick me, but don't feel like you have to. There are other leaders in our industry doing great things out there. So it doesn't have to be us, but it does have to be Lori Gold if it's Mexico.

Yes.

If it's, if it's where we are, Mexico.

If it's Mexico.

Yes. Yeah. I mean, she's just the absolute bomb, but anyway, we have talked about so, so much today, but you also have said that you had a personal shift, like when you kind of came into the business and started these processes. So what did that look like for you?

Yeah. Yeah. So in short, I'm happy. I'm a happy person. Um, and even with imposter syndrome that pops up here and there all the time, I have like, I'm just confident in myself. I'm confident in what I do. And it started with this, like I said before, serial entrepreneur and starting all the things. And then, you know, family would be like, oh, here she goes again. Like she's doing another business.

Yeah.

And then I could show that like, I'm sticking with this. I'm good as hell at what I do. People come to me. Like, it just makes me happy. And then the fact that like, there's just, there's so much in this. Here's my brain, like all the tabs open right now.

That's okay.

It's like, yeah, a lot of it too is I'm a nurse. So as much as I'm not a people person, I'm a people pleaser because I like to help. I like to help people. That's why I became a nurse. And that actually like runs over into my travel agent business is I want to serve and help people. And this brings me that. fulfillment and it makes me happy. I'm not burning out over things. I'm, you know, with all the other business ventures that I had, I was, you know, with the hats, I would be up from the time that I woke up sitting at my desk, burning hats until midnight, sometimes after that.

Wow.

Trying to hustle and push them out for people online.

I mean, you could be doing that as an advisor too. There are advisors who— You could be. That are doing that and they're miserable. Or if they're not miserable, they will be soon. Yeah. You might be like, no, I love working all day. I'm like, yeah, until you don't.

Until you don't. And your health declines and your family notices and you're getting snippy with them because you're so tired and overworked. I wasn't spending time with my kid. Like, yeah, she's, she's been home since kindergarten because she's homeschooled. So she's home with me, but I wasn't spending time with her. I wasn't spending time with my husband. If they wanted to go out to get dinner, I'm like, I've got to get this done. Like, I have to do this. And then I'm sitting there. So I was just, I was not a happy person. Um, and with this, I'm like, I have—

I'm so glad that it changed for you. Yeah.

Yeah. I have the freedom. I have the flexibility. I'm owning my time. I'm owning what I do. Um, and I've taken it all back. So it's like, I'm in charge of myself and, you know, my circle and my surroundings. And it just feels really good. And my, my family has noticed that change too. And I'm like, because now it's like, hey, they want to go to dinner. And I'm like, yeah, let me just close my computer. Like the travel stuff will wait. It's not life or death.

Like, yeah, it's not. I mean, you're a nurse for God's sake. So we know the difference. Okay. Like, that's what, whenever someone compares this to a surgeon or something, I'm like, well, wait, wait, wait. We did not go to school for an extra 8 years. Nor do we have to drop everything to actually cut somebody's body open. Like, we are just managing potentially a shitty flight situation, which sucks, but is not life or death for the most part. I mean, I think people really take what we do sometimes a little too seriously. I say this all the time.

Mm-hmm.

Like, if you are not having fun planning vacations, you need to change something in your business. It's supposed to be fun. It's supposed to bring you joy. Like, I love just like this morning I sent off like some ideas for a hotel because I'm getting away from my process a little bit with this client because I've worked with them lots and lots and lots of times. So I don't feel like I have to put the whole shebang on, but they know I'm serious. They know this is like happening. So, you know, I sent them a couple of hotels to look at because it's Greece. I mean, you know, you got to look at a couple of things and she was like, we love this one. This one's just okay. And then we're just chatting and she's like, and you know, I want to go on that hike. And I was like, yeah. Yes, Amy, the fucking hike. I am aware of the hike. It's like we were just laughing about it though because she knows I don't hike and she's like, Marcie, you have to work out. Like you have to do some exercises. And I was like, no, I don't. I'm going to walk up the hill in Santorini to the wine shop. Like that's it. So like just laughing with them and having fun with them and calling them like, I'm never gonna go on a hike, Amy, ever. So like her whole, you know, goal sometimes is like, when you go, there's this hike. Like every time I travel, she's like, I found a hike And I'm like, so once you start building those relationships, closing the deal is also a lot easier because there's just that friendly, fun, extra energy. And that's why whenever somebody's like typing how miserable they are, I'm like, well, we need to change the fun piece. Like we need to bring the fun back because otherwise, yeah, you're going to get burnout. And how it happens is you're burning it at both ends. You don't have any calendar control. So that brings us to your 3 free things that they could do. do today after listening to this. And it's— your 3 things are very popular with the women that come on my show. So let's start with number 1.

Charge a damn fee.

Charge a fee.

I don't care if it's a dollar. I don't care if it's $500.

We do care if it's a dollar. It needs to be $150. It needs to be at least $150. At least $150 minimum.

But you're worth more than that. You need to charge a fee. You are putting in time. Even just putting out there, like, just looking at if somebody schedules a consultation, if you're like me, I'm looking at what they're answering just to get an idea of what they want. And I might do some quick little like 5-minute research to see if this is even feasible, if they're going to be the client for me.

Mm-hmm.

So you're putting in work whether you think you are or not. Charge a fee. And people, I personally believe people will value you as a travel advisor and value your services if you put a monetary value on it as well. Don't say that, you know, you can use me, I'm No, nobody's using anybody. You are working. You are a business. You need to be compensated for it. So charge a damn fee.

Charge the damn fee. Okay, number 2 is a control thing.

You need to get control of your calendar and you need to start being by appointment only. Be appointment only. Take consultations. You— that gives you the freedom to take back your own time. So you do not have to be overworked. You don't need to be taking on every single thing that comes to you. Limit it. I initially, when I started my calendar, I was every single day. I was like, well, what if people are working during the week and they can't have a consult with me? I need to do nighttime hours. I need to do weekend hours. No, absolutely not. They will find time on their calendar to book with me if they want to use my services. And I am opening up certain times that are comfortable for me to give that time and energy. I am not—

You're giving that to them too. Yeah. I mean, they, they're, they're going to be sitting in front of you. And it's like, one of my rules when people talk to me is you can't You can't be in the car, you can't be at your kids' school, you can't be at a softball game because you have to give me that attention as well. My time is extremely valuable. I wanna respect. So like right now, all my tabs are closed. I am here with you. That is how this is. And I told April, we're gonna be on and around for a couple hours. So, you know, we have to make sure we both have that time to give each other because it's important for the show. And if I was like distracted and earlier I was doing something cuz I was looking for a pen and I was like, I probably look psychotic right now, but I wanted to write down main character of your vacation, because that's, that's gonna be the title of the show. But yeah, she's not wrong. And she had to make an appointment with me for today. And it was like 4 weeks out, you know, because neither one of us had the exact times. And I think I may have only given you 2 choices.

Mm-hmm.

Because that's the other thing, you can limit your choices. Like I only take appointments on Tuesdays usually, like period. Like I don't, and I would never do more than one. So we're very different in how we do it, but we do it the the same in terms of this is how much time I have to give to somebody this week. That's, and a lot of people are like, well, Marcie, what if they don't book? It's like, well, then they don't book. Like I move on to my next client next week. Like that's okay. I use that time for something else. Like it's okay. But I think that's, that's important making, and we talk about it almost every episode is the calendar, because if you don't have control over your calendar, you have zero control of your business, let alone your life. Like.

Exactly.

Yeah. If it is not on the calendar, it does not exist. Like it is not like at all for me and my kids know it. My husband knows it and everything's on the calendar now. So that's, that's awesome. I love that. And what's your last one?

Learn to say no. This like encompasses a lot of things.

Yeah.

You do not need to take on every single thing that is thrown in your direction just because you think you have to, or you're going to miss out on business or a commission, whatever the case case may be, that's how you get burnout. Learn to say no. And it could be, no, I'm not available this day, here's my available time on my calendar. Or that's not the price point for all the things that you're looking for, this is what it needs to be. Or if somebody's like, hey, can I text you, can I send this to you at 9 o'clock? Just, you need to learn to say no if it doesn't serve you well. If it does not work well with your life, your time, your boundaries, say no. People are going to understand and respect that. If you say yes to everything, they will take advantage and they will walk all over you. You will not have control over anything anymore. You are going to burn yourself out.

100%. I love this. And I love too that you gave different examples of saying no instead of just, we don't have to take every booking because that's really where a lot of people get hung up. You're not even saying like, it's about the booking. It's about each piece of the process. No, this time doesn't work. No, that budget doesn't work. And no, I'm not taking this business. So I think that's really important. And a lot of people would say, oh, well, they're going to say no to me, then that's fine.

So be it.

Then that is called releasing the outcome. We don't have control of the other person on the screen or their decisions. And in most cases, it's not personal. It's because for whatever reason, it's just not meshing up with whether it's the calendar or their schedule or like their budget or whatever. It's very rarely like, oh, I just can't stand April. Like, that's just not a thing. Um, and if it is, good, get We weren't meant to be.

You're not my client.

If you make this personal, definitely get the hell out. Like, I definitely don't want you around me. So this was so good. So now is one of my favorite parts of the show. Not that this whole thing was not my favorite, cuz this was a great episode and I think a lot of people are gonna take a lot away from it. But what is your unpopular travel advisor opinion?

Okay. It was hard for me to kind of put this all into like one, cuz I have a lot of unpopular travel advisor opinions.

I love it.

And I'm such a, I'm a, I'm a fresh little, I'm just a baby. I'm new at this, but I'm like, I've already got things on my list. We do not owe everyone a proposal. We don't need to say yes to every request, and we certainly do not have to be available around the clock. So this kind of ties into those 3 things too. And I think it's unpopular in an opinion because a lot of people think in order for me to get the business, to keep the business, to get the bookings, I've got to be everything To everyone, and you do not have to, and you shouldn't have to. Real professionalism is knowing when to say no so that you can deliver the best you and the best yes for your client. You have to protect your time and energy. You say that all the time. You have to protect your time and your energy, and that's what is going to make your client experience better. Again, it's so much like I try to encompass into one. But it's like, again, I think a lot of travel advisors, either new or been in the business forever, you just feel like you have to do it all or you're going to miss out. It's that like, what is it? FOMO?

Yep.

FOMO, it's, it's not a thing here.

Like, to me, it's overrated. That's why I was like, guys, if you're gonna do Lead the Manifest, you have to embrace the JOMO, which is the joy of missing out, because you might be missing out on some things to do that class specifically.

Yes. And I'm like, that's just my biggest thing. And it took me a bit to learn this and I really stick by it is like, I I do not have to be everything to everyone and do all the things. That does not bring me joy. It doesn't make me happy. If I take every client, I'm not going to mesh with every client, and I'm going to have those clients that like drive me crazy, run me up a wall. That's not anybody that I want to work with. You have to, you have to be confident in knowing, one, who your client is, who you are as an advisor and a service that you want to offer and who you want to work with and what brings you joy and wants you to spend that time with them.

Oh my gosh. This was so good, girl. I love this so much. Thank you for being here because your journey with the family life, the struggles, you know, balancing being an RN, your story is proof, girl, proof that you can juggle a million things and make like a million dollars in sales, which we love so much. So I'm so excited for you. I'm proud of you. I think this is like one of the coolest stories that we've had on Because it's just really one of those things where you can have everything you want if you design it the way you want to design it, which is the stories of everyone that's been on the show, but especially a new advisor just really killing it and doing this really well. And I'm glad your family came around because I know it can be really tough to like have that, you know, oh, she's doing one more thing. So for anyone listening who sees themselves in April, Whether you're, you know, have another job, raising kids, caring for the parents, battling anxiety, or just feeling like an imposter. I mean, I think we all have that. This is your reminder that it truly is possible. April, you are the definition of the Vacay Way. Like I am obsessed with this. So thank you for being here. We really appreciate your time.

Thank you for having me. It was so good.

Yay! That's a wrap on today's episode. Hey, friend. Thanks for hanging out with me again on the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. I hope you're leaving this episode feeling fired up, inspired, and ready to take back control of your business. And let's be honest, your fucking life. If today's episode hit home, do me a favor and share it with your fellow travel advisors who need to hear this. And don't forget to leave a review. Your support means the world and helps me reach more badass advisors like you. And hey, if you've got a story to share or some no BS advice of your own, you've taken a course or two of mine, maybe you've been a coaching client, I want to hear from you. Head to my website to apply to be a guest. I'd love to feature you on an upcoming episode. Until then, you fucking got this. Keep being bold, keep being unapologetic, and keep building the business you fucking deserve. This is Marcie Muensterman signing off. Signing off with zero fluff and a whole lot of heart.