Megan Medlin: Leading a Legacy: Group Trips That Change Lives

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, hey guys, welcome back to the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. Today I've got someone with me who's really special as they all are, but this badass travel advisor is my friend Megan. She used to coach with me when I was doing one-on-one coaching, and she also came to the Momentum Retreat last year, which was very exciting with the hurricane disruption. She's also someone who has taken every single one of my courses, which is a real big investment. So I thank her very much. We have a lot in common too. We both have an Airbnb. We both have kiddos, been married quite a while, and we both escort group trips, which I am so excited to talk to her about today because she just got back from a national park tour with 11 fabulous women. So yeah, she's out here running an entire-ass household with 4 kids. She is building a slow-grow business, and I just think that You're gonna love today's episode. So Megan, welcome. I'm so happy to have you. How are you doing?

I am so great. And it's just really good to be here. I've kind of, um, been along with you for, I mean, almost since day one of my business.

Yeah.

You're an OG. I know people are like, oh, you know Marcie?

And I'm like, yeah, we're friends. We text. Let me name drop. We're here for it. It's a little weird. Yesterday somebody messaged me and was like, I feel like I'm chatting with a celebrity because she lives really close by. Yeah. And she's like, I'd love to have coffee. And I was like, girl, just give me a heads up because I'm happy to. Um, and she's like, really? Because I feel like you're a celebrity. I'm like, I am not a celebrity. That feels so awkward, but I know it's become a household name for some people in travel.

It's— Well, it's just such a unique space to be able to have like real conversations, especially as you start getting into the groups for the particular courses, that's so helpful because you now know, okay, we're literally on the same page. We've done the same work. We're on the same concept of how we want to run things. And so having those support systems are key.

Yes. And those are obviously much smaller groups because, you know, the big group is almost 14,000 today and those groups tend to be in the much smaller hundreds. So you can almost like start to recognize names and when you're out in the TA group world or you go to a conference or something, you might recognize somebody's name on their name badge and be like, oh, I think that we're both in this space together. And that's pretty cool.

So yeah, I got to go on a fam to Fairbanks this summer. Oh cool.

Oh, I saw all that. Oh my gosh, pictures were fantastic.

Yeah, it was awesome. Um, but I got to, you know, you kind of were talking with the ladies there and there was one guy, but we were talking with the ladies and a couple of them were already in your groups. Some of them were in some of the course groups. And so being able to have those conversations was really cool.

Yeah. And you kind of can talk talk about like seeing, it's almost like an inside joke because you're like, oh, you're using terminology you've only heard from the courses, like first and best and like things like that.

Yeah. And it, if you've done it this way, it's like you want to share that with others so that they too can sort of step up and stop working themselves to death. Yes, there is another way. And so if you have met somebody that is through that coursework, it's like this enlightenment and you guys are on like the other side.

It's a great club to be a part of. I'm proud of it. I'm proud of like creating it, but I'm more proud of you guys. And I love that we can do this too, because the podcast is really showing, like I was saying before, you know, it's not, I hate to use the word most successful financially, the women who have been on the podcast, but they are so successful in their own right that it's like the only other word I can use, like the everyday travel advisor, somebody who's doing a lot of different things And being a successful advisor. And it's like, you don't have to make and sell millions to be successful at this career. And I think you're going to be a testament to that today. But I really want to hear about Montana. This looks incredible. Oh my gosh. I'm getting goosebumps because I don't know if you know, I really thought about signing up and then I was like, that says white river rafting and I might die. So, and it was like fly fishing and all this stuff. And it was like, in my heart, I want to be that girl, Megan. But I am not that girl, so I did not sign up, but I loved watching this journey on Facebook. I really loved the photographs that you guys took, and I just wanna hear like, what was your favorite part?

Oh my gosh. Well, let me preface this with saying I typically do not revisit places. There are way too many places for me to go and see, and this is my third time to Montana and I'm planning another one. Awesome.

Oh my gosh. I've been to Montana. I did love it.

Maybe.

But you wait, well, I'm gonna interrupt you again. I stayed at the Ranch at Rock Creek.

Okay.

And it is like a 5-star, like it's all-inclusive.

Ooh.

And they like will come pick you up at your cabin, which is less than a quarter of a mile from the lodge to drive you to dinner if you do not wanna ride the bike they give you. And so, you know, this chick did not ride her bike. And so it's like the bougiest of bouge versions of Montana, but we saw moose, like Right outside our cabin. So it was a real experience as far as like the Montana piece. And I did ride a horse. I, I rode a horse, but it was definitely not the Megan version.

Yeah, I tend to do things pretty extreme, so I have to remember, especially planning for other people, like I want them to go outside of their comfort zone, but I also want them to come home in one piece.

Correct.

And not hate me.

Yes.

So, um, my favorite part Uh, was actually the, the long hike that we did. Had wanted to do this hike back in 2020. My husband and I went to Glacier National Park, but that was of course post-COVID. And so that eastern side of the park is on an Indian reservation and they had decided to close off all visitation to that side. So I didn't get to do the hike in 2020 that I wanted to do.

The hike. How big and long is the hike?

Okay, so let me just set the stage for you here. Typically people want to do this all day so they can take time and take the breaks, but we had to pack in as much as we could. So we had a morning activity and we're doing this after lunch. The hike round trip was 11.5 miles.

What?

Yep.

Holy shit.

Uh, yeah. So somebody's watch tracked it and it said it was the elevation, which was 2,100 feet, was the equivalent of 461 flights of stairs. Yeah.

I would have had to have an Uber come pick me up on the mountain. Please helicopter me off.

And then when we— so on the way up, we got to see a bull moose laying out, which moose are very solitary creatures. It's very unique to like even see them at all. The mom moose, um, she came out of the water, the baby, the calf ran to her and started nursing.

I saw that video.

And like, I'm getting cold chills all over my body.

I know.

It was so freaking magical.

I sent the video to my husband. I was like, Eric, check out this video from Megan. It is amazing. This baby just nursed Yes. On his mom in the water and the dad is like in the back.

It was unreal. And we're, you know, I'm always like, especially bringing people into national parks that maybe this isn't their world, telling them like, you know, safe distances. Let this—

Please do not go up to the moose. The mom was walking.

We're not trying to make them feel uncomfortable. So like the mom started to look at us. We were at probably, we were probably 100, 150 yards away. So very reasonable distance. And she's in the water, but they can go like, my son was telling me this morning, he was like, they can run 45 miles an hour. And I was like, well, I cannot. Oh my gosh. We're gonna have to give some space and like, you know, we don't want to make them feel uncomfortable, especially with her having her calf with her. So, but that is just a Montana magical moment there. Like, it's the first time I've seen a moose, second time, but closer up in Montana. And it was to see these ladies from, you know, North Carolina, Alaska, all these different places they came from. And they got to experience this on their very first time. I'm just super jealous for anyone that comes to this park for the first time because It is so special.

I am so happy for you. I have a moose story.

Okay.

So we were at the ranch and there was a mom moose with a baby roaming the ranch the whole week we were there. And it was amazing. It was incredible. And she was really close to all of the cabins and all the cabins on this ranch are kind of spread out and, you know, so she has a lot of room to move. There was, uh, 2 couples staying in the cabin, like directly behind us. And it was very early in the morning because we were, you know, on Mountain time, so we were up.

Yeah.

And, um, it was like 4:30 in the morning and the sun was coming up and Eric was like, Marcie, there's a moose out here! And he's whispering. And it was so close to our porch. It was just like, I was like, you have to come inside. Like, you gotta come inside. So we like kind of like moved around our cabin to watch the moose. And then we saw this couple like fully outside of their cabin trying to get a really good picture of the moose and her baby. And they were so close. And I kid you not, Megan, like it went around there and started chasing them around their cabin and out of our visual. And so we had to come out and like run outside, like away from it just to see them because the moose was full-fledged chasing this couple. I was like, you guys, are you fucking kidding me? They tell you at check-in not to fuck with the moose.

Like, that's dumb. Why would they do that?

She was like super pissed. She was super chill at first and just eating off the tree. Like around our cabin and like you could totally take a picture from inside your cabin. We have these big windows and oh no, they decided to come all the way outside. I was like, oh my God, they're gonna die on vacation.

Yeah. Get your camera out.

Yeah. It might've been a Florida man. I don't know. It felt like a Florida man moment. I was like, what is happening? But the, I mean, they were very like, they tell you at check-in, please, you know, we have moose on the property. They also had those horned, what are those horned animals?

Bighorn sheep.

Yes. And they like crash into each other and fight each other and you're not supposed to approach them.

Right.

Anyway, so, but that's amazing. I'm so excited for your ladies.

Yeah, it was, it was really special. You know, we got to see the bighorn sheep where like they're in the trail. So you have to just wait because there you've got brush on either side and a narrow trail. And the sheep are on the trail and you're just reminded that you are unimportant. You, like, this is their life. This will continue on whether we're here or not.

Mm-hmm.

And so, I just always like to visit these places that make me feel very small and unimportant as like a reality check, like some humble pie and just reconnect with nature and allow you to be with other people.

I love that. I love that. If you ever do like a 5-star version with some spa trips in between, like hot springs, I would consider it. I'm just saying.

I think you would've been fine, but you might've stuck maybe with a couple of the ladies that sort of walked around the more flatter paths, um, around the lakes.

Yeah.

But we made it all the way up to the glacier water. So it's like that minty green. There's literal icebergs like floating in it.

And we got in the water.

That is so cool. And splashed around for a little bit.

And so you are going to plan another one?

I have so many people that have been like, I knew I should have gone on that. And then when are you doing another one? Where are we going next?

I'm getting goosebumps for you and your business because that's what happens, right? Like, yeah, you post it, you share it with love and just passion and people are like, oh, I should have went on this trip. That's what happened when I booked Croatia. Like, yeah, so many people who had thought about coming were like, oh, It's too expensive. It's this, it's that. It's like, no, it's not. It's none of those things. It's gonna be the best ever. And now it's like repeat clients coming on all my group trips now. So I know that they're going to, they're gonna, it's gonna grow, girl. It's gonna be big.

It's, well, well, I hope so. It's so scary because when you do that, like I planned this October, November last year, signed the contract, put the deposit down January 1st. And so I kept joking like, it's time for the baby to be born because we went in September. The baby is overdue. I've like, Yeah. Thought about it as much as I can, but you don't know. Like, I thought it could just be me in Montana on a very expensive trip at the end of this because I've got—

Oh, you're like, I signed this ginormous contract by myself. Yeah. Yeah.

A total leap of faith. And then I would hear crickets and then I would have 3 or 4 people, boom, boom, boom.

I know. We've talked about that.

And people that's not related to each other too. So that was even more surprising. You, you cannot predict. Who is going to go. You cannot predict the person that you think is perfect for this, even if they're like, yes, I'm going. And then they don't do their deposit. Like they're not going if they don't do it right then. So like you cannot go into it thinking you have a lineup of who's going to sign up to go because you don't. Their dates are going to be wrong. It's not going to be the right time for them. They're just going to be afraid, frankly.

Me too.

Yeah.

Well, I'm not going. Like, I'm like, I want to in my heart, but I'm not gonna go.

Yeah. Yeah. And I tried to like be very clear as far as like expectations of don't be nervous if it's something you haven't done before. There were several ladies who went specifically to see one certain thing. And so it, they went for that thing knowing they were going to do the other things too. And other things ended up being their more Favorite activities.

Their more favorite things. Yeah, because when you get outside your comfort zone, no matter what, in life, business, whatever, you find that the most amazing experiences happen very far outside the circle that you have made for yourself.

Yep. And I, that is kind of my whole mantra is just stretching your boundaries. And if you're continually only doing things that you're comfortable doing, you will never grow as a person and you will always be looking back thinking, could I have done that?

And that can go You don't even have to go on the fucking trip.

I know.

What the hell?

Well, you can just walk around the lake.

Okay. She's like, I have a, I have a plan B for you. It's true. It's true though. You're—

yeah. But I think that can go for so many things. I mean, we're here to talk about a travel advisor business, but if, if you can grow as a person on your own, not just in a business, and encourage others to do that too, which I think travel can do that in so many ways. You're just, you're fulfilling your full potential. I hate to leave anything on the table. So I'm always a yes person. I don't know what I'm doing, but I am for sure gonna try.

That is some like leaving a legacy energy. Like that's, you know, you're gonna have an imprint. There's, there's something to be said for like taking people on a trip and you're the leader and you're in charge and they come with you and that memory is infused in their brain well past dementia. And they're like, that's you, that you created that for them. That footprint is forever a part of their life story and that chapter. And that is just fucking inspiring. It's empowering. It, it gives you like a little bit of like, there's people that are gonna miss me when I'm gone. And I think that's pretty cool, Megan.

That was nice. I got cold chills. Thank you.

I mean, that's what we're here to do. Like you said, we're not here to leave anything on the table. I say all the time, like, even if you're not a travel advisor, you should consider listening to this podcast because the stories are Yeah. And it's perfect for anyone in entrepreneurship who is doing things because it's brave to start a business. It's brave to do things that make you uncomfortable and it's brave to take 10 people into the fucking wilderness and get them all home in one piece. I mean, that's a big, that's a big deal. It's, you know, I was telling my son, he's driving his friends around now. He's been driving for exactly 2 weeks and I, frankly, I'm shocked his friends' parents like are like, no big deal. Um, 'cause I had a really hard time letting him go with his friends.

Yeah.

And I just told him like, when they're in your car, you are their caretaker. Like if anything happens, buddy, like you will live with that the rest of your life. And that is not something I want for you. So like treat them like you treat the kittens, like with kid gloves, like drive safe, keep all the phones off. Um, and he's just like, mom, I know, I know, I know. And I'm like, You're really not gonna know until something happens and you have to have that imprint on your brain.

Yeah.

So it's just a lot when you take people with you somewhere.

Yes. Yes.

It's—

I had a little bit of a panic. I don't wanna say panic attack 'cause it wasn't, but it was like a, oh my gosh, you're in charge of these people. What if they get eaten by a bear? Like, I mean, what am I gonna say to their husbands? I'm sorry, we had a good time, but she's dead.

I really hope your terms and conditions are super tight.

Yes, that's not a funny joke, but it's kind of a— Y'all have to sign this. If you didn't buy insurance, you gotta sign it. We're gonna sign it again. We're gonna double-check everything because—

Oh my God, please buy insurance. Holy shit. Yes, I know.

And like the little adventure package that is like an add-on was like $1.16 more. And I was like, put it on there. It's not even an option.

Yeah, absolutely.

It's just adventurous.

Uh, that's amazing. Well, I'm so happy for you. I, I think what's really cool, Megan, is just how far you've come in just 2 years and how, you know, you were new when we were coaching and had, you know, just some confidence things and were kind of getting burnt out. And, you know, cause you're trying to balance having 4 children with this business and running in multiple directions. I know you guys were renovating an Airbnb at that time. There was just a lot of stuff going on. So. Why don't we talk about what it's like to be a mom of 4? First you were like, I'm a chef, I'm a taxi driver, I'm a counselor, appointment maker. I mean, obviously the, the mom stuff is huge. You are the village for your kids. So tell me a little bit about them and your, your life at home and what's been going on the last couple of years.

So I do have 4 kids. I have, uh, almost 8, 9, 13, and getting ready to turn 15. So I'm in the like driver's ed world right now. Um, she turns 15 in 2 weeks. So, um, I get all of that world like that. Um, it's very—

There is nothing out there to prepare you for that, by the way.

Yeah. Yeah. And I've, I've studied—

We're just gonna chat it out. Yeah. I'm next. It's nobody talked to me about it. Like, yeah, it wasn't prepared mentally.

So, and I always feel like everybody else is just okay. So I'm like, are y'all not worried about this?

No, we're all worried. I did find out we're all worried.

Okay, great.

I mean, it's just, we're not talking about it for some reason.

Yeah. I think that goes with so many things and I'll try not to get on a tangent about that, but like we have lost community on a lot of things. People are just very afraid to be like concerned about anything, like to express anything out of the ordinary thing. And I don't know if that's because I'm in the South or what, but like, y'all, if something's going on, can we just talk about it and say, hey, this is really, really worrying me and I would like to talk about it because I'm not okay. Yeah.

Social media has really fucked up moms, honestly. And like any question of your ability to mother. And if you're too worried, is it because you aren't prepared or you're not good enough to be a mom with a 15-year-old? It's like, hello, I have kept them alive this long. Now I'm trying to continue that, that streak.

Yeah.

But yeah, I, I think social media has really ruined a lot of us. As much as I love social media, I also know that a lot of moms don't feel comfortable sharing their opinions or, you know, it's like, oh, the car seat doesn't fit right. Or this doesn't look right. You know, you're from day one, you're inundated with all the reasons you're not good enough.

Yes.

To be this child's mother. And I'm like, no, they put him in my car. So I, I have to take him home. I have to figure this shit out.

Yeah.

And you know, I do, but I, I said this on the last episode actually, like the teen years have been great for me. I really enjoy 'em. They're different, but I can have those conversations with my kids in a way that I wanted to have them when they were 6, but couldn't cuz their brains were small and not fully able to comprehend everything I was saying to them. So I've enjoyed this stage, but I don't think it's easy. I just think it's different.

And it's always changing too. Like, you know, they're coming into their own and trying to figure out who they are. And sometimes that means making mistakes and making errors. And then we have to figure out how to move forward from that. So there's just, I've tried to be very like with grace and understanding of like, let's not freak out. Let's just. Evaluate, take a pause. That pre-K pause comes in for so many things of like life. And if you don't know what the pre-K pause is, she can enlighten you.

It's actually Mr. Williams. He's a preschool teacher and psychologist. He's on Instagram. He's fantastic. I love him so much. He's actually from Indiana originally. And he, I just am obsessed with him, but he would tell these stories when he was in preschool and be like, I need everybody to take a pre-K pause. And I borrowed it from him and I've been using it in all things, life, business. And so yeah, I have to give credit where credit is due on that because he, you know, he's like, some of you guys don't know how to preschool pause. Like, um, this is what I teach my students. And, uh, he talks about human rights and just how the effect of, you know, he wears nail polish and kind of the stuff that some of his parents would say to him. So it, it was like, you need a pre-K pause here, parent number 1.

Yeah.

I was like, oh my God, we could all use that.

I know, definitely. Well, so with my kids, I always knew that I wanted to be able to be at home. We had kids very early by choice. We wanted to be able to ideally, you know, get them out of the house and have some life to live before feeling very tired. So I don't regret that decision to have kids early. Um, from the beginning, I knew I wanted to be at home and be with them as much as I could and however that meant. Work-wise, that would be what I would find. Um, I'm from a family of entrepreneurs. I watched my dad leave a job and start something brand new and see the struggles that he had with it, but also the successes that he's continued to have with it. Um, and that company is still going strong.

That's amazing.

Yeah. So I've, and, and then I get so much of my yes mentality from, from him and from my mom. That I knew, like, anytime I've tried to work for someone, I, it doesn't, I don't vibe with someone telling me what to do. I have that, like, lead mentality. And so I knew I would have to find something. So I really let my path kind of be generated by what was sparking me at that time. And I get really super bored. Like when something gets easy, I got to move on, uh, which is a blessing and a curse, I think, because it It allows me to do different things, but I also really like the challenge of figuring things out, which is why I think I like travel so much is because the scenarios are constantly changing and there's always something to learn. And I'm a diehard learner. I will just like tunnel vision until I get it all. Clearly I've purchased every course.

I know. I was like, oh, I don't think I realized that until I was reading your survey or your form. And I was like, oh, that makes sense. She coached, she took all the courses, she came to Momentum. It was like, check, check, check. Yeah. So that's, I, I think that's important. And it doesn't have to be me, you guys. There's so much educational opportunity in our industry.

So I started, um, I actually had a, like, an embroidery business where I had on Etsy.

Oh, you crochet?

Well, I do all the crafts. I don't knit though. I gotta have the 2 needles. It's like weird, but I do crochet.

Love that.

But I started out with an Etsy shop and just grew that, like, taught myself everything I could learn about it, had multiple machines, had a storefront at one point, had several bestsellers on Etsy. And then, um, I got pregnant with my third child. And so I closed the storefront and sort of took a pause. And then I opened a fitness studio and brought it to the community and sold it. That's so cool. Yeah. So I've had a lot of different things, but again, just like chasing that challenge of seeing a need for something and then bringing it to the area. After I sold that business, I decided you are not going to do anything for a whole year because I am very quick to like jump into something. Um, so I did a lot of gardening and like, um, homemaking and I was like, you know, there's nothing else for me to do here. I got to choose something else. Um, so what brought you to travel? Yes. So that was during 2020, uh, that I, or '21, '22 is when I sold the bike studio. Um, and we, I homeschooled the kids for a year. My husband works remotely, so we took off and we did so much travel. We didn't do like camper things because there's a lot of us and we have a hard time fitting in a camper. But, um, it did sort of bring me back to like, oh yes, I remember I really liked this. Uh, my degree is in hospitality and tourism management, so I have that bachelor's degree. It's just like sitting there.

You're like legit. You like went to college for this.

I did. I did. And I had some great, cause I always thought like I would be in more of like event planning and, uh, working maybe for some type of resort, wedding planning, that type of thing. But, um, that's not how it worked out.

Well, and honestly, I have a friend who does that and she works every single Friday, every single Saturday, like, and then she works 40 hours during the week and there's no downtime because event planning is hellacious. Yeah.

It's not a flexible schedule for someone with a family. It doesn't work out. And so, um, I started thinking about travel agents and I was like, is that even a thing anymore? Like I asked that question. I was like, are we people?

Oh my gosh. The big question on everybody's mind. Yeah.

Yeah. So I really pondered on it. And then about the first of the year in 2023 is when I started, um, slowly becoming more curious about that world. And I just told myself, you are not going to jump in this. Drinking from the fire hose. Like, take your time, take your time. And I just kept telling myself, be patient. And so I interviewed probably 10 different hosts.

Good.

Just absorbed as much information as I could, started listening to podcasts and, you know, trying to figure out if that would be the right move for me. And knowing that if I could do it slowly, which has been my whole point, that by the time my kids were more autonomous and older, I could have an established business and I could grow it as large as I wanted to. So I didn't go into this wanting to be a million-dollar seller. I'm not. I didn't go into it having really any set goals of how much. My goal was doing this with time and having, not getting stressed with what comes first for me, which is my family. So how can I build this out and also like fill my cup? Because I do like being successful without pulling away from my duties as a mom and the caretaker here at home.

So how did you redefine success for yourself?

When I, when I pulled a number away, my success is when I can schedule out anytime I want, when I can be at my kids' school programs, when I can be at a soccer game and, you know, run carpool and do birthday parties and it literally I think my kids know what I'm doing, but it doesn't like pull away from anything from them. And so for them, I am their parent, number one stunner, like the whole thing. So that to me is success that I can do that. And I read a meme or a quote or something the other day and I thought, okay, that is true. And it was like, if you can, if you are able to pick up your kids from school, if you're able to go to their, their games or their Chorus concerts or whatever that is, then you're winning. Like, that's the game if that is important to you. And, you know, maybe some people don't have that mentality, and I think that's great too. There's space for different people in this industry. But for me to be able to do all of those things for my kids, I would feel very poorly about myself if I weren't able to do those things. So setting that success for me is really Being able to do things for them and also fill my own cup and feel successful with meeting new people, planning trips that I want to plan, and building out really special memories for, for those clients.

So how have you designed your business? Because we know this business is demanding. We know that sometimes you have to take a call at 10:00 PM or there's an emergency. How do you allow to put first things first while also managing and servicing clients at your full potential?

2 words, calendar control.

Woo! We love calendar control. And I know that's one of your free things, so we'll just dive into it. But tell me more about how, I guess the courses have changed the way you run your business, because I know when we first met, there was some struggle there of the 4 kids with the demanding client situation. For sure.

Yeah. And I, I think I'll just preface with, I feel like we're like parenting, you're kind of duped for like the beginning because you think, oh, if I just get over this, then it'll be better. No, no. It just gets like more involved if you're doing it right.

It's like they're hazing you for the next age. Like, yeah, 5 hazes you for 6, 7, 8 hazes you for 10, 10 hazes you for 13. Like, you think, okay, this is gonna get easier and it does not get easier. It just gets different and harder in different and harder ways.

Yes, exactly. You're swapping out the—

You'll never have quote unquote more time when your kids go to school and get involved in activities. Like, like there's just not, there's nothing like, uh, like a 14-year-old with Yes. Like there's just, it doesn't exist.

It does not exist. And I say that I clock in for my second shift from 2:30 to 9:00 PM. That's my second shift. I'm in the car. I'm a chauffeur. I'm a snack provider. And right now having almost a 15-year-old, she's in high school this year. They do travel sports, they do school sports. And this year she was like, I'm gonna play tennis. And I was like, okay, let's play tennis.

How are we gonna get that in volleyball? To her reference point, I was like, I don't even know how volleyball works. it works. I am loving it, by the way.

Yeah, I love volleyball.

Love an AC moment. Yeah, love an intense game that only lasts like 25 minutes. Yes, but holy shit, it's like one more thing I have to figure out in her schedule.

I know. So that is really when I came to you. Let's see, I'd have to look back and see like when I started— I found you, um, because I officially signed with my host, uh, May of 2023. And I feel like I have pretty—

you started coaching almost right after that. Yeah. Because I feel like you were a fall coach, cuz I do like spr— I was doing like spring and fall coaching. Um, and no guys, I'm not doing that right now. Sorry. So it's like you were in that second round that year. I remember.

Yeah, I think so. I think it was—

so some of my stuff wasn't even out. Like Prepared to Close was still just in a, in an outline position when you joined.

Yeah. I think I got the Facebook course. For sure. But having that early on, I, it's irreplaceable because now I didn't have to like retrain clients. I didn't have to rework and relearn bad habits, which I think was really important. It just totally aligned your courses and your methods aligned with my brain and how that worked for me. I'm a very clear-cut person. And so to be able to say, this is when I take calls. And I've got my calendar set up on whatever days, and it changes month to month. It might be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday that I take consultations, or that week may be busy and it might be a Thursday, Friday, Saturday. So I sort of allow myself like that flexibility. That works for me. I am not a consistent person in that way. Like I could never say I will always be available Monday and Tuesday from 9 to 3. Like it just does not happen. I have too many variables.

Mm-hmm.

So to look at the calendar and say, here's when I'm able and slash want to work. Like if I'm starting my period, nobody wants to talk to me. Girl, I don't wanna talk to you, so I'm not gonna do it that week.

I have a month, I have a week every month where I'm like, I am not here for this.

No, you don't. I'm not gonna close any—

I'm in my Loodle phase. I will not be discussing travel with you today, especially if you're a man. I'm not gonna talk to you about your vacation.

No, no, no. So setting that up was really key so that I could say for sure, like, hey, this is working hours and it is okay if somebody messages me and I do not respond.

I love that.

And I've like, if it's somebody I know, I give them the benefit of the doubt and I'm like, hey, I see your message, but I'll have to get back to you tomorrow, whatever. And that just that quick thing of like, you know, sometimes people panic. They're like, did my message go through or she's ignoring me or whatever. I've lost, I'm like, I do not care, but I will like reach out and say, hey, I saw it, but I, you know, I'll have to catch up with you.

But also I think people, if you're anything like us, like we're so on the go and I'm like constantly having Siri remind me, remind me, remind me. And sometimes you get that reminder at like 7:00 PM and it might be dinner time for the travel advisor and they'll shoot off a message and it's like that, they're not trying to ruin your dinner. Like, can we please give them the benefit of the doubt? They're just busy, especially if you're attracting busy moms.

Mm-hmm.

Let's not be offended if at 10:30 PM they sit down with their phone for the first time and they're like, oh, I'm supposed to be planning this fucking spring break for my family. I need to text Megan. And instead of being annoyed with a 10 PM message, just looking at it, setting your own reminder for tomorrow or scheduling a response during your business hours. It's not a big deal. And I think also a text at 10:30 is a blessing. Because it's like somebody is thinking about me and my business at 10:30 at night. So like, let's look at it from a totally different perspective.

Exactly.

Instead of being like, who do these people think they are? Why are they messaging me in the middle of the night? And I'm like, have you met a mom with 4 kids? She does not have a single minute until 10:30 at night.

Yeah. And I think it's funny how people conversate too. Like I am so more understanding of someone who is like, hey, I, you know, I've been like, I've got this trip planned. Then I'm— and well, you know, whatever. Versus somebody who's like, is it cheaper to go to the Caribbean or go to Montana? And I'm like, hi, great to hear from you.

Yes, but that's the Southern in you too, because some people love to just get straight to the point. Like, let me teach you the Southern motherly way to respond to this message. Bless your heart. Yes, absolutely. We love a bless your heart moment.

Yes.

But I'm glad that you're able to kind of like in your own brain separate that and give the benefit of the doubt because Because it allows for space for everybody to meet you and you're allowed to meet them where they are as well.

Well, and it's just a different mindset. Once you're able to flip it and say, I don't have to respond to this right now. It's okay to put this off until tomorrow. You've given yourself permission that we didn't need to run your own thing. That's the whole point of like having your own business is so you can call the shots. So them messaging me at 11:00 PM, which was convenient for them, means I don't have I can if I want to, but I don't have to.

Right. And the choice you make in that moment actually is training your client. So if you respond and you respond, hey, I got this, but I'm going to respond tomorrow, that's important to set that boundary without being rude. Because I think a lot of people are so afraid of not responding and being rude or thinking that this, you know, you're ghosting somebody, but you're not. And if you choose not to respond until the next day or you're asleep, For example, at 11:00 PM, it's okay. They will, the right client, the one who you want in your business is going to be okay with waiting for you to respond when it's convenient for you.

Right. Yep. And then the opposite end of that, I guess, is when you do have somebody traveling and, you know, there's always going to be somebody traveling when I've got a soccer game, like it's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It's every single day that there is something going on, but But I just know, okay, I've had a pre-travel call with them. We've gone over questions. Some things come up that are unexpected, but we're able to, I'm ha— I have my stuff with me and I can be kind of on call, I guess, at that time. But I do try to schedule it out so that I don't have so many people going at the same time. And I think that's one thing about growing slowly, that it's not such a bombardment of traveling clients at the same time.

Okay, y'all, let's pause for a quick Break. I need you to know you have never been trained in sales. Yeah, you might know how to use your CRM and book a preferred vendor or post on Instagram, but none of that teaches you how to close the damn sale. And if you're tired of hearing that travel sells itself while you watch prospects take your hard work and book elsewhere, it's time to fucking change that. I am introducing Introducing you to the Propose to Close Sales Course, a no BS step-by-step program designed to help travel advisors like you weed out tire kickers, stop quoting in the DMs, and finally close sales without feeling pushy or salesy. This intensive 10-hour, 9-module course will teach you how to qualify prospects, send one fabulous proposal instead of 5, 10, 15, build real connections very quickly, and close the sale in under a week. Whether you're brand new or a veteran stuck in burnout, this course will give you the skills and confidence to transform your travel business and your fucking life. So if you're ready to stop spinning those wheels and start running a business that works for you, head to my website to grab the Propose to Close Sales Course. And don't forget to check out the show notes for an exclusive coupon code. Okay, now back to the pod. I love that. And I think this is something that I haven't really covered on the podcast, but just that ability to almost look at your calendar and say, you know what, I have 5 people traveling that month. I don't think I can take anybody else. How do you handle it if somebody wants to go away when you already have a stack of clients for a month? Because this is something a lot of agents are like, well, you can't say no if they wanna go, they Yeah. Well, I do. Is that what you do as well?

Yeah. So last year I had a little, uh, CEO meeting with myself and I said, okay, I was, I had a lot of people traveling last summer and that was really difficult for me because the kids were at home. We were traveling, we were doing different things. We had the Airbnb thing going on and it was just a lot and I wasn't my best self for anybody. And I know that. But personally, like our, our family should get the best of us, but sometimes when you're really stressed out, they get the worst of you. That's what we do.

Yeah.

When I saw that happening, I said, okay, this year has to be different. So last year, as I was going through kind of how I wanted to set things up, I laid out as trips came in, I have a file folder. I'm like an old school. I like papers. I like to fill things. I like to print things. And I had a file folder and I had a month for every, um, A folder for every month of this year of 2025. And as trips came in, I put them in a little thing. And other than just having their space taken up in that folder so I could go through and say, okay, I've got these 2 in January, I've got these 2, these 3 things in March, but they're overlapping a little bit. And then I could say, okay, I don't wanna take any more in June. All right.

Mm-hmm.

I know I'm traveling in July, so this larger group that's going in mid-July, that's gonna be enough for me. For that month. And I know some people don't have that ability. This is literally their income for their entire family and they don't have that flexibility. And that is a different capacity. That's not the world that I'm in right now. Um, but I understand and recognize that. So that may not work for somebody, but I do think there is some, some flexibility in planning that you can say, I'd love for not everybody to be arriving and departing on the same day.

Mm-hmm.

So let's space that out, maybe a Saturday and a Tuesday so that I'm not having to focus on all the things at one time. And in my head, trying like not to get people confused of like, who is going this day, who's going this day. So that was really helpful for me. And I know, I knew that I didn't want to have a lot of people traveling in the summer. So I really was very intentional about who I took. And if people came to me and they didn't really have dates, knowing my travel calendar was really helpful so that I could say, okay, well, if they're just wanting to go in June, let's go the first 3 the 8th because I'm going to be gone the 15th through the 20th, you know, kind of thing and planning it out that way. And then my summer was very smooth. I only took a few clients like for, um, intake as far as who I wanted to bring in. Um, and that was for fall and then 2026 travel. And I just did that in my little wedges and pockets of time that I had. And my summer went swimmingly and I was planning this group trip too. So I knew that that would take some time in.

Yeah.

Finalizing some things.

I am so proud of you. That shit is like, that is hard to do. Like what you're doing is, I think it's really hard to do. And if you're listening and you're overwhelmed, this is taught in Propose to Close. I mean, I don't usually do a full pitch of my course in the middle. You know, you get my little Marcie ad, but this is what it means to actually design your business, guys. And it is possible. And I think even if you do this full-time, even if this is your main source of income, You get to decide how many clients you take on at the same time. You get to decide if you want to say no. There was like a whole doodle on a group chat once about me that I got a whiff of, and it was mostly like, I'm telling people bad information about not scheduling Christmas, not doing this, not doing that. And it's like, I didn't say that no one should book Christmas vacations. I said, I don't do that because I wanna give that time to my family. Mm-hmm. And this inspired me to write Propose to Close because people are like, well, how do you do that? And it's like, well, you have to look at the whole calendar far in advance. And I know Megan, you had messaged me during your troubling summer. You were like, I am struggling. And I'm like, then girl, you have to look ahead to next summer and you have to decide what you're willing to do. And if you want to take the whole summer off and you have the capacity to do that financially, time-wise, Then do it. That's what you have to do for your business. So if you're listening and you're like, how do you block an entire summer? It's like you have to look ahead right this second. Like if you're thinking about taking time for your family in specific pockets, if your son is graduating high school in May, you may not want to take on 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 vacations in May. It's just looking at it from the perspective of yourself instead of always thinking that you have to serve the client who called you today the way they want to be served. You can either pass them off. Or you can say, you know what, I'm not available in May, but I'm available in June. How flexible are you with your dates?

Yeah, for sure. And I think like you touched on with taking in consults, to me that is, that needs to be strategic. I don't want to do 3 proposals. If all 3 of these people that I talked to Monday and Tuesday are a yes, which I would say a minimum of 2 of those 3 would be.

Mm-hmm.

I don't want, like, that's gonna be my whole day. Am I gonna get done? My job is to, like, I like to do it on Mondays so that by the Friday I've got something for them to look at and they can look at it over the weekend and we can book this thing Monday, Tuesday next week. That's how I like to make things happen.

And so how did you get to that first? And I know you use first and best, and in your survey you said that 80% of your clients choose the first thing you send them.

Yep.

Can you share one of those success stories and how that felt for both you and your client? Sure.

I'll share one that happened recently. I do know this person very well. They've traveled with me, uh, done many trips for them. So that does help having an idea of who they are.

Yeah.

But they came to me, her and a friend. They wanted to have a, a wellness type of vacation. They just wanted to, like, after a busy fall season, be able to just spend some time together. It's a girl and a guy. They're, he's gay. So like, they're not together.

So it's like, just, you know, They just like to travel together and have fun.

Yeah. They wanted to do this for a long time. They're both sober. They don't have interest in like crazy wild party scene, you know? And I was like, mm-hmm, I know exactly where to send you. I mean, it's gonna be right at the tip top of your budget, but it, they've got a juice bar and a sound bath and like, uh, an onsite cenote. So like, I just built out the most beautiful proposal in Canva, did a little Loom walkthrough. Um, I like the Loom because the bubbles in Canva seem to like really take forever to load. So I just do a PDF. And Loom walk through everything, and then I send them a PDF of that as well. And like, it was deposited the next day.

Oh my gosh, that's amazing. And it's like, we don't need to send them 12, 13 options, people. And, uh, and people want to jump to showing 3 options at the beginning. That's how we're all trained. I feel like from day one, everybody's like, show them low, medium, best. It's like, how about we just show them the fucking best? And then if they don't like it, we need to figure out what they don't like because If it is truly the best and you have qualified that client, there needs to be something else to tell me that I need to figure out better than this best option I sent. And recently somebody told me that that was the biggest game changer was changing to sending just one proposal. Yeah.

And I think it feels really uncomfortable because I remember at the beginning, right at, as I was going through Propose to Close and I showed 2 options and because they were, maybe it was qualifying on my part, but again, was early on, they were kind of in between 2 different destinations. And so I showed them like what each one, what that trip would look like in their proposal. And you have to remind yourself, like, they're coming to you because there are 55,000 choices on the internet. They don't need to come to you and then get 12 choices.

Right.

They need to come to you so you can say, this is where you want to go. What I will do is, here's a room, but here's another room. So like you get that flexibility. You, they feel like they're making a choice. They do get to make that choice. If they absolutely hate it and I totally missed the boat, which I have yet to do, we rework. It is not a big deal.

Right.

But I didn't spend a ton of time going through 2 other options that I knew were just gonna be okay. Like, I don't know if it's intuition or if it's the qualifying, but I think it's probably a little bit of both.

And I think newer agents, and maybe you can speak to this, are struggling with that qualifying piece. Like they don't know. all these properties. So how would you advise a new advisor who has not been doing this very long? How do you advise them to learn about the properties if they can't travel, if they're not sure? What kinds of things have you done, Megan? Because you haven't been everywhere, right? But you do know a lot about different things that you are specialized in.

My suggestion would be act like you're planning a family of 4. Find that recommended resort. If you're talking about Caribbean, find that resort. That would be your top choice for someone that's like, I want a great beach and a great pool and an all-inclusive. So find that for the family of 4 in your brain. Then find that for the party animals that are going on a couples trip. And then find that for laid-back vibe that doesn't want the busy place, maybe more of a boutique style. Find all those things. Then you've got 3 go-tos.

I love that.

And unless somebody's specifically coming to you and saying, we've got to go to Aruba. Then you can dive into that destination. But overall, like, let's break it down into your recommended choices for someone. 'Cause most of the time they're coming to you and they're like, I want the best for the least.

Yes. Yeah, absolutely. That is exactly what they're doing.

So I've kind of—

We have to live in reality.

Yeah. Oh my gosh. The stories I could tell. Where it's coming harder for me, just a moment of honesty here, is I love these like Domestic national park road trip kind of things.

I was gonna ask you because I know doing domestic national park is hard.

It is harder. Um, and I've adjusted my planning fee to kind of deal with that, but it's harder because you might have somebody that's like, I just really enjoy the scenery.

Mm-hmm.

Awesome. I really wanna be on a—

I don't wanna look for a tent.

Yeah. Okay.

You don't have a lot of Marcies coming and be like, I want the 5-star bougie.

Not a lot of people coming to you that wants the, the dude ranch for the all-inclusive price of $6,000 a person a week.

I mean, the Ranch at Rock Creek is literally $2,800 starting.

Yes.

And everyone that comes to me and like wants to go there is like, Marcie, why? And I was like, well, luckily I went and I spent that exact amount. Like, I, I just was like, I want to go. Luckily I have learned over the years to save a significant amount of money for my own vacations aside. Like, sorry about my retirement fund. And I, I I decided to dive into it because one of my best friends went during the pandemic and then I started like researching and I'm like, this is a whole ass market and it's a good market for an agent who doesn't wanna do the national park all the time, but is like, hey, I need something nice. And it truly is the most inclusive property in the entire United States.

Yeah.

And I don't think people understand everything is private. The, And I did not plan this advertisement, but it's 100% private tours. You get 2 a day included. The only thing that's not included is the spa and any upsell on super nice liquor because the regular liquor, all your concierge— concierge wine, fancy, fancy high-end wines, champagne, all of that is included. All your meals, they have these homemade chocolate chip cookies that they roll out at 11:00 AM every day. I like brought 6 of them home. Private transfers at any airport. In Montana, they'll pick you up or drive you. It's just crazy. The, obviously they've completely renovated the ranch to be this incredible boutique experience. So it's like, yes, it is $2,800 a night. Yeah. But you don't go for 8 nights.

Right.

You go for 3 or 4 nights. Right. It's, I mean, it's the middle of nowhere, so I was ready to come home after 5 days.

Yeah.

I was like, I'm over it.

Yeah.

Like even at the nicest place, I'm like, okay.

Yeah.

I need to get back home where I can jump out to go to CVS. 'Cause it was, it was really up there in the mountains. But yeah, anyway, it's definitely a market, but maybe not what you got, what you're doing because national parks are so— well, and there's nothing inside of a park. You can't stay. You have to stay outside and come in.

Well, national parks make it a little bit tricky and without going too far on a tangent, like your in-park lodging will Like the window opens to book it and you have a, like a year window and you have to book it then. So it's really difficult to do that. And I'm not gonna do that for a client cuz it moves too quickly.

Mm-hmm.

But there's lots of nearby outside of the park lodging. What's tricky is when you're doing a large proposal, cuz a lot of times people wanna just keep adding on like the next one that's nearby. For example, someone came to me and they were like, I wanna go to Glacier, which is in Montana, the northern part of Montana.

Mm-hmm.

And also Yellowstone and also the Tetons. And I'm like, okay, geography doesn't work with— Do you like being in the car? Because you're gonna be in the car the entire time and you're not gonna have a great time. So like, separate it out.

So if somebody wanted to do that, do they need like 2 weeks?

I would say so if you're gonna make that whole drive, because to really see it and get to visit those 3 parks and the drive time in between, people don't understand how far even places are in the national parks. An east side to the west side could be 3 hours, right? So you have to keep that in mind. That's not even doing any activities. If you got kids in the car, are they going to be okay for 3 hours or bored out of their mind on their iPad? You know, so it's like realistically setting that. I had an extended family that, um, built out this very beefy 2-week itinerary. I worked on it for like a year. I mean, it was a year-long process.

Wow.

Um, but they literally went from Um, Vegas, or I think they worked it backwards. So they went in like Salt Lake and then worked their way down. Well, they're Wyoming. I mean, it was like, it was like a lot of parks. It was like 9 parks. And then they ended up in Vegas and flew out. But to me, I did not charge enough, even for the good planning fee that I thought I had, did not charge enough. I did not work with a DMC, very much should have. And I kind of, I found pieces in that where they were taking charge and I was not. So, um, and anytime that's happened, it's come back to bite me and cause me more work. So learning from that, this year I've got some Alaska people going next year. Working with a DMC is key for these because it's going to be more expensive because they have to be paid too, but it's one payment.

Mm-hmm.

One time. One solid payment. They divvy out the 5 different hotels.

Yeah.

All the activities, the rental car, you're doing their payment and then the airfare.

Are we allowed to ask what the DMC is?

So for Alaska, I really like working with Nightly Tours.

Okay, awesome.

And then for my domestic other national parks, I like Southwest Adventure Tours.

Perfect. Because somebody's going to ask. So, yeah, we make it easy for the advisors. No gatekeeping here today.

No, no. Salmonberry, I think, is really good too in Alaska. So—

Sorry, I was talking. What was that?

Salmonberry.

Salmonberry.

Okay. It's great for Alaska as well. But you know, you stick with one that you like. I don't have a, a need to go to the other one. Nightly has been good for me.

Perfect.

Yeah.

But I appreciate all of that.

The Southwest Adventure Tours is who I did my custom group trip with too. So that was really easy to build it out how we wanted.

I love that. I love that you were able to customize and that there are, guys, there are domestic, um, DMCs who can help you. A DMC is a domestic management company, and yes, they typically They do charge more, but you are getting the service. You're getting their just expertise in a very specific space. A lot of people on Maximize are always like, why are DMCs so much more? How do you deal with it? And I'm like, I just don't worry about it. You have to be able to explain it to your client that if this is what you want, the most seamless experience, the, you know, least amount of effort is being made, but at the same time, This company is going to take care of you from start to finish. They have in-destination support if something happens and Megan's not available. There is emergency numbers and people in destination who can help her support her clients. And yes, they have to be paid. They're a corporation usually, or an LLC, a small business as well. You know, supporting these DMCs is important to our industry because A, they pay commission and we deserve to be paid, and so do Yeah. And they're working with locals who are making sure your clients have the most immersive, authentic experiences. These are not cookie-cutter, getting-off-the-cruise-ship tours that everybody else is going on. They're designing an entire itinerary specific to your client, and that deserves the extra money that is involved in that experience.

Yeah. The biggest takeaways from working with a DMC: 24/7 support line. Somebody has their itinerary, they're familiar with it, and they know, and that's That's my point of contact on our, my pre-travel call. I said, if you need to call them, I'm here, text me, let me know what's going on. But like, they're in the destination. They can help you almost immediately.

They're in the time zone. They're in the, you know, so whether it's Europe or the US, I mean, Megan's in North Carolina. Her clients are going to Alaska. That's a 5-hour time difference. Like we don't, we can't always be there 24/7 as much as we'd like to be. And I love that Megan's like, text me, tell me what's happening. I will, if I'm available, I I will get on a 3-way call with you, but this number is going to be your go-to number for emergencies.

And with that, you get one commission check. You're not having to go down to Marriott and be like, where's my money, yo?

And tracking like Viator, Marriott, and the 14 different places that you piecemealed this shit together like a freaking puzzle.

Yes. You will save yourself so much time and headache. stake building it with the good quality DMC and the time after, the support. It's before, during, and after. It's the only way I'm doing it going forward.

It's just so important because you get to know the people at the DMC. Yeah, like I work with Namu through Costa Rica and I got to know my BDM and my salesperson so well and they are like, I'm on a first name basis and I don't always sell a ton of those, you know, I don't sell a ton of Costa But I feel very comfortable selling it because of Namu, and it's just been such a great overall experience with them. And it's 12% no matter what. Doesn't matter if you are with a host or not with a host, if you're on your own. And I think that's the other reason DMCs are a positive in our business, because they don't do as much tiered commission. You can often name your commission. They'll give it to you at net. You can mark it up. They don't mind if you do a markup.

Mm-hmm.

And they also are probably paying a more flat commission, like standard to every single person. So if you have your own IODIN or CLIA, you can make 100% of those DMC commissions. You don't need to split them with your host company. Right. Yeah.

Yeah, for sure.

Yay. Oh my gosh. This was good. Oh my gosh. We have not really talked about DMCs yet. So I love this conversation and I also just love, Megan, that you've really Really landed on building the confidence slow and steady through your travel business, setting those clear boundaries with clients. And so I'm wondering, I know we've already talked about calendar control and that's a very popular conversation that we have on the pod, which means guys, if you don't have calendar control, please get it. Um, but what is, what are 3 things, 3 free things that the travel advisors could do after listening to this episode today? They could like get outta their car, get outta car lines. And go back to their office and do something in their business today?

Yeah. Um, say no and say it often. Say no and say it often. If it is not like lighting you up on the inside, or if you are on the call, or if someone messages you and you immediately get a pit in your stomach, please do not plan that. You are not the right person for them. Do help them with free information on, you know, you're in this world, so you know a helpful place to send them on the internet that will narrow it down. You know, You know, probably an advisor you could connect them with, and the advisor's gonna thank you and they're gonna do a great job servicing that client, especially if they're following along through these courses. So say no. That's not preached enough in this industry.

No, it's not.

I'm sorry. You cannot do Maldives. You cannot do Costa Rica and Norway, all 3, and be amazing at it. You, you just can't do all of those things and know the ins and outs of something.

Especially if you're only working 10 to 20 hours a week. This is a generalist is probably okay at like a 40 to 65 hour work week, which is not something I advocate for. But if you are full-time and this is your only business and you're retired and you don't have kids and you're, you know, not running around, you could probably find preferred partners for all 3 of those destinations and feel comfortable and confident. But if you're only working this business in what a lot of people consider the nooks and crannies of their life, if you don't want it to run you, You have to say no because it would take you longer to find what you're looking for in those 3 different destinations than if you had a niche and you were narrowing things down quickly for those people and saying no to the things that you're just not comfortable doing or that you just don't want to do. Yeah.

And that saying no goes to things your host is like sending you. Say no to, you know, if there's a webinar or whatever. And like, we get 15 a week. Unless you're like jumping up and down and wanting to do it, don't feel obligated to sit through 90 minutes of a webinar on Jamaica if you don't want to service Jamaica.

Yeah. And it doesn't matter if they make you feel bad about it or if they say you need to come because we need as many people to show up for this BDM. It's not your job and you don't have to, especially if you are a 1099 independent contractor. You can say no to anything. That your host sends you. Anything.

Saying no was maybe another theme of this year, and maybe last year too, of just like in life, like, I don't want to do that. I want to make time for other things. And it's been the most freeing and presented opportunities for things I want to say yes to.

I love that. I love that for you. And I love that we can share this with them. So what is your second thing?

Uh, it kind of ties in a little bit, just niching Mm-hmm. Yep. And that's common. It is free to niche. And I think that feels so incredibly scary. And you hear that this is not new news. Like if you've listened to any travel advisor podcast, probably 3 episodes in, they're saying niche down. But like, what is that? Is that a specific genre or type of travel? Or is it like literally a destination or a client you want to service?

Just all of that.

Yeah. You pick something that inspires you and that doesn't mean that's forever, but it does mean You're going to be able to move through your proposals a lot faster and qualify those clients that come to you. It's really nice to be known as a certain type of traveler. For me, you know, I mean, that's helpful. People know that I do national parks.

Why?

Because I've been to 43. So like, it's going to be difficult for somebody that's been to the Smoky Mountains to be like, you know, I'm an expert at all the national parks in the US. Well, you're not because you haven't tried to plan them. You don't know how many hours it is between certain places. You don't know that this barbecue place is only open until the first week of September, but you really need to go there.

Right. I love that. Wait, what barbecue place?

It's called Sunflower Barbecue, and it's the most hippiest joint I've ever been to, and I loved it.

Where is it at?

It is outside of West Glacier in Montana.

And it's only open until the first of September.

Yeah, and if you can make it work, all the guides out there will tell you you've got to go get their breakfast. So it was incredible.

I am obsessed with that. That's somewhere I will never go, you guys, but I think you should definitely go. That's awesome. I know. She's like, challenge accepted, Marcie. We're gonna figure out how to get you there.

I'm getting you there somehow.

That's so funny.

But, uh, yeah, I would just say, yeah, like, of course.

Yeah, I agree with that.

And going back to DMCs, just, you're, you find somebody that you align with and work well with and you stay with them because you're just gonna hone in on this process and it's gonna become like clockwork and you're gonna be so confident in what you're selling that somebody's going to have a really hard time saying that that's not what they want.

That's incredible. It really does go back to first and best too. It allows you to hone in, qualify, and offer the best thing for them. And there's no argument. There's no— it's just such a time saver to know your niche inside and out. Yeah.

Yep, for sure. And that can expand as you grow in this business. Just don't feel like you got to do it all at one time because that you're going to be doing a lot of things, in my opinion, pretty not as well as you could.

Absolutely. Okay. What is your third one?

Let's see. My third one is, um, pre-K pause. No, my third one is taking things slow, um, is not only acceptable, but I would say encouraged. Yeah. Yeah. And mine kind of all tie in together. I don't I don't know if that's because it's coming from experience of that, but they're all pieces that make it work. Big proponent of streamlining and not losing like that personal touch. I don't ever want to plan something and feel like I walked away not really knowing who that client was after the whole, you know, you spent 9 to 18 months with them and, you know, paving the road for them to come back to you and having a better understanding and building those relationships. Like that's the whole whole point of hospitality. It's why I got into the industry as a 19-year-old and had sparks for that, because I love connecting with people, connecting with people in different places, and finding things that bring us together as a human. This allows you to do that if you can just really be patient. And again, when you say no to things, it allows things to come in that are yeses. And so building out really slowly, not drinking from a fire And like setting a pace, setting that pace for yourself.

I'm just shaking my head. I don't know if you're like in your car and you're like, yes, yes, yes. Especially if you are drinking from a fire hose, you can rein it in. You can slow it down. You get to decide today, right now, what you're going to do next in your business. And I think that's been such a powerful message of Megan's pod today. And I'm just thrilled that she has shared all this. And of course, we always kind of end on the unpopular travel advisor opinion. So I'm very curious what yours is after all of today.

My unpopular travel opinion. I feel like I have so many.

Don't we all? I believe you're doing this a certain way. There's so much about the industry that you're just like, no, that's bullshit. This is stupid.

And again, the Southern belle is coming out. It's like, actually, you can call people out.

Yes, you can. I do it every day.

Yeah. Like, I don't think you're doing it right.

It's definitely not the most popular choice, uh, I have found and been called names for it, but yeah.

Yeah. I, I, um, you don't have to do it like everybody else.

No, you don't.

Yeah.

Yep.

You can make it your own. We're all individuals. There's something that works for you, maybe doesn't work for somebody else. Um, but if you aren't happy with how your day-to-day is, you're not going to be in this for very long. So take what you're doing now and I mean, write it down, journal, whatever you gotta do, put it on a whiteboard to be like, I hate this part of my business. And then you write down, how does that change? And that's all it is, is revising, carving it down, revising, and setting out a more clear path that evolves and can change over time so that you're building a long, more longevity for your business.

Absolutely. I mean, you're proof that you do not have to hustle yourself into burnout. Out just to be successful and have the business you wanna have. And there is so many messages, mixed messages in our business that say like, you just have to keep going and do all the things and be the best and win the awards. And as someone who was that person, I was almost a $2 million agent. I won all the big awards for some of the biggest all-inclusive companies in the world. And I was fucking miserable because nobody said Like, it doesn't have to be this way. This isn't how you have to do it. And, you know, that's how we ended up here, y'all, because I was like, when I came back, I had to teach it. It was just driving me nuts to see the posts and it still does. Like I get in groups and I'm like, shit, I'm about to get kicked out of this group now because I'm going to tell them the truth. They don't have to do it this way. Yeah.

You know, there are plenty of people that run group trips and I'm not knocking anyone who does it this way where you get on a big tour bus and everybody paid their flat fee and you're doing a very generic thing. That is a cool business model if that's what you want to do. That doesn't align with me. I gotta customize stuff and I want to do something that I want to do that's exciting. If I'm not excited about it, how can I expect anybody else to get excited about it? So that's where I have to be different and build out my own thing so that I actually want to be invested in it for the next 12 to 18 months.

Love that. I love that. And you know how I feel about the customizing of group trips. So I am obsessed with that. And I agree with you. There There, there is a market for every single kind of traveler and every single kind of travel advisor. And whatever gets you out of bed, understanding your why and why you do this has to go beyond commission. It has to go beyond just the everyday of, oh, I love to travel. It really, really digging deep into really why you're on this earth and this planet and what, what kind of impact do you wanna leave behind and really decide that for yourself. and think critically and do self, self-care and self-awareness and reflection to find who you are as a travel advisor. I think that has been such a great theme of this podcast, Meagan. So thank you so much.

You're welcome. I, um, I, I knew just that relationships were going to be a big part of my time here. I've always felt a pull to people and I knew with this group trip that there were going to be people that came on this trip that needed to be free. They needed to be in a space that they were allowed to not have to present a certain way, that they could just be who they were and true to themselves. We are not given those types of opportunities. And so I, that was my goal of the whole trip was I want to bring people together and give them an opportunity and a space to do something they didn't think they could do, be with strangers. And to give them that freedom, and that's how I want to build all of my trips. So it's kind of like there's an idea floating around, as there always is in my brain, of like, is that something that can be duplicated in different ways for different types of trips? There's there's just something special there. So keep following that that goal. Like have goals. That seems so cringy. I think of like set your goals and you know do all that. It's like well I'm setting myself up to fail. But like if you do have one thing. that like you just keep working towards, everything else will sort of fall into place with that because you can say, does this get me closer to my goal? Does this bring me further away to that kind of mantra that I have? And let that be your guide.

I love that so much. That is a great note to end on, guys. And I'm so thrilled Megan was able to join us today. Thank you, Megan. We love you. And she's going to drop all her links. So if you need her or want to stalk her online, you'll be able to follow her and just all her amazing group trips and all the things she is doing. But we really appreciate your time, Megan. It has been awesome.

Thanks, Marcie.

Thank you.

Bye.

Bye. That's a wrap on today's episode, 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 next time, keep exploring. 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 with zero fluff and a whole lot of heart.