New, Fried, and People‑Pleasing? This Episode Is Your Intervention

Hey there. Welcome to The No BS Travel Advisor. This is the solo edition. Just me, Marcie Muensterman, my mouth, my mistakes, and the real stories from 19 years in this wild-ass industry. There will be no guests here. No censorship, no filters, just the truth behind how I burned out, rebuilt, and finally learned to run this business like the the CEO that I am. And if you're an independent advisor who suspects your host might suck, hates working for free, and appreciates a well-placed F-bomb, you're in the right damn place. So let's go. Hey, hey, welcome back to the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. I am your host, Marcie Muensterman, and I am just going to get real with you as I always do right off the bat today. I am A little burnout. I'm actually a lot burnout right now. I am launching something new-ish. Do the Damn Air is being revamped. I have completely ripped apart the original version, and my team and I have been rebuilding it in a fresh, better, more badass way. I tend to go into full, like, goblin mode when I'm working, and I've been working around the clock for the last few weeks, and I'm really pushing a deadline that I set for myself to get it written in stone, done, out to you. And I honestly have not been coming up for air. And what I am so proud of, I'm so proud of this course. It has truly been a labor of love. And the new version is absolutely fantastic. If you already own it, if you bought it anytime prior to hearing this podcast, you're going to get it. It's been a crazy couple of weeks because I have been teaching it. Live, re-recording it, listening back, editing, tweaking. We've been reorganizing all of the 85+ resources, and at this point I am overhearing the sound of my own voice. But I love this course, but I am struggling. The good news is it's almost done. It will be done by the time this podcast goes live, and I'm genuinely So fucking excited! It's just gonna make your life so much easier when it comes to the airfare service and the crisis leadership with your clients, and we both know that's what we need right now. But I also want to tell you I have a plan for the podcast over the next couple of weeks. This episode is inspired by some really honest conversations I've been having in the DMs—new advisors who are overwhelmed, saying yes to the wrong things, and wondering if they're even cut out for this. Next week, I'm going to do a full Q&A episode, so head. Head into the Maximize and drop your questions on the pinned post. If you're listening after March 6th through the 8th, get in there and drop a question. I'll keep pulling from that list for future episodes as well as answer them for the March 13th episode. I don't want this to ever feel forced, and I think it's such a great idea to do a Q&A. Thank you, Heather, for that idea. I am also going to take 2 weeks off. I cannot coach you to recognize your own burnout if I am not willing to recognize my own. But I will pick a couple of my favorite episodes from the archive to reshare while I'm gone. So there will be something fresh in your feed, but I am ready to take a page out of my own damn book and step back from creating for a minute. I'm heading to Japan with Jude. She is so excited and we just had the best conversation. with Tori Caldwell last night. Tori is a specialist in Japan, and she fell in love the first time she went in 2016, and she is actually going with us on our trip. It has been an incredible experience working with a travel advisor who has taken all of my courses and being a client on the receiving end of my own strategies, systems, and processes. And when I tell you, I have not been an easy client for her. It has been So interesting seeing it from this perspective, but also seeing it from Jude's perspective. I definitely want to do a recap with her when we get back. I hope she's listening and is excited about that possibility and isn't tired of me after 11 days in Japan. But while I'm away, I'll be on Instagram stories sharing about this trip. So if you're not already following me, come hang out with me. My goal is to get to 10,000 followers this year, and so far it's been challenging. I'm hoping to I'm hoping to gain a few more followers after this. All right. Anyway, I feel like I have not breathed for about 5 minutes. Now let's zoom out to the bigger world for a second because this week has been heavy as well. The US dropped some bombs on Iran this week. There was retaliation, and it's looking and feeling like a new conflict or an old conflict renewed is unfolding. A lot of our clients, and even some of you, have been stuck in the Middle East or delayed getting home. And at this point in time, I have no idea what the plan is for that. I've also heard rumors that certain US systems like STEP, where you're supposed to register and get updates, is not being as helpful as it has been in the past and can only assume that it's because our current administration is not prioritizing Americans overseas. I'm not sure if those rumors are true. I literally heard it 15 minutes before I went onto the podcast. Today, but I'm going to just acknowledge the collective stress of watching this unfold in real time while your job is literally to send people out into the world. Between what happened in Puerto Vallarta with the cartel last week, the huge weather systems that are so disruptive this winter, and now this— I see you. I feel you. And if you've been scrolling Instagram, you know how disorienting it feels to see war footage, then trending audio over a just booked beach video, and then trying to create that for yourself, that balance of how do I acknowledge what's going on while encouraging people to go on vacation? I know that balancing your desire to talk about travel and sell travel with the reality of this new war is not easy, especially if you're brand new to being a travel advisor. And let's be honest, us veterans, I feel like we're adjusting in real time as well. I know you're trying to figure out your voice, your ethics, your boundaries while the world is literally on fire. And that's what we're going to get into a little bit today. Being new and figuring it out in this industry, the things you probably aren't thinking about, how to get ahead when times are slower or you're struggling, how to manage those client expectations and boundaries, how to pull yourself back on track when you realize you've said yes to the wrong fucking thing. So I'm gonna breathe, take a sip of my coffee and get into it. I know that there is a truth in every industry that you're never going to know everything, even on your last day, but you are most vulnerable to overcommitting, especially when you're hungriest for your business. When you are new, when you want experience, when you are craving that first booking, you don't wanna disappoint anyone or look like you can't handle it. So you say yes. You'll hear me talk today about a follower who reached out for help with flights for a group of 30. And I feel like, why is a new advisor doing flights for 30 from different cities to Punta Cana? I cannot imagine that being my first reservation. So her niche is culinary tourism. This isn't even in her niche. And that's what she truly wants to be known for. And we've talked about it before, but she was thinking, I can figure this out as I go. How hard can it be? To get a corporate incentive group. Everyone's going to the same place for us, you know, for a certain price. And honestly, spoiler alert, it has been really fucking hard for her. It has turned into what she considers to be a crisis, not just logistically, but emotionally and mentally. And she didn't charge a fee because she's in Florida and she hasn't figured out how to do that yet. But she also has no leadership or mentorship despite taking a training that comes with mentorship. When you're new, this is so much to tackle. So she and I worked through a lot of her options yesterday in the DMs, and I'm going to continue to support her in the DMs. And no, I do not charge for that. I want to help her. I want her to succeed. But I also want to talk about the fact that she probably should have said no to this. And this is a hard lesson learned, but she's in it now and I am happy to be in it with her. Because there is no reason to do this job alone when you are new. And I know I talk a lot about big hosts and finding your people, and I know how challenging that can be. So if you're listening to this and you're new and you haven't found a mentor, if you haven't found a collective of advisors who will help you in the DMs, you need to find that before you take— tackle something huge like a 30-person group incentive trip or a destination wedding or A honeymoon that is 10 stops over 4 weeks. Because when you're new, you're probably not thinking about how many hours that project is really going to take you, how much extra brain bandwidth is required for complex flights, multiple gateways, high-stakes trips, detailed itineraries, and places you've never been. You probably aren't even sure if you have the right tools. You definitely don't have a system in place because it's your first time. And the backup support to pull it off is nonexistent at this point. This can burn your business to the ground because it can deteriorate your confidence. It will bruise your ego when you make mistakes, and often advisors can't come back from that. We glamorize the big bookings and totally ignore the cost of getting it done. I want you to think about setting boundaries for yourself as a new travel advisor as early as possible. I want you to think about what you are truly able to do, especially if you have other obligations. We talk about this a lot on the podcast, but I don't know how serious you're taking it. If you are so excited to do this job, you want to take everything as it comes streaming in. And I want you to be successful, but I also want you to be careful because when you take on something so big, And you have no processes, no workflows in place, you are going to struggle, especially if you're doing it by yourself, figuring it out as you go. And she even said, I have to get this done today. And it was late in the day on Monday. It was like 2 or 3 PM. And I said, girl, you are not getting this done today. And we've actually decided that she is going to book all 30 flights direct with the airline. One at a time. And I told her I would do 10 at a time over the next 3 days. I would not book 30 in one day. And I think that's really stressing her out because the secretary has been up her ass. And I said, you just need to be honest. You need to say this is a large undertaking and I need at least 7 to 10 business days to get all of these flights finalized. Because she has to confirm the names, the birth dates, the gateways, and She also has to get a credit card authorization for 30 flights. There's just so much that goes into it. So she has kind of a half-assed spreadsheet, but it's not going to be enough. And we are working through it, but I think it's a hard lesson learned that we should not be tackling this large of a reservation in the first 2 months that we're doing this job. I don't care how many trainings you take, if you are going to work With a group, you need somebody who specializes in groups to walk you through your first one, whether you pay them or whether they're willing to give you their time for free. You need a mentor, someone to hold your hand through those steps because that workflow is complex. And you also need to learn how to set client expectations. This is something new travel advisors definitely don't think about, and for veterans, Who don't have boundaries, not setting client expectations will always come to bite you in the ass, which it sounds like to me she did not do because the secretary is bothering her. And instead of having this process in place that gives timelines that are reasonable, she is trying to keep up with the secretary's emails. I am not here for any of that. I used to be in that space where I would just work round the clock when someone Called me or emailed me, I would jump as high as I could to get it done as quickly as I could. But that is when you make the most mistakes. And that is what is going on now. She has made a snowball effect of mistakes that has led her to this moment. We're going to clean it up. We're going to get it done, but it could leave her wrecked. And I do not want that for her. She has to learn how to set expectations and boundaries because if you don't, Then this is how things play out. Not for everyone. Like if you're just doing something simple for a family or friend, they're going to be more patient than if you take on an entire ass incentive group or a destination wedding or a bucket list trip that cannot go wrong in those clients' minds. I think one of the things that new advisors really don't do well is they don't know what they're doing, so they don't know how to explain it to people. They often don't have a niche and don't want to set one. They don't have office hours because they want to do this job every extra second that they have. And they don't want you to wait. So they answer super fast. Guys, 24/7 is not the best way. I'm going to kind of go off a little bit here because it's popped up this week as well. There is An incredible article about a travel advisor who sells a lot of travel, millions a year in travel. And she openly admits in the article that she does not say no. She has no boundaries. She works on every trip, including her family vacations. And that is her claim to fame to getting to millions of dollars in sales per year. But I Don't promote this. I never will promote this because you will burn out at some point. Something will happen and there will be a problem running a business like that. I don't love is the perpetuating that 24/7 hustle is somehow a good way to do this business. It is a culture that this industry specifically has repeatedly told us it's the best way. To get successful. But that is bullshit. If that's what she wants, I hope she's happy. I hope she is successful. But to me, that is not the kind of success that I want for the future generation of travel. And that is why I started my coaching business, because I want new advisors to know there is another way. Is it slower sometimes? Hell yes, it's slower because you're building a foundation. To have longevity, sustainability. And to me, it is not sustainable to work 24 hours a day, never take a mental break, and go on vacation with my family and work the entire time. And to openly admit no boundaries, she never says no, I can't get behind it. It's her choice. I just can't support and coach that to you. I want you to Appreciate that level of success for her while knowing you don't have to do it that way for you, because you are allowed to have office hours, even if it's only 5 hours a week. Response time expectations that you will get back to somebody in 24 business hours, especially if it's non-urgent, especially if you don't have anyone traveling. It's okay to have a minimum fee for complex itineraries, even from day one. If you don't want to charge for quote unquote easy cruise bookings or all-inclusives or Disney, okay. But if you're managing every aspect and you're putting together something from scratch, like an FIT European vacation, please charge. If you are booking 30 separate airline tickets, please charge. Figure out your seller of travel before you take on 30 tickets. Being new does not mean you have to be endlessly available. It means you have to be extra clear because you don't have all of these years of experience to fall back on. You are learning how to do it while you are doing it. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but you are allowed to say, I am not comfortable taking this reservation on. Especially alone. It just needs to be clear. It's not to say you can't do everything. It's that you do need that support. And on that note, I want to talk about the fact that I always promote large hosts. I do. I also get zero kickbacks from the hosts that I recommend. I typically recommend WorldVia, NexGen, and TPI. However, I also am starting to realize I have created a gap. Between myself for sure and the smaller midsize agency owners, and so many of you still support me. You still encourage your advisors to come listen and get advice from me, and I've realized literally just in the last two months how special you are. And I know I have created so much content saying that agents should consider the large host over the small. Agency because it's a soft place to land. There's history there. There's references both in that current business and those who have left who will talk to you about their experience. I also want you to have autonomy and I want you to be able to build your own personal brand. I don't want you to feel like you have to use an agency's email or CRM to Put all of your client information in. I want you to be paid fairly, and so many small to mid-sized travel agencies don't always pay very well. They often start so low; it's indescribably gross, in my opinion. In my opinion, you should be at 70-30 starting. So that has really created a gap. I have pissed off a lot of small agency owners, and I understand they feel attacked. A Especially around the commission conversation, especially around the fact that I don't think they should have non-competes in their contracts, and I don't want you signing non-competes. But I'm also a realist in that not every agent wants to be in a large host company. And speaking with this agent this week really helped open my eyes because she is with a large host and she is really struggling. And I want to acknowledge that I'm not going to be perfect all the time, but one thing I do and do very well is self-evaluate. I try to be very self-aware. And one of the reasons I have struggled with small to midsize agencies is because of the stories you all come and tell me. And I don't hear very many negatives about the larger host companies. Because they do offer so much training and so many of them have mentorship programs now. And I genuinely believe that you should be fully autonomous as a 1099. But recently I've been also having conversations with agency owners who are willing to talk to me about the messaging, because I think if I'm not talking about you, if you're not breaking these 1099 rules, you're going to understand my content. You're not going to feel alienated by it because I'm not talking about you as a travel agency owner. But I also am realistic and understand that it could definitely hurt your feelings. It could piss you off. You could be laying in bed listening, going, stop saying that. I am not like that. But also you may be standing up for me in rooms I am not in. And I don't even know it until somebody tells me. And that also happened this week. It's overwhelming to have to look in the mirror and say, Marcie, you have fucked some of this up. And I'm not going to quit talking about shit agency owners. It's not going to happen. But I am going to try to keep an open mind because that is what I ask you guys to do about how to pivot and move forward and close the gap. And I know I'm never going to be able to roll back my content. It's out there. It's definitely how I feel about small agency owners and midsize agency owners who take advantage, in my opinion, of newer advisors and underpay and lock them into non-competes and bully them in the group chat because I've seen it. I see it all the fucking time, which is why I'm so jaded to the business model, but I'm not so. Ridiculous that I can't also realize that you can't have the business you desire exactly like everyone else or in one specific way. I am not delusional enough to believe that. I believe there is a right home for every new advisor. So check out my IG from this week. It is about collaborating with small to midsize agencies. And trying to close that gap, and I don't have an ulterior motive. My motive is always to help the IC. I do think this could also help small and midsize agencies find quality ICs, but my goal is to help the IC with the potential opportunity to find the right agency for them. And of course, my haters are hating. They are making fun of this. They are saying that there is an ulterior motive. I genuinely have been talking to. Several agency owners, but one specifically who suggested that I have like a host panel, like a small travel agency host panel. And it actually kind of pissed me off. I was like, that's not my job. Like agency owners need to take responsibility for their own bullshit. They need to recognize through the content that I already create where there are issues in their own businesses. Because so many small agency and midsize agency owners come from shitty places and then perpetuate shitty policy. Like that's on them to figure it out. And literally within a week of having this conversation with her, I realized I'm not any better than them if I'm not open-minded to realizing that you all need options. And so many of you have asked me for recommendations for small to midsize agencies, and I refuse to give them because I'm uncomfortable with it. I don't know who these people are. I don't know what their policies are, and I am very uncomfortable recommending anything. That I don't know anything about. And that would be the argument from the people who dislike my messaging is, Marcie doesn't know me, how can she know if I suck? But I just know that certain policies suck. So if the shoe fits, then the shoe fits. Like, that's not on me. I don't name names. I would never allow the level of bashing that is happening about me in my own spaces. I would never allow a mad IC to come in and drop names and bitch and moan. I don't allow that at all. Zero. Because I know there are so many sides to every story, but I do encourage that agent usually to leave because why the fuck would you stay somewhere if you don't like it there? And why would agency owners want them to stay there? So that's another thing I think new advisors don't realize is all these options you do have, and it can be so overwhelming to find them. So I'm going to figure that resource out. Very soon. It's like a quarter 3 project, but it's something that is coming for you because ICs need this. And I need to realize that big hosts aren't for everybody. And I'm not embarrassed to pivot. I'm not embarrassed to say, hey, I need to stop painting with that broad brush. And for those who cannot stand me, still going to talk about shitty splits, still going to lecture on non-competes, still assuming that this is what is wrong with our industry, it, because it is. And there's nothing wrong with me discussing it, but alienating good agency owners was never the goal. That was never what I wanted to do. It was a casualty of the content is the best way I can describe it. And I am going to shift. I also believe in personal growth. I believe in becoming more self-aware of the reasons that I do this. And I know it's because the advisors who come to me are coming from those places. And I personally have been with 2 small agencies and they just have a lot of fucking flaws. But I also believe there is space for everybody. I can't say go have the business you want if I completely alienate an entire business model. But if you are a shitty, shitty agency owner and you're listening to this, I don't give a shit what you think about me. I don't give a shit if you think I am hypocritical. I don't, it doesn't matter to me what you think. You're not my aligned client, but I am here to meet agency owners who want to do right by ICs where they are. So that's where I'm going next. And I want to collaborate with small and midsize agency owners who are willing to lay it all out and add it to the spreadsheet and make an easy to read resource for ICs so they can find the right small to midsize agency for them if the large agency model is not the best choice for them. Because I realize new advisors, they have all kinds of issues and some of them absolutely need something smaller. I just want to be able to trust the people on the list. I don't want to be held liable for that recommendation, and I struggle. With this process of growth and learning and just having to admit that I'm part of the problem. And that is something that I hope we can get through together. And if not, that's okay too. There are so many options in the world of coaching and the people you can follow and the people that you choose to trust in the industry. And I'm very grateful to the small and midsize agency owners who have come alongside me and support me and speak up for me, especially in spaces I'm not in. 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 It's time to fucking change that. I am 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-week course is designed to help you build a sales process that's This 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 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. One of the issues that a lot of travel advisors who are new, experienced, and even veterans is slow times, right? When leads are quiet, when the world feels heavy. When you're questioning everything, that is not dead space. That is building space. Instead of spiraling in, no one is inquiring, I must suck at this, ask, what can I do now in this moment that future me will be so grateful for? I love future me. She is living her best life and future you is living her best life. Some of the ideas I have for you are to truly sit down and look at your niche. If you know You want to focus on culinary tourism. Build 3 example itineraries you'd be proud to sell. Start talking about food-forward travel, not all the things for all the people. Build your systems. Create a simple workflow for what it looks like to book an airline ticket, for what it looks like to build a culinary tour over 7 days in France. Write that basic standard operating procedure that you can follow. For how you propose and what you're going to include, and then time it. Also decide on your minimum fees. In my opinion, it should be no less than $75 per person. When you're slow, continue your education. Deep dive into different airline routes to the countries you want to sell, the things you are most excited about, into hoteliers that you want to sell. Set up a meeting with your BDM, go take the webinar or the training from the tourist board of the countries you want to learn about. Start understanding different preferred partner terms and conditions and policies for cancellation and changes. What would matter to your most aligned client? Think about her and then sit down and create 7 different pieces of content, write one blog post, create one email, and then turn those 2 things into one reel, one TikTok, one post in your group. Also think about yourself in the business and how obsessed you are with travel and what you love about travel and write down what it looks like to work with you. What can they expect? And then turn that into content. Create a spreadsheet with these pieces of content and then repurpose that content week over week, because that will be what carries you through these quiet times. That you are making decisions, learning about the industry, creating content for your aligned client that can be reused again and again. Because slow doesn't mean you're failing. Slow It's truly where professionals are made. But what happens when you're already in it and you're just really trying to figure out all of these different parts and pieces to your business and you're stuck and you're overwhelmed and you're almost like sick of opening your inbox because either you are so busy and don't know what to do with that, or you are so slow and you feel like a failure. How do you get yourself back on track when things are not working? This was a question that came through yesterday. I just don't know what to do when things aren't clicking. First, you are not a failure. And I wish I could like pound this into everybody's head. And this is where I think a mentor, somebody that you can call on, an accountability partner would be amazing. Because at some point in our journeys, we've all felt this way. We've all felt like we shouldn't be here, that we've bitten off more than we can chew. And the thing is, guys, you just have to be honest with yourself when you're ready to get back on track. Write down those negative thoughts and then burn them in a safe place to burn, but also write down the things you're, you've done well. We have to acknowledge the things we have done well. If you finished a training that you purchased, if you met with a BDM in the last month, if you closed a vacation that you didn't know you could close, if you've managed to get your inbox to zero somehow, those are all successes. You have to be looking. Deeper at the little successes in our business. You also have to redefine your yes to get back on track. From now on, before you take something on, say yes to a fam, a conference, a new reservation, a group booking that you have no business doing, ask, does this align with where I am in the business as a new TA? Is this in my niche that I want to be focused on? Because I'll be committed to this for X amount of months. Is this the kind of work I want to be doing a year from now? Do I have the tools, support, and time to do this well? Am I charging enough for my time? And do I know how much time this is going to take? Is this going to be emotional? Could it have a negative financial impact on my business? This is what it means to lead yourself. And as a new TA, we are not taught to lead ourselves. We are taught to do everything the way everybody else has said to do it. But if you're asking your questions to yourself, it's easier to show up for yourself. It's easier to really slow down. I call it the pre-K pause. I stole that from Mr. Williams, and it works for me every time when I do it. And in fact, I'm letting a post simmer in Maximize because she is so upset. That I thought she needed at least 24 hours to think about what she wanted to do with a client who's really offended her. When we pre-K pause, it allows us to take a breath, see a new perspective, offer benefit of the doubt, and decide what we can confidently communicate and handle. We have to do that. We have to evaluate that. And I do think I am pre-K pausing on how I feel about small and medium agencies. I am trying to adjust. I'm trying to see things from a new perspective. It's not easy because I do have deep-seated beliefs that this business model is not always good for a travel agent, especially a new one. But there is always room to grow and learn. So you have to take a beat, evaluate your own shit, look at it from another perspective, and then decide if it's right for you to shift your energy, shift your content, shift your mindset. And that's what you need to be doing as a new TA. As you navigate these systems and processes and niches and all the flood of information as it comes in, pre-K pause. If you need to adjust, adjust. Even if it means admitting you made a mistake. It's okay to slow down, ask for help. I'm so proud of the advisor who rolled up on my DMs and asked for help because it means she genuinely realized that she's not cut out to do this by herself. And so many other mistakes would be made if she just pushed through it. I do think focusing on smaller trips in the early days is something nobody really tells you you should do because they assume that you do know what is going on. And it's so weird because most of us have no fucking clue what's going on in the early days of this business. But I do think those smaller trips, not smaller necessarily in the cost of the trip, but just less people focusing on smaller families, focusing on couples. Can build confidence and systems without all this panic. She is panicking, and it is so heartbreaking to watch. I think too, realizing, hey, I need a mentor, I need somebody to walk me through this, is a huge opportunity for her. What I want you to know about being new is you are always allowed to pivot in this business. You're allowed to change your mind. You're allowed to admit when you're wrong, but you are also not allowed to bullshit yourself. And the only way you can do those things is by realizing that you might. be in over your head. You're allowed to not do something that will burn you out. You're allowed to learn a hard lesson once and then change the business because of it. It's not to say that you will never do a group trip. It's to say you'll only do the group trip if all the pieces line up with how you want to run your business, if it makes sense for your business. And the other thing I wanna tell you is it's okay to not be busy. You don't always have to be doing something. In those quiet times. In fact, I need to take a page out of my own book, right? I'm burnt out a little bit and I need a break. And one of the things I always tell you guys is to listen to yourselves and trust that your body is telling you what it needs and that your mind is telling you what it needs. If you are slow right now, but you've been keeping yourself busy doing all the things, learning all the things, but just the leads are not coming in, or you're just like over-creating content, which is me, I'm just over-creating content right now. It's okay to be tired. It's okay to take a break, which is why I'm not doing back-to-back podcasts while I'm away. It's okay to step back, pre-K pause, for as long as that pause needs to last. And sometimes people will come into the group and say, Marcie, what do I do when I'm slow? How do I get through this slow time? And I'm like, go to lunch with a friend. Take a day off. Get a massage. Take a hot bath. Take care of yourself. Self-care in this business is so hard to come by. If you're watching and reading Every hustle article out there, but guess what? The world will keep spinning. Your business doesn't evaporate because you're resting. Nothing is going to crumble around you if you stop posting for a week or you take a few days off. In fact, most of you need to step back more often, and I need to take that advice because it creates a space to become more grounded and present, and then. You're not going to get resentful because that's how burnout happens, right? So if you need that permission, here it is. But first, think about saying no more than saying yes. Sit down and look at the systems you have in place before you take on something huge. Use this slow season that you might be experiencing to enjoy the process of learning. And in that, take a breath and thank the universe for quiet times, because when you are slammed, you are going to be looking for that quiet time. And you might have to create that quiet time. Go get a coffee with a girlfriend. Go see a movie with your teenager. Plan a little mini getaway with your husband when you're not so busy. Even if it feels like, well, I haven't made any money, Marcie, how can I take a break? Well, you're not making any money anyway sitting here. So take a break. I know that there was a lot in this episode. I always tell my stories and I'll always be honest with you as I'm transitioning into new ideas. And when I am wrong, I will slowly start to admit it. I will take some ownership of that because I can't advise that you be responsible for all the decisions you've made and then pretend like the decisions I've made are not my responsibility. They absolutely are my responsibility, and I I want ICs to have the businesses they desire any way they want them. And there was a sector of my business not supporting that. And so I do come here and just tell the truth because it's otherwise exhausting to carry it around. And I do wanna look closer at my messaging, and I want you to look closer at yours and think about how you can grow and change and learn through The mistakes, through saying yes to the wrong things. Don't look at it and beat yourself up. Look at it and say to yourself, I've got this. Now I understand it better. That is going to make me a stronger travel advisor. And in my case, this is going to make me a better coach because that's what I want to be for you guys. This isn't about selling courses. This isn't about booking more one-on-one sessions. This is truly about supporting ICs in our industry and the next generation of travel advisors. And I want to be a part of that change. I want to be somebody that when they need to create something new, they do. And right now, this is where the story is going. And I trust myself. I trust that my heart is in the right place and there is no ulterior motive other than to continue to support ICs in the industry. And I want you to do that for your own business. I want you to feel confident that you can make change when you're ready, when you're willing to look in the mirror, find the issues and fix them, create solutions and be radically responsible for your own decisions. Even if you're questioning those decisions, even if you're not sure about those decisions, you won't know until you go and grow. I hope That you were able to take something away this week. I hope you heard something that was inspiring to you. I'm excited for the Q&A that's coming up next week. And I'm so excited to take a couple of weeks off from the podcast and go to Japan with my daughter. I hope that you will hit follow on the No BS Travel Advisor Marcie on Instagram and TikTok. And if you need me, I am here. Slide into my DMs. You can chat with me about anything. And I really hope that you say no to something this week that you otherwise would have said yes to without thinking. Because if nothing else, that's always my message is you don't have to do anything that you don't want to do in your own business. You don't have to listen to me if that is not what you want to do. But I assume if you made it through an hour-long podcast that you are trusting me with your business. And for that, I am so grateful every I hope you guys have a great week. Love you. Bye. All right, y'all. That is the end of another episode of the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. Thank you so much for being here. And remember, I am not a lawyer. That is my disclaimer. I am a coach and mentor in the travel business with a ton of big opinions. So don't forget to leave that 5-star review. And if you need anything, I'm here for you. Bye.