None of Their Business!
In this solo, profanity‑laden episode of the No BS Travel Advisor podcast, host Marcie Muensterman draws on 19 years of industry experience to coach independent travel advisors on reclaiming autonomy from host agencies. She explains the legal distinction between a W‑9 independent contractor and a W‑2 employee, emphasizing that advisors are CEOs of their own businesses and answer only to their clients. Marcie outlines the many aspects of an advisor’s operation that are "none of the host’s business"—including personal CRMs, lead generation, fee structures, social‑media channels, supplier relationships, and workflow tools. She warns against oversharing and people‑pleasing, recounts her own burnout, and urges listeners to shift from an employee mindset to a self‑directed CEO mindset. Practical guidance is provided on contracts, notice periods, dual‑hosting, and the importance of legal review. She details the essential business infrastructure an independent advisor should have (LLC, E&O insurance, EIN, business bank account, website, branding) and stresses that hosts cannot dictate training, meetings, FAM trips, or BDM interactions. Marcie also advises on clean, business‑to‑business exit communication, the irrelevance of emotional closure, and the right way to transition quietly. Throughout, she blends motivational language with blunt, no‑filter advice, encouraging advisors to protect their independence, stop oversharing, and build a business that serves their clients and personal goals.
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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 CEO that I am. And if you're an independent advisor who suspects your host might suck, hate Hates working for free and appreciates a well-placed F-bomb, you're in the right damn place. So let's go. Hey y'all, welcome back to the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. I'm your host, Marcie Muensterman, the woman behind the mic on these solo episodes. I have helped thousands of travel advisors leave their host or travel agency, and I'm really proud of the work that I'm doing in this coaching space. Over the last 3 years, I have had so many conversations with you about why you want to leave, and I always tell people that if you've gotten to that point where you are wanting to really dig deep in the DMs with me, it's definitely time to go. I believe in trusting your gut and listening to that instinct. If there's something telling you it's no longer a good fit, or perhaps it's grown very toxic, it might be time. And in 95% of cases, it is time. I know you guys have a lot of questions about this, and I know it's really hard to leave too, so it's just that when you're creating your own business, you have so many questions. And once a host or travel agency owner no longer aligns, you definitely want to start that process of moving forward. One of the things I noticed a lot in the conversations I'm having is that you love to overshare, not only with me, but I have a feeling with those around you in that travel agency situation, including your owners. I personally am an oversharer, so I completely relate to wanting to tell all the stories, get the full version of what happened. And I think that you probably are doing too much of that in your, uh, 1099 situation. Some advisors also overpost about how they're running their businesses or asking so many questions that they have not gone out to figure out what's best for them on their own, that it gives more power to your travel agency owner than they are supposed to have. So before we jump in today, I just want you guys to be thinking about some of those things as we talk about if it's the right time to leave and what is and is not your travel agent owner or host's business. I know it sounds weird because it's like you're partnering with them in this business, but that's the point, is you're not an employee. I want you to slow down and think about your current situation because I know So many of us are so caught up and excited just to become a travel advisor that we will often jump in so fast without doing the due diligence of vetting the person or the agency or the host that we are signing on with. We hand over so much power the minute we sign on that dotted line, and so many of us did not read the fine print, y'all. So many of us have made that mistake more than any other, including myself. If I take myself back to when I first decided I wanted to become a travel advisor, It was because I was drawn in specifically by working with one specific travel agent on my destination wedding and how she treated me as a client. I loved her energy and her vibe, and I thought working alongside her, partnering with her, would be a dream. I knew immediately that's where I wanted to go to become a travel agent, but I didn't even bother to look around. I didn't do any research on what it meant To be a 1099 independent contractor. So I just want to remind you right now that you don't work for someone when you sign a W-9. You are contracting with them. You cannot be hired or fired as a 1099. You can decide to terminate a contract. You can decide not to renew a contract. So when you're thinking about all of this stuff in your business, and especially if you're new, I just want you to know, It's so relatable to want to be at someone else's table, to want to be a part of a family. I hate that now. It's so important for us to want to feel included and as part of a team and all those things. I get it. We want to be part of big— something bigger than ourselves, and we want to be part of that story. But what I want to tell you is that really your only bosses are your clients. Truly, your clients are who you answer to and how you show up for them is the most important thing. It is not important to show up for your host or owner in a certain way. They can't force you to do that, and you should not feel obligated to do that. So when you think about being an independent contractor as a travel advisor, I understand you want support and mentorship, but you do not need supervision. Okay, you do not need to be micromanaged. You need to understand that you're the owner of the agency that you have contracted with is not your fucking boss. And while sometimes we want to be told what to do and how to do it, they are not supposed to do that. They may have a handbook and they may have access to trainings and they may ask you to attend meetings, but you don't have to do Those trainings. You do not have to attend those meetings. You do not have to go on specific FAMs. You do not have to travel a certain amount per year. I know you want to please them with your efforts. I get it. Well, I know you need that pat on the back. Am I doing a good job? I really want to do a good job. I get it. As a, you know, past people pleaser, I completely understand. If you're ever nervous or feel like you're going to get belittled by your travel agency owner or Your colleagues that partner with them as well. That's a red flag though. I mean, you should be able to speak your mind as long as you're being respectful in a professional setting. You should not feel embarrassed to share ideas and want to bounce things off of each other, but they can't tell you what to do with that idea after you've shared it. They really should encourage you instead of in any way squashing something that you have been thinking about, because there are no policies around who you work with, what suppliers, vendors, or hoteliers you're working alongside. Like you get to choose those things. You get to choose what kinds of clients you want to work with. You get to choose if you want to sell Carnival versus Royal Caribbean. You get to decide if you want to be a luxury specialist with a minimum spend, or if you are going to focus on destination weddings, you get to choose. I want you to think about how you communicate and the responses you get when you communicate from your host agency colleagues, as well as the owners of that company. Because how that culture is and how that resonates through your body is going to tell you if you're in the right place. And so much of the time we become very dependent on our owners because we want to be told How to do things, when to do things, what to do, because we don't want to disappoint them. We want to succeed. And we think following a certain thing is the only way to do it. Having guidance is important. Having support is important. But if you decide to go off the beaten path on your own, that's okay too. And that should be just as supported. Trust me. Trust me. I have lived this and I have done that dance, y'all. And I have sat in that. Travel agent-owner relationship where I bent myself in half trying to be perfect for them and the favorite and win all the awards and be the best. I stepped into different roles within the organization. I trained for free and I ran the social media for free. I wanted them to like me and be proud of me and see me as an asset, someone pulling their weight, team player, heard all that bullshit. Because that is what I was taught to do from a very young age. We have been taught to do things a certain way and show up and go above and beyond. We as women are often people pleasers by default, especially when we're in the service industry. So I'm not judging you for wanting to feel a certain way around the owner of your travel agency or your host colleagues, you know, want to be included in conversation. I understand that you want to be a part of something bigger, a part of that chapter in a special way. I'm not calling you out on that. Okay. For wanting that, what I'm calling you in to understand is there is a lot about what we do as travel advisors that has zero to do with the host we've signed up with or the travel agency owner. So we're going to get into that today. We're going to get deep into what's none of their business and get real honest about The next steps in your travel advisor journey. We have to stop allowing ourselves to be treated like employees just because that's what we've always done and that's what we're comfortable with and that's what makes sense to us, right? I know that so many of you are people-pleasing straight-A students with ADHD now, and you've always had it, but you didn't know it. And you've just been trying to perform since your very first job or from that first day in kindergarten. To follow all the rules and do it a specific way because it's going to be graded or there's going to be a bonus at the end of the year. And you want to get reviewed on it. You want to know what you've done right, what you've done wrong. You want a raise. You want that extra credit and to be praised. You want to be corrected so you can do it right next time. You want to be able to adapt to please them and do it better if it sucks this time. So many of you are into this word elevate. I want to elevate. I want to be better than I was yesterday. Honestly, it's exhausting trying to be better than you were yesterday. Fuck that shit. If you are ethical, if you are moral, if you are putting your clients first, if you are running your business above board and you are following CEO standards for yourself, I can guarantee that you're doing this well. Like I said on my last episode, everything you have done prior to becoming a travel advisor Influences who you are now as a travel advisor, the good and the bad. I mean, when I was in high school, y'all, I was made, made fun of for being a suck-up. I wasn't a partier. I never went out. And it was, oh, she's a goody-two-shoes. I never tattled on anyone that was bullying me because I didn't want to rock the boat. And I really wanted my teachers to like me. One time, my Latin teacher sent me 50 cents in the mail for getting an A on a Latin exam, and I kept that 50 cents for like 10 years. I was so proud to get 50 cents from her. 50 fucking cents. And yes, it was the '90s, so 50 cents could have gone a long way. I could have gotten a Coke out of a machine for that. But instead I kept it as validation that I was worthy of 50 cents. I loved being told that I was doing a good job. And when I really wasn't, because I wasn't great at geometry, I was disappointed in myself more so than my parents, more so than my teachers. And Then it translated over into jobs I took. I wanted to be the best ice cream cake maker at Dairy Queen. When they started talking about, you know, giving college-age kids a management position, I wanted that job. I wanted to be in charge. I loved being able to tip those Blizzards upside down and that ice cream not coming out. I felt accomplished. I was obsessed with being the best. Still am in many ways. And I loved a rule to follow. I really did. As much as I'm a rebel now and love to color outside the lines, back then I loved to follow the rules. I knew I was being quote unquote good if I was following the rules and the instructions and the way it's supposed to be done. I mean, after all, from the moment we get those first jobs, we have to show up at a certain time, clock in and out, take 15-minute breaks specifically, and run the machine a certain way. I mean, at Dairy Queen, they had a very special way of putting a burger together. And it had to be done consistently every single time. I loved training other people to do it right. You get paid, they take the taxes out, you go home. I mean, that's how we've always been taught from the, I mean, from the moment we got in school. And I tell my kids all the time, like, this is your only job to go to school and do well and be respectful. And, but I also really feel passionately about challenging the status quo now. I didn't see it back then, but, you know, falling in line. Is the true indoctrination of our country. I could go on and on about that, but what I will tell you is I think it is so important to challenge the status quo. Because just because something has been done a certain way this whole time, or encouraged this whole time, like the 24/7 mindset of working this job until your fingernails are bleeding, is such bullshit. It's completely outdated. It was designed by a man too. I can guarantee that. I want you to know that in so many ways, the status quo is so fucking below average. And that's also what I tell my children. If something doesn't seem right, it's okay to ask questions. It's okay to question our leaderships. It's okay to wonder if that doesn't feel right, is it right? You can want to be amazing at something and get patted on the back. And it still be all yours. You can have both. Yes, I know all of this roots, all of these things that we have now have imprinted themselves into our DNA, as one of my friends told me the other day, but we can also reverse it. We have control over our own thoughts, our own opinions, and when we are an independent contractor as a travel advisor, over our own businesses. And yes, I know you want to know if you're fucking things up. Of course. And yes, you're going to make mistakes along the way. That is life. But there should be nobody there like full-on slapping your hand if you're a 1099 contractor. You have to fix your own shit. Okay. And while I know you want to be told how to do things, at the end of the day, you have to figure out how to do this job. And of course, it's so nice to have somebody there that might course correct you. But at the end of the day, the changes that you make have to come from you. They cannot be forced upon you. So I know you're so excited to be a travel advisor if you're new here. And as a veteran, you're probably sitting there like, oh my gosh, yes, I totally relate to so much of what you're saying. I understand that when you start out at this job, you're scared. It is very scary to start your own business. And you're nervous, you're confused. There's so much coming at us, especially in those early days. I mean, hell, even now we're all learning as we go with new regulations, government shutdowns. The COVID years. We learn every single day at this job and we make mistakes and we have to fix them. But we also do so much good. I mean, we are a part of people's actual vacation memories, and that is so special. And one of the things I love to remind people about is we need to be having fun. I mean, hello, we get to send people to Italy and Jamaica and Asia. I mean, that is really fucking cool, but we need to be making these decisions. On our own if we signed a W-9. And I completely understand wanting mentorship and guidance and support. Of course, I understand wanting to sit at that same table and be included in those conversations. I know you want to feel safe, and I, I know that things being predictable is important, but that is not the life of a travel advisor, especially one who's independent and running their own business, because the minute you sign That you are a 1099 contractor, that is your own business. Even if you have contracted with a travel agency owner, you're still your own business. You still should have your own LLC and your own E&O insurance and your own EIN and your own business bank account. You should have your own email address and your own website and your own social media. You are independent. It's easy to want to fall into a people-pleasing experience and just say, oh, I'll just do it how she does it. I'll do it what she says. But that is not the life of a 1099 contractor. It's just not. Take it from somebody who had a gold medal in fucking people pleasing. It took a lot of time to reverse it. So I just want to talk to you guys about this. I want to talk to you about that point A to point Z in your own business. It is not a fucking straight line. It's definitely not downhill. Every story you hear is going to be different than yours. It might be similar, but it's different because what you did to get here was different. The journey you took to this moment listening to this podcast was different than everyone else listening to it. I don't want you to drown. I want you to have support. I want you to contract with a travel agency that has great training. I want you to come into it and have a path of growth, but I want you to remember you're independent. The decisions you make along each chapter of your story is your own. The systems and workflows that you put into place Those are yours. If you want to overachieve, overachieve for your client, overachieve for yourself. You should not feel obligated to overachieve for the owner of the travel agency you contracted with. So push pause and think about this. Who are you showing up for? Who do you get out of bed for? What gets you out of bed? What gets you excited to do this job? Remember, your travel agency owner, They care about their bottom line. You need to care about your bottom line. They're passionate about running their business, but you also need to be passionate about running your business like you desire so you can build this life the way you want to build it. Design your own life, working the hours you want to work, where you want to work them, what destinations, hotels, brands you want to sell and who you want to sell it to. Of course, they can have policies, they can have suggestions, but they cannot mandate or require you to do very many things. Of course, you have to put your client information in with their booking number so that you can be paid commissions, but that is the main thing that you owe them. That's it. There is a line in the sand between what it means to be a W-2 employee and what it means to be a W-9 independent contractor. And the main thing is how much control is your host agency or your travel agent owner trying to have over you and your business? Because when you are a 1099, you pay your own taxes, you invest in your own supplies, you create your own retirement plan with your own financial advisor, you take on all the risk. Your host agency is Responsible for your independent contractor agreement. It should have a start and stop. It covers that legal relationship, those commissionable bookings that you're making under their IATA or CLIA number. How those are tracked is up to them, and how you are paid is up to them. How you put those into the system is up to them, and they are allowed to have a few policies in place to protect themselves and cover their ass. For example, they may require you to have your own errors and omissions insurance. I think this is a good one. I think everyone should have that, even if your host company carries their own, they're allowed to have a monthly or an annual fee, and they're allowed to take whatever they want in commissions as long as you agree to it. Those things do need to be outlined in the contract. They need to be very clear. I do not agree with exclusivity agreements or non-competes because as independent contractors, we should be able to contract with more than one host, sell as much or as little as we want under A host. As long as we are running ethical businesses, there is nothing to micromanage. These host companies and travel agency owners need to be so careful about mandating anything else that you do, including training, meetings, travel. There should be no performance reviews, no Monday morning mandatory meetings. They cannot make you show up places because that is none of their fucking business. And that is what we're discussing. What is not their business? It's none of their business if you have an outside CRM or email account with your own website. It's none of their business if you have a very specific workflow, specific systems, different tools that you've chosen, automations that you've created, templates that you are using for your business is none of their business. That's your internal operation. And they are not paying for that. They do not get a say in whether or not you have a separate CRM or your own email address or your own website. I highly recommend you have all of that to keep track of your clientele that you procure and nurture through your own marketing, social media, branding. They should have no control over any of that. I encourage you to get your own seller of travel In Florida specifically, I don't know much about the other states, but I do know that having your own in Florida means you can charge fees, and they cannot dictate if you charge fees. Fees are a separate line item in your business, and they cannot restrict you from doing that. They can't ask what you're charging, when you charge it, how you charge it. That's on you. You do not have to tell them. And what I find is you guys love to tell all the things. You love to tell them everything you're doing, how you're doing it, and then when they're like, "Oh, you're not allowed to do that," you believe them. Seriously, stop oversharing. Stop thinking you have to tell them how you do this job. You don't. You don't owe anybody a response to any of those questions. Now, if you want to collab with them, that's fine. That's a choice that you make, but you don't have to share your photos from a fam you invest in. You don't have to write reviews on the resorts you visit when you pay to go. You have to follow supplier social media guidelines, and that's on you, but you should not be giving them full access to your social media. They should not be admins in your group or on your page. You should not be running their social media for any reason. If you have a lead magnet, it's your lead magnet. Those email addresses, those are yours. Don't plug them into their main CRM when you have a lead funnel that you've created that has nothing to do with them. If you're going to networking events and getting to know your community, those leads, those are yours too. And while you might have to be compliant online with certain social media policies that Sandals and Beaches puts out or Disney puts out, that is on you. You have to follow those policies. You signed the terms and, terms and conditions when you signed up and registered with those suppliers. How you choose to market things As long as you're following that supplier's policy, you're fine. You do not need a babysitter on the internet. Now, if you break policy with that hotelier, definitely have to course correct. Not saying you're never going to make a mistake. I'm saying they should not be in control of everything. There should just be none of this, you have to do this this way in that direction at this time for these people. No. You don't have to. Your host or travel agency owner cannot mandate the relationships you have within the industry, whether it's with colleagues, other travel advisors, suppliers, BDMs. I hear this more than I hear a lot of things, and it's, oh, I'm not allowed to talk to my BDM. I don't have access to my BDM. That is complete and utter bullshit, and that is not something that they can control. You as an independent advisor have a BDM with almost every single registered supplier that you're with. And if you need their assistance, if you wanna connect with them, if you want to go to their webinars, you can do that. If they invite you on a FAM, you can go. Your travel agency owner cannot control if you go on a FAM. You don't even have to tell them. It's none of their business if you're traveling or on a FAM. You can join networking groups. You can volunteer where you want. You can travel to destinations unknown to them. You can leave the office and put an out of office on without telling anyone. Any connection, any networking that you do is yours. There's no reason you should have to go through a host owner to establish a relationship with a business development manager or a sales manager or a destination weddings manager at a hotel. The minute you signed a W-9 form, you became fully independent. And BDMs and managers of hotels are an industry resource for you. They are not owner property from a travel agency. And I really don't give a fuck what they say about it. Sometimes they go, oh, BDMs don't want to be bothered by every single agent. They have thousands of agents. Correct. They do. They knew that when they signed up for that job, which for them is a W-2 job. So they have to do certain things. And that includes connecting with all travel advisors in their region. If that is what the travel advisor needs. I'm not saying you never loop your host agency in. I'm saying you don't have to loop them in. The other thing I want you guys to know that's None of your host company's business or your travel agency owner's business is when you decide to leave. This is not a job, actually. This is a business-to-business relationship. So if you've decided it's time for me to go, I am transitioning, you do not have to give notice. Now, if the contract says they prefer a certain length of time notice, I understand you signed it. Probably have to follow it. But in general, when you're contracting with somebody, you're not quitting a job. You're ending the contract because you are not an employee. You do not owe them 2 weeks notice or any additional obligated project unless for some reason it is a project-based IC. Now that offboarding procedure is up to them and you want to be able to have that conversation. So letting them know that you're moving on is Definitely something you're going to want to do at some point. But I do believe in transitioning quietly. And what does that mean? It means if you are planning to dual host, you probably want to be quiet about it. You don't want to tell your best friend, your best work, your work bestie. You don't need to tell your owner right away. You don't need to tell any colleagues, BDMs, anybody. Keep it quiet because that can lead to problems unknown to you. And it's already a crazy time if you're trying to leave one company and contract with another. But contractors don't have to give notice. They don't have to ask permission to go work and partner with another agency. Contractors don't have to stay A certain length of time for any reason. No obligation, no guilt. Obviously, if you are a W-2 travel advisor, which there's not very many of you out there, you will need to give 2 weeks notice. It's considered professional. You know, you might know how I feel about that, but it's complete crap. Businesses just part ways. You're a business, they're a business. You're no longer in business together. Your travel agency owner doesn't run payroll. Okay. They don't control your hours. They don't own your work. They don't pay. Taxes on you. They don't fund business expenses or pay for you to travel anywhere. They don't, you know, they don't give you a tech package or supplies. They're not your fucking supervisor. You don't give notice to an accountant. You just say, "I'm not going to contract with you next year." So you don't have to give notice to a host. At the end of the day, as an independent contractor, you should also feel comfortable. Contracting with more than one host through your own LLC business entity at the same time if needed. So you don't have to break up with one to partner with the other. When notice is technically exclusive to employer-employment relationships, ICs do not have to be exclusive. Such a corporate concept, right? To give notice. It's something we've all been trained to do since our very first job. When I decided to quit Dairy Queen, I let my manager know. I gave her 2 weeks notice. I let her know I was going to college and I wouldn't be coming back in the summer because they rely on you. They want to know. They pay all that stuff for you. They trained you. The absence affects their operations. And yes, while being an IC might— that absence might affect them, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it affects them. They have to figure that out themselves. And so do employees. Let's— or employers. You know, let's be honest. You are technically a client of theirs when you sign on and contract with a host because they're providing a service to you for you to be able to run your business better. When it no longer fits, it's okay to leave. Some hosts though, some travel agency owners, they cut off access. They delay commissions. They freak the fuck out on you. They make it personal. They become petty. You know, they kick you out of everything, making it difficult for you to service your clients. They make that exit hostile, which is why I tell you to be fucking quiet. Handle that transition as seamlessly as you can, cleanly, ethically, and try to move your business without drama because you're not betraying someone. You're protecting yourself and your business, and that is none of their business. I mean, yes, you have to follow certain things that you signed on the dotted line about, which is why I always say get a lawyer to review that contract before you sign it. It's cheaper To get a lawyer now than it would be when shit hits the fan and you're operating your business under duress. You want to make sure that everything is outlined in that contract for final payouts, how you're supposed to notify them when you are ending a contract, commission timelines after you leave, any sort of non-solicitation, which I don't know. You just need to communicate like a normal human being when it comes to leaving a. A contracted situation. And when you are ready to go, you simply say, per the IC agreement, formally, I'm formally ending my relationship with name of agency effective immediately. Please send any outstanding commission timelines and next steps in writing. That's it. We don't need 14 paragraphs. We don't need emotional closure. We don't need thank you for the opportunity, or I hope you're not mad at me. This is a business-to-business communication, nothing more. You don't owe them loyalty or emotional processing, a phone call, a transition period. You don't need to do one of those exit interviews. There's no training the next advisor to onboard or apologies, justifications. There doesn't need to be a fucking heart-to-heart. You're in a business partnership. You're not disappoint— disappointing anyone. Anyone trying to guilt you, manipulate you, scare you, share, you know, bad things about you, shame you. Try to talk you into staying or sabotaging your exit. Get a fucking lawyer because that is absolutely unnecessary. Because at the end of the day, when you decide not to contract with a travel host company, you are not quitting a job. You are not resigning. You cannot be fired because you're not their fucking employee. It's okay to make that decision as a CEO of yourself. And I get that you might want to give notice because you just want to be respectful and you want to make sure that you're all on the same page. I just want to also make sure you know you don't have to. And that's what I'm saying is there's so many things about our business that's none of their business. There really is. And if they want to tell you how to do things, if they want to demand 25 photos of a certain room category when you're on that fam, if they want to have full control of business page, then they need to hire W-2 employees. They need to set up their business as a W-2. Because they cannot tell you what CRM to use or what training to take or what coach or mentor to listen to. Do you know how many times I've been told that an owner has told their contracted ICs that they can't join my group and listen to my podcast? Are you fucking kidding me? That's insane. That's completely crazy. It's none of their business who you choose to follow. To be friends with, to partner with, to coach with, to take training from. You are not on the fucking payroll. If they want 2 employees, they need to put you on a payroll, guarantee a certain amount of money every 2 weeks, mandate specific hours, pay all of your taxes, cover your benefits, supervise your work, follow labor laws, provide all the equipment you need, and pay for all your training as well as any travel. That they want you to take. Control equals W-2. Independence is signing a W-9. You cannot have both. You have to stop asking for permission to run your business the way you want because you are not a fucking child. You are not in school. You're not working at the Dairy Queen. But bottom line, stop fucking oversharing everything. Stop telling them things that are none of their business. The more you overshare, the more they feel like they can step into a controlling role. And yes, you're gonna fuck up things. You're gonna make mistakes. You're going to owe money. You're going to learn and grow through the pains of this journey being an independent contractor. But mistakes are not a reason to surrender your autonomy. Choose a mentor that doesn't have any stake in your income, guys. Make friends with colleagues outside of your host company so that you can get a full visual on multiple different business model, like, ideals. Talk about money. Share your CRM. Ideas and your big, you know, big bodacious goals with someone. Make those connections outside of the people in your inner circle or quote unquote your family at work. Please give me a fucking break. I just want to burn this into you guys because so many of us continue to make the same mistakes because we give everything to building someone else's business. And we follow like the way it's always been done, but that doesn't mean that is the right way. It doesn't mean it's aligned with how it is to be an IC. You pay for your independence in your commission splits and in sometimes very large monthly fees. You don't have to give away the things that you create in that business. They are not proprietary. They are not intellectual property of the company. Ever when you are an IC, so make sure you never sign anything that says it is. You have to start standing tall in the space that you are building for yourself as a travel advisor. Stand Wonder Woman style firmly. Work the hours you want to work. Partner with the BDMs and the hotels and the destinations you want to partner with. Sell to the people that you most align with. Build your following. The way you want to build it. This is your CEO era. I know that you want someone to pat you on the back. Allow it to be someone who doesn't have ownership stake over every little part. And when you're ready to leave, feel confident in that choice, in that instinct, in that decision, because you don't owe that. You don't owe staying somewhere or continuing to contract with someone just because they quote unquote gave you an opportunity. They didn't. You gave yourself an opportunity. You created this moment because I can promise you, if they don't want to contract with you anymore, they're just going to end the contract. It's a business choice that they are absolutely allowed to make as well, because they're never going to be your fucking family. Trust me. And I don't know in what family everybody's telling everybody everything. So just remember what's not their business when it comes to your business and try to shift that mindset away from the employee model. As you move through your story, you are your own boss. You are in charge of you and the choices you make every day in your business as a travel agent. And if you're feeling some kind of way about the travel agency that you have partnered with, the culture and the energy of that space is not feeling good anymore, it is okay to leave. It's okay to walk away. And even though it's hard and you may have some loss, the grass will be greener because you will have learned from the mistakes that you made in this decision. Every decision we make leads us to the very place that we are sitting right now. None of us would be here if I didn't fuck up my entire first, like, 8 to 14 years doing this, this career. And once you start choosing yourself and putting yourself first in your business, a huge shift is going to happen. You're going to grow your confidence and you're going to feel so much stronger in your autonomy. And designing this business the way you want is so powerful. It's so amazing. And you just don't need to share that with everybody, especially an owner of a travel agency that you contract with. And if you have any questions, get a lawyer. I'm not a lawyer, but I really believe in the IC laws in this country. And just because somebody is saying one thing and writing something else in a contract and doing all this, it doesn't make it right. It doesn't make it okay. Because there is 1099 distinction in, in the federal government. I don't want you to feel stuck or codependent on your owner. They're not your boss. Please stop calling them boss, by the way. If you do that, I heard some people do that. So gross. So gross. I understand everybody has to cover their ass, but you should really be more concerned with covering your own and no one else's. And if you have questions, you need support, you're wondering if you're in the right spot, I help travel advisors every single day in my DMs. Especially those of you in toxic situations, and I am more than happy to chat with you about yours. So I hope that you learned something today. I hope that you will stop oversharing. I hope you will leave quietly and remember that most things in your business are none of their fucking business. Have a great day, y'all. All right, y'all, that is the end of another episode of the No BS Travel Advisor 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 five-star review, and if you need anything, I'm here for you. Bye.
