Redrop: Siobhan Reeser - Better boundaries create better businesses

This is the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. I'm Marcie Muensterman, and this show is for travel advisors who wanna run profitable businesses, charge what they're worth, and stop following outdated bullshit advice just because someone in the industry told them that that is the way it has always been done. Each episode brings real talk, practical strategies, and real stories from fellow travel advisors, because sometimes the best way to learn is hearing how someone else figured their shit out. So let's get Welcome everyone to the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. I am here today with Siobhan Reeser, and she has been a travel advisor for just about a year-ish, and she is with Siren's Call Travel Agency. We're really excited to have you, Siobhan. Um, but before I get started, I want to introduce myself. I'm Marcie Muensterman, and I am your No BS Travel Advisor coach.

Hi, Marcie.

And I am a burnout survivor, 18-ish, and I always say ish because I took a little break in the middle years of travel. I'm really excited to be here and be sharing the stories of our fellow colleagues who have also had impactful transformation through investing in some of my courses. So welcome, Siobhan. I'm so excited you're here.

Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited.

Yes. I love your Christmas tree. Thanks, Erin.

We can ignore the husband's desk.

We don't even need to look around here. It's festive. That's all that matters. All that matters. So thank you so much for being here. And I'm so excited to kind of tell some of your story because you're a North America specialist, which I think is very, very cool and a little bit different than what a lot of other people, you know, take their time to learn. And you've been doing this about a year and you have another job and you have a sweet daughter and you used to be a paramedic.

Yes.

Okay. There's a lot going on, but you also were like, I do love a little bit of Netflix. Like, what are you watching on Netflix right now?

Uh, right now I'm actually binging The Great British Baking Show.

One of the best. Yes.

Love.

I love that show so much. I'm always like, I don't even know what they're baking. Oh, I know. I don't know what those types of desserts are, but that is awesome.

Last night it was like sticky toffee pudding and I was like, I'm gonna see if I can make this.

This sounds really good.

And I got 3—

nope.

I saw the recipe.

I was like, nope. It's like, never mind. Never mind. I know they do feel very complex and then I'm always like, they're so mean to them sometimes. I'm like, oh my God, I spent all that time making something so complex and then they're just like, This is one of the worst things I've ever eaten. Well, I'm so excited to have you. I would love to hear more about how you got into the travel industry and how you're balancing it with, um, your other position as well as raising your daughter.

Yeah, so, um, basically I, I started in emergency services at, um, I guess 21. My uncle had always been a fire chief and I remember from when I was little just going on calls with him, sitting in the truck, just That is so cool.

My gosh.

And, um, I got my EMT at 21 and, um, I was hooked. And then at 26 I got my paramedic, but then, um, and I worked straight through the pandemic. That was really hard. There was a lot of burnout there. And yeah, um, I got pregnant in December of 2021. She was conceived on New Year's, of course, uh, 10 weeks. Um, my doctor, deemed me high risk because of my chronic illness, and I was put on a weight restriction. So it made it where I just couldn't do my job. I couldn't even carry my gear because my weight limit was 35 pounds.

Oh, wow. I would imagine being a paramedic, you have to do a lot more lifting than that if like there's a human being involved.

My boss and I had a, a big conversation because he was gonna try and put me in a, in a little car by myself where I went out with another crew, but we, we weighed my gear and it was The backpack was too heavy and the heart monitor was too heavy. And he said, I, I can't ask someone else to, to carry your gear for you. And, um, we both kind of sat there and stared at each other and he said, I can see you want to ignore your doctor. And I, I do. Um, but we both knew exactly, you know, what I was gonna do if I was gonna do that. And at 10 weeks, I was sent home.

I know that's tough. I, I mean, when we first talked about this, it was Yeah.

Yeah. Um, I mean, but I mean, I kind of enjoyed it at first because, you know, that first trimester tired is next level. It's real.

That's real. Oh yes. Were you sick or anything? 'Cause I was so sick when I was pregnant.

It was like, um, I had like this throughout the whole pregnancy. I had this like background, just underlying like motion sick feeling. I never puked.

Yes.

Oh, but I was just motion sick just the entire time.

I, yeah, I was doing this job and would get sick sometimes and I mean, Just sitting even was hard. So yeah, that motion sick energy is not good. Yeah. That wouldn't have been good in the back of any type of vehicle either. Like in an ambulance probably wouldn't have been like the best situation for you if you were. Yeah.

I mean, my original plan was to work until I couldn't reach my patient anymore over my belly, but I guess the universe had other plans. And then fast forward, I had a really hard recovery, so I just spent a long time resting. And when I was finally given the go-ahead to go back, I couldn't. I, I just cried every time I thought about it and I was like, I—

Like you cried because you wanted to be with your daughter or you cried just, you were struggling with all the things? I think everything.

I wanted to be with my daughter. I was, I knew I was burnt the fuck out. Even like when I got to the point where I was okay leaving my daughter for more than 5 minutes, the idea of going back just instantly stressed me out. And sometimes it still does. And sometimes I still, that's why I named it Siren's Call, cuz there's always that call for the sirens in the background. I still look at, wow. When I hear them or I, I like, I watch the helicopter take off and I'm like, I could be up there right now.

Wow.

But it was just, I knew it was best for me and my mental health and my daughter to stay home. So my husband and I had a good conversation and thankfully he was able to take over the financial load and I stayed home.

That's really good that you had such a supportive husband or have such a supportive partner, cuz I do think when you go to make the decision to become a travel advisor without their support, it can feel Really extra lonely.

Yes.

'Cause you're already like learning by yourself and working from home. And in most cases, in most cases, right? And not only that, but you were also learning how to be a mom and just a lot going on with your chronic health and burnout. Just all of that can really clog up, up the mind and do, yeah, crazy things. But not only that, you have, your daughter has like a really severe allergy.

Right. She's doing really well. Um, we ended up getting a good allergist and she's actually, we won't say cured, but she can actually free eat peanut at this point.

We don't have to worry. That's so good. I'm so glad. But also like your husband's in law enforcement, so that's stressful. That's like a whole other level of worry that you have going on with you. So.

We've had a lot of deep conversations from the very beginning about, um, our wills have been done. I mean, cuz we did. Our, I don't know if they do it other places, but Pennsylvania does Wills for Heroes where first responders get their wills done for free. So both of ours have been done since we were 26 years old because, and then we just did them again to have our daughter and who we want her to go to if something were to happen to both of us. But, you know, we know, I know exactly how and where to spend the money from the life insurance and the bank accounts and all of that because it's, it is a very real response.

Awesome.

Um, I'll kiss him goodbye one day and never see him again.

And it'd be so traumatic. It's terrifying. Life happens to everybody, right? So you're a law enforcement wife, you are a busy mom, and you are a travel advisor. What does your day look like?

So I was more part-time when my daughter was napping because I could do, I had like 2 hours set during the day where I could work and now it's kind of Snuck in when I have the time after she goes to bed before I retreat for my Netflix time in the bedroom.

Right.

It's super, super part-time.

Yeah, I get that. So how many hours are you currently working?

I think dedicated is probably around 10 hours a week.

Awesome.

Awesome.

And how do you feel about working just 10 hours? Do you feel like you're managing your time okay? Are you getting a lot done?

Sometimes I feel like I could be doing more cuz there's always the waiting around, sometimes waiting for the next client to come in and you're like, I feel like there's something like more I could be doing. Or like, mm-hmm, I'll kind of like go in and like click around and see what I can dig up. But I feel like usually the night before I make a plan of what I wanna do the next day and usually it gets accomplished. I mean, with a 3-year-old, sometimes it goes sideways, but 3-year-olds are definitely a struggle sometimes.

So much good energy. Well, I'm excited to talk to you too, because one of the really cool things about you is that you niched down very early into luxury adventure travel. But not only that, it's mostly in North America. Can you tell us a little bit more about your host and where you kind of started and where you are now and the decisions you made to find your host?

I started actually right on Host Agency Reviews. I went right there. I don't know where I found them. I think I was like Googling how to be a travel advisor and they're like 7th.

Host Agency Reviews.

Yeah, there's a 7-day setup course popped up. I found like 4 or 5 that I really liked. Um, interviewed with 3.

All right.

I wish I had asked a little bit more questions, but I actually lucked into a really, really great host. Um, they're WorldVia Travel Network. They were formerly, uh, Travel Quest Network is what a lot of people know them as. And I think they're kind of underrated.

I love that. And why do you feel like they're underrated? I love this. I, I don't think I've ever heard of them outside of when you have mentioned them.

A lot of people don't just mention them, like in your Facebook groups, like the first couple, like the top 3 are usually mentioned right away.

Yeah.

Um, I think they're not mentioned a lot because there's another company that's had a very similar name, which is why WorldVia is now called WorldVia, and they were an MLM.

Oh, okay. Got it.

Um, but they are, they practice a lot of what you preach is it's your business. Do whatever the fuck you want with it.

We love that. Become your own business, your own LLC, get your business up and running. And do they provide the kind of support that you're looking for when you are a newer agent?

Yeah, they, their onboarding, their launch, they call it their launch sequence, is very informative. I just wish as a brand new advisor, there was maybe just a small course of like how to actually do the job a little bit.

And what do you mean by that? Do the job? Because a lot of these host companies are like, we have our back office, we have our CRM, we have a website, we have product training. So what is it specifically when you say do the job?

So there was a lot of, they have so much product training. They had a lot of training on how to use like AgentAir and Vaxx and Travelport Cruise and things like that, and how to put in your, your commission invoices and things like that. But there was nothing that really showed you how to, I guess, manage a booking almost. Whereas if someone can't teach you how to book it properly, the steps that you take. Yeah.

What is the front end? How to have a consultation call or qualifying your client?

They have that. It's available with their coaching and you have to kind of search for it. It's not part of their onboarding, but they are in, they call it their passport courses. It's in those extra little things that aren't required for you to be like, I'm given access to all of their booking tools. But there's definitely other options in there for you to look. And they, they have weekly articles and they have one of the CEOs or the higher C-suites. He comes on Facebook every week and does a live.

Love that. That's awesome. They sound really supportive. I mean, they may not have every single thing. We always say there's no perfect host, right? But it sounds like they're really collaborating with their agents at all levels. So that's really important so that you can have a successful business earlier.

Yeah. Yeah. And if they—

Do they have the kind of tools that you're looking for as a luxury specialist in North America?

They're, yeah, they do. They do have a lot of luxury offerings. They do have what's called a Luxury Immersion, and I think it's 4 days where you're in person and you're talking to suppliers and you're just learning all about the luxury business model and how to like kind of break into that and market it. But it's just one of those things where I find out about it the week before and I can't.

Because it is hard. That's something good to talk about, Siobhan. Like it is hard as a mom, especially with younger children or a husband who's out. I mean, your husband could literally get a call and have to leave. I think it can be really challenging to actually travel and do the conferences and do these things. How do you balance that and what kinds of decisions do you have to make to still continue to train, but potentially also travel?

So a lot of the stuff I do right now has to be virtual. It's right around time to do vacation pics. So the hard and nice part about his schedule is we know what he's working a year in advance.

Okay. That's good.

That means we have to pick our vacations a year in advance.

And now we have to decide on dates and like, yeah, where we're gonna go, the budget.

Yeah. So if I know that it's going to be, let's say in October, like the second weekend in October, I can ask him to take that weekend off.

Mm-hmm.

And he most likely can, cuz it's not really a popular time to take off. It's just, I have to know far enough in advance to Yeah. Get to take it off with his awesome, kind of horrible, awesome schedule is he works 10 days in a row, but has 4 days off.

Oh, okay.

So every other weekend.

So you can sometimes squeeze in like a quick weekend away or something.

Yeah.

If you have to. Yeah.

Every other weekend I have him Thursday to Sunday. He's the most involved dad.

I love that. That's awesome. That's so, so important in balancing, especially an entrepreneur type business like ours, because there is some travel involved or there is things, even if we're doing a webinar or I know he took your daughter out to Costco, so that'll be a really good afternoon for them. And then you get to do what you need to do.

Yeah.

Awesome. Awesome. And you do spend a lot of time balancing your other job as well.

Yes.

Which you really love. So you have like so many balls in the air, Shabana. So is calendar control like really important to your business?

It is. I'm neurodivergent. I'm auti— um, autistic and ADHD. I've always had really tight control of my calendar to begin with. I manage the calendar in our household, so I have everything put in. And then with PDC, like you saying, calendar control, it was kind of like a duh thing. I was like, oh yeah, I have that.

Yeah.

I can see exactly when everyone's doing— I know what my husband's doing next May because I've had Schedule. I think that's what a lot of people, other people need to learn is just put it on a calendar. It's very daunting at first.

Mm-hmm.

There, I think I did it like last week. I had to sit here and put in his schedule every, like week by week for the next 52 weeks. And it's hard to do, but now I have it and it's out and it's, it looks pretty and I can see when I have free time and when I have my appointments and when I can. Hopefully go to a conference or something like that.

I just really love that you have taken that calendar control and even like upped it. And when you were saying, you know, it's really daunting at first, I think too, as someone with ADHD as well, I didn't even want to get into my calendar because I didn't want to know everything, right? But now whenever something pops up or I need to schedule an appointment, if I can visually see it, mine's color coded. I don't know about yours, but like everybody has a color. Every activity has a color. We love that. Google has that, you guys. It's part of the Google perks when you use your calendar. And one of the things that even just, I think today I was thinking about getting coffee with one of my girlfriends and I was like, I literally have this window of time and if that works for you, let's do it.

Yeah.

But you have to put it on the calendar right then too. And once your calendar's finished, I feel like those squeezing those little things in and adding them in makes it so much easier. The calendar is done. So now if I wanna add something. I can at least look at it and know what's going on.

Calendar and Reminders app. I wouldn't make it through the day without either of them.

Girl, love the Reminders app. I think it is the most underrated app on our phones that's included with our iPhone package.

Yeah.

I love pushing the little thing when I get something done. Yes.

That instant dopamine hit. It should have like a little, like the celebration.

Oh my gosh, they should totally add that to the next update. That would make all of us so much happier. I think it's something so simple that we've talked about in every episode is You know, the more control you have over your calendar, the more likely you can run a successful business. I mean, businesses do not run unless, you know, the CEO knows what's going on and we are the CEO of our business. What really inspired you to become a travel advisor and why did you choose North America travel? Because that's, you know, can be a challenging niche for sure.

I was, um, as I had mentioned, Before, when we were talking, I had, was looking for something to do that I didn't have to leave my daughter. And I was kind of looking at like being a virtual assistant because everyone says, do your own hours, work from your iPad. And I was looking at some of the things that they can offer and I was like, well, you can book travel for your clients. And I was like, that, I wanna do that. That sounds way better than everything else. And I had decided on North America just because I think I just, I really love it. There's so much to it that I don't think a lot of people understand or realize or know that's here. I didn't realize that like Washington was actually a rainforest. It's considered a rainforest.

I don't think I knew that until just now. Wow.

Don't ask me why, cuz I don't know, but. And then kind of within my niche, it's kind of evolved even since you and I have last talked, cuz we've been talking with Wendy and it's. It's luxury kind of getaway, almost momcations or girl bestie vacations because it's hard to leave your kids as a mom.

It is.

If the world shuts down and you, you can't fly from England on the drop of a hat and it's a, like, if no one's flying, you can't get home. But in North America, you can get in a car and I'll drive 48 hours straight if I have to, to get to my kids. Right.

But right.

I can get in a car and drive. And that kind of taking that barrier away is, I think, uh, a barrier for a lot of moms traveling. So the idea is you kind of, you go somewhere nice and with either by yourself or a group of mom friends, no phones. You do a little something fun like horseback riding or ziplining, but you spend a lot of time in the spa just hanging out. Good food, good wine, and then you come back and you're You're ready to be a mom again. Like you're refreshed.

Yeah. Like your cup is full. Okay.

I'm ready.

Like, when do we leave? No, for sure. I think too, what's really special about what you're providing your client is this very elevated experience, but in a shorter window of time, I would assume.

Yeah.

And then giving them permission to like, you get out into the world, do your own thing. You don't always have to be at home with your kiddo and it like, it's okay to want to get. Have your cup refilled. I think that is super special, Siobhan.

Yeah, cuz I think it's hard for us to ask for time off. I know it's super hard for me to like just say like, I need, like, go for the Bluey chili. I need 20 minutes where no one talks to me.

Yeah. Time to reset.

Um, I think that's hard and it's even harder to justify even to like your partner. Like, I wanna go to Italy for a week on a mom vacation.

The most supportive man in the world will kind of be like, eh, like Yes. As someone who just asked their husband if I could go to the Philippines this spring, he was like, okay, you can, but we have to sit down with this, right? We have to plan it.

So it's a hard sell, but 4 days in like Dona from Pennsylvania, he'll be like, sure, go ahead. Go for it.

Yes. Yes. The supportive hubbies will, the supportive partners will. You're just providing this, like you're really niching then, Siobhan. That's what I'm hearing. I really am excited about this for you because yes, even since our first chat, you're focused on North America, but North America's huge too. So like within the North America options, you're focusing more on luxury as well as the long girlfriend bestie getaways. Are you gonna host any?

I would love to. That's the ultimate goal is to be able to host and do kind of like, even just where people don't know each other, just, yeah, like a small group of like 6 or 8 and just spend a whole weekend and I don't know, New Orleans tearing it up.

I love that little retreat with food and drinks and fun with women that all kind of are like-minded and want to come together, take a little break. I love that so much for you. I love too that you are evaluating what you're doing right now, kind of at the end of 2024, quarter 4, going into quarter 1. And like, what does that look like in terms of somebody that works very part-time, 10 hours?

Yeah.

How many clients do you take? What is that part-time travel advisor life like for you?

So, um, I know I have to sit down and do my numbers a little bit better. I know that I can easily handle one client a week. That's where I like to stay. I don't wanna take anybody else. I mean, I haven't run into the issue yet because my niche is so small and it is, it just pivoted. So I know it'll take some time to get.

Mm-hmm.

That client base going again, but I know my limits and I know that like one client a week is the most I can spend, um, time to invest in. And I just redid my numbers cuz I know my website hosting is coming up due and I actually took a look at it and I downgraded cuz I was paying for a bunch of stuff I didn't need.

Oh, I love that self-evaluation and like really taking a look at what you're spending your money on. That's an amazing activity that has immediate ROI cuz now you're getting that money back into your bank account. Yeah. Well, besides that, how are you going to be marketing to those clients for next year now that you are making this pivot? Like what kinds of changes are you gonna do in your business to start to attract those types of trips here for the US?

So I actually, I lucked out a lot where, um, I got a, I'm an introvert at heart, so I got adopted by a mom group, like this mom at, we have a library time every Friday and We just started talking and she just one day added me to the group chat.

So, I love that.

I was adopted into that group, but I have, you know, that pool of moms there and I'm gonna be joining the, the Chamber of Commerce in my area. And then I'm also really good friends with someone who manages a really nice upscale spa and salon in town.

So, I love this for you. This is really exciting, especially for an introvert.

Yeah.

What is that like being an introverted salesperson? It's hard.

I hate feeling like I'm being pushy. Like I really, really do.

Um, you, oh, you're not being pushy, right? You're, yeah, you're soft-spoken. You're so kind. I can't imagine if I were speaking with you about a vacation, I would ever feel pushed into it. So I hope that we can push.

Yeah, it's, um, I guess like I keep telling myself, you have to put your paramedic pants on because you have to be.

A little bit bossy.

Assertive and bossy. Like, pull your boots up, put your pants on, and you can do it. And I just kind of have to do it scared sometimes.

Do it scared. I think this is so important for other advisors who maybe don't want to be pushy or feel like they are an introverted personality. It doesn't mean you can't be a salesperson, but you do have to do uncomfortable things. But it sounds like you're choosing different avenues where you can find comfort and align, you know, with what you're trying to accomplish. So I love this idea of like connecting with a spa, like an upscale spa owner so that the two of you can collaborate together and potentially plan a really cool event or trip or, you know, get them in that mindset of if you wanna go get a facial, like do it over here, but do you wanna have a facial in Sedona?

Yeah.

That, that's like a whole other experience. I think that's really special and I love the out-of-the-box thinking and getting a little bit out of your house to do some stuff. Yeah. But what are you doing at home, like to stay in front of people?

So I follow the First Class Community Content Calendar almost religiously.

Okay. So that's the course that like really broke you into kind of working with me. Yeah.

Um, I think your group was one of the first ones that I had joined. Um, cuz you learn everything on the internet, like YouTube and Facebook, and if you wanna find, you go to Facebook groups. I think the course was only a couple months old at that point. I know it was like 45-ish minutes long. It was short and sweet. And I was, there was something in my gut telling me to, to just do it because I'm a little bit of like an online course addict and I've spent too much money on them and they just, they don't. Either they don't work or, you know, we all know like the ones where the instructor talks for 45 minutes out of the hour module and it's nothing important. And then they give you some sort of vague advice at the end that you're left like, what the fuck am I supposed to do with this?

Now go figure it out. Good luck. Yes, we've all had a course like that, whether it's in travel or another industry. I feel like we've all been in trainings like that.

Yeah. So yours, it was just very like, do this, do this, do this, and it'll, it'll show results. So I, I did it and I've been running the Facebook course since I think September 2023, and it's what I've done with it has been very successful. I know I have a couple of weak points in it where I'm not following your advice and therefore I'm not seeing the results cuz you can't cherry pick.

Oh, you can't cherry pick. Well, and I say that a lot during the course, especially the updated version that's not quite as short and sweet, because I think what I learned when you guys, my early clients who took that course, the First Class Community was my very first course, you guys, and I'd written it alongside a partner for my last company doing something different. But I just knew when I came back to travel in '18 that I could run my business. In a Facebook group and I'm not necessarily an introvert, but I didn't want to make time for networking. I wanted to exclusively work from home, like just a few hours a week and stay in front of my prospects and clients. And so I knew if I used these same strategies that I'd used in my last sales job that I did when I was on a break from travel, that it would work. I just believed that it would work. And I was able to transfer all that information that I had learned from 2018 to 2022 into this course. So, um, that's just a little background on how we ended up with, with First Class Community. But what I love about what you said is you can't cherry pick because there is an actual strategy behind how to successfully run your travel business in a Facebook group. It's not, it's like foundational, it's relational. It sometimes feels cheesy, but as long as you're being your authentic self, I believe you will attract your aligned client. And have you been able to do that when you are doing all the strategies?

So I have gotten a client from my group and it was a fantastic trip and I do get the most engagement on my posts. Where it's the personal ones where I'm just real talk. I think the one where I got the most engagement on, I was, okay guys, I am burnt out on being a mom. Like, how do you, I feel like I'm failing at everything.

How do you do it?

And I got so much engagement from it and it kind of carried on to a couple more posts that weren't personal, more like business posts, because I think that boosted me in their timeline because it had That post itself had so much traction on it. So yeah, it kind of, it carried on and it was really, that one was, I sat, I think I sat over the submit button on that post for a good 5 minutes before I just, I—

And what was your fear about asking that question? I love that you were vulnerable though, and I think that's so key to success in our business.

I guess it was a little bit of that pick-me girl that everyone sees, or like The people who used to post, I think there's some people on my Facebook that still do it, like having a really rough day and they want people to just comment, oh my God, what's wrong? And they reply to everybody to like, I'll message you. So I didn't wanna be that person, but I know that you have to be a real person.

Yeah. And being a mom is really hard some days. So that is a real thought process. It's not just like a pick me, but I think when you can show up in a private space, which is why I advocate for private spaces over public, is These are the people that you have allowed into this space. And I always call it like an extension of the living room, which comes from my last career where we did a lot of our business actually in living rooms. And so it was, your Facebook group can be that extension of your home, of that comfortable space where you should be able to say to your girlfriends, this is hard. I'm having a really shitty day. How do you guys all do it and manage it? Which is why we're having these conversations because. Women in our industry are doing so many things. Caretaking, balancing their children's calendars. I mean, I feel like my kids are busier now than when they were babies. Whenever people say, oh, I'll go back to work or I'll do this when they're older, I'm like, literally my daughter's school just called and it takes me 35 minutes to get there. So there's no way I could just drop a dime and show up at her school if I were working a typical 9 to 5. But there are few and far between really successful opportunities out there for moms to be able to take advantage of. And I love that travel has afforded a lot of us that opportunity too. But I love that you decided to share because I do think people need to see us as real people. So you got lots of good feedback.

Yeah. Part of just me as who I am as a person is breaking a lot of that stigma. Mm-hmm. Because I mean, I started, you know, I have a chronic illness and I started with, I have that personality of if you tell me that I can't, that I'm gonna show you that I absolutely can and I'm gonna do the best damn job I can at it. So that kind of carried over into breaking that stigma of like mental health and that we need a break and that like moms are people too. And like, yeah, we have a smile on our face, but sometimes it's hard. And it's okay to like, it was a, it was a thing that I had to learn when my daughter was young was it's okay to hate being home with her today because we're both having a bad day, but still love being her mom.

100%. And I think that can carry over into travel. Like it's okay to have like really shit travel days with shitty clients or Shitty situations, flights canceling and all the things, and we can still smile and get through it. But it doesn't mean it's all, you know, puppies and cupcakes and beaches and sand and like, it's like, no, no, no. There's all kinds of things that can go wrong and throw us for a loop, you know, in travel and being able to balance and manage all that and be a real person in front of our clients, I think is the key. And that's the reason I wrote the course is because I feel like in those public spaces of TikTok and Instagram and Facebook pages, They can be very businessy. They can feel, you know, especially Facebook pages is all about the business side. How do we get to know the people behind these businesses and, and want to connect with them? I mean, why do we want to book with Siobhan? And the only way to really get to know you right now, because you are a little on the shyer side, is to join your Facebook group and really be able to connect with somebody that's real. That is why the Facebook group. private Facebook group works so well if it's managed properly and not just posting random shit to post random shit, you know, just to post like deals or whatever. And especially if you are niched down for the US and North America, that's like a whole education opportunity that they wouldn't have if, if you didn't have this space for them to join you. When you put yourself out there, how do you feel?

So mostly it's just like the gross posts, like growing outside your group. I just, I don't know what it is. I guess it makes me uncomfortable because I'm so used to that. I mean, I was never part of an MLM, but I had several friends that were, or people that I went to high school and where you have everyone's gotten that, hey girl, hey DM.

Yeah. We're not asking you to hey girl in a DM. We're not asking you to do that.

I mean, everyone's had that friend that sells.

Oh, we have.

Their Facebook newsfeed. You see that post. 4 or 5 times a day. So the idea, I guess, of putting that like, come join my group Facebook post out into the public for my friends to see a million times kind of makes me feel a little icky. I know it shouldn't because I'm not asking them to do anything other than to come spend time with me, but it's just kind of like my, my mind made that connection and I haven't been able to break it.

Girl, we need to work on that. That is all mindset and There is no, like, we have to talk about our business. We can't be in the secret travel advisor business.

Right.

No. And nobody sees every single post we put out, which is the reason that our MLM friends are doing what they're doing. But because we interact with them a lot and they encourage that interaction, then we continue to see it. We're not doing it a million times. We're not doing that. I want you to, you know, you to take that challenge into 2025 and at least do it. Once a month. It doesn't have to be all the time. It doesn't have to be in your face. And I think it can also be just educational opportunity of who you are as this working mom who also has a travel business. And there's nothing wrong with how you have a travel business. It's like, just join it and talk travel. If you can get over that little hump, that you will have great success beyond that because That's just kind of a fear mindset holding you back. And so you know who you are, and I think your aligned client will recognize you.

Yeah.

So, okay. Little coaching moment. All right. So what else has helped you in terms of mindset? Because you're still working through some of that, and I think it's important for newer agents to hear that it can be challenging sometimes to get in the right mindset to grow and to push yourself, especially if you are a little bit more shy or introverted. Especially in sales, but when you're connecting with people, like how did you, how are you managing some of your mindset?

So what actually helped was the, the mindset module in P2C. I had started it. It took me a while to get through it. I started it and it just, at first it made me profoundly uncomfortable, so I actually had to stop it and I went, I was like, I'm, I'm not ready to open that door quite yet, so. I took like 2 weeks and then I came back and I, I went through it again and I finished it because I don't think anybody really likes to like stare at themselves in the mirror and, you know, uncover something that's not exactly like working for them, I guess is the best way to put it. And no one likes to not be the hero of their story or holding them back. It was difficult for me to get through it at first because I was like, I don't wanna open that box. I don't wanna look in there yet.

But I'm so glad you did. What did you take away from that module after you pushed yourself? Because that is the bonus module. Sometimes I think I should have put it first. Go to this first because it is, it, it, it does really make you want to think about your business and think about your big goals.

I think it was the big goals is like actually having myself sit down And write down things that like I was afraid to want, almost afraid to be okay to want. And then kind of taking a look at myself and what I wanted to accomplish each month because the ADHDer just wants to party and have a good time and live its best life.

Yep.

But the autistic side, um, wants to plan. So I always kind of say that, you know, my ADHD is vibing and living its best life and my autistic side is Walking around with the broom and dustpan behind it, having to kind of sit down and look into myself and say it's okay to want something. It's okay to be successful. It's okay to, I guess, just to do things that are uncomfortable, and it's it's okay to say no because the people pleaser that was very very hard is yeah. You know, being the older kid, you have to please everybody. Saying no to people who's Vacations I didn't wanna plan. Like I had a, shortly after I finished it, I had a cousin come up and she messaged me about a Disney vacation. It was very hard to say no, you know, I don't do Disney because, you know, um, being a new agent, the scarcity mindset is hard and you don't wanna say no to anybody, but then it's even harder to kind of say no to, to family.

Yeah, it is. What did you do when she, when you said no? How did you handle that?

I said, you know, I, I don't do Disney. I knew very on that I wasn't gonna touch Disney with a 10-foot pole because I love Disney, but there's people who love Disney a lot more than I do, and Disney people can be a little bit overzealous. I, I referred her to someone from the P2C group and I said, you know, she does Disney, um, and she'll take good care of you, but I don't—

Oh, a little help and release moment.

Yeah.

That's awesome. I'm glad that you were able to see where you were not gonna be able to support her the way she needed to be supported. And especially with a Disney vacation, they need lots of extra handholding and support if it's their first one. I think it's powerful, especially in your new career, to— not all commission is good commission, especially if it's not in alignment with what we actually are good at and you are not, you know, wanting to take that on. So that's impressive.

Yeah, it was hard. And, but I mean, I haven't ever been to Disney and I know I wanna take my daughter and I know it's gonna be for some people, and I think for my cousin, it's gonna be that one really big trip that they take. And that's so, so, so important. And I know that like, I wouldn't be able to get over if like I let them down because I, I missed something because I mean, I don't understand Disney.

There are so many moving parts to Disney. You know, if you're a client listening to this, please hire a specialist in Disney that is so passionate because there are so many great advisors out there doing incredible Disney work. Hire somebody that trusts you.

I'm gonna hire someone from Disney.

I hire people to do my vacations because A, It's hard to plan our own stuff, but B, especially if it's a Disney situation. I went to Disney with a specialist in Disney and I consider myself a pretty Disney inside and out. I know the rules and I know those things, but she knew where all the back alleys were and how to sneak over here faster and get this spot faster. It was crazy. She knew the nooks and crannies of Disney. It was so fun being at Disney with somebody that has that much knowledge. Of it. I think you made the right decision, and I know it's hard when you're new to make those decisions, but it sounds like you were empowered through the mindset piece of that course that really like pushes you to be, it's okay to say no, you know? Yeah.

I can't remember if it was your course, the course itself, or if it was something that you coached around the course, but if it's not a hell yes, then it's a fuck no.

Amen. I walk and breathe that every day.

And I brought that into my life as well with, if they text, if the mom group texts me and like, hey, we're taking the kids to Little Leapers at Sky Zone. And I, I think to myself, it's like, I get really uncomfortable with a lot of loud noise and stuff. I'm like, do I have the bandwidth to go to Sky Zone today?

And yeah.

And if it's kind of like, then I'm, I'm getting better about, it's easier over text message if they invite me over face. It's a little bit harder, but like over text message, it's easy to be like, you know what? I can't today. Um, I'll catch you guys next time.

I really love this because I do think that people pleaser inside of all of us, especially moms, we don't want them to miss out on having a fun time. Or if we're, if we're at new at our business and we're people pleasing, we wanna give you this, but it's just not something we're comfortable doing. I think what is interesting about your story is that you have evaluated Every part of your business and you keep coming back to taking a breath before making a decision, which I have stolen from Mr. Williams, Pre-K.

Love him.

Obsessed with him. And so yeah, in Propose to Close, I call, you know, I'm like, Mr. Williams says Pre-K pause because you're not pausing like very long or we're in Pre-K here. But you know, if you take that beat and breathe it through and think about like How is this going to affect my day? How is this going to affect my business? It really can make all the difference in how you respond, the choices you make. Like if it's not a hell yes, it's a fuck no, then, and that is okay to do. Like giving yourself permission to pause, think about it, look at it and decide if it's right for you. If it's right. I mean, even just a little trip to the sky zone. I mean, that makes me want to jump. off a cliff. Like, don't like Sky Zone. So I can totally feel like I was always the no parent to birthday parties because my son also struggles with ADHD and gets over, you know, overstimulated. And one birthday party told— taught me, you know, that the meltdown is highly regular when we're in those types of places. The attention is not all, you know, it's really an interesting dynamic to Take that pause instead of just saying yes to everything cuz you don't wanna disappoint someone. I do not have to show up or I do not have to sell or I do not have to work with any of these people, anybody that makes me uncomfortable or that I don't do that particular type of vacation. Yeah.

Or it's okay to, it's okay to fire a client and I've had to fire a client.

Wow. You've had to fire a client?

Yeah.

What happened? Tell us more.

Um, it was a referral from another agent, so I kind of felt bad having to do it. But what had happened was there was a big natural disaster, so I had to, and I had unfortunately FIT'd the trip instead of packaged it. I had to take pieces of it out and because it was like 5 days before the trip during peak season and we priced it out 8, 10 months earlier, they just started getting really nitpicky about why is this now 4-day trip in one location costing almost the same as our 7-day trip to 3 locations. And they just wanted, and at the very last minute they're like, you know what, we're just gonna cancel and book it ourselves. And I was like, awesome, that's fantastic. And here's how to get your credits and we won't be working together moving forward.

Yeah, I think those clients are difficult, especially if they don't quite understand that When a natural disaster hits and how that affects the entire region and how that affects pricing and availability and all of that changes so quickly.

Yeah.

But especially if they're not willing to like fully understand the situation for what it is. It is hard sometimes because it's not that we don't want to work with people, it's just that if they're not willing to listen and understand all of the dynamics, We can't be partners. And that's really, I think what really good travel advisors are trying to do is collaborate and be partners with their clients so that you are making decisions together. But sometimes that means paying more money for something very specific, especially if there is an issue that has affected pricing, which I mean, living in Florida, we're kind of experiencing that depending on, there's like hotels that haven't reopened since the hurricane. And people are like frustrated that the pricing of the hotels that are available is higher. Well, the demand is different and they also were closed, some of them for a couple of months. The offset is it's passed along to the consumer. This is just reality. We don't make the prices, you know, we're just trying to make sure you have a really good vacation. It is important to know that you can say no to Sky Zone and you can say no to an asshole client. If you were to offer an unpopular opinion about travel, what would it be, girl?

I think it's give it away. Like I see so many people pop into the, the groups, especially Maximize, where they say, like they ask me and do I give them the hotel name? Just give it.

I mean, do you feel like it's probably just like, what if they go book it on their own?

Yeah.

That's the biggest why. I mean, yeah.

They'll book it on their own.

Right. I, I think for advisors it's like, well, it's my knowledge and well, it's not really your knowledge. I mean, it was out there before you existed. And it's out there for you to find. So it's also out there for them to find. And I get like, you are a researcher, you have figured this out. But I also think the right aligned clients are going to ask more questions and give you opportunity. And I also think agents fear putting themselves out there with the answer. So saying the answer is this, it's this hotel and this destination, and it's my specialty. I would love to help you with your vacation? If you're considering a vacation, if you're willing to give the answer and then pitch yourself, which feels a little salesy, but it's like they're asking, it's an open opportunity, especially in your Facebook group, to sell your services and sell your specialty to them. But if you do not ask for the sale, it's never going to happen. They're not just going to be able to read your mind that you also would like to help them. With their vacation. I definitely love the no gatekeeping. Obviously I love the no gatekeeping. I am here to give as much info away as possible. So yeah.

Or even just like helping your fellow advisors because I mean, some people, it's community over competition. There's more than enough seats at the table.

There is, there is. There's a visual that I don't remember who gave it to me. It's along this journey of sales that said to me one time, Marcie, you're on a lot of planes. Like look out the window when you're on landing as you're coming into a city and look out and see how many houses there are, or even how many seats are on the plane. And can you serve all of those seats? Can you serve all of those homes? And it's like, no fucking way. There's millions of people in the world. People are still hiring us, especially if they know what they're getting. So educating them and taking that extra time.

Yeah.

I always coach my clients that it's like 90% of what we do is explaining who we are and what we do. And if we're willing to also help our fellow advisors, so much good comes from like giving away the answers.

Yeah.

Sometimes if the answer is 2 seconds, like give the answer. Otherwise just scroll. Just keep scrolling. If you were giving advice to a travel advisor listening to this podcast today, and it's something they wanna go do that they don't have an investment To make right now, what 3 things could they go do right now to change their entire business?

Get control of your calendar for sure, because there's a lot of just wasted minutes and you waste a lot of time not knowing what you, what you're gonna do. Uh, see, and then it's, you know, there's, there is no such thing as scarcity.

Ooh, that's a big one.

Yeah, it's, there is. So many people, even like in the United States that travel, and like you just said, there's, there's no way that one person can service them all. So there's more than one at the table. You don't have to work with someone you don't wanna work with just because they're gonna give you a commission. And then, um, stop selling from your own wallet.

Ooh, we have not discussed this, Shavonne. What is that? What does that mean?

People value different things differently, um, and they're willing to spend money on other things. Is my husband ever gonna be okay with spending $25,000, $30,000 on a vacation?

No, because that's not important to him. Mm-hmm.

Will he spend $10,000 on a gaming computer?

Absolutely. Of course he will.

But like, that's what I is. So if you are, especially like with me, is with luxury, I can't sell luxury clients on like a Super 8. So you have to be okay with selling them a $700 a night hotel room and remember, um, this is what it costs and money isn't moral. You know, it's not bad that the—

Money isn't moral. I have never heard that and I love it. So, so much.

Yeah. I mean, it's not, it just is. It's $1,000 to go to Italy for a week. It's just, that's what it costs. You could make the argument about inflation, but that's a whole other thing. But it's just one of those things where it costs what it costs and you shouldn't feel bad about telling someone that that's what it costs.

I think that is a hard lesson to learn, especially if you're a budget shopper or, you know, you can't personally spend that on travel yet and So many of us in this business don't make full-time, I'm putting that in quotes, full-time salaries for a while or a full-time income for a while, especially if you're only working 10 hours a week and you're taking just one client a week. It can be, it can take years to get to a place where you're consistently bringing in income, but it doesn't mean that the clients that you attract won't spend the money and it doesn't mean they don't have a consistent income. So we don't know. what someone will spend. And I also find that regardless of like what someone does for a living does not indicate how much that they're willing to spend on a vacation. You can have an anesthesiologist come to you and you're thinking, okay, they have this budget, they're gonna wanna spend it, but they're actually quite budget conscious with their travel. And then you could have somebody who works in as a teacher and just loves to save every penny to go on just A go big or go home Disney vacation. Like you never know what someone is gonna spend. We can't assume until we explain, this is the cost of the vacation that you have shared with me, and then get creative if the budget and the vacation don't align. Right.

And it's okay to be a little flabbergasted. I mean, I did some research for a potential trip and I saw the price tag and I was like, oh my gosh, like there's Like how, and it's okay to just like sit there and have a little bit of sticker shock for yourself, but sometimes, especially in the niche that I'm in, these clients know what things cost. So when I tell them it's gonna cost them $25,000, they're like, oh, okay.

Yeah, some people have $25,000 and when we always say like, oh, they don't know what things cost, I do think there are certain segments of our population that are very aware of their own tastes. I think it's worth saying that domestic travel is not cheap. So, you know, you've brought up Italy a couple of times and it is a very expensive destination, but it's also very expensive. Like we're going to DC over spring break for 5 nights and it's expensive. Like I was like, well, shit. And of course I really like a nice hotel. I want a bigger room because my kids are older.

Yeah.

They need each need their own bed to sleep in, which adds up quickly.

Yeah.

And they're not, they're not gonna share a fucking pullout couch like ever again. So it's one of those things where you're like, okay, we have to budget extra for that either second room or a suite or something like that. It's not cheap to go to DC at any time of the year, but especially in March. And not looking at your own bank account and saying, well, I can't afford this, so there's no way they can afford it. Is just one of the biggest mistakes I think salespeople make in any industry, but especially in travel. And also, before I stop on this tangent, assuming everyone is looking for a deal is like a whole big mistake of its own. Like, stop assuming every single client that comes to you wants a deal unless that's all you talk about. Because if you are educating on what it is that you want to sell, In your marketing, then they're not always looking for a deal. Well, Siobhan, do you have any other like things you want to share? I know you have a Facebook group with one of my dear friends, Wendy. What, what is your Facebook group called that you admin so that we can all join?

Travel Advisors Selling the United States. And you were awesome enough to hook Wendy and I up together, and it's just turned into a really, really great friendship and a really great relationship.

Wendy is the bomb and she's gonna be on her own podcast, so we're so excited to hear her story as well. And yes, I'm so glad you guys get along so well.

Yeah, I wanna be Wendy when I grow up.

Oh my God, so do I. She is the best.

I'm constantly learning from her. Just one of the benefits I get of working with her is just like constant coaching. She knows what she knows, incredibly good at it. And I mean, I've learned when I first started and I started in domestic, I thought I had to FIT everything. She's been beating me over the head the last couple of days of no more than 3 TNC That is so funny. So she's just constantly just telling me, nope, no more than that. Stop. Nope, you've got too many. What supplier do you wanna use now?

Love it. I love that.

Very, she's a lot like you, very real. So if I call her and I'm like, do you want me to tell you what you did good or do you want me to tell you where you fucked up? And I was like, can you give me both?

I need both today, girl. Well, I love Wendy too, and I love that she took this challenge on of educating the travel agent community on the United States. But the advice is not great, or people say things and you're like, well, that's nope, that's not accurate. And what I love about Wendy is she works so hard to bring truth to United States travel. I'm loving that she's willing to, you know, partner with you and teach us all about the opportunity to sell domestic and make a living at it, which I think is so awesome. So we will drop that link in the show notes, but thank you so much, Siobhan. I'm so glad you were able to come on today and we just really appreciate you here. So.

Thank you.

Um, I wish you so much success in 2025, and thank you for sharing your story with us today.

Thank you for having me. It was a lot of fun.

Yes, I enjoyed it so much as well, and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please drop a 5-star review. I'm supposed to say that, and I hope that you will check out our next episode. That's a wrap on today's episode, friend. Thanks Thanks for hanging out with me again on the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast. I hope you're leaving this episode feeling fired up, inspired, and ready to take back control of your business. And let's be honest, your fucking life. If today's episode hit home, do me a favor and share it with your fellow travel advisors who need to hear this. And don't forget to leave a review. Your support means the world and helps me reach more badass advisors like you. And hey, if You've got a story to share or some no BS advice of your own. You've taken a course or two of mine. Maybe you've been a coaching client. I want to hear from you. Head to my website to apply to be a guest. I'd love to feature you on an upcoming episode. Until then, you fucking got this. Keep being bold, keep being unapologetic, and keep building the business you fucking deserve. This is Marcy Munsterman signing off with zero fluff and a. Whole lot of heart.