The Homeworker: ‘Homeworking doesn’t equate to alone-working’

A number of fellow homeworkers have recently expanded, and have been bringing new team members onboard to grow sales capacity and extend behind-the-scenes support in the name of growth and enabling progression that may have stalled owing to the pandemic.

Many homeworkers are now back on track and in need of support to not only continue growing their business, but also – importantly – to regain the work-life balance they’ve lost in the recent few years.

In the course of running my own travel brands over the past four years, I’ve come to realise that homeworking doesn’t equate to alone-working. In the past year, I’ve recruited a full-time concierge manager in addition to a part-time admin assistant I brought onboard previously.

With strong foundations now in place for my business, I’m delighted to have recently recruited two new home-based travel consultants to expand the income-generating capacity within my business. Both bring a sales-focused outlook and are fantastic relationship managers, as well as well-connected people with a passion for travel.

Yet neither have any travel industry experience, and I embrace that. I’m a firm believer you can educate people on destinations and product, but you can’t teach personality, charisma and drive. That’s one of the misconceptions held throughout the industry that many of us homeworkers dispel each and every day – and we should be shouting about it.

We often see stories in the trade press of high street travel agencies opening a new shop or buying a competitor, growing their teams and businesses, but you don’t hear many such growth stories about homeworkers. Stories about us tend to involve big bookings, or how much commission we’ve earned in a month, which seems more like a polished version of the truth. It’s so much more than that. We are astute business people too, and there are homeworkers out there who want to conquer and break out of the "one-man-band" box we’re unfairly placed in.

So, after being named Home-Based Travel Agent of the Year – and UK and Ireland Agent of the Year – at the 2023 Travel Industry Awards by TTG, I thought I’d share a couple of key considerations if you too are looking to expand your horizons and build your own empire to be proud of. Think of it as how not to go it alone, if you will.

Think who, not how

If you’re nearing capacity and there aren’t enough hours in the day, document what you spend your time on each day and track that against the activities that are most profitable. Are you spending the majority of your time on the most profitable actions to continue growing your business, or are you consumed by admin tasks that distract you? If it’s the latter, consider how you can expand your capacity.

It’s not about you knowing how to or being able to do everything. Instead, think more about who can do certain tasks better than you, whether that’s admin support from a super-efficient PA who can do things in half the time, sourcing marketing support from someone better skilled at pre-empting consumer behaviour, or creating a concierge role within your business to handle all the post-booking and pre-departure admin, while also elevating and improving the service you currently offer.

There’s nothing wrong with admitting you’re not "God’s gift to travel". None of us are specialists in all areas of our business. How could we be? I’ve never met a travel consultant who is also a qualified accountant, expert marketeer, proven salesperson, concierge manager, IT guru, event organiser and more.

For me, marketing is in my blood, so I enjoy promoting my brands and managing social media. But to manage the marketing alongside all the concierge elements and, of course, the travel consultancy role itself, became too much, so I employed a former chief executive’s PA and events manager with a key eye for detail and with a military-style approach to admin to become my concierge manager.

I can now relax knowing that once I’ve made a booking, I know my clients are being looked after, allowing me to focus on sales and business development.

Walk out that door

As a homeworker, it’s so tempting to hibernate in the house in your jogging bottoms, especially as winter sets in. But is that the best thing for your business? I’d suggest probably not. You are your own brand. Your personality and charisma are your product, your USP, your difference. 

Homeworkers can often forget this and hide behind special offers on social media. Aside from placing greater focus on your personality and successes through your social media channels, particularly on LinkedIn, there’s no better way to showcase yourself than meeting people in person.

The word "networking" sends shivers down many people’s spines, and I was like that once. The thought of walking into a room full of strangers, all stood around in suits, at 7am not knowing a soul terrified me. That was until I found a group of like-minded entrepreneurs and business owners who welcomed me with open arms.

Since then, my perspective of networking has completely changed. I now see it as a very important piece of the jigsaw that complements other revenue streams. Saying that, it’s not just about the money. It’s the comradeship that comes with meeting up with people each week – an extension of your sales function as they open up their little black books for you.

It’s also a great way to have a team around you, particularly if you’re not quite in the position to be able to build a team of your own.

Ben Casey is the founder of Out of This World Travel, and started in the travel industry in 2019 while still working full-time in a marketing role, which he resigned from after three months as a travel agent. He was named Home-Based Travel Agent of the Year at the Travel Industry Awards by TTG 2023, and also scooped the coveted UK & Ireland Travel Agent of the Year award.