Masters in Travel – Details, episodes & analysis

We're back with another episode of Shop Talk, the conversations where we don't hold anything back and share transparently what is going on right now in our travel businesses. Whitney shares about her ambitious goal to double her business in the next two years and the uncertainties she is facing right now. And Brianna updates us on her ongoing website refresh and reflects on her successful sabbatical in Portugal, sharing insights on managing business operations remotely. Finally, we talk about the importance of understanding the "why" behind various business goals and how to retain the excitement during each stage in business.

Building a book of business from scratch, regardless of how you do it, is a big feat. Most commonly, travel advisors start off by diving into their personal network to find their first clients. On this episode, Kim and Haleigh share their unique stories of networking as a launching pad in building their travel businesses. Learn about the journey from accepting any business to setting boundaries, how to tap into a corporate background, and building trust no matter who your clients are.

Do you ever find finance-related conversations to be dry and not very inspiring? Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at an Advisor Accelerator Master hour call – we welcome Travis Shelton, an executive financial coach and host of the Meaning Over Money podcast, to help us find the meaning behind the work we do and the $ we bring in. We talk abut the challenges faced by small business owners in the travel industry, balancing financial stability with passion, and defining personal success in unconventional ways.

On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney and Kate Thomas continue sharing how they seem to conquer it all. This second part of their discussion dives even deeper into what it takes to manage a business and life. Together they talk about working with fear, stress, doubts, and rising above it all.

It’s very easy to look at someone successful and imagine they’re working on multiple projects and approaching their busy lives with grace and ease. Is there a secret? Or is there something different going on behind the scenes? On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Kate Thomas, Cofounder of Travel Pro Theory. Both Whitney and Kate are busy, successful women who seem to balance everything well. Listen in as they discuss their secrets and what’s actually going on behind the curtain.

The right technology can not only help advisors to connect with clients, but also save time and energy while making us all look more professional. We utilize and rely on technology on a day to day basis, but what goes on behind the scenes of our favorite systems? On this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney and her guest Irving Betesh, dive into Sion. The technology that supports us as professional travel advisors in the back end, enabling us to track our commissions, month to month revenue, and so much more. Irving is the co-founder and CEO of Sion, and he joins in on this episode to share the founding ideas, inner workings, and new updates to this amazing technology.

The idea of expansion and growth in your business can sometimes be overwhelming. Should we grow a team, shouldn’t we grow a team? What are the pros and considerations? How do we even begin the process? On a brand new Master Hour edition of Masters in Travel, the community comes together to discuss growing your business through IC’s and Personal Assistants. Our special guests today are Heather Keller, Founder of Perfect Landing Travel, and Emma Major, Founder of Major Traveler. Together Whitney, Heather, Emma, and other members of the community discuss the ins and outs of expanding your team.

Technology is imperative in running our day to day businesses, both efficiently and effectively. With this technology that we rely on a day to day basis, we likely don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. How are decisions made in what to fix or edit within those technologies? On today’s episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney and her Guest Scott Rutz, dive into one of the most important technologies that advisors use, Travefy. Scott Rutz is the VP of sales and marketing and part of the founding team at Travefy and in this episode he shares Travefy’s founding story, along with some incredible insight into how the company works and what’s coming next.

Discovering and diving deep into both new and old favorite destinations is a part of being a travel advisor. And no matter what, there are always destinations that clients request that we've never done before. So how do we do it? How do we go from a new inquiry to delivering a proposal and executing a once in a lifetime style trip for our clients? To discuss their discovery process on this episode of Masters in Travel, Whitney is joined by Angela Isherwood and Ashley Theis. Together they come up with solutions and processes that can help any advisor work with a new destination.

With the industry booming, burnout has been a hot topic lately. After realizing that the way you're feeling isn't sustainable, what comes next? How do you approach and fix this problem? For some, feelings of burnout lead to thoughts of leaving the industry, selling your business, or merging with another company for mutual support. To talk more about her experience in selling her business, Bailie White joins Whitney on today’s episode of Masters in Travel. Join in on the discussion as Bailie shares her thoughts and experiences during this journey.