Continuing on my list of resolutions inspired by Travel Pulse, this week, it’s all about the money. If you are the US Bureau of Engraving, making money is a piece of cake—fire up the presses and run off a few million. If you are a small business, unfortunately, it is not that easy! But, it may not be as difficult as you think!
I think I speak for every single travel professional in the world when I say “I wish we made more money.” More money allows you to grow the business, to have a less stressful personal life, afford some niceties, attract and pay for better talent, give back to your community, etc. The list is long. But the reality is that we need to…

Prof. Carol Dimopoulos is President of Perillo’s Learning Journeys where she brings her passion for personal transformation through transformative travel and community service-based programs to global destinations in Europe, Asia, The Americas, Africa and The Middle East. She is a prominent expert in both business and academia in the field of niche market, social, and transformative travel. Her engagements include speaking and teaching at The NY Times Travel Show, Ensemble Travel Network Conference, Yoga Journal Live, Travel Market Research, The Italian Travel Promotion Council, GIFTE Travel Network as well as numerous shows throughout her 20 year executive travel industry tenure. She is also the USTOA Modern Day Explorer Travel Ambassador to the Islands of Malta.

She brings the principles…

Marketing is both a noun and a verb.  Much like the word “lightening,”  the one word denotes both the act and the action.  Recently an agent explained to me how difficult it was to fund her marketing efforts.  Without the funds to market, she could not bring in customers and without customers she would never have the funds.

Marketing is, however, not just something you buy.  It’s something you do.  Certainly you can spend vast amounts of money on marketing, but for most service businesses, you can also bootstrap your way into the minds of your local community.

I have always been most fond of the type of marketing that is all about sweat equity rather than…

I recently found myself flipping through the restaurant review section of my local newspaper and I spotted a "food joint" where I thought I would like to try for an upcoming future event. I had heard good things from friends and felt comfortable in my decision to call and make a reservation for that special night. I began reading the reviews thinking that they would reinforce my decision. I was wrong. I was very wrong.

The paper flipped my thinking 180 degrees. I’m not saying the review itself was right or wrong; I am saying that it changed my mind.

So, what just happened? There was more than one negative reference in the paper regarding the maître’ d, the food, and the table service. This was enough…