Q. Please tell us a little about your background.

A. 12 years of customer service experience; 5 years administrative and 4 years management experience.

Q. What made you decide to start a website in the travel field?

A. The company I thought I would retire from went out of business after I had been employed for 12 years. I was downsized out of my last two positions, and quite frankly I had just "had enough" of the corporate game.

My husband was about to retire after 30 years on his job, so his retirement income gave me the freedom to explore other possibilities. We always took trips to the Caribbean every year, and I love the islands. I had often heard that doing what you love doesn't fell like work, so Caribbean travel was a natural fit.

I wanted to start a business with a very low start up cost, and did not want a storefront agency where I would have to hire and manage personnel, and show up everyday. The Internet provided the perfect opportunity.

Q. What kind of research went into this niche area before building your website?

A. I had over 10 years of personal experience visiting my niche area, and had investigated and researched our trips before traveling. I also looked at some of the best travel sites to see what they offered, and did some research into host agencies (these agencies provide booking capabilities and write tickets).

I now realize my "niche" was too broad, but that realization has come with experience.

Q. How did you design and build your website?

A. I wanted a website that provided the pictures of the islands, as well as being informative. Homestead is my web host, and their software is very user friendly, so building a site was quite easy. Most of the pictures are my own photographs, along with photos from family and friends.


Q. What software do you use to run your business?

A. I utilize two travel databases from two different host agencies.


Q. How does your website generate income?

A. I get paid commission from all travel booked through my site. Other than travel commissions, Google AdSense is my second source of revenue, followed by Amazon.com and other travel affiliates.

Q. How do you collect payments for your products or services?

A. Most payments are collected by the host agencies, and then paid to me either by check or direct deposit. I also have relationships with several hotel properties
that pay me directly by check or deposit.

Q. What promotion methods do you use?

A. All of the travel suppliers provide their own promotions either by e-mail, electronic magazine or postcards, and these can be sent to clients and subscribers. As for personal promotion, I pass out lots of business cards, advertising on travel industry sites, write press releases, write travel  articles, and post travel specials and news to my blogs.

Q. Which method has proven to give you the best sales results?

A. Prior to 2005, press releases and advertising on travel industry sites gave the best results. Currently my two blogs are bringing in most of my travel business.

Q. Which method of traffic generation has proven to be the best for you?

A. Keeping an edge in the search engine rankings in a very competitive industry. All my competitors are constantly tweaking their sites, and bidding for higher rank. Also competing with all the bigger online travel sites such as Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline, etc.

Q. What is your biggest challenge each month?

A. Not understanding the value of site optimization, and ranking for my keywords. It took me a long time before I understood how content and optimization went hand in hand.

Q. What's the biggest mistake you've made since starting your business?

A. Not understanding the value of site optimization, and ranking for my keywords. It took me a long time before I understood how content and optimization went hand in hand.

Q. How has your lifestyle changed since you started your online business?

A. I have gained a lot more self confidence running my own business. I am much happier working at home, and having much more time for myself, along with family and friends. The "perks" of the travel industry are also a big plus. I really love what I do, so it often does not seem like work.

Q. How has your SureFireWealth.com membership helped you with your online business?

A. I just joined, and my goal with the membership is to gain more insight into Internet marketing to grow my business to the next level. I also need to finally get my ebook project up and running.

Q. What would you say to someone looking to start a website in the same niche as you?

A. Learn as much as you can about a specific destination. Before getting your site up and running, make sure your site is optimized, and provide good content and information. Understand that there are millions of travel sites on the Internet, and competition is fierce.

Don't expect family and friends to always be supportive in your efforts. Surround yourself with other entrepreneurs who understand the ups and downs of running a business.

Last but not least, don't think that you can buy your way into the travel business by purchasing "kits" that cost hundreds of dollars. You earn travel perks by the amount of business you bring to suppliers, and by building relationships.

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Thanks Linda!