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5 Top Travel Tips by Frequent Flyers

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In the movie, “Up in the Air,” George Clooney’s character Ryan Bingham was the ultimate example of an efficient traveler. With flight delays, baggage fees and lost luggage becoming more common, what can traveling executives learn from Bingham and real-life frequent flyers? Here are five expert travel tips to help you fly more efficiently and reduce stress when on the road.

Know the facts about your destination. The first step to increasing your flying efficiency is to know the facts about where you’re going and what you’ll be doing. Is the trip for work, pleasure or both? What will the weather be during your stay? How many meetings and formal and informal events will you be attending? This information will inform what you need to bring and how you pack.
Commit to carry-on only. With lost bags on the rise and airline luggage fees averaging $25 or more, now is the time to say goodbye to checking bags and embrace the carry-on culture. Before you start panicking about what you can’t bring, realize that, if you pack correctly, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much you can fit into a 22″ spinner carry-on. And once you experience the liberating feeling that comes with avoiding the checked-bag carousel, you’ll find carry-on fun and rewarding, too.
Roll, don’t fold. This tried and true packing technique has been used by flight attendants for decades. Rolling – not folding – the clothes in your luggage not allows you to pack more in less space, it does wonders to avoid wrinkles, too.
Know what to expect at security. How many times have you heard a Transportation Security Administration representative repeat this mantra as you worked your way through the security check-in line? Still, some people hold up the line as they fumble for their boarding pass and ID. Don’t be that guy-know what to expect as you pass through security. Have your boarding pass and ID out and ready. At the x-ray machine, remove your shoes, belt, coat, jewelry, phone, PDA and loose change and place them in a plastic bin to be scanned. Laptops must be removed from their bag and also placed on the conveyor belt to be scanned. All liquids, gels and aerosols, with some exceptions such as medicines, baby formula and breast milk, must be in 3.4 ounce (100ml) or smaller containers and placed in single, quart-size, zip-top, clear plastic bags. Finally, keep your boarding pass and ID handy until you’re through security. Once you’re at the gate, you will only need your boarding pass to board the plane.
Be on time, and be nice. This might seem obvious, but it’s true-when you’re well prepared for your trip and on time, your trip will go a lot easier and be much less stressful. Print out your boarding pass ahead of time if possible. Some airlines such as Delta now text an electronic boarding pass to your cell phone. Be at the airport on line to check in at least one hour before your boarding time. Also, be kind to the ticketing agents, flight attendants and other airline personnel. It’s their job to make your trip as pleasurable as possible. They’re working as quickly as possible, so cut them some slack if things get hectic. Remember they have to deal with people and deadlines all day long. Please and thank you goes a long way in the airport and on the plane.

A Poor Man’s Guide to Real Estate Investing

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Real estate investing is not just for the wealthy! Sure you’ve heard the old saying “It takes money to make money”. Well I say to you that a person with no money and no credit equipped with the proper knowledge and know how can do this just the same. This article covers how YOU can do it and what steps to take to make it happen.Many people believe you need to be wealthy to invest in real estate, like the Hilton’s, or Donald Trump. Or they think you need to save thousands of dollars for a down payment like when purchasing your home. Both thoughts couldn’t be further from the truth. You don’t need to save thousands or come from a wealthy family. All you need is the knowledge, people and tools available to help you succeed.There are things that you need to have in place when investing in real estate. We will cover those things and they will only cost you a little money, time and possibly lunch.EDUCATION GROUPS YOUR TEAM A PLAN MARKETING ACTIONEDUCATION: Now this “Poor Man’s” Guide is not going to suggest that you spend tens of thousands of dollars like you would attending college, but be mindful that education is the key. Sticking with the theme of this article we understand that money isn’t a surplus so we suggest going to your local bookstore and getting a basic real estate investing book so you have a foundation to build upon. Don’t assume you already know all there is to know about investing in real estate, but be willing to learn. The web is a wellspring of knowledge and information from which you can pull information and expand your real estate investing education. I STRONGLY suggest a person spends a minimum of one year educating themselves before actually trying to conduct a transaction. Cost: $50 (a few books), 1 year (time studying)GROUPS: Groups cover many aspects but were going to focus on two groups. Group One, the groups of people you’re around in your daily life. These people are your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. Anyone within these groups that tells you “you won’t succeed investing in real estate”, can kill your dream. I suggest not talking to the dream killers about investing. Get some new friends to be around. People who will be positive, encouraging, and supportive of your new found quest to make a dramatic change in you life personally and financially. Group Two, groups like your local Real Estate Investor’s Association (REIA) or any group locally investing in real estate that you can work with, network with, learn from, and build the relationships necessary for your business to succeed. Cost: friends (maybe), building relationships (time)YOUR TEAM: To build your team you need to develop yourself and your people skills. There are many members of your team who will be necessary to become truly successful and to avoid many of the pitfalls along the way. Their value vastly outweighs the time and money spent (possibly lunch), rather than trying to go at it alone. Starting out your team should include but not limited to.1.A Realtor (with experience working with investors) – realtor’s who have worked with investors have an understanding of what you’re looking for and what you’re trying to do. 2.Banker/Mortgage Broker (with experience working with investors) – develop relationships so in the future you may have a funding source for you buyers. 3.Contractor/Handyman – They can provide you with estimated repair cost for properties. 4.Title Company (with experience working with investors) – they are familiar with creative deals and can help you with the best way to close a deal. 5.Lawyer/Legal Advisor – preferably one specializing in real estate law, have them review all documents you will utilize in your business. 6.Mentor – learn from and model yourself from someone who has been down this road before, your mentor can be a possible investor for you. Cost: time, lunch (maybe)A PLAN: Your plan should be the basis for your investing. Your plan should consist of the niche of real estate investing your going to do, and how your going to accomplish your goals. Write down your investing goals from small to large and the steps you plan to take to get there. Your mentor should be able to assist you in laying out an investment plan for you. Cost: timeMarketing: As a “Poor Man’s” real estate investor it’s understood that you need to get the most bang for your buck. So I’ll touch on three marketing budgets to get you started, they’ll be the $100, $300, and FREE marketing budgets.1.$100 Marketing Plan – for $50 you can order a few bandit signs that say I/we buy houses with your phone number on it. In many cities these signs may be unlawful, so I suggest spending $50 on a pre-paid phone and list that number on the bandit signs so the authorities can’t trace them back to you. Go online to one of the many card companies where you can get 250 to 500 business cards for free. If possible get them in bright yellow, pink, or orange simply stating again I/we buy houses with your number.2.$300 Marketing Plan – it’s the same as the $100 plan but double the amount of bandit signs and in addition go to your local print shop and have them print you 1000 to 5000 1/4 page fliers in those bright attention getting colors, again stating that you buy houses. Place these fliers anywhere your allowed.3.FREE Marketing Plan – the best of all, visit an online business card site and order the business cards just like the $100 marketing. Place dummy ad’s on online sites that allow ad postings and other similar sites to build your list of potential sellers and buyers. Network, network, network, let any and everybody know what you are doing from your neighbors, hair stylist, friends, family, co-workers, bartender, waiters, and anybody whom may feel can use your services or place you in contact with someone that needs your services. Cost: $100, $300, or FREEACTION: This is the moment of truth and the most difficult for many who want to invest in real estate; taking action. I know and understand that when you get to this point you get cold feet, the negative thoughts start creeping into your head ( what if, what if, what if) and you need to stop them cold. Take what you spent a year learning from books, online, your mentor, your team members and your REIA group and put it into action, so you can see the potential in this business and more importantly the potential in yourself. When taking action many times I see new investors trying to make that great BIG killer deal right out the gate when they don’t even have a firm hold on how to get a deal done. May I suggest that you try to make some money not all the money at once. Theirs and old saying where I’m from……. A Fast Nickel Beats A Slow Dime.Get more insider investing tips from Toledo Investment Deals Blog
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Should I Buy Whole Life Insurance Or Term Life Insurance?

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Both whole and term life insurance policies are beneficial for consumers. Proper financial planning for most individuals and families will include life insurance in order to provide guarantees for the beneficiaries. In most cases, term life will provide the needed liquidity in times of need, but whole life will also provide needed benefits in certain situations.Term Life InsuranceTerm life has quite a few advantages and the most obvious is cost. Families can purchase policies with large face amounts for pennies on the dollar. These benefits will provide loved ones with funds to pay for mortgage expenses, raising children, tuition, debt, and everyday living expenses.Term life literally buys time. Policies are usually purchased to cover a 20 or 30 year term. Conceivably, after this term has expired, the insured would have less debt, children would be young adults, and the family would be stronger financially overall.However, term life will eventually expire and is quite expensive to convert to whole life. Should there still be a need for insurance after the end of the term, then the proposed insured would pay much more for a similar policy. Life policies are always much less expensive when for the young and healthy. If the insured has very poor health, then he or she may no longer qualify medically for life insurance.Whole LifeWhole life is advantageous as it provides benefits for the entire life of the insured. Consumers need not worry about their future insurability as long as they pay their premiums. And a well structured whole life policy will eventually be a paid up life policy. Premiums will no longer be due and the interest earned will pay for the cost of insurance itself.Consumers can borrow against their whole life policies and use the cash value in times of need. In this way, whole life plans are much more like an investment than term life. Additionally, the internal cash value can always be used to fund a single premium paid up policy. The face amount would be less, but premiums would no longer be charged by the insurer.Whole life plans work very well to provide for known future obligations like estate and inheritance taxes. Life insurance can be setup outside of the estate and provide needed liquidity for tax, business, and personal obligations. Smaller final expense policies are always funded by whole life insurance.However, these polices can be expensive and if they are not properly funded in the present or the future, then they can become a financial burden. In some cases, a whole life policy could lapse and become worthless to the owner and the beneficiary if premiums are underestimated or simply ignored.In all, both whole and term life have a place in any financial plan. It is wise to discuss present and future needs with an agent and to perform a life insurance needs analysis. With proper planning, consumers will have peace of mind knowing that their obligations will be accounted for.

What You Should Know About Unsecured Business Loans

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These days, there is a great demand for unsecured business loan financing as more and more people fight the economic slump by starting their own small businesses. For a lot of new business owners, applying for a secured business loan is not an option because they do not have properties to submit as collateral.It is good to know that there are lending companies that extend unsecured business loans or unguaranteed loans. However, one basic requirement to get an unsecured business loan is to have an impressive credit. If you have bad credit, it would be very difficult to get business financing, especially if you do not want to submit collateral.How much can you expect when you apply for an unsecured business loan? Because of the lack of security, lending companies offer a limited amount of financing. Typically, unsecured business loans will not exceed $50,000. The amount of loan you can get will still depend on your credit score. Of course, a higher credit score would give you access to a higher loan value.Applying for an Unsecured Business LoanBefore submitting your unsecured business loan application, be sure that you have done research and comparison. Apart from banks and commercial lenders, it’s also a good idea to try to check out business financing options that are offered by credit unions. Loans offered by credit unions are meant to assist small businesses and usually have lower interest rates compared to standard loans or bank loans.Find out the specific requirements that you need to submit so you can prepared the paperwork in advance. Take note that each lender may have different requirements and not submitting the right set of documents or missing a single requirement could cause your approval to delay or may even cause your application to get denied.Although unsecured business loans do not require collateral and involve less paperwork, you will still be required to submit proof that you are managing a legitimate business, your business plan (for start up businesses), and copies of your business finance sheets and tax returns.It is also recommended that you check both your personal and business credit (if applicable) report prior to submitting your loan application. It is important to remember that errors in your report may cause your score to drop a number of points. Checking your credit standing in advance will give you the opportunity to request the credit bureaus to correct the errors and improve your score. Again, take note that a good score will give you the advantage to ask for lower interest rates and more flexible repayment terms.Carefully study the terms of your unsecured business loan before signing up the contract. Make sure that you will not be charged with unreasonable interest rates or hidden fees while in the middle of your loan repayment. If there are terms in your contract that you do not understand, do not hesitate to do further investigation to be certain that the terms of your chosen lender are legal and fair.

Small Business Loan Calculator Features and Benefits

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The small business loan calculator has proven to be one of the most useful devices when it comes to calculating a number of commercial real estate investments. Mortgage calculators can be especially important tools of the trade in a few different areas; whether figuring out interest payments only or going with the ebb and flow of adjustable rate contracts, keeping an eye on these figures throughout the duration of most any given property transaction can be beneficial in many ways.Those who’ve used SBA loans in the past have been able to rely on small business loan calculator settings to carry them through each phase of the commercial loans process. No matter the case, having access to a number of online mortgage calculators can make life much easier when dealing with a variety of lending scenarios.Even when dealing with small loans, the price of doing business can eventually work to the advantage of the borrower. The same principle applies to those who qualify for unsecured loans and the like, when payment schedules may include higher rates. Because of the fact that some small business loan calculator setups have a few additional features to offer, the unexpected can often be handled; with commercial loans especially, unforeseen circumstances may change the game in a hurry.Forecast Early Payoff With Your Small Business Loan CalculatorDepending upon which lending institution is handling the loan in question, the idea of paying off the loan early can become a reality. Prospective borrowers may want to make sure that an early pay-off clause is included in their SBA loans without having prepayment penalties; for example, those who qualify for unsecured loans can save thousands of dollars by paying off the balance a little faster than anticipated.A small business loan calculator with this extra added feature can factor in additional amounts to be paid and apply them towards the total balance. In the past, commercial loans without this feature have ended up costing borrowers a bundle.Not all mortgage calculators come with this feature. In addition to entering the standard information pertaining to small loans, such as the balance, interest, and monthly installments, entering in the extra payment amount will display how much loan recipients can save by paying their commercial loans off earlier than expected. Even though these small business loan calculator functions are becoming more commonplace, it’s vitally important to find out which lenders are offering this additional service.Use Your Small Business Loan Calculator To Determine Best Financing OptionsThose who are ready to refinance their first-lien mortgages may be able to take advantage of their SBA loans by seeing whether or not this early payoff condition applies, sans the penalties. Successful business owners should have a certain amount of clout as it stands, meaning that this type of leverage can be used to switch mortgage companies, if necessary.Contacting other lenders isn’t a crime, and some may have this particular small business loan calculator function already in place. Having this type of leverage can put business owners in the driver’s seat while searching for the best available deals concerning their commercial loans.In effect, renegotiating a second mortgage while saving thousands of dollars is more than possible; in fact, paying lower interest rates and monthly payments on a number of refinanced small loans just isn’t enough, especially when mortgage calculators with multiple features will be able to clearly indicate how much additional money can be saved in both the short-term and the long-run. A small business loan calculator with all the bells and whistles may be worth looking into.

Business Loans: Don’t Let Finances be a Hinderance

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Most of us would like to be self-employed rather than have wage employment. Everyone does have their own ideas and they want to explore it whenever they are given a fair chance. While working under someone, we are not able to implement our own ideas independently. A fixed income generally does not fulfil the financial criteria that can sustain or support a business.Having our own business gives us the flexibility to work the way we want and implement our own ideas to attain the desired goals.The most critical part for any of the prospective entrepreneurs is to arrange finances to start a business venture. It may so happen that you may not be having enough money to start up your business and you may be looking for business loans to meet your financial requirements.There are many lenders in the UK who provide loans at competitive rates. You may get the loan quotes from them by applying for the loans online. You need to do a comparison analysis, after getting the quotes, so that you can get a good deal.We can seek business loans according to our personal circumstances. If you are a homeowner in the UK then you can go for secured business loans [http://www.e-business-loans.co.uk/new_business_loans.html]. This loan option will help you to borrow the loan amount, according to the equity present in the collateral. Apart from that you may borrow the loan amount for a longer term.On the other hand, tenants usually are offered unsecured business loans. Generally loans are taken for short-term purposes, where the borrower has to repay the money in shorter time. One more advantage with an unsecured loan type is that the loan gets processed faster. This is because a good amount of time is saved due to the absence of the evaluation of property.People with bad credit history may also be offered loans provided that they fulfil the specific criteria of the lenders. With this loan type, they may improve their credit history, which will stand them in good stead when availing loans in the future.A business loan could be sought for purposes like buying the premises where the business will be housed, plants and machinery, wages to the employees, maintaining the cash flow etc.
There are different types of business loans that are given according to your personal circumstances. For example, new business loans for those who are going to start their new business venture; and start-up business loan for someone who has just started their enterprise. Small business loans can cater to those who are looking for a smaller business enterprise.Thus, business loans can help the prospective businessman in making their entrepreneurial dreams come true.

How to Save Money With Online Travel Discounts

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Thanks to the internet, traveling the world has never been easier or more affordable! A couple of decades ago, it was almost impossible for some people to finance a vacation. Many of the cheap vacation packages advertised in magazines and newspapers were scams or timeshare schemes. Travel agencies were able to offer good deals to consumers; unfortunately, the options were limited.

These days, anybody can plan a trip and save tons of money in the process! Hotels, airlines, resorts, cruise lines, car rental companies, and travel agencies all around the world can connect with travelers online. If you want to travel anywhere, all you have to do is look online to find all the latest deals. You can do research on online travel agencies to ensure that they are legitimate. You can also read reviews on thousands of hotels to learn about other travelers’ experiences with them.

If anything, you might feel overwhelmed with all of your options. The only downside to internet travel deals is that they are really hard to sort through! What if you choose one vacation package, only to find another one that would have saved you more money? Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to narrow down your choices and to find the cheapest bargains possible.

Here are some tips for finding the best vacation packages on the internet:

Do a search for travel coupons and promotional codes. Sites such as GimmeMoreCoupons will keep you updated on all the latest offers. Gimme More Coupons will give you special codes that you can use when booking your vacation. These codes will help you save up to 50% on hotels, 20% on airfare, and more!
Sign up to receive travel alerts whenever a new offer is available. You can request to be notified whenever a plane ticket or hotel room goes on sale at a price you can afford. These alerts can be sent to your email, iPod, Smart Phone, or other portable device.
Use aggregators for finding deals. Aggregator sites, such as Travelocity and Expedia, will compare multiple travel agencies, hotels, cruise lines, and airlines at once. You can search through all travel outfits to find the best deals. This type of service is completely free, so you won’t have to worry about paying any travel agency fees.
Be flexible with your travel dates. Sometimes rates will vary daily, so you can save money if you aren’t picky about the flight times. When searching for deals, there is usually an option you can check if you are willing to be flexible. The search spider will show you all the rates AROUND the dates you specify, rather than ON the dates.
If, after you book your flight, the airline lowers the ticket price, you can request that you get a partial refund. Not many people realize this, but you can have the price of your ticket adjusted to reflect the changes in the rate. However, you must request it from the airline—you can’t just expect them to automatically refund some of your money.
Consider a specialized package. Sometimes you can save money if you agree to check out a hotel’s golf course or spa. This isn’t the same thing as a timeshare, since you would be enjoying the activities even if you didn’t order the package. If you are planning on doing something or attending a show or golf course anyway, then you might as well search for special vacation packages so that you can save money.
Following these tips will help you save a lot of money on travel. No matter where you want to go, you can finance your trip if you take advantage of special discounts and offers! If you come across any travel coupons, all you have to do is copy and paste (or manually type) them into the registration form when you are booking your trip.

Online Travel Agencies – Benefits and Disadvantages

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When it comes to the choice between using an online travel agency or not for your next trip, there are several factors to consider with several pros and cons.

One of the main concerns that seem to arise with online travel agencies is the trustworthiness and security of paying such large amounts of money online. While online security is a major factor for any online travel agency, this is true of all online businesses. So it is more a matter of choosing a travel agency online with a quality reputation by looking at their customer reviews and see what their actual site itself is like. What’s more, when you are logging on and preparing to pay for any online costs, there should always be that small symbol of a lock at the bottom right hand side of the screen as a sign of the level of security attached.

The benefits of using online travel agencies are that unlike their physical counterparts, they are available at any time, ideal for emergency travel situations, and also for any late after-hours bookings that you need to complete. Additionally you can compare travel deals and special available all over the world in order to find the very best deal for you and your travels. What this means is that while a physical travel agency will have a great range of deals for you, they are limited by who they can work with in terms of other travel professionals. With these online agencies, it up to you to decide who you work with, allowing you to create your ideal travel plans.

What you may also find when working with online travel agencies that you will have a great range of methods to pay for the holiday, offering greater flexibility and financial choice. These choices can range from the standard credit cards and accounts to payment plans and travel accounts.

Overall when talking online travel agencies it is more a matter of preference of the customer and how they prefer to do their business, either online or in person, that should dictate how they book their travel plans.

A Glance at the Future of Online Travel Industry

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The Internet which was virtually unknown to masses a couple of decades ago has now become the life blood of many economies and societies. This global phenomenon has brought the human kind closer than ever before. Ranging from information websites to novel concepts of social networking, Internet has become a way of life for many people.

According to Internetworldstats.com only 16 million people used the Internet in 1995, where as today over 1200 million surf the cyber space which amounts to nearly 20% of the world population. The growth of the Internet has created a whole new dimension in doing business as well. The speed of information and the convenience has made online a promising venture for many markets.

In travel industry around a decade ago, travel agents had a better say when it came to selling travel solutions than its original providers such as airlines and hotels etc. But today the increased use of online travel has made it easy for the consumer to plan and book their travel needs easily on their own over the Internet. Hotels, airlines and other travel service providers are able to directly get in touch with customers through the Internet.

Online travel portals and websites also have an upper hand over conventional travel agents on costs as well. The traditional travel agent requires more manpower and huge investments to expand its business where as an online portal can get in touch with the whole world through a single domain purchase. However, the intense competition among online travel portals and various hospitality websites have reduced intermediary commission rates thus offering far more economic value to online transactions.

Internet research firm predicts that by 2009 roughly one third of all U.S travel revenues will be handled via Internet. Other parts of the world such as Europe and emerging giants such as India and China will also contribute heavily to the growth of online travel industry.

With the growing number of Internet users and the boom in travel industry in many emerging economies will continue to contribute to the growth of online travel industry in coming years.

Work From Home As an Online Travel Agent

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If you’re like most people, you’ve at one point or another given some thought to the idea of running your own home based business. Just imagine, firing your boss, working in your PJs, having the time and financial freedom to do what you want, when you want.

But then reality hits. What are the odds that it could work out? How would you find the time to start a business? Wouldn’t it be outrageously expensive? And with so many choices, how would you ever find the perfect business opportunity without being taken advantage of? So you continue with the status quo, trading hours for money, dreaming of a better life.

Sound familiar? Do you know that the definition of insanity is to continue to repeatedly do the same thing, expecting different results? Not that you’re insane. It’s just that our parents, schools, and culture taught most of us to go to school, work hard, get a good job, and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this isn’t working out so well for many of us.

If you’re ready to take control of your future and create a life by design rather than by chance, I have good news for you. There’s an affordable way for you to own a home based business that doesn’t involve buying inventory, doing home parties, or selling high priced goods that your family and friends can get at a discount store at an affordable price. Believe me, I’ve spent many years searching for a work from home opportunity and was fortunate enough to stumble upon a rather unique concept; that of owning an online travel agency.

You may ask, so what’s different about travel? For starters, there’s no inventory. No products for you to buy and keep in a corner of your garage. In fact, an online travel agent has no mandatory costs, other than a startup fee and website hosting fees. There are many companies offering online travel agencies for sale, and the price tags vary astoundingly across the board. If you choose to look into this type of business don’t get discouraged by startup costs. There are excellent, highly respected businesses for sale that are affordable!

How about product price? As an online travel agent you’re offering services (travel) that are comparatively priced with other online travel agencies. How’s that compare to the ultra expensive vitamins you could be selling? Your family and friends may not buy what they consider to be overpriced vitamins from you, but what if you could offer them travel at a price that’s competitive with other travel agencies?

Which leads me to the issue of desirability. Sticking with the example of vitamins, would you say that most people you know have a strong desire to spend their money on vitamins? Unless you have very health conscious friends, the answer to this is probably no. How about travel? Do most of the people you know have a strong desire to travel? As an online travel agent you’ll be selling recess, while others are selling geography!

Have you thought about starting a home based business, but been worried that it would require too much of your time? Let’s face it, most of us can’t quit our day jobs to pursue dreams of making it on our own in the first month or so. I’ve found that an online travel business doesn’t demand a lot of time, and can be run in the nooks and crannies of your day. This is a turnkey business in that you won’t need to spend time building a booking website, reserving travel for others, or tracking purchases. You’ll receive a fully functional booking site along with customer support and tracking, and your customers book their own travel from you, just as they would from any other online booking site. Your main job is to point others to your website. This can be done simply by handing business cards to family, friends, co-workers, etc., and asking them to bookmark your site and compare your prices the next time they’re planning a trip. No hard selling involved!

Naturally, you can build your business more aggressively and quickly if you’d like. As an online travel agent you’ll have opportunities to make more money more quickly if you’re able to dedicate 5 to 10 hours per week to your business. Some possibilities include booking and marketing group travel, specializing in honeymoon registries, or obtaining corporate travel accounts. If you choose to investigate companies that sell online travel agencies, be sure to look for those that offer this type of niche marketing, and that provide training on these specialties.

What about the economy? Actually, the travel industry is booming, and is expected to almost double over the next 10 years. Let’s face it, in a struggling economy many of us will forgo that expensive latte every day before work, or possibly brown bag it instead of buying lunch every day. But we work our butts off all year for that one little stretch of time that we call vacation. Quality time spent with our loved ones, relaxing and enjoying whatever it is we most enjoy. This is the one precious reward that we look forward to all year and unless things are drastically bad, we’ll make sure that we don’t lose this glorious respite.

You may be thinking, this sounds pretty good. Well, it gets even better! Home businesses offer incredible tax savings. In fact the tax laws were written years ago with the intention of rewarding business owners, and this is the one best legal method of keeping more of your hard earned money in your own pockets.

Ordinary home expenses such as Internet charges, mileage expenses, cell phones, etc. can become tax deductions to those who own home based businesses. Cool, huh? Well, as an online travel agent, you’ll be entitled to the customary tax deductions, in addition to deductions on personal travel. This is a way to turn your vacations into paycations! The logic here is simple. Every time you travel you gain an experience that you can share with potential clients. Great resort, great recommendation. Lousy service, poor recommendation. Each vacation you take makes you more capable of selling vacations to others. Does it get any better than that?

Actually, yes! Online travel agents benefit from great travel industry perks, including low cost FAM trips, commissions paid on personal travel, and occasional free upgrades.

If this concept sounds fun, lucrative, and inviting, you have two choices. The first, taken by most, is to think about how cool this could be, then go about your normal routine, unable to find the time to investigate. The second is to get on the computer and start researching possibilities. Personally, I went for option number two, and am ecstatic about the great choice I made!