Today’s Mommy Minute is brought to us by Kelly Russo of Travel with the Magic. She tells us about the process of becoming and being a travel agent!

I think that to be a Disney planner you need to have a passion for Disney and to want to help people.  My job is to help my clients plan a magical vacation but I work for them and I like to make sure I am getting them the best deal I can. 

I do not know many people who have to go school to be a travel agent but there are places you can take classes and it does not hurt to have a background in Business.  I think that so many people think this is an easy job but it is not.  It takes time to find a place to sign on with, you need to be organized and have attention to detail.  When I did research about joining a company I saw that many charged start up and yearly fees to join and it can be scary to be putting out money when you don’t know if you will make it back but not all agencies charge fees to join.  You want to make sure you are working with a company that will help and support you while you grow but you have put yourself out there and show the company that you dedicated and trying.  You need a quiet space if you are working from home and set up a system to so that when you start booking you aren’t overwhelmed.  There are classes that you need to take  once you sign on through Disney and a system to learn before you start booking clients to it can be crazy at first.  Once you get set up you have to build your client base and that takes time it will not happen overnight.  Neither of the companies I worked with before I went out on my own gave me leads/quotes so it takes time and have to be consistent and have patience.

I do not charge set up fees but each agent that wants to be on our insurance pays for that it was around $127 this year.  We provide training, support, conference calls, collateral, we give you forms and tools that help, add you to the website and more.  I get several emails a week from people interested and I try and speak with many but I am taking my time growing the team.  I want people who want to do this and will put in the time to make it work.  Since I have worked for 2 other Disney Travel companies I feel that I see things from an agents point of view not just my own.  I do not offer leads to new agents but will consider it once they prove that they can book on there own and that they are building there client base.  Other things to consider are what type of split will you get from the agency, how much time can out into this, understand travel agent discounts and how you earn the right to get them. (you do not just get them)