Your Passion = Your Niche
by Steven Hurley

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My passion and focus had always been European travel, so I made that the center of my business. To stake out my territory, I choose to specialize and offer only FITs -- that's right, no tours or cruises! I set up shop on the Internet, and instead of working with package companies, I used my firsthand knowledge and personal travel experience to work directly with European hotels and private guides setting up custom trips for clients. Instead of relying on commissions which limited my choices, I charged fees based on the length of the itinerary.

My marketing plan was that, if I could develop a Web site full of free information about Europe, it could direct potential clients to my service. And, if I could get that Web site highly ranked on Google, I would have a bigger pool of potential clients. So, I started from scratch teaching myself programs and looking at other highly ranked sites to see what I could learn.

Soon, Travels with Friends began to attract booking engines and visitors alike. And, once potential clients found me, I was able to sell them on the uniqueness of the itinerary planning service I offered. (In those beginning years, I also hosted a number of small group tours in Europe, including a seven-week stint in 2003 that still makes my head spin!)

In 2003, a single chance event changed my agency forever. After becoming a Certified France Specialist and taking a FAM trip with the French Government Tourist Office, I connected with an incoming French operator of private tours and shore excursions. I decided to add those tours to my Web site because the special qualities of private touring meshed with my client’s desires. They became an overnight success, and sales quickly soared.

Cruise passengers began asking me for more private tours in other port cities, which led me to the next phase for my agency: a new Web site called PrivateShoreTrips.com. By 2005, my business had grown so much that I took on a home-based independent contractor to help sell the tours I offered.

Last year, I took on two fellow world travelers as business partners, and together we became Travels with Friends LLC. Our agency now operates three Web sites:

• www.PrivateShoreTrips.com: With private shore trips at 70 ports in 18 European countries, we pay commission to bona fide travel agents including all TRUE holders. Send us an email for commission details!
  
  
• www.PrivateGuidesInEurope.com: This site is a directory for independent licensed European tour guides that lets travelers connect directly with local guides who provide private walking or driving tours.
  
  
• www.TravelsWithFriends.com: This is our heritage site with free travel information for Europe. It’s beginning to show its age (we plan a major update within the next year), but it still generates advertising income and steers clients to our other sites. We no longer offer FITs or escort small groups.

The use of Google’s advertising programs has been a key tool to keep an increasing number of visitors coming to our site and growing revenue for our business.

I firmly believe in the home-based business model for travel agencies and advise everyone involved to find their special niche. Be narrow in your offerings, but wide in your marketing audience. Keep your eyes open, because even one chance event or customer request can be the push to propel your business into a new area of profitability.

Travels with Friends LLC is located in Elk Grove, Calif., and is a partnership of Steven J. Hurley, Ken Diaz, and Roger Tinsman. Our independent travel contractors provide additional support as needed. Steven can be reached by email at steven@privateshoretrips.com.