The No BS Way of Running a Travel Agency with Sheila Folk – Episode 51

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

If you’re running a travel agency and constantly putting out fires, working 80-hour weeks, or wondering why your business isn’t profitable, you’re probably missing the foundations that actually matter.

I sat down with Sheila Folk, founder of Travel Industry Solutions, and what started as a conversation about legal contracts turned into a masterclass on building a sustainable, profitable travel business.

Sheila didn’t get into this industry because she loved travel.

She wanted freedom and income after leaving an 80-hour-a-week corporate startup job.

Within two years, she built her agency to $8 million in revenue with just herself and her mom.

The secret? She ran her business like an actual business from day one.

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What Most Travel Advisors Get Wrong About Running a Travel Agency

Travel advisors jump into this industry with passion but zero business infrastructure.

They post on social media, send out quotes, and hope something sticks.

Meanwhile, they’re working themselves to exhaustion with nothing to show for it.

Sheila described her first three months: “I was working like a dog. I am telling you, 15 hours a day, seven days a week. And it was a lot. I thought, I just traded my six figure salary for this? There’s got to be a better way.”

That better way?

Systems.

Legal protection.

Processes that don’t require manually touching every single booking.

When you’re starting a travel business or figuring out how to run a successful travel agency, most advice focuses on the sexy stuff- your niche, your Instagram feed, or your lead magnets.

But nobody talks about the stuff that actually makes (and keeps) money like legal contracts, client workflows, and boundaries that protect your time and business.

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The Gaps You Don’t Even Know You Have

Whether you’re a brand new home based travel agent or you’ve been in the industry for years, everyone has holes in their business.

The most common gaps:

Website policies. If you’re collecting customer information and don’t have a privacy policy, you’re opening yourself up to legal issues.

Copyright infringement. Most advisors don’t realize they’re doing it. Using supplier images without permission, copying content, using unlicensed music- these can come back to bite you hard.  It’s wrong, so don’t do it.

Group contracts. This almost got me last year (2021). I was signing group contracts on behalf of clients and nearly ended up in a five-figure lawsuit. The supplier worked with me, but it was a huge wake-up call. Now I have the right language and agreements to protect myself.

Terms and conditions. You need actual, legally compliant terms that cover you in all 50 states if you’re working with US clients.

Early on, Sheila booked a trip to Europe for friends.

She made sure the hotel had air conditioning but didn’t check whether it was the hotel or the guest that controlled the temperature in the rooms.

The hotel shut off the AC in all rooms because it was cool outside.

Her clients weren’t happy.

Now her terms include language covering these unforeseen circumstances.

These small details matter.

Without the right protections, you’re running a business on borrowed time, friend.

Why Starting Your Own Travel Agency Requires More Than Passion

Unlike most travel advisors, Sheila’s origin story isn’t about a lifelong love of travel.

She was a widow with a daughter, working 80 hours a week for a startup.

A neighbor mentioned doing travel on the side, and she asked, “Can you make money at it from home? Can you set your own schedule?”

She didn’t start because she was good at planning Disney trips or because friends came to her for advice.

She did it for the income and freedom.

That CEO mindset set her apart.

From day one, she looked at every facet of the operation and asked what it would take to make it profitable.

When she realized the industry didn’t have resources to support the business side of running a travel agency, she built them herself.

This is what becoming a home based travel agent actually requires, not just booking trips, but thinking like a business owner.

Your time is money and boundaries aren’t mean; they’re necessary.

Systems aren’t just for big agencies, but how you scale without going cuckoo in the process.

The Real Cost of Not Having Systems

Running a travel business without systems looks like this- sending multiple quotes because you haven’t set boundaries around revisions, chasing clients for final payments the day before they’re due, and spending hours on bookings that should take minutes.

Before Sheila built her systems, she felt like she was constantly switching between technologies, with clients asking the same questions over and over. 

Once she had her systems in place, she never had issues collecting final payments.

Ever.

Her clients would say, “You take the thinking out of it. I don’t do anything because I know you’re going to handle everything for me.”

That’s the power of a solid client workflow.

Set expectations from the first email.

Tell clients exactly what’s going to happen next.

Eliminate back-and-forth because they already know what to expect.

Build in legal language that protects you when something goes sideways.

Sheila averaged $4 million a year by herself, working 30 hours a week, because her systems didn’t require manual management of every detail.

Last year, working about two hours a week in her travel business, she closed deals like a $150,000 Regent suite and a nearly million-dollar private jet trip.

Talk about infrastructure 🙂

What You Actually Need to Start a Travel Agency the Right Way

If you’re wondering what you need to start a travel agency or how to set up an online travel agency properly, forget the flashy website for a minute.

Start with these basics:

Legal contracts that actually protect you. Not something from a Facebook group or pieced together from templates. Compliant contracts, covering seller of travel laws, with warranty protection.

Client communication that sets boundaries. Welcome emails outlining your entire process, automated payment reminders, and pre-trip emails answering questions before clients ask them. When someone told me they were sending multiple quotes without getting bookings, I knew they were missing the agreement step. Establish how you work before doing the work.

Scripts and templates for every client touchpoint. Sheila’s scripts are really detailed and that’s why they work. They eliminate questions and set clear expectations.

Website policies. If you’re collecting any client information, you need a privacy policy, plus terms of use and other disclosures depending on your activities.

Influencer and contractor agreements. If you’re working with content creators, independent contractors, or sub-agents, proper agreements protect everyone.

How to Be a Travel Agent From Home Without Burning Out

One of the biggest questions I get- how to balance working from home as a travel agent without working all the time.

When your business is in your house and your phone is always nearby, boundaries get really blurry.

Sheila’s approach?

Automate everything possible.

Create systems that run without you.

Set clear boundaries with clients about how you work.

She had a consulting client with an incredible retention rate but was working herself to the bone.

No efficiencies and no boundaries.

Sheila got her to start charging fees, but the bigger issue was no boundaries around revisions or quote quantities.

Even without planning fees, you can outline how you work.

You can have an agreement explaining your process.

The point is establishing expectations, so you’re not at everyone’s beck and call 24/7.

The Relationship Strategy Nobody’s Teaching

When I asked Sheila how she grew so quickly, she said she spent most of her time building relationships.

Not in the way most people think.

She wasn’t joining groups and shoving business cards in everyone’s hand.

She was asking how she could serve others, help them, and deepen relationships.

“A lot of people network incorrectly,” Sheila told me. “What they do is they join a group or they go to the Better Business Bureau, and they immediately try to sell themselves. They pass out their business cards and that’s what they think it’s about, and it’s not. It’s about finding out how you can serve others.”

Networking is about how you can help others first.

When you lead with service and genuine relationship-building, business follows.

Sheila shared a story about a friend who joined his local BNI (Business Network International) chapter.

Every week, he posts on Facebook about someone he met, highlighting their business, talking about why they’re great, encouraging people to work with them.

Last year, he booked $250,000 in referrals from other BNI members.

That’s the power of building real relationships and promoting other people.

When you shine a light on others, they remember.

They refer you.

They become genuine partners in your growth.

Building Your Referral Avatar (Not Just Your Client Avatar)

Everyone talks about building a client avatar in the travel industry, but nobody talks about building a referral avatar.

This might be one of the most valuable strategies for growing a home based travel business.

Your referral avatar is someone who serves the same type of client you do, shares similar values, and has a business style that aligns with yours.

Think financial advisors, wealth managers, event planners, luxury real estate agents; people whose clients appreciate high-touch service and value expertise.

Sheila recommends developing three referral avatars and building genuine relationships with people who fit those profiles.

Not transactional “I’ll send you clients, if you send me clients” arrangements, but real relationships where you support each other’s businesses.

This is the long game.

Showing up for other business owners, promoting their work, and building their trust over time.

It’s not immediate gratification, and that’s exactly why it works. 

And this is not something you stop doing either 🙂

What It Really Takes to Scale Your Travel Agency Business

You can’t scale chaos.

You can’t scale a business where you’re the bottleneck for every decision and client interaction.

You can’t scale when you don’t have systems that work without you.

And you definitely can’t scale working 15-hour days just to keep up.

Sheila built her agency to $4 million annually while working 30 hours a week.

She did that with a mix of clients, from $1,000 trips to $100,000 trips, and serviced all with the same level of care and systematic approach.

She treated every client like royalty, regardless of booking size, because you never know who that person knows or what their future plans might look like.

“That 25 year old Carnival Cruiser could be the next CEO of Carnival,” Sheila pointed out. “That retired postmaster who books that $3,000 Carnival Cruise or all inclusive vacation with you twice a year might have a pretty sizable retirement and book a $50,000 multi-gen trip with you.”

When you service clients the right way with systems to support it, you can scale and grow.

You can build genuine relationships, move clients into higher-priced products, and it all starts here.

The No BS Truth About Starting a Travel Agency Online

Starting an online travel agency or working from home as a travel agent isn’t as simple as getting your accreditation and posting on social media.

The travel agency startup costs go beyond host agency fees and business registration.

You need to invest in:

• Client management systems that let you run efficiently without drowning in manual tasks. Travefy, Tern, and TravelJoy (affiliate link) are three of the most popular systems to use.
• Education on running a profitable business, not just booking travel. (You’re in the right place, if I do say so myself 🙂)
• Relationship-building and networking that positions you as a trusted advisor, not just another travel agent competing on price.

The real cost also includes the time and energy you’ll waste spinning your wheels if you don’t set things up correctly from the beginning.

Sheila spent those first three months working 15-hour days because she didn’t have systems.

Once she built them, she got her life back and her profit margins increased. The trade-off is more than worth it.

Making the Shift From Travel Agent to Travel Business Owner

There’s a difference between being a travel agent and being a travel business owner.

One is about completing transactions.

The other is about building something sustainable and profitable.

When starting a home based travel agency, the question isn’t just “Can I book travel?”, it’s “Can I run a business?”

That means understanding your numbers, setting up the proper structures, and having contracts that protect you.

Build systems that create consistency.

Develop relationships that generate referrals.

Treat your time like the valuable resource it is.

Sheila came from corporate jobs in hospitality, tech, and a global nonprofit focused on fraud, ethics, and corporate governance.

That risk management background led her to prioritize legal protection from day one.

But you don’t need a corporate background to think like a CEO.

You just need to decide your business deserves to be run like a business, not like a hobby.

Reading about systems and contracts isn’t as exciting as dreaming about exotic destinations or planning that perfect itinerary.

But this is the work that separates travel advisors who are constantly stressed and barely profitable from those building sustainable, scalable businesses.

Sheila built Travel Industry Solutions because she saw a massive gap.

Travel advisors needed support for the business side, and nobody was providing comprehensive solutions.

She took everything she learned, the scripts, processes, legal protections, client workflows, and packaged it up, so other advisors don’t have to spend years figuring it out themselves.

That’s the approach more of us need to take.

Stop reinventing the wheel.

Use resources from people who have actually done what you’re trying to do.

Invest in the infrastructure that will save you time, protect your business, and allow you to actually make money.

Owning a travel agency should give you the freedom and income you’re looking for.

Not trap you in a cycle of working harder for less money.

If you’re ready to stop winging it and start running your travel business like the real business it is, begin with the foundations.

Get your legal protection in place.

Build your client workflows.

Set your boundaries.

Develop relationships that matter, and stop looking for quick fixes when what you really need is solid infrastructure.

That’s the no BS way of running a travel agency.

It’s not glamorous, but it works.

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