The biggest problem I encounter in working with online start-up travel entrepreneurs is that they try to build a business from the start thinking they have to be all things to everyone and they have these unrealistic expectations in their heads.

The biggest and best companies in the world all started out as small businesses and they started by making one sale, then two, then, three. Yes, successful companies all had grand visions and aspirations but the reality is that the business you end up with after you have matured will look totally different when you started. It's very difficult to hit it just right out of the gate so you'll be adapting as you go forward replicating what works and removing what doesn't. This is natural and is just part of the business developmental process.

I teach and believe in a startup strategy I termed, The Power of 100. When you start a home-based online travel business or any business for that matter you have to have a sales goal. 100 bookings/reservations is the goal I set for each home-based travel entrepreneur in the Travel Business Academy-Startup and Growth Program.

Now some of you may be thinking that is a small number and some may think it is actually a large number and a lofty goal. The reality is that it's difficult in the beginning to sell 100 reservations/bookings but its attainable and I am confident that the Travel Business Academy will help get you there.

More important than selling 100 reservations/bookings is that by setting a goal of 100 reservations/bookings you build and start your business with a clear objective of where you want to go from the beginning. Secondly, more important than selling 100 reservations/bookings is what you'll learn from selling 100 travel bookings and the journey to that goal will be unbelievable.

To succeed in the home-based online travel business you need to simplify the development and organization of your start-up business, removing all the obstacles that are in the way to selling your first 100 bookings/reservations. To assist in this process, the outcome we are

looking to achieve is 100 bookings/sales. Everything you do moving forward in this program is focused on the 100 sales goal, it will influence what you sell, who you sell it to, how you market it, what your website looks like, what technology you use, how much money you budget, and many more factors. At the end of this document is a powerful exercise, worksheet that will help you identify all the obstacles in your way to selling 100 bookings/sales. Once you can clearly identify the obstacles you can convert these into actionable objectives to complete. This helps you focus on what truly matters and keeps you moving forward with positive momentum.

Why 100?

100 is a very powerful number associated with greatness throughout history. A century is 100 years, the $100 dollar bill, a 100-year old person is said to be wise beyond his years. When you reach the 100 mark in sales this will be a major accomplishment for your fledgling start up. Most travel business start-up entrepreneurs never sell 1 booking. The main reason is because they don't establish a realistic goal. This then leads to loosing focus, spending time on activities that don't help you make 100 sales, foolishly spending money on marketing and advertising strategies that are focused on a non-niche travel product, a commodity type of travel product that is not unique, has no competitive advantages and really fills no unmet need. It's really just that simple.

The Power Of 100 - Want Proof?

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook built his original website with the goal of enabling his 15 friends to communicate with one another. He then developed the website further so those 15 friends could communicate with their 10 other friends (150). Facebook now has 500 million friends. Zuckerburg did not start his business to connect 500 million people he built it to connect 15. Then he built it to connect 150, and so on.

Matt Zito, yes that's me here. I started my ski travel business in college with the goal of filling 1 bus with 47 people for a weeklong ski trip over winter break to Vermont. What I learned from selling that trip helped grow even bigger. In the second year I filled 2 buses (94 people). In the 3rd year after graduation I sold over 500 trips. I did not start my business trying to sell 500 trips. In 2007 the year I sold my ski travel company we sold over 2,000 trips.

If you can sell 100 bookings/reservations, then you can sell 500.

If you can sell 500 bookings/reservations, then you can sell 1,000.

If you can sell 1,000 bookings/reservations, then you can sell 10,000.

My goal in teaching you is to help provide you with the knowledge and business insight needed to start a home-based online travel business.The Travel Business Academy- Start up and Growth Program will teach you how to create a unique online travel brand for your new travel company, selling a travel product, to a targeted core niche traveler or niche travel destination, with contractual agreements directly with travel suppliers, with a goal of selling 100 bookings/reservations with gross profits of 20%-30% per sale.

Ok, so hopefully you got the message. As you go through the modules you will see how setting a goal of 100 sales is strategically the best thing you can do in start-up mode and may ultimately be the key to your start-up success.