Jan
31
carribean cruise royal – YouTube – Royal Caribbean Wipeouts
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Entrepreneur and Mom
by: Jennifer Dugan
When I was 12 years old, I had surgery with complications. I was told there was a chance I would not be able to have children. Growing up I could not imagine my life without children and worried about it often. When I got married close to my 21st birthday, my husband and I hoped that we would be lucky enough to have children. Luckily, I found out I was pregnant almost a year later. However, soon after the great news, I got very sick. I was working full time at a corporate travel agency and I could not work. My doctor told me that I had to take care of myself or I would be at risk to lose my baby. My employer got very nasty with me and was not compassionate about my sickness. I almost lost my job, but my doctor was able to get me medical leave from the family leave act. The experience was horrible. I vowed to never have to choose between my career and the health of my baby. I began to look for ways to work from home. I tried Mary Kay Cosmetics but I was terrible at it. It didn’t feel comfortable and I really had nothing to make me want to be successful.
When my son Dillon was born in February 1997, it was one of the best days of my life. I quit my job and tried to stay home full time. I was able to stay home until Dillon was three months old. Then I went back part time at a travel agency. I hated leaving him even for the few hours I had to. So I decided to start my own travel agency from my home. I knew the travel business well enough to be on my own, but I did not know very much about being a home business owner. For the next two years, I had to learn so much about running a home business. I got help from other work at home moms. I met them online and it was so helpful.
I created a website and began actively advertising for business. I read anything I could on having a home business. I learned as much as I could about the internet. I began brainstorming on how I could expand my business. I decided to specialize in family vacations since I had a growing family. My second child, Travis was born January 1999. I began to learn how to balance having a family and a business. I worked whenever I could. Many nights I work late at night when my children are sleeping. My husband is very supportive.
I finally started becoming successful and was gaining more customers each day. I started taking on independent agents and helping them start their own agencies. I let them work with my agency because I had already paid what it took to start the agency. I trained them and began building my business by helping others get into the industry. I took a small percentage of their commissions for running the agency. It slowly turned into a full fledge training program with a handbook and a website dedicated to my agents. I also created a website for people who wanted to join the agency. I marketed to find those who would be interested. The agency has continued to grow as the word has spread. What I offer people interested in the travel industry is unique since I accept those without prior experience and train them for free.
I have been interviewed by several magazines and featured in books on home businesses. Currently I have over 200 independent agents working with my agency. Our sales have skyrocketed. In 2002, we did $20,000 in sales for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. In 2003, we did $147,000 in sales. We are growing in so many ways. I am still very active in the agency. I still answer my emails myself and strive to personally know all my agents. I do not have anyone helping me at my home office. I do have my very first agent as well as many who have been with me for years helping out. I handle all the bookkeeping, shipping, daily business issues, advertising, website maintenance, and many other of the important operations needed to run this business. It has become a part of me.
My goal is to have 300 agents by the time I am 30. I hope to be able to get some help handling day-to-day operations. I would also like to continue to grow to become more recognized in the travel industry. I want to help as many people as I can who want to start their own home based travel agency. I want to continue building my business and each year find something new that I can do to be more successful at this business.
I wrote my own ebook on starting a home travel agency. This offered information to those interested and helped spread the word about my agency’s program. Each year we grow more and more. I have written two other ebooks since my first one. One is on juggling a home business and family. The other is on marketing a home business on a small amount of funds. I am just now beginning to have more money available for advertising. What I have done to date has been still on a limited budget. I am just now beginning to spend more money on advertising.
My family has been very supportive. My boys are now 5 and 7 years old and they try to help me out as much as possible. We go on family vacations and I can use it to help my business. I have been able to save on childcare from not having to work outside the home. I was able to be with my children as they have been growing up. I didn’t miss their first words or steps. I also have been teaching them that anything is possible. I want them to know that if they have the drive to do something, they can do it. Every day that I got discouraged, I would think of the fact that if I did not succeed, I would have to go back to work full time and put my children into daycare.
My 5 year old was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last May. This was a hard adjustment for our family. He needed me more than ever. I was able to be there and everyone involved in my agency understood. I was able to take the time I needed to stay with him in the hospital and learn how to handle his diabetes. My agents pulled together and helped me out. I can’t imagine how things would have been if I had a full time job outside the home. I was able to take care of my child without worry.
I feel very fortunate. I had a dream and I was able to make it come true. I also have something I can call my own. I love being a mom. I also love being an entrepreneur. It is very satisfying looking at what I have accomplished in 6 years. I know the possibilities are endless. I know as long as I continue to work hard and be creative in growing my business, I will continue to be successful. I am now able to help others who want to start a home business. I wrote three e-books and I get to write articles to help others. 6 years ago I would have never imagined this would be my life. It just proves that anything is possible if you really want it bad enough.
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Jennifer Dugan CTA
Owner of Dugan’s Travels
About The Author
Mother of two who started a homebased travel agency in 1997. She has over 200 outside agents working with her agency and is active in the travel industry. She has been an agent since 1993. She is the author of three ebooks.
Coast Guard finds missing cruise ship crew-member – Yahoo! News
MIAMI – The Coast Guard has located a cruise ship crew member who reportedly jumped overboard near Miami.
Thirty-one-year-old Robert Mado was found treading water off Cutler Bay about two hours after the Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas issued a distress call Friday morning. Mado was an assistant purser on the ship.
Royal Caribbean says four witnesses reported watching Mado jump overboard. Officials said he was recovering and in good condition.
Mado was found about five miles off the Fowey Rocks near Biscayne Bay. The ship was en route to Miami from Key West.
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Jan
30
disney cruise carribean – Disney Cruises – Not Just For Families
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Living in a frozen wonderland gets tired in the months of February and March. So, we plan a winter “getaway” every year. It also gives me an excellent opportunity to test sunscreens that I’ll recommend to my patients this year.
“Where do you want to go this year, dear,” I asked my wife. “I don’t know. What about you?” she replied “Disney World,” I said, not waiting Read more
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Jan
29
carribean cruise ship jobs – Know About A Cruise Ship Job Which Offers You The Opportunity To Travel The World
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Know About A Cruise Ship Job Which Offers You The Opportunity To Travel The World
When you find a career that appeals to your interests you can take advantage of many benefits. Finding a dependable pay check and discovering financial security are of course the immediate benefits associated with these jobs. Security is important though it should not be your only Read more
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Jan
28
best carribean cruise ships – Latest best carribean cruise ships news – Cruise holiday deals: Check out the January sails
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I hope you’ve been enjoying my posts lately. I thought I might do something different today and rustle up a few bits of info from around the WWW. These are some of the news items and blog posts that have been popular over the last few weeks. Leave me your thoughts.
Cruise holiday deals: Check out the January sails
Or if it is a really cheap cruise you're after, check Read more
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Jan
27
west carribean cruise – State Department holds ‘Passport Day’ Saturday – Yahoo! News
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State Department holds ‘Passport Day’ Saturday – Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of State is holding a national outreach event, “Passport Day in the USA,” on Saturday.
The event is being held to inform the public about U.S. travel document requirements and encourage Americans to apply for passports and passport cards. Read more
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Jan
26
best carribean cruise lines – Which Weather Is The Best For Caribbean Cruise?
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Which Weather Is The Best For Caribbean Cruise?
Everyone looks for weather when it comes to cruising especially for Caribbean cruise. Generally, the weather of Caribbean stays 75- 85 degrees almost every year. As it happens to all places, the weather of Caribbean also goes ups and downs according to time.
Evidently the hurricane season is the main down time Read more
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Jan
25
carribean cruise line jobs – How To Get A Cruise line job? – Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers
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How To Get A Cruise line job?
Hi all. I've worked abroad as a holiday rep for the past 4 years. I'm looking to go into the cruise industry by the end of the year. I'm just wondering if anyone who has done it before can give me tips on which are the best employers or websites to go through? As I know there is a lot of scam websites out there.
Disney Cruise Read more
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Jan
24
easy cruise carribean – Top Honeymoon Cruise Destinations
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Top Honeymoon Cruise Destinations
If you’re planning your honeymoon, you may want to consider a romantic cruise destination. Cruises are ideal for newlyweds because they can be low budget and easy to plan, meaning that you don’t have to stress about the vacation in the weeks leading up to your big day. Where can you go on your honeymoon cruise? The Read more
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Jan
23
carribean alaska cruise – YouTube – Royal Caribbean – Alaska Cruise and Tours
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Ok so 3 more posts today that I’ve dug up – I’m an information JUNKIE on this stuff lately. Give em a browse and let me know what ya reckon. They’re just from a few different sites I’ve been surfing lately that are generally good for information like this…
Cruise Vistas » Blog Archive » Tips On Planning Your Caribbean …
What are you waiting if you've never been on a Caribbean cruise vacation? Imagine being served on hand and foot only to find you in the most tropical of lands, spending time in true paradise. This is how it's like on a Caribbean cruise …
DOWNLOAD ALL YOU LIKE: Caribbean Cruise: An Access to a …
Caribbean cruise are best as family cruise especially during school vacations. All throughout the year, the cruise is prepared. Holidays will be the busiest time for the cruise, so if you are thinking of having a Caribbean cruise, …
Holidays , Vacations & Destinations: Reasons to Visit the …
The Caribbean touches all of these and they offer some nice mainland options for extended cruises. The Caribbean is a tropical paradise like none other. It has replaced the Mediterranean as the destination of choice for vacation goers …
Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.
Have a great day!
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Jan
22
carribean cruise june – New ‘You Deserve a Cruise Campaign’ offers deals – Yahoo! News
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New ‘You Deserve a Cruise Campaign’ offers deals – Yahoo! News
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Cruise Lines International Association is launching a campaign called “You Deserve a Cruise” to highlight deals for cruises sailing later this year and next year.
Terry Dale, CLIA’s president, said in a statement that prices this season are Read more
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