I am sure you are all familiar with the term “DIY”. Do – it – Yourselfers have their own TV station where one can learn home remodeling, cooking, and decorating. And I am sure we all have areas where we like to DIY. For instance, no matter how busy my life is, I enjoy mowing my lawn. I don’t want someone else to do it for me.
But there are areas in my life where I prefer to WTC- write the check. I don’t want to be bothered, I don’t want to acquire a new skill set ( hello electricians and plumbers) and I need to spend my time on activities that help me make money, bring me more joy, or give me back some time.
So while it might be easy to see areas to DIY or WTC in your home life, how do you do in your work life?
Are you a Tourism DIY’er?
If you are new to the tourism industry, you probably are going to spend time getting to understand how business is conducted, terminology, phrases and more. You have to learn, ask questions and grow your network of contacts, and that is the ultimate DIY project. Like any career, you must put time in to become knowledgeable.
Or maybe you like to read and learn about tourism concepts and trends. There are newsletters such as Skift, and you can set up Google Alerts to have specific tourism topics sent right to your mailbox. This requires some time each day, but you are continually learning.
Do you have the time required to master a new skill or concept? Often when we are starting out, we have more time than resources. Or maybe your organization has a very tight budget, but you have been tasked with taking on a new market and have to get up to speed quickly. You will need to make the time to learn about the market.
I can help you DIY’ers!
If you like to read and learn on your own, here are some resources just for you.
- Free tourism guides. I have put all my free ebooks and guides on this site. Enjoy and share!
- Getting more Group tours book. You can read my ebook to learn how to get more group tours. And its only $5.99!
- Fill Your Parking Lot: Secrets to Getting More Group Tours. This online self-paced course can help you understand and navigate this market.
Should you be a Tourism WTC’er?
As a business owner, I have had to learn that I need to work in my ‘Zone of Genius’ as much as I can each day and find people or software to help me with other areas. That is why I pay a bookkeeper to help manage my Quickbooks and pay a virtual assistant to manage the technology when I conduct webinars for clients. I am sure you have many examples of services you pay for at your tourism business- cleaning, maintenance, payroll, and more.
But are there some additional areas where you should WTC? Your job is to take a look at all the areas where you spend your time and maximize the time you spend on your unique skills. Try to outsource and pay for everything else.
I recently spoke at the SYTA Annual Conference on the topic of ‘Automate, Delegate, Replicate’. And the area we all agreed we had the most trouble with was delegation. But until we start delegating, we will never grow, and we will burn out. If you are a manager, part of your responsibility is to help your staff grow and delegating tasks is a great way to do that. Start small, document the processes so someone can complete the task, and don’t expect perfection right away.
Everyone has some elements of their work-life where they DIY and somewhere they should WTC. Take some time today and figure out one place where you can make a change.
I can help -Delegate it to me!
Here are some ways I can help you maximize and leverage your time:
DMOs- are you looking for a way to provide education and training to your partners? Check out this link to information on my monthly Online Tourism Training webinar program.
Attractions and other Suppliers – Check out TourismProAcademy.com. There are free resources for you like : 25 Terms Every Tourism Pro Should know, Top Books for Tourism Pros and courses for purchase such as Fill Your Parking Lot: Secrets to Getting More Group Tours.
Interested in Learning more about Group Tours?
Join my free webinar on Tuesday, June 28th at 11 am EST. The program, Group Tour Tactics for our New Reality is sponsored by Groups Today magazine. We will discuss ways to get back into this market, and what tour operators are looking for. Register Here. Did I mention that it’s free?!