Flying under the radar

Sometimes we have to relearn lessons the hard way.

I have always known that “it’s not a deal until it’s deal.”  And armed with my paper documentation, I had no qualms about our upcoming family trip to the Isle of Man.

Until last night. 

I had wanted to make a last minute change and add another flight to our master trip, only to discover that the airline we’d booked with had gone into liquidation.

Not only that, they did so just three days after I booked our flights.  Wow.

With the way our travel works these days, a paper document is usually all you need, not even an e-booking ticket with some airlines.  Can you imagine our surprise if we’d gone to the airport to discover that not only was there not a plane, there wasn’t an airline?!

I can’t tell you how relieved I am that we discovered this in advance.  As it is, thanks to Sarah Boville, Barefoot Travel, we have managed to get ourselves on another flight, with another airline, but few fly to the Isle of Man.  So we were lucky.

All of this speaks to using a travel agent to book your travel arrangements. Sarah had booked the bulk of the trip, but I’d booked this part myself, which means it is not covered under our travel insurance. Our best hope at getting our money back is through our credit card company, but there are no guarantees and we are considerably out of pocket.

So what have I learnt:

• Never take things for granted.  
• Don’t make assumptions. 
• Check and double check all is arranged.  
• Have it in writing. 
• It pays to use travel professionals when you want to travel. 

Let's hope this is the only glitch we experience on our trip.

Plan for your trip, wherever you are headed…

With summer around the corner, many of us will be packing for a trip.  First thing I usually do is consider where I am going, what the temperature will be and what I am likely to be doing.  Will I need fancy clothes or are we going casual?  Should I pack warmer clothing just in case?

It will often take me days to sort stuff out, while I lecture myself on how long we are going away for and to travel light.  By the time I leave, I’ve sorted and re-sorted what I want to bring.  I’ve also tried clothes on to make sure they fit (often a depressing moment)  

I’ve done my homework, researched my destination and hopefully packed a few things to cope with any changes in plan.   I also try to leave some room in the suitcase, you know… just in case I spot something I want to buy.  If it is a road trip, I've got out the map to see how to get there.

All this for just one week away. 

Yet when we want to embark on the journey of business ownership, a long term deal, we sometimes don’t have a plan at all.  We have no real idea of where we are heading or how to get there.   At best we have read a few books, jotted down some ideas on paper, and then we’re off.

Little wonder that when we reach the first roadblock, we’re totally stumped, thrown off track and haven’t a clue what to do next.  It is all too easy to get lost, diverted by what comes our way.

Then there’s the extra luggage.  The baggage you haven’t dealt with like that little voice questioning you, sowing seeds of self doubt.   It is hard to pack for a trip if your luggage is already half full.  It doesn’t leave room for much else. You have to empty it to make room for the new opportunities down the road.

In fact, just like flying, you pay for extra luggage. There can be a hefty price tag.

In other words, whether you are planning a trip or a business launch, it is key to houseclean before you set off.   Otherwise, those dust bunnies (mental or otherwise) will leap out and bite you.

Set your mindset on success.  Plan for what could go wrong.  Be ready for whatever could come your way. 

While travelling these days is not always fun, especially by air, make the most of the journey and be prepared to take the scenic route because who knows what you might find there. 

And yes, travel light.  Get rid of the baggage that could hold you back.

Map reading - for the tourist and small business owner

Have you ever been to London, England and used their underground system, the Tube?  When you first look at the map, with its 14 coloured “lines” taking you across the city and beyond, it can be overwhelming.  I chuckled to myself that if you were colour blind, you would really be stuck.

Within each service line, there are junctions when you can change and go into a different direction, but the key is to work out your end destination, and from there work back on which is the best route to use to get there.  And there is never just one perfect way, so if there are problems en route, you can change course, go to another station and attack your journey from a different direction.

It is actually a very efficient system, and with a day pass, we were able to hop on and off, depending on where we wanted to go.  The trains are pretty frequent and if your plans changed, you just go on another route, which is what we did because we also walked a lot around the city and would end up having to find the nearest station and travelling from there.

All very nice, you may be thinking, glad you enjoyed your trip to London, but what has this got to do with me?  Well actually I see a straight correlation to starting and running a business.  There’s no one route to success, some of you may be on the fast lane, taking the most direct and shortest route, while others get sidetracked or take a more convoluted path to get there.  Sometimes we hit on roadblocks, but as we found with the Underground, you just “recalculate” your route and make the necessary changes.

The underlying key is that you have a plan to start with, where you have documented what you want to do and how you plan to get there.  Knowing what you want to achieve, makes it much easier to determine if you’ve actually got there or not.  Otherwise, just as the first inspection of the Underground map can seem overwhelming, so too can be starting a business without some sense of where you want to go.

Somehow getting off at the wrong station or taking a wrong turn in your business, is less scary, because you know there are alternate routes to get there and you can still reach your final destination, which may well change as your business evolves.

Just as the map you are given at the Underground is pocket-sized so it is easy to take with you, so too can your business plan be compact.  It doesn’t have to be a 150-page document.  In fact there are books out there promoting the one-page business plan, which still demand the same due diligence and thought process as a more formal plan you might do for the bank, for example, but mean that you are more likely to check in and see if you are on track.

Whether you are travelling or growing your business, it helps to know where you are going and if you are headed in the right direction. What you don’t want is to get lost – be it in London or in life. Take time to make a map for yourself.