We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lindsey Koehle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lindsey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

Everyone knows that planning a Disney World vacation takes time – time to get all of the details together and time to learn all of ins and outs to make your trip successful! One of my favorite kinds of vacations to plan are the last minute vacations! I had a client right after Christmas message me and ask if they could possibly join their friends – and surprise their daughters – on their upcoming Disney vacation which started in under 48 hours. I immediately opened my computer and got to work! We were able to get a room in a neighboring resort so they were walking distance from each other, park tickets and park reservations, which at the time were required. One of the park days the family already had planned was blocked out, so we spent the next 2 days refreshing that availability and were able to get all of their park days lined up with their friends! The family that was already going had also booked a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique reservation and somehow we were able to find the joining family’s daughter a reservation that lined up with their friend’s reservation! This was during one of the most crowded times at Disney World and it was like this trip was meant to be. Seeing pictures of those little girls having the best time together in the most magical place on Earth was worth the time spent tracking down reservations and planning all of the details. It was a rewarding experience and one of my favorite vacations I’ve planned to date!

Lindsey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I truly love Disney World and it is my home away from home. The moment I enter the Disney bubble, any worries melt away. I kept hearing friends and family stating they didn’t enjoy their Disney vacation, they didn’t know certain details that were important or about different things in the parks. I knew I was sitting on, what was then, useless Disney knowledge and decided it was time to put that knowledge to work. My dream for my clients is that when they arrive, they feel at ease and able to enjoy their vacation, soak up all of the moments and make memories. I want to set them up for success, not frustration, and so we have created a full complimentary guide for each destination, with Disney World being the largest ones because of all of the components, as well as emails that go along with their planning timeline. This is to help our clients “study” at their own pace but also keep them on track with things that have to be done on certain dates. No two vacations are the same and my hope is to provide my clients with reliable, accurate and helpful information so they can decide what is best for their family. I will answer any and all questions they may have, make room requests, park suggestions, transportation arrangements and scooter or stroller rentals as needed. There are many details that go into planning a Disney vacation and having someone who truly is invested in your vacation planning as well makes a huge difference. I don’t want anyone out there relying on a Facebook group full of mis-information in order to plan their vacation. A Disney vacation is an investment and using an experienced travel planner isn’t an added cost but is worth so much to have someone on your side with eyes on your vacation making sure everything is exactly as it should be!

As dreams tend to do, my dream is still growing and Something Magical Travel Company is my next big dream! We have started Something Magical with the dream of helping other Disney lovers with a passion for helping become great travel agents. Our hope is that we will grow our company soon with new agents that are ready to hit the ground running with the support that is needed to be successful in this industry. It is so easy to feel lost and alone when starting in travel planning, and our plan is to give the support and training necessary to help our agents start off on the right foot with all of the tools needed to help them be successful, no matter what “successful” may mean to them. I am truly so excited to see where Something Magical takes us!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Instagram has played a major role in my success as a travel agent. I have so many people who I have never met who have become clients and friends because of Instagram! I love social media, creating helpful and entertaining content that others can relate to is so fun! For those just starting out, my biggest piece of advice is to stop overthinking every little detail and just post. Make a commitment to the amount of times you will post and stick to it. Post for 6 weeks and see how you’re doing, what is working for you? What kind of content do you enjoy making? Go from there, you want to love creating content, not despise it, so lean into what you enjoy! Remember, you are the “expert” in your field, so keep things simple, light and fun and it will pay off. And, don’t be afraid to show your face and be yourself! You cannot get more comfortable in front of the camera without practice. You have to start somewhere, so start now! You’ve got this!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

My past clients have played a huge part in growing my clientele. They send referrals all the time and that is such a blessing and the biggest compliment! When I receive a referral message or quote request, I know that someone has spoken highly of my services and that means that I made a positive impact on their vacation. There are a few friend groups out there that I have planned vacations for everyone in that group and that is such an awesome feeling. I appreciate the trust they have in me and spreading the word out to their friends!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.somethingmagical.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindseyplansthemagic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindseyplans