We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kendra Motley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kendra below.

Kendra, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I absolutely wish I could go back and begin my business sooner! I started my business in December, 2021. I always had a passion for finding affordable trips for my family travels. My friends soon caught on to the good deals I was finding, and began asking me to help them plan their trips and find them good deals as well. I had been following a few travel agents on Instagram, and one of them posted about their host agency hiring. I knew right then that I should take a leap of faith and apply. I didn’t really think I would get accepted, so I never even told my husband about it. A few months later, I got the news that I was on the team and I haven’t looked back since. Being an agent has truly changed everything for my family!

Kendra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi, I’m Kendra! I’m a travel agent! I own my own LLC business, but I work underneath the host agency, Smart Moms Travel. I have always had a passion for travel, so when the opportunity to apply fell into my lap (or on my Instagram stories), I knew I had to apply.
Being an agent is so much fun! I get to help families plan trips that will make core memories that last forever for them. When a client reaches out, I talk them through the entire process. They tell me what they want in a trip, or what they don’t want, and I take over from there. I can arrange everything for them, from transportation, resorts, excursions, dining, etc. My job is to take the stress out of all of the many options that are out there when it comes to booking a trip. If you book with me, I send you about 3 options for resorts, and then we narrow it down from there, or I keep sending them until we find the perfect one. I make calls on your behalf, spend hours researching for you, and do my best to ensure a smooth trip for everyone involved. My goal is for every one of my travelers to feel special and know that I am spending my time researching and finding the absolute perfect resort that fits the needs of each member of their family. What many people don’t realize is that the cost of a travel agent is already built into the price you are paying for your trip anyways. You pay for us whether you utilize our services or not! I know not everyone wants to use a travel agent, but we really appreciate the clients who trust us to plan for them. I can promise that the big travel vendors do not do a little happy dance every time someone books a trip with them, but it does mean the world to us agents when we are trusted to book your trips for you!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I’m a full time teacher, full time mom and wife, and part time agent. I will say that being an agent COULD be a very successful full time job, if I let it be. I love my teaching job, but I’m confident in my agent business and know that if I did ever decide to leave education, I would have a backup plan with the agent gig. Some months, my agent pay is more than my teacher pay, and that in itself is a huge feat for me, since it’s just a part time thing. I work all day as a teacher, do mom things after school, and then I do my agent work once my kids are asleep. Sometimes it requires a lot of discipline, and definitely requires a lot of hard work, but if someone wanted to be an agent full time, it is definitely a viable career choice.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media was something that was on the back burner for me in the beginning. I created an Instagram page, and then only posted when I went on trips. Something kept telling me to create a Facebook page, but I just didn’t feel like I had the time to do it. I saw a post from a fellow agent asking her friends and family to go like her travel page and invite all of their friends to do the same. That night, I went to create my Facebook page and then I made the post that she had shared. Within 24 hours, I had 1,500 followers. My local people have always been so supportive of my business! I would not be where I am without their support and encouragement. My first $250,000+ in bookings belongs to my local people. After I created that Facebook page, I was still intermittent with posting. About 6 months ago, I made the choice to start organizing a content calendar for myself and I started posting daily. This was a huge turning point for my business. The content calendar keeps me organized and holds me accountable. I now work with several other agents to create this calendar and we all share the responsibility so it takes less work for each one of us. We are getting ready to launch it to the whole agency for purchase. Holding myself accountable to post everyday was such a game changer for my business. My advice for someone starting to build a social media presence? Be consistent!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://pages.smartmomstravel.com/disney-trip-questionnaire-kendra-motley?hs_preview=cUQDLkHg-63150081872
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motleycrewdoesdisney
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Kendra-Motley-Travels-LLC-61555076100034/