Creating a Roadmap for

Growing Your

Home Based Agency

Part 6 - Operations and Management Plans

By Sherrie Funk

Okay, we’ve gone over all the “fun” stuff for your business plan — what you’re going to sell, who you are going to sell it to and how. Now it’s time to get into the more difficult part. The operations and management portions of your business plan will address the back office or “overhead” activities that all agencies, including home based, must undertake.

Operations and management include activities such as:

• Hiring and managing employees or independent contractors;
• Improving your booking, customer service and document processes;
• Brochure ordering and distribution;
• Collecting money from customers;
• Paying bills, doing reports, purchasing supplies;
• Maintaining equipment;
• Choosing vendors and suppliers;
• Providing customer service and support after the sale;
• Dealing with unexpected occurrences or changing conditions in the travel industry.

These types of issues can be grouped into two major categories for purposes of dealing with them in your plan. The categories are: the operations plan and the management and human resources plan.

Planning Your Operations
Creating the operations plan forces you to think through each step that must be completed before your clients receive whatever travel component (air ticket, cruise, land tour, etc.) they purchase from you, and also how you will interface with the clients after the sale.

The operations planning section should provide a good overview of the types of activities your agency must routinely perform in its core business activities.

Document Processing and Customer Service
Providing superlative customer service is often the most important way in which home based agencies can distinguish themselves from the competition. If you’ve established a customer service policy, be sure to include it in your plan.

Your policy may be as simple as saying that “all customers will be treated in a friendly, professional manner” — and if you have independent contractors or employees, you may need to reinforce this often.

Consider including a section in your business plan that discusses your procedures for taking deposits, final payment reminders and document processing. What shipping methods will you use? Will you charge a flat rate for shipping, or will you base your shipping charges on what the carrier charges, plus (or minus) a fixed percentage?

Agency Facility Assessment
You should address a number of issues in your business plan regarding your choice of having your office at home. As a home based agency, all you need is a dedicated room in your home in which to store reference materials and business records, and set up your computer, if your marketing plan focuses primarily on Internet and phone traffic.

Are your neighbors conducive to drawing customers who might also patronize your agency? Don’t toss aside these issues in explaining your choice in being a home based agency in your business plan.

Management and Human Resource Plans
A business plan helps you to organize the roles and responsibilities of all the people involved in your agency. Therefore, virtually every plan will have a section describing its management. Some home based agencies will also need a description of their other staffing needs or the independent contractors they plan to use.
Staffing Plans

At one extreme, your business plan can make it clear that you won’t ever have any employees. What little you can’t do, you’ll contract out (cleaning services, computer repair, accounting, etc). Many home based agencies tend to be near this end of the spectrum. Even if it’s just for your own benefit, a description or even a checklist of all the different tasks performed may be useful.

Operations And Management Plans Worksheet
Agency Facility Assessment

Management Plans
Whether your agency has one owner/employee — you — or dozens, describe the management strengths and expertise of your agency in your business plan.

Be sure to describe the quality of management experience you have. Generally “quality” is interpreted as meaning “experience,” so be sure to explain any previous related job or professional experience, any pertinent experience working for community or other voluntary organizations and even your family background, if that will indicate that you have the skills to run an agency.

Also highlight any special skills or education you have. You may wish to include a formal resume in your appendix.

If your agency has more than one owner, you should clearly define how the important roles and duties would be divided between you. For example, will one of you focus on sales, while the other takes care of operations?

Also consider the “key person” concept. Is there anyone whose presence in the agency is vital — for instance, yourself? If so, it makes sense to consider what your agency would do in the event that a key player is lost. Be sure to look into “Key Person” insurance.

Document Processing and Customer Service

Sherrie Funk and husband Charlie own Just Cruisin! Plus, Nashville. They founded the Travel Agent Management Academy to educate owners and managers about the techniques that have been instrumental to their agency’s success.