The No BS Travel Advisor™️

Marcie Muensterman

PODCAST11 saves you 11% on ALL signature courses

www.thetraveladvisormarcie.com/courses

Join Maximize Your TA Business FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maximizeyourtravelagentbusiness

On this episode of the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast, Marcie Muensterman delivers big-sister tough love to travel advisors who say they want growth, freedom, and scale but refuse to slow down long enough to actually take the time to make it happen.

Marcie shares what she sees constantly in her DMs: advisors who want to hire, onboard more revenue, travel laptop-free, spend more time with family, or start a second business — yet have no plan, no systems, and no follow-through.

Courses sit unopened. Coaching goes unimplemented. Conferences inspire… nothing.

This episode is a candid conversation about taking personal responsibility, why trying to build a business in the “nooks and crannies” never works, and how refusing to pause is the fastest way to stay stuck.

Marcie also shares a real-time example from her own business, where she has intentionally closed her travel calendar and said no to short-term money in order to focus on long-term sustainability, support, and growth.

If you feel busy, overwhelmed, behind, or frustrated that “nothing ever changes,” this episode will help you understand why and what needs to change first.

This episode is for you if:

You feel like your business controls you, rather than the other way around.

You’ve invested in courses or coaching but haven’t implemented.

You want more time, flexibility, or freedom, but don’t know how to create it.

You’re stuck reacting instead of leading.

You know something has to change, but you haven’t chosen what yet.

Key Takeaways:

Why you can’t build a scalable business in leftover time

How constant urgency destroys long-term growth

Why boundaries are a leadership skill, not a personality flaw

The importance of choosing ONE priority at a time

How slowing down now creates freedom later

This is coaching through care, but it’s also a wake-up call.

Feeling overwhelmed, busy, and stuck in your travel business? In this Thoughtful Thursday episode, Marcie Muensterman breaks down why travel advisors who want growth, freedom, and scale often stay trapped in reaction mode — and what it really takes to change that. This episode covers boundaries, systems, responsibility, and why you can’t build a business in the “nooks and crannies” of your life.

🧠 SEO KEYWORDS / PHRASES

travel advisor burnout

travel advisor business growth

travel advisor coaching

scaling a travel business

travel advisor boundaries

overwhelmed travel agent

systems for travel advisors

travel advisor workflows

hiring a VA travel business

running a travel agency

travel advisor mindset

business planning for travel advisors

⏱️ CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS (GREAT FOR SEO + CLIPS)

00:00 – Why This Episode Matters
04:30 – The Pattern Showing Up in Advisor DMs
10:15 – Wanting Growth Without a Plan
17:40 – The Lie of “Nooks and Crannies”
25:10 – Radical Responsibility in Business
32:20 – Why This Isn’t a Host or Client Problem
38:00 – Choosing Patience Over Immediate Money
45:10 – One Priority at a Time Framework
53:30 – Why Nothing Changes If You Don’t

Marcie Muensterman

Facebook Groups Course: https://thetraveladvisormarcie.com/fb-group-course

Podcast11 saves 11%

Maximize Your Travel Advisor Business: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maximizeyourtravelagentbusiness

In this deeply personal episode of the No BS Travel Advisor Podcast, Marcie Muensterman pulls back the curtain on something most travel advisors quietly struggle with: loneliness in the independent travel industry.

As she celebrates three years of building the Maximize Your Travel Advisor Business Facebook community and her coaching business, Marcie shares the unfiltered story of how imposter syndrome almost stopped her from creating the space that thousands of advisors now call home. She talks openly about building community from scratch, putting people over profit, and why your host agency was never meant to meet your emotional, relational, or growth needs.

This episode is not anti-host but it is pro-connection. And, sometimes, you have to create community outside of where you are contracted.

Marcie explores why isolation is so common in the travel industry, how the shift to independent contracting changed everything, and why real growth doesn’t come from courses, training and product knowledge. It does come from relationships, peer support, and honest conversations. She explains how to find (or become) a travel advisor bestie, how to create your own mastermind or accountability group, and why leadership starts with being brave enough to reach out first.

Packed with real-life stories, from leaving agencies, losing “friendships,” building new ones, moving across the country, and finding connections again, this episode is a powerful reminder that you don’t have to do this alone.

If you’ve ever felt like a satellite floating through this business by yourself, this episode is your permission slip to build the room you wish existed.

🔑 SEO KEYWORDS

travel advisor community
travel advisor loneliness
independent travel advisor support
travel advisor networking
travel advisor mastermind
travel advisor bestie
building a travel advisor community
Facebook groups for travel advisors
travel industry isolation
Marcie Muensterman
No BS Travel Advisor Podcast
travel advisor accountability group
collaboration in the travel industry

🎧 UPDATED PODCAST CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome + Three Years of Building Community
03:12 – Why Maximize Exists and the Standards Behind It
06:45 – Imposter Syndrome and Starting Before Feeling Ready
11:40 – Why So Many Travel Advisors Feel Lonely
16:55 – The Shift to Independent Contracting and Isolation
21:30 – Your Host Is Not Your Community (And That’s Not a Diss)
27:10 – Finding or Creating a Travel Advisor Bestie
32:20 – Peer, Stretch, and Connector Relationships Explained
38:05 – Creating Your Own Mastermind or Accountability Group
44:10 – Moving, Starting Over, and Building Community from Scratch
52:30 – Losing Relationships When You Leave an Agency
58:40 – Why Collaboration Beats Competition
1:05:15 – Real-Life Examples of Community in Action
1:11:45 – Vulnerability, Confidence, and Being Seen
1:17:20 – Final Permission Slip: Build the Room Yourself

Let’s Talk About Community (The Real Kind)

Marcie Muensterman

Use PODCAST11 to save 11% on my Signature Courses

_______________________________________________________________________________

Motherhood and Travel Business Ownership: You Don’t Have Certainty

Content Note: Mentions pregnancy loss, infertility, and special-needs parenting. If that’s not for you today, skip to the business sections.

Summary
In this No BS episode, Marcie connects parenting and entrepreneurship, especially the parts no one warns you about. From pregnancy loss to raising two very different teens and navigating special-needs realities, she shows how those muscles, including advocacy, logistics, pivots, and patience, are the same ones that make a durable travel business.

You’ll learn why results are lagging indicators, how to operate without certainty, how to turn lived experience into a legitimate niche, what inputs actually move revenue, and why breaks are strategy (not failure). If you’ve felt “behind,” you’ll hear how you’re in the middle, and that’s exactly where growth happens.

What you’ll learn (bullets for players/podcast apps):

Why are results in both parenting and business lagging indicators

How to operate when you never have all the answers

“Your niche might choose you”: turning real life into legitimate expertise

The difference between preparation and certainty (and why the latter never arrives on time)

How to take strategic breaks without burning your business to the ground

Links & Resources:

Join my free FB group: Maximize Your Travel Advisor Business
→ [https://www.facebook.com/groups/maximizeyourtravelagentbusiness]

Programs & courses
→ [https://thetraveladvisormarcie.com/courses]

Say hi on IG
→ [https://www.instagram.com/nobstraveladvisormarcie/]

Share this episode with a travel bestie
→ [https://thetraveladvisormarcie.com/no-bs-travel-advisor-podcast]

Podcast11 to save on Signature Courses

Chapters / Timestamps

Use these as chapter markers in your host platform. They’ll match a ~42–48 min read at a natural pace.

00:00 Trigger warning (loss, infertility, child-lessness, special-needs)

02:00 Dad’s line & thesis: results are lagging indicators

05:00 My two pregnancy losses, and the messy beginning

09:00 Two pregnancies, two different kids, same house—different parents (why comparison is useless)

12:30 Special-needs reality: structure, advocacy, pivots—aka entrepreneurship training

16:30 Coming back to travel, starting over at zero, hiring a coach

20:00 Preparation vs certainty; why “done and dusted” doesn’t exist

24:00 Business parallels: inputs that compound, outputs that lag

28:00 Breaks as a strategy

31:30 Boundaries, people-pleasing, and owning your decisions

35:00 The niche that chooses you (accessible, multi-gen, complex FITs)

38:00 Mantras for the hard days + the “decide now, learn later” CTA

41:00 Close & love note to late bloomers

Keywords / Tags:

travel advisor coach, travel agent business, entrepreneurship for moms, special-needs parenting, accessible travel niche, group travel coach, travel business mindset, consistency over perfection, inputs vs outputs, business without certainty, parenting and business, burnout recovery, Facebook group marketing for travel agents

Marcie Muensterman

Use PODCAST11 to save 11% on my Signature Courses

_______________________________________________________________________________

Be Obsessed or Be Overlooked: Authentic, Savage Honesty in the Travel Industry

Be Obsessed or you’ll be overlooked…

This one’s for the advisors still tiptoeing around other people’s opinions. I’m done apologizing for telling you to show up more, sell yourself harder, and build the private Facebook group that actually converts. We unpack why “being obsessed” isn't a toxic hustle. Instead, it’s devotion, discipline, and the decision that your business matters more than the people in the cheap seats. We talk about content that actually sells (not checkbox posts), firing tire-kickers in the DMs, blocking the noise, raising your minimums, and getting unapologetically serious about money in 2026. If you needed permission to go all-in, you just got it. Being your most authentic, savagely honest self.

You’ll learn:

The difference between obsession and burnout, and how to stay in the healthy zone.

Why your content feels bland (and how to make it savagely honest + specific).

How to stop managing other people’s opinions and start managing your pipeline.

What to do with tire-kickers, haters, and “too much” comments.

Why your commission split is capping you and the math that proves it.

What to post, how often, and why “being annoying” is a myth.

Links & resources:

Join my free FB group: Maximize Your Travel Advisor Business: https://www.facebook.com/groups/maximizeyourtravelagentbusiness

First Class Community™ (my Facebook Groups course) + January content calendar. Get the course here: https://thetraveladvisormarcie.com/fb-group-course

“Judgy-Face” post challenge prompt (mentioned in the episode).

Henry Cloud book I referenced regarding “losing your awesome”: Necessary Endings: The Employees, Businesses, and Relationships That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Move Forward

CTA: Listen, screenshot, tag me, and tell me one thing you’ll obsess over for the next 30 days. Then go block someone who’s stealing your focus.

Chapters with Timestamps

00:00 – Cold open: Why “obsession” is the unlock
02:05 – First Class Community audits: what you’re doing right… and what’s missing
05:18 – Checkbox marketing vs. authentic, sales-driving content
08:40 – Obsession ≠ toxic hustle; devotion, discipline, and focus
11:22 – Stop apologizing: block, ban, bless, and move on
14:10 – You’re the expert (even if you’re new) — bring your past skills
16:25 – Social media reality: pick one platform and go all-in
19:03 – Share your face, tell the truth, and quit over-editing
22:11 – Fire the tire-kickers (scripts + boundaries)
25:36 – Post with a spine: unpopular opinions, judgy-face challenge
28:14 – Haters as content fuel; take a stance (airlines, resorts, etc.)
31:02 – Money talk: minimum spends, newsletters, and frequency that actually works
34:15 – Commission splits: why 60/40 will strangle your income
37:08 – Hosts, community, and creating your own support system
39:30 – Your 2026 mandate: obsess over the work that moves money
41:20 – Wrap: pick your obsession and execute (then block the rest)

SEO Keywords

travel advisor coaching, travel agent marketing, private Facebook group strategy, Facebook groups for travel advisors, First Class Community course, travel advisor content ideas, travel advisor mindset, sales mindset for travel agents, how to fire tire kickers, niche marketing for travel agents, commission split 90/10 vs 60/40, travel host agency advice, how often to post in Facebook groups, travel advisor fees, raise minimum spend travel agent, travel advisor email newsletter frequency, authentic marketing for travel agents, blocking haters in business, obsession vs burnout, build a profitable travel business

Marcie Muensterman

Use PODCAST11 to save 11% on my Signature Courses

_______________________________________________________________________________

Feeling “busy” but still not making the money you want? In this episode, Marcie, your No BS Travel Advisor Coach, calls out the real reason your travel business feels chaotic: mismanaged time, weak workflows, and boundaries that don’t stick.

We’re talking about the habits that quietly drain your revenue—quoting in DMs, instant replies, random trainings, pointless events, overthinking content, and saying yes to things with zero ROI—and the CEO-level shifts that actually create freedom: calendar control, alignment, automation, and repeatable systems.

This is the episode for travel advisors who want to grow faster in 2026 without burnout, and who are ready to stop treating their time like it’s optional.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn

Why “busy” is not a personality trait… it’s usually a profit problem

The biggest daily time-wasters travel advisors normalize (and why it keeps you broke)

How to stop training clients to expect you 24/7 (and still deliver great service)

What “alignment” really means (hint: not fonts and brand colors)

Why you don’t need more trainings, events, or FAM trips—you need a plan

How workflows + systems create consistency, confidence, and better clients

Why your business can’t run on “random tasks” and vibes (sorry, it just can’t)

The CEO move that changes everything: audit your time and protect your best hours

Connect with Mary Beth Lynn: https://www.assistantsthatwork.com/

Join her Travel Advisor Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lifechangingassistants



Real Talk: The Biggest Time Wasters for Travel Advisors

If you’re doing these regularly, you’re not “busy”… you’re bleeding time:

Answering texts, DMs, calls, and emails at all hours

Checking email nonstop instead of batching

Rewriting the same replies instead of using templates

Quoting trips in DMs for unqualified leads

Saying yes to last-minute “quick checks” (nothing is quick)

Overthinking content, Canva-ing everything to death, and posting inconsistently

Going to conferences, supplier lunches, and trainings with no ROI plan

Multi-tasking constantly and finishing nothing

Action Step (Do This This Week)

Audit your time for 2 weeks:

Write down what you do each day

Label each activity as: Revenue / Reputation / Relationships / or Bullshit

Then choose one change to implement (and yes—turn on an out-of-office if needed)

Mentioned in This Episode

Mary Beth Lynn’s “Gold Couch Series” (alignment + CEO foundations) coming in Q1 2026.

If You Loved This Episode…

Leave a 5-star review (it tells me it’s worth keeping these solo episodes going)

Share it with a travel advisor friend who’s constantly “busy” and constantly stressed

Want systems, boundaries, and a real sales process? Check out my programs inside my world (you know where to find me).

Save 11% using code PODCAST on all my Signature Courses: https://thetraveladvisormarcie.com/courses



SEO Keywords (for search + platforms)

travel advisor time management, travel advisor workflows, travel advisor systems, travel agent boundaries, travel advisor burnout, travel agent productivity, travel business alignment, travel advisor CEO mindset, stop quoting in DMs, travel agent automation, travel advisor marketing consistency, travel advisor social media burnout, travel advisor ROI, travel agent conferences worth it, travel advisor client boundaries, 20 hour workweek travel advisor