Last night was a great kickoff and a great learning opportunity for our new Travel Sisters AND us! We will post the video soon (Teresa is headed this way as I write with the video on her laptop) - the participants were amazing! Folks were active in the chat, asked great questions, and picked right up on the info we provided. We got some great feedback that we can start putting into action today!
There were always about 100 people in the meeting. That should have been a red flag that something was odd, right? Right! Since I was using the Zoom account I subscribed to during the pandemic when I was teaching, and I never had more than 100 students, I did not realize ONLY 100 people could attend?! Whoops! What a "JV" move, lol! Ah well, here's the truth - we are launching this project on a shoestring budget and for now we can't shell out $50/month for large meeting capability, so our virtual events will likely remain capped at 100 going forward. BUT, at least going forward, people will know that and will just catch the post-video if they can't get in. It's all about expectations and aligning what we deliver with what we promise. Also all the more reason to move to live events ASAP so we can not worry about capacity constraints. Our goal is to get 500 women registered and now we are at 156! That's an incredible follow-through rate?! About 100 people attended the meeting and about 100 people registered??!! PHENOMENAL! So, the big takeaway is - our mission connects, our "ask" is clear, the process to carry it out is very achievable, and we just need to get more people informed. That's a GREAT start and clear path forward - we will start building on that takeaway today! Want a reminder how to register? Go to travelsistersnetwork.com, click on "Let's Go!" and then click on (bottom of any page) "Find My Travel Sisters." Take the profile generator, register your code with us by submitting the form, and you are good!
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Angie here - I'm having such a great day because I'm planning for our first live event Thursday! It reminds me of my favorite part of being a public school teacher - planning and executing an agenda that will lead to collaborative vision and action for our mutual benefit. It's so fun to think of people gathering (even in a virtual event), focusing on ideas together, and thinking how we can "move a thing" forward! Meanwhile, Teresa is stressing over the details and what ifs, lol. This (being front and center) is not her comfort zone and I know that and I just love her for hanging in there with the process! I might like "the show and tell" but she's the "substance" - she's been in the travel industry for decades whereas I'm just stepping in! Also, I NEVER think of what could go wrong, so it's really important to surround myself with people who can say, "hey, have you thought about . . . ?" Because honestly, the answer is usually no! So, we complement each other well and we have had a lot of fun working together on this project - so the experience has been a "win-win" no matter what happens next!
But I think great things are in the future with this project -- wow our MeetUp is just growing and growing?! Every day, more people come! We have 270 folks in the group and 180 have indicated they will attend the event @ 7pm Thursday. Seventy-four women have already officially registered as Travel Sisters through our website. We also went from 16 to 61 followers on Instagram and have 164 followers on Facebook. Just six weeks from launch, I feel like this is looking pretty promising! Another thing giving me some hope is I think the pandemic is reaching a new phase. We have GOT to be nearing something like herd immunity, right? It feels like just about everyone I know (who is not immune-compromised or under the age of 5) is moving into a level of immunity either because they have had Covid or are vaccinated and boosted. I feel like we are really getting close to being able to travel again without so much inconvenience and fear. We could build significant momentum in the travel industry this spring and summer and our timing could be spot on : ) Ok, back to event planning! Just couldn't pass up an opportunity to spread a little hope and share my joy today. Sure am grateful to my partner and sister, Teresa (and her husband Charles! He gives great advice, too!), our parents (our biggest cheerleaders and supporters) and ALL THE WOMEN OUT THERE who are moving this project forward with their participation and interest! Can't wait to be with a bunch on Thursday at 7pm! p.s. - Wanna join us but aren't sure how? If you join our MeetUp (download the MeetUp app, search for “RDU Women With Travel Dreams”, join the group, click on the event) and RSVP YES to the event, we will send the link out 15 minutes before start time via email! Life is so funny. This morning I had a little "Come to Jesus" meeting with myself. I was down because The Travel Sisters Network hadn't magically "gone viral" and it seemed like we may need to pour a lot more funds into marketing. We can't spend a ton of money on marketing given the fact we already invested thousands in website development, logo design, business cards, etc. You see, this concept is kind of a non-profit in a funny way. We are helping women find their Travel Sisters, but there's no guarantee they will book travel with us and that's okay. They might make their own plans (some people LOVE that exhaustive planning process, some do not!) , or they might use their own travel agent. We will offer lots of great options and we sure hope people will like them - but this effort is more mission-driven than profit-driven. We're happy to spend some money on the mission, but we can't ask too much of our own family finances. So, I kind of said, "You know, it's a good idea, and I really want it to work, but I can't worry myself too much about it. If it's meant to be, it'll be. I'm going to release it to the powers that be and be at peace." And I was. I felt all the worry just kind of leave my body. It was not all up to us. We're just human.
After lunch I had a few minutes and I decided to see how the MeetUp group we formed on Monday was going. WAIT - something weird was happening?? There were now 29 members . . . then 32, 36, 40 . . it was growing right before my eyes?? They were registering for our live event! I started looking at who was joining . . . I did not recognize these names? Oh my goodness! What an amazingly beautiful and diverse group of women! I started messaging them and they responded with enthusiasm. I finally had the courage to ask - what is going ON? Why are you all coming right now - today? One woman said, "Oh, I got an email from MeetUp telling us about this group and I knew immediately I should join!" Lol. Of course. When you are humble, when you cede control, that's when the magic happens. New forces suddenly come into play, things you didn't see coming present themselves. We're sitting at 45 now . . . make that 47. : ) Twenty three local women - at least! - will be at our first live event on January 6th at 7pm. We're SO EXCITED. Message received, world! Message received. I'll admit I was pretty smug about my sister's decision to join a sorority when we were in college. I didn't get it. But then again, I wasn't the most socially intelligent person then (or now!lol). But last week the beauty of soror sisterhood became REAL clear as Teresa set up a call with Jodi McPherson, a fellow Chi Omega from her college days who is two hundred steps ahead of us in how to launch a new venture like the Travel Sisters Network.
We decided it was time to call in some reinforcements because when our first 7 day Facebook marketing campaign ended, and the smoke from our launch day fireworks cleared, new registrants for our network came to a standstill. We could easily reload the campaign on Facebook with a new ad (it had actually performed pretty well) but what ELSE was out there for us to consider? Turns out - a LOT! Jodi walked us through networking fundamentals, the beauty of platforms like MeetUp, and challenged us to clarify EXACTLY who our target audience is. It will take months to put all her advice into motion, but for now . . . we have a new MeetUp group! Our MeetUp group is called RDU Women With Travel Dreams - check it out and join us there! We have scheduled a LIVE virtual event on Thursday, January 6th @ 7pm for anyone interested in the Travel Sister Network project and wants to learn more! 11/29/2021 0 Comments Ten Days After Launch!Hope everybody had a wonderful holiday! It sure went by FAST! I coordinate a Turkey Trot 5K (which Teresa supported as a participant - and brought a cute team!) and then we gathered at mom and dad's for an amazing meal and some time around the fire. We had some time to reflect on how the first ten days have gone and we are pleased! Fifty two people have fully registered and twenty five more have contacted us through the website! We will be getting in touch with them this week and continuing to explore how to gain traction so we can get to the goal of 500 registered women. We have received some great advice and insights from supporters! One thing we need to do is increase traffic on our digital platforms: Instagram - travelsistersnetwork Facebook - Travel Sisters Network See our YouTube channel So please check them out, like, share, interact! Together, we can create real momentum for this concept so more women can get together and GO! Angie 11/19/2021 0 Comments What a Lovely Launch Day!Just LOVING this feedback from friends far and wide today on the launch of our concept and website:
Some samples: Q: "Love this! It's like Match for travel buddies?" A: "Yup! But we match you to a whole circle of women; it's like you join a travel team!" "Omg, this is absolutely amazing. I don't think I can actually express how amazing." "Oh, I'm READY TO DO THE THINGS! Look forward to connecting - this is right up my alley!" "Great idea! Your website looks terrific!" And on and on! I think we are on to something and it gives me great hope! Twenty women took the profile generator and registered already today and eight more filled out the contact form on the website. I think a few more will settle in tonight and take the profile generator . . . exciting for a project that is so locally focused at the moment! I also had so many excited women reach out today to give ideas for how to market this idea. If teamwork makes the dream work - we're in great shape! - Angie : ) 11/12/2021 0 Comments Our Press Release - the local version!Local Women Have a New Tool to Help Them Overcome Practical Barriers to Planning Travel
We know “friction” can stop an object in motion, and when it comes to women making travel plans, that principle is in full effect. Women might dream of seeing the world but get hung up on practical questions like “Who can go with me? Will we be compatible as travelers? Is it safe? What can I do within my budget?” Even married women with children might crave a trip where they get to prioritize their needs and preferences, but they struggle with how to make that dream a reality. Angie Panel Scioli and Teresa Panel McCombs, sisters with deep ties to the RDU area and their family’s local travel agency, are on a mission to make sure women’s travel dreams enjoy smooth sailing from idea to implementation. Their inspiration was a 2013 trip to celebrate their parents’ 50th wedding anniversary: they invited friends and extended family to join them on a cruise and quickly realized that independent travelers would pay double for a single stateroom or run the risk of sharing tight quarters with an unsuitable roommate. Angie noted that “neither of those options seemed attractive, so I started looking for practical solutions. I thought surely there would be a matching service of some sort, or a companion pool. A quick internet search for ‘female travel companion’ took me to some places I certainly did not want to go.” Early efforts to develop web-based solutions led to dead ends as the sisters ran into technical and time limitations. Then, free tools like responsive Google forms became more available, the travel industry came to a standstill due to Covid, and Angie retired from full-time work as a public school teacher. A window of time and opportunity presented itself for the sisters to talk and problem solve. Teresa recalls, “We decided to do a ‘proof of concept’ right here in the RDU market and use our resources and know-how to develop a simple process for finding like-minded local women ready for travel. We can scale up to other markets in time.” The sisters are affiliated with Travel Experts, a national network of over 400 independent travel consultants headquartered in Raleigh.. The travelsistersnetwork.com website lays out the rationale and process. Women take a simple survey to define their interests, budget, itinerary preferences, and lifestyle choices when they travel. They receive a unique code - one of 40 possible ones - that will help them identify the most suitable “travel sisters” for them. They can then take their code and join any of ten Travel Sister Circles that focus on different interests - food, art, nature and science, etc. They can participate in online platforms provided by the Travel Sister Network or create, declare, and moderate their own. When 500 women have registered, Angie and Teresa will plan a local event where Travel Sister Circles can meet in person and start choosing destinations and itineraries aligned with their Travel Sister Circle profiles. Angie reflects, “ We think this is the perfect mix of online and face-to-face interaction that will allow women to have confidence they can travel safely and tailor the experience to their specific interests and preferences. We can’t wait for our motto of Girls, Get Together, GO! to become manifest. After the nightmare of the past 18 months, we all deserve a perfect vacation!” Interested persons can monitor the progress of the Travel Sister Network by following the blog featured on the travelsistersnetwork.com website. Those who take the survey and register their results with the website will also get a newsletter and email correspondence about upcoming local events. ### Thank goodness for Halloween candy leftovers! Lol. No, seriously, this project has been on our minds and hearts for a long time and it's time to get it out into the world. Doesn't have to be perfect to be and do good! And it will get better as we go and gain insights from our expanding Travel Sisters Network.
It's funny to look back at how the concept has evolved. In 2013, it seemed like a great idea to call it the Travel Spinstar Network?! Whaaaat was I thinking??? We contracted a group of my own students to help work on how to code an algorithmic based program for matching and in a matter of weeks we hit a wall. That experience felt like a failure at the time but clearly it was for the best. We needed some time to develop a more viable brand, consider new processes using available technology, and really dig into the work. With my retirement from teaching this summer, we've been able to make steady progress on every aspect of the project. Now it's time to get our little of bundle of joy out into the world and let digital networks get it to "crawling"! Can you tell SOMEONE has spent a little too much time googling "search engine optimization strategies"? Lol. |
Teresa and AngieA little insight posted occasionally about how it started and how it's going!. Archives
April 2024
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