About the Interview
Many About Home Business readers may recognize the name . A while back I interviewed Karen about The Traveling Vineyard home business opportunity as an independent wine consultant.
Karen continues to be extremely successful as an Executive Director for The Traveling Vineyard, but more recently she has also joined
When I learned that Karen had become involved with a Coastal Vacations business I asked if she would agree to a second interview - this time about the Coastal Vacations home business opportunity. While most of us have heard of Coastal Vacations, I wanted to know more about the ins and outs of the business opportunity and what it takes to be successful. To find out, I interviewed Karen D'Valentine of Coastal Travel Group, Inc., an Executive Directorship and Independent Coastal Vacations travel consultancy founded by Kris Russell.
What prompted you to become involved with a Coastal Vacations business?
We were looking for a home-based business with a product that was universal and highly marketable. The travel industry is the largest industry in the world with over $5 trillion in sales per year. It is growing on an average of 23% each year. No matter what the economy is like, people will still travel and take vacations. Coastal allows people to travel for wholesale costs through their lifetime vacation memberships.
Why is Coastal Vacations not like Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
Multi-Level Marketing puts more emphasis on the recruiting of others rather than the marketing of the product. In MLM marketing, independent distributors develop their organization by recruiting a down line of independent distributors who build a customer base, expanding the overall organization. Typically the distributors who got in at the ground floor level are the only ones who earn a significant income. With Coastal, all of our representatives earn a considerable income based on marketing our discount vacation memberships only, not recruiting a downline.
With MLM:
- Generally speaking, you need to build a large base of associates (a down line) to see substantial profits
- People at the top earn more than those below them
- MLMs typically have smaller payouts
With Coastal:
- After your first two training sales you are promoted to a Director and keep 100% of your profits.
- Everyone has the same earning potential.
- Substantial profit from each sale goes directly to the representative.
What are some of the benefits of having a Coastal Vacations business?
I'd say some of the benefits are:
- The ability to work from home
- You can sell directly to the consumer
- You get immediate income; You don't have to wait for a paycheck
- You can work on a flexible schedule because you set your own hours
- The opportunity to be your own boss
- You get major vacation discounts you probably couldn't get elsewhere
- There's a large income potential
How long has the Coastal Vacations opportunity been available?
Coastal Vacations has been in business for over 25 years. The home-based branch has been available for about 15 years.
What would you say is your biggest challenge with this business?
Just like any new business, starting something new. We have developed a step-by-step, quick start training system for our new associates, which allows them to become productive more quickly and achieve success in a short time.
What kind of skills or knowledge should people have who want to get into this business?
There are no special skills or knowledge required to start this business. Those who contact us will be completely trained and supported by us. I truly believe that anyone can be successful at this business.
Next page: Coastal Vacations investment requirements and earnings potential
