Episode 5 - What brings you joy?
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EPISODE SUMMARY
Current Challenges Faced
Train strikes in Italy
Multiple flight cancellations across Europe
Airport shutdowns and overbooked flights
Typhoon in Hong Kong requiring client reorganization
Team member illness and others on leave
Holly working extended hours and handling unfamiliar tasks
Main Message: Finding Joy
Core Philosophy
Find something that gives you joy, no matter how difficult your week
Inspired by Mel Robbins podcast about improving life satisfaction
Holly's Personal Joy
Visiting clients (Beautiful Winery in McLaren Vale, 15 minutes from office)
Communication and collaboration
Connecting with clients and discussing holiday experiences
Building team partnerships
Practical Business Tip: Task Audit
Step 1: Document Everything
Step 2: Identify & Delegate
Holly's Delegation Examples
Bonn: Flight bookings, research, queue checking, schedule changes
Usha and Uresha: Commission reconciliation, train bookings, detail-oriented tasks
Key Realisations
Increased gratitude for team members and their contributions
Recognition of what truly drives business passion
Importance of focusing on strengths rather than trying to do everything
Call to Action
Reflect on why you started your business
Identify what you love most about your work
Share what gives you joy (via DM or comments)
Focus on tasks that align with your passions, even if just for a few minutes daily
READ THE FULL PODCAST TRANSCRIPT HERE
Hello and welcome to episode five of Travel Business Unlocked. I'm your host Holly Velardo from HollyDay Travel. Today I just wanted to do a quick tip episode for you. It has been a huge week here in HollyDay Travel. We have had all sorts of things, from train strikes in Italy, we have had cancellations of many, many flights across Europe, whether it's been an airport that's been shut down or whether it's just overbooked flights. And we've had a typhoon in Hong Kong and we've had to reorganise clients. And I just thought it would be a perfect opportunity for anyone out there who has had a really difficult week to just find something that gives them joy.
I really want to come to you and just say, no matter how hard your week is, no matter what is going on in your business or your personal life, just find something that finds you joy. I was at the gym this morning and I was listening to a Mel Robbins podcast and she was giving five tips that can help you and make you feel better about your life and where you're at right now. And this is one thing that she talked about is to find what gives you joy. And for me, this was really, really important.
I remembered today, I've been out this morning to a beautiful winery in McLaren Vale where it's one of our clients. They're only 15 minutes drive from my office in Port Noarlunga and I have just spent time talking to them about how they can provide their customers with an incredible holiday experience and what we can do together as a team and make that really come true. And for me, that is what gives me joy. It is connecting with you, it is talking to the clients, it is doing things that is all about communication and collaboration.
So I don't know what it is for you, but if you can find one small thing that gives you joy, then please, please find that in every day, no matter how hard it is. This has also been a huge wake-up call as well, that something so little in the mix of all of the stress. I mean, there's been many hours I haven't slept this week. I also have one team member who's very unwell at the moment and he's not at work for quite a few days. And then I also have other team members who are on leave, so it's throwing me back into tasks that I don't normally do that I'm not normally responsible for anymore. And so it has been a very overwhelming week.
It has also made me realize how incredibly grateful I am for my team and how hard they work and the tasks that they do within the business. So what I'm asking you to do today, and my tip for you is find joy in something that you absolutely love doing. But also write down a list of everything it is you do within your business. What are the tasks that you do on a day-to-day basis. Write them all down. Everything from reading the emails, organizing your inbox, answering phone calls, checking the queues in Amadeus or whatever GDS that you're using, you know, is it sitting with clients, is it doing your social media posts, creating a new system, entering client data, whatever it might be that you do every single day, write a list.
Every time you're changing what you're doing, write it down on a list and then once you've got that list, it'll be huge. There will be so many tasks that you do. Write next to the ones or put a cross next to the ones that you don't want to do anymore that you're happy to hand over to somebody else and that someone, you could potentially be willing to give that work to.
So for me, I don't love booking flights, I don't love researching it, I don't love checking queues, you know, looking at all the schedule changes, what's happening there. And I have an amazing team member, Bonn, he does all of that for me. And you know, we have the other girls, Usha and Uresha, they do different tasks, whether it's reconciling commissions, you know, whether it's booking the trains. All of these little tasks are not what gives me joy, but it's what gives them joy. They are such attention-to-detail people, they want to do that. They absolutely love the nitty gritty, getting behind the scenes, finding the best, comparing everything, that is what they love.
So that's what I'm going to say to you is please try and find the things in your day-to-day work that gives you joy and where you can focus on them. I know it's not going to be every single minute of the day that you can focus on what gives you joy, but even if you can just find a few minutes in your day to do this. I came out of my meeting this morning, I was just so pumped, I was so excited and I just took a moment, I just stopped on the side of the road, looked at the beautiful vineyards, took a minute to just reflect and think, this is what my business is about, this is what I love doing and this is why I started it.
So think back to what it was, as to why you started your business or why you're in your role right now that you're in and go back and find what it is you love most. So that's all from me today. I'd love to hear from you. What is it that gives you joy? Please send me a DM, leave a comment [on socials]. I'd love to hear about it and see if you're like me, and you love to just communicate. Sit with your clients, talk to people, collaborate. Or maybe you love systems, maybe you love numbers, maybe you love flights. Whatever it is that you love, let me know what it is and I'd love to hear from you. And let's see how we can unlock your business success together. Thank you.
