Ali Raymer - Unscripted Small Business Interview

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hello, I'm Jeremy Rivera, your unscripted small business podcast host. I'm here with Ali Ramer, who's going to introduce herself, her jet setting ways, and her new business. So let's hear what you've been working on. [00:00:14] Speaker B: And this is so exciting, Jeremy, to talk this week of all weeks is just so fun because I am launching something brand new. I am Ali Ramer. And now starting this week, I will be founder and lead travel advisor of Peace and Pearl Travel Travel Co, My own travel agency. I've been in the business and doing this work for nine years, and it's finally time to launch my own baby into the world. So I'm excited that it's, it's happening this week. So this is going to be a fun conversation, I think. [00:00:50] Speaker A: I'm curious, with the world of travel, you know, people get into it in very different ways. Is this something that, where you had a family connection, somebody that was connected and showed you, oh, hey, this is something that you can actually do because most people are like, oh, hey, travel, that's not work. And you're like, travel. I could make a business around that. [00:01:14] Speaker B: So for me, I was a high school English teacher and I was teaching at a Title 1 school and I was selling travel to kids who couldn't afford it, to be totally honest. But we were fundraising the heck out of it and had a great time doing it. And yeah, I was taking kids all over the world. We went to Central America and Europe and just having so much fun. It was a different season of my life and it was amazing. And my husband's aunt actually owned her own travel agency and she was seeing what I was doing with these high school kids and seeing how much travel I was getting to do myself and thought, you know, Allie, you could sell travel to people with money. And I thought, oh, really? Like, I had never thought about that before. And so in the summers, she would just kind of invite me over. You know, I had summers off as a teacher and I would just kind of watch her work and I liked it a lot. I actually just picked up on it really quickly. I don't have a, you know, like marketing or sales degree or something like that, but, you know, you just kind of learn it and you learn the ropes from a veteran. And that's how I got into the business. And yeah, she brought me along and we, we'd been going ever since for the last nine years. So. [00:02:30] Speaker A: So what is it that you've been. You don't. Unless you're crazy, you don't Start a company overnight. You know, like, pivots like that usually take time. And kind of. When was your epiphany moment of like, I need to. I need to take control of. I need to be the founder. I need to do this. What was that confluence of pressures, aspirations? [00:03:01] Speaker B: Yeah, it is like such a process. I mean, for, I would say, a lot of people that are in this industry of what I do, you know, planning travel, working on the agency side of things. I would say most people probably start their own agency within three to five years. Okay. For me, it took a little longer one because of COVID So the pandemic literally destroyed my business of, you know, just. It was what it was at the time. And I really did have to then build back. Once the world got traveling again, I had to build back my business in a different way. So that just took time, you know, and that was in about year three for me in the business. And so I built back, and I built back much better with better systems and, you know, really thinking about, I want this to grow at a level that I can leave teaching fully behind and just go headlong into this. So that took a little bit of time to rebuild that, and then it kind of came back with a vengeance. Honestly. I mean, we experienced revenge travel in our industry. I mean, people were, you know, pent up for a while and they were needing to go. Yeah. So we experienced the revenge travel pretty heavy. And because I had kind of relaunched and built back my business and built up my marketing and the audience that I was speaking to, it really started to dial things in. And I was getting leads just like crazy. I couldn't keep up with them. And I thought, okay, now I've got to build a team, and I don't really know how to do that, so I'm just gonna do it and ask for, you know, forgiveness later from my agency owners, which tends to work well. That's just my personality. So I did that. I just started kind of adding people in and. And spreading the leads out so that we could manage and really grow and scale. And then once I did that, you know, as you become a team lead and you start to get into these nuances of this is how I like to lead, then I think pushing up the bound boundaries. You're pushing up the boundaries of, like, the owners, you know, and they lead just a little bit different. They might have a little bit different vision than you do. So really that's where it came down to was just being in that leadership role that I had created for myself. I then felt like, okay, now it's time to take the leap and go into full agency owner founder mode. Because I do have a really specific vision of how I want this, this agency to look. And you know, when my husband's aunt took me in, she had a really specific vision too. And it's her baby and, and that's great, you know, and that was her thing and. But I had something that was just going to look a little bit different and I knew in order to really like break through, I needed to just go out on my own. So [00:05:57] Speaker A: it's funny you talk about coincidence because I started adding a segment where I asked my current guest something from a previous guest. And this guest was from Sylvain Moran and Associates. And they wanted to know what was the most surprising challenge or the thing that you forgot in your business plan. And so that's a little bit different as you're like literally like, you know, probably still have the changing the Word document right now as far as what the business plan is as you're looking to launch. So I'll phrase it this way, when it comes to your business plan, um, what has been the most significant challenge for you? [00:06:36] Speaker B: I would say for me, it's really, I'm, I'm such a ADD squirrel brain, you know, and I'm very much a creative. So I think for me, really sitting down and creating for myself that almost like a checklist, you know, of. Okay, here is the all encompassing. Here is every single component you're going to need to do. And it's like, I have been in this business for nine years. I know how to run it on the day today, but, but zooming out, seeing it from, you know, 30,000ft essentially and being like, how do I really want this to run at a much broader level? And I think I got a little bit of practice in that with the team lead situation. I kind of played with that. I got to play owner a little bit. But really zooming out and making sure that I have all my, my eyes dotted. T's crossed, you know, of just, yeah, the business plan, I mean. And I sat down with marketing, several marketing people, you know, several branding gurus. I call my one guy Hussein. He's great. He, he helped me initially with kind of launching my website. And it was like business therapy, you know, like you need people like that to be like, okay, we're going to sit down and like really talk about your business, you know, and not just you get so sucked into like the day to day, you know, how to run it you're an expert, you know how to do it, but it' zooming out and seeing that full plan. So, yeah, I think that's just in this last, you know, week or two of sitting down and making sure I've got my checklist. So [00:08:14] Speaker A: it is an interesting difference of, you know, it's like the craftsman, the artisan and the entrepreneur. Like, if you love to, you know, make wire flowers, you know, I've got a few back here. It's fun as a hobby, but like, to turn that into a business, it adds a whole nother level layer on top of it. And you may love travel and may love moving around and helping people move around, but like, the business layer on the back end of it can be very complicated. I was talking with Knight Lancasters, he's a cpa, and there's an aspect of like, the financial part of it of like, you know, are you, are you looking in house? Are you using, you know, small business budgeting software, or are you outsourcing that and farming that to a fractional cfo? Because I also enviewed, you know, Megan Wall, she's a fractional cfo. Is that a talent or skill that you have for your agency self? Do you have somebody on your team that handles that side of things? Or have you gone the fractional route? Which it's weird to me because I, I've been doing Digital marketing for 20 years and fractional was not a thing even like five years ago. Like, people, what's that? But now it's a legit thing. So how are you looking at that? [00:09:37] Speaker B: No, I love that question. That's so interesting. So it's a hundred percent not my skill set. Okay. That I like, I will admit where my weaknesses are. And I am definitely the creative visionary. I am not behind the scene. I don't like spreadsheets. Okay. So I definitely, I'm, I'm. I have a benefit to this. So the way that I'm opening my new agency, this answer is kind of twofold. So with my new agency, I'm actually under what's called a host agency. So they actually provide so much of the backend financials that I don't have to deal with, which is amazing. So that's a huge part of it. That's a huge reason why I wanted to go the host agency route instead of. I could have just started from scratch and been like, let me just start. Totally get my own. We call them Cliato, which is like your license. You know, I could have gone that route. But Then I would have had to figure out the administrative side of things. And that's not my strength. Like, that's not where my superpower lies. So I knew for me, I needed to just tap into that existing source. And they don't have any other, really requirements, overhead interference. They literally are just like, hey, we're here. If you need us, we're here. We're gonna make sure you get paid every two weeks and you're rolling. And then I also have, you know, a local company that I work with that does my payroll, because I'm set up as an S corp, and, you know, they do the payroll for my. My agent. So that is, like, not in my wheelhouse. And I actually do outsource all of that just with local people or with now my new host agency. So. [00:11:19] Speaker A: So I started consulting with a. An air purity company, you know, pure air. And it. It struck me as I was doing the research, looking at, you know, the content they created. And it's all around, you know, regulation, basically. And they're. They're different industries and niches that have regulations that define what it is they do and define how it is they do. What regulations in the travel industry define the role that you get to play, because obviously, you know, it's not like with high school students where you're, like, coming over and like, helping them organize cookie bakes and fundraising, you know, and I'm sure that with the amount of money that flows in and out through travel and, you know, potential agreements, that there are behind the scenes, some red tape, some guidance and pathways, some third rails. So what are the regulations behind the scenes in your industry that are kind of shaping how you're understanding? [00:12:24] Speaker B: Okay, this is such a fascinating question to me because I often liken travel advisors, travel agents, you know, sometimes people will use those terms interchangeably. I liken us to realtors, oftentimes to kind of help people understand how we work. I think, personally, this is just a hot take for me. I think that we should have higher regulations, much like realtors do. You know, they have to have their own individual licensing and all of that. Travel agents don't have to have that. So I always tell people very. You need to interview someone who's claiming they're a travel agent or travel advisor. You need to be asking them, because at the end of the day, they can come under a host agency, take that license number from the host agency, and book. I mean, and they can do it all. But how much are you really trusting them? I mean, how much education do they Have. There is no. I mean even with Realtors you have to do continuing ed every year. We aren't required to do that now. ASTA are, you know, advisory, right. Our national kind of advisory. They encourage advisors to get, to get kind of the, the blue check mark. Right. Like meta verified essentially. But, but in the travel advisor world. And it's essentially just like a little simple class. It's one class and it's like, yep, you're verified and it's pretty wild. I mean, I think that's why we're seeing a lot in this industry. I mean, I've been in it for nine years, but since COVID people are seeing that they can join these kind of things, MLMs and things like that and get in on the business. But I would be cautious, like I would be super cautious to anyone who uses a travel agent to definitely make sure that you interview them. Because there aren't, there are not a lot of regulations for us. I think there should be. Like as someone who's experienced and done it for a while, I wish there was. I would do continuing ed in order to have some sort of extra license and extra red tape, honestly. Because I think there's a lot of people in this business that like to travel but aren't always going to be there to pick up the phone if you have a problem. So yeah, [00:14:41] Speaker A: so when it comes to like the value proposition in, in a real estate agent situation, like the downside is, you know, you could end up paying hundreds of thousand dollars more. You could end up with a broken ass house. You could, you know, your foundations could be shot. Like you didn't get the, the legal thing, you could lose your house. Obviously the risks are huge on the financial and paperwork side. And this kind of comes down to the unique selling proposition of why even use a travel agent. So somebody steps into an elevator. This is your moment, Allie, your moment to shine. What do you do? Why do I need. [00:15:24] Speaker B: So I would say you don't need a travel agent, okay. Especially with AI and AI agents. I mean honestly, you can go to booking. Com, you can go to Expedia, you can do everything that you want to do. You can book your own hotels, your own flights. It's super easy. Okay? We've all done it, right? We've all gotten on our apps and booked our southwest flights. Okay. None of that is necessarily hard. What you actually need is a travel advisor. Okay? So if someone's claiming that they're an agent again, maybe proceed with caution because they probably just think of themselves as someone Who's a booking agent. Okay. It's the old fashioned brick and mortar. You used to have to have that person, you know, they had to take like you would get like physical tickets for things. You know, it just doesn't exist anymore. And again, with like the development of AI, like you just don't need that, but you do need an advisor. So for me, it's about the personal connection. Oftentimes I joke and say I'm like a marriage counselor. And so a client will call me and want this particular trip or have this specific vision or think that they want to go to Santorini, Greece, because they've seen it on TikTok or Instagram or whatever. And then I start talking to them and I start talking to their partner or their spouse and I'm like, wait a second. What you all think you want and what you're actually describing and what you enjoy and your, and your style and your personality, these things are not meshing. So let me instead redirect you. Let me give you these ideas instead. So many of the conversations that I have go down that path. You know, a client wants to go to things that they want to go to Italy on their honeymoon and we end up redirecting them and they're having this amazing experience in Portugal instead because it fits so much better to what they're describing. So that's a big part of my job, is the relational therapy kind of side and really determining, okay, what's the best fit for you and what's the best product. Because let's be honest, the travel industry is just overflowing with product types. I mean, every week we get introduced to new products, you know, of this new cruise ship or whatever. So it's really trying to navigate that as well. If you were to want to book, you know, a river cruise, for example, you probably know Viking because they direct consumer marketing all the time. But that's probably just looking at you, Jeremy. I don't think Viking would be a good fit for you. I'm just gonna be honest. It's a little oxygen tanky and a little may gray hair. Okay. Blue hair situation. So it's really about navigating those products and figuring out, hey, this is actually the really good product for you. And it. So many travel products don't even market direct to consumer. They only market to travel advisors. And we just have a lot of perks. I mean, at the end of the day, using a Realtor technically costs. Costs you money, right? It's the commission. But oftentimes for us, our Suppliers would be getting that commission regardless. I always use Disney. I don't do a lot of Disney, but it's a great example. If you want to book a Disney cruise, it's going to cost you the same amount whether you use a travel advisor or not. Either Disney's getting that extra 10% commission or a small business owner like myself is. And we're advocating for you on your behalf instead of a Disney travel agent advocating for, let's be honest, Disney's behalf. So I'm going to be an independent, some independent eyes and ears for you and really be your advocate. And I experienced that a lot during COVID I mean, gosh, cruises were canceled left and right. People were trying to figure out what was going to happen with their money. And if you book direct. Yeah, I mean, you think about that. Celebrity cruises, Royal Caribbean, they were, if you book direct, they're making sure their money is taken care of. But if you booked with me, I care about you and you're you getting your money back. You know, you're my client. So that's kind of often where I go to. And right before we got on here, I had a client in Greece call me, hey, we can't find this rental car place, you know, and it's a quick text back. They know that they have somebody in their corner and that if they try to call Expedia, they ain't ever going to get anybody on the phone, you know, so they know that they have somebody. And real quick I can say, yeah, it's right here. Walk down, five minutes down the road, there it is. You know, so it's just having somebody in your corner is really all it is. [00:19:48] Speaker A: Raw curiosity moment. Like, what's the mix for your agency of like where you're expecting that revenue to come from? Is it direct commission from being a consultant or is it they buy these packages and there's a percentage that you get for that and so you're just kind of expanding and you make those behind the scenes connections. Like what's the, the push and pull of that? [00:20:11] Speaker B: Yeah, so I would say it's really twofold, where that's coming from. So oftentimes travel advisors, again, this is maybe a difference between agents and advisors. We are going to often charge a planning fee, a consult fee, you know, retainer, something. There's different structures that you can do. So that would be one way I do just depends on the kind of trip I do. Honestly, if it's like cut, super custom, I'm going to charge my fee. If it's like a sweet little honeymoo client going to an all inclusive. I'm like, y' all are already spending a lot of money here. Just come on, let me help you. So it just kind of depends. And then. So that's a small part of it, and then the larger part is the commission. So based upon what kind of consortiums we belong to, what kind of host agencies we belong to, how many bookings we do, you know, if we are very loyal to certain products, then we obviously get higher commissions as we sell more of that product. So it's really like those partnerships. And I would say just rough estimates most advisors probably make between. I would say average Yield is like 12%. So. [00:21:18] Speaker A: Kind of changing gears, what's the top three most wild trips you've set people on? [00:21:26] Speaker B: Number one, this was very early on. I did like an expedition cruise, which was totally foreign to me. Like, especially so early. I'd never done anything like that before where it was like a super small ship and they were like, I mean, it was an expedition. Like it was not Royal Caribbean water slides. So that was really unique. They did an expedition to Alaska, and so they got to go into all these really tiny places. And again, it was so early in my career that I was like, this is mind blowing to me that people, one want to do that kind of trip. That sounds a little intimidating to me, but. And yeah, and that I got to learn so much in that process. My other is probably one of my favorites is when clients call me and they want to go for a really long time. So I often will have clients call me and they're like, everybody thinks I'm crazy. I want to go to Italy for a month or I want to go to Spain for a month or something. I'm like, yeah, let's do it, you know? So those are probably some of my favorites. I've had quite a few of those. And then I would say, oh, gosh, I'm trying to think of something else. That would be really crazy. Hmm. I. I'd say, like, anything, it feels crazy to me, but anything that's in like, Southeast Asia and we're kind of going through a little bit of navigating with Southeast Asia. I always find that super fun, you know, and different maybe because I book a ton of Europe day to day, so it seems a little bit more basic. So anything that seems outside of that and a little bit more exotic feels really fun. So I would say, yeah, whenever I've done anything, like I did a wedding in Bali. Oh my God, like That was wild, you know, and trying to think about, where are we going to take the wedding pictures. And it was really fun. So anything that's like Southeast Asia feels really just different to me. So [00:23:18] Speaker A: I interviewed Jacob Egbert. He's got his TikTok channel. He's Jet setting. He literally just did a video where he's like, oh, hey, this is the most expensive, you know, way to travel to Japan. You know, it's like, this is a $7,000, you know, full suite. The air. The airline is like, like delivering, you know, sushi to your room. You've got a full suite on half of the plane. I didn't even know there were full bedrooms on certain planes. But what is the most bougiest? The top tier. The. I'm eating beluga caviar. [00:23:56] Speaker B: So I have a client, she's actually local, but she owns a clothing brand. We'll say. I don't want to, like, give away her. Yeah, I would say any trip that I have ever done for her and her family has been quite over the top. We've had, you know, they did a private cruise along the Seine river when they were in Paris. I mean, they have stayed at all the, like, over the top five star resorts in Italy, in France. It was pretty wild. I mean, anything that I've done for her and her family, she has a family of five. So they want it to be private, luxury, five star flying first class. Yeah, all of that has been definitely. You don't spend out of your own pocketbook for that. And all the private experiences are pretty neat. I mean, they did a ton of, like, private cooking classes in both France and Italy. Um, they got to do like the VIP Disney experience in Paris. So, yeah, that's. It's always fun when people are like, there's literally no budget. I mean, people will say that often to me. And then I start throwing out numbers and they quickly realize they have a budget. But I would say for her family, doing things for them the last few years has been really fun because it really is anything goes. And the more private and the more exclusive, the better. Yeah, I mean, anything. Like they always do, like boat rides along the Amalfi coast or really cool dinner reservations, like Michelin star. That's always so fun. So. [00:25:35] Speaker A: Another subject with them is it's kind of their bread and butter is, you know, turning points into vacations. And, you know, I have a friend who, who does that. And he and his wife have gotten to travel a lot because he turned his business expenses into, into a lot of points. What's your advice in that game? And what's. What are some upsides and downsides? [00:26:01] Speaker B: I always tell my clients I use points myself. I obviously love to travel myself, so I need to capitalize on that. I have two kids. We often take them with us, so we try our best. So I. My first piece of advice would be to definitely find a card that fits your style. Oftentimes I feel like the airlines are the best because that tends to be. For me, it's like the thing I don't want to spend money on. I don't mind to spend money on a nice resort or a nice hotel or a cool experience. I just don't want to spend money on the flight. Like, even those really bougie suites, like, at the end of the day, like, you're on an airplane, okay. And it's eight hours of your trip, you know, or whatever. So I would say definitely choose one that's going to be great for airline. I know I have, like, the Capital one Business park card. It's fabulous for points. And then also to having like. Like, we're super close to BNA in Nashville. So Southwest has a, you know, amazing schedule out of bna. So thinking about your local airport and looking at that local schedule and who's going to serve you best for your travel goals, and really, that takes you sitting down and going where. Where am I going to go for the next 10 years? What are my plans? You know, is it more international? Do I need to go with something like a Delta or United or something like that? So. Or something that's a little bit more flexible, like a capital one or something? And then, you know, you like the Marriotts and all those things. That's great. I love points and my clients love points, and I'm always willing to work with points. I tell clients, we'll build the whole trip. I've got a guy that's like avid Marriott. So when I build his trip to. I just did it for Spain and Portugal. I just put in a bunch of Marriotts wherever I can. And then guess what? He approves it. He goes in and books all the Marriotts. We just replaced those. He saved himself a ton of money. I'm still managing his whole trip. Trip. And I'm still getting commission on those boutique cool hotels where Marriotts aren't available. And I'm still getting commission on all his experiences. So for me, it's like, yeah, do the points play the game, you know, and you can still work with a travel advisor like that. There are different ways that we can navigate that for sure. [00:28:20] Speaker A: I'm in Cookville, Tennessee. So what's your usual suggestion if somebody, you know, headed out our way? You know, obviously people are most likely doing the weddings, wedding party stuff down on Broadway. But what would people be surprised from your perspective? [00:28:39] Speaker B: That's Tennessee now. Tennessee. I. This is like, I probably don't know Tennessee as well because I'm. I'm in Kentucky. But we recently just like went back and did like the whole Smoky Mountain kind of thing because I hadn't done that in a while and I love that. And Dollywood is low key, really legit. I freaking love Dollywood. Just like a random, like kind of redneck day is perfect and it's actually really, really well run. But my dream one day is actually to expand my business and to operate a DMC that is Kentucky based. Because I'm originally from Lexington. I am very much a bourbon and horse girl and I have a lot of Kentucky pride. So one day, the goal down the road is to expand Peace and Pearl and have it be a DMC for Kentucky, which is just like a local connection. So people want to come into Kentucky, experience horse country, experience bourbon country, our amazing food culture. Then I want to be the person that they call. So that's a. That's a dream for another day. I got to focus on one at a time. But yeah, I probably know Kentucky a little better than Tennessee. But. But that would be. I'd say just drive a little bit further north. Come on to Kentucky. Yeah, please do. [00:29:56] Speaker A: I'll give my own travel tip. Here we have insane parks really close to Nashville. There's so many beautiful parks. The Cedars of Lebanon. It's a unique sub biome where the cedars are growing out of the rocky ground. Fantastic camping. Burgess Falls, Cummins Falls is five minutes away from me here. It's gorgeous. And the secret is, is there's a place called Upper Cummins Falls. Look it up. It's called Waterloo and it's just as big as Burgess Falls. And nobody is a private parking. You go and you can tube down from one waterfall to the next waterfall. They have tubes to rent. If you don't have any, there's secrets. [00:30:37] Speaker B: So you'll just play my trips. [00:30:39] Speaker A: So secret hidden spot in Cookeville. Yeah, I'll just tell you where to go. [00:30:44] Speaker B: Okay. [00:30:45] Speaker A: You can book, but I'll just. [00:30:46] Speaker B: No, I love that. I always love hearing like. Cause you know, whenever you're local, you do you know the local spots. You know what's cool? That nobody knows About. [00:30:56] Speaker A: Absolutely. As we kind of round out the interview here, where are you? You know, you mentioned, you know, on the marketing side of things, people are seeing what you're doing. So is part of your marketing strategy, you yourself going these places and making reels while you're in Jamaica, you're in the Bahamas or hiking in an Alaskan mountain? Or are you more of a homebody, you know, sharing content? What's your. [00:31:26] Speaker B: I have always that for my target market, it is tends to be Instagram and Facebook. I get kind of that split audience. I get a ton of millennials and a ton of Gen Xers that are on Instagram a lot of times, you know, moms that are on there scrolling. And so because of that target market. And then I get the boomers on Facebook, you know, that are retired and have the money and have the time. So because of that, I think it is absolutely imperative if you are a travel advisor in this industry. It blows my mind that people are not utilizing free social media marketing every single time they travel. Like, it's what we do. You know, if I went to the gym and looked at my trainer and he didn't have muscles, I wouldn't go to that gym, you know, but he's buff. Like, he looks good. So I'm like, I need to do the same. Like, I need to be exercising my travel muscle. We are going somewhere there once a month, probably either me and my husband, me and my family, me by myself, you know, for work purposes. So it's like every trip that I am personally going on, I am turning it into a marketing moment. I am thinking about, what do my clients want to know about this destination? What do they want to know about this product? Maybe it's a destination they've never thought about before. So I'm just opening up their eyes to, hey, have you thought about going to the peak district? Did you in the uk? You've probably never heard of it, you know, so it's kind of like thinking about what my audience is wanting. And I love that. I mean, you have to put that content out there. People love travel content. People love talking about travel. I sell the coolest thing ever. Like, I literally sell memories and experiences. So I just don't think there's a better industry. I really don't. I'm so biased. I know, but you could walk up to a total stranger in a coffee shop and ask them about their last vacation and they would talk to you for 20 minutes. I mean, it's the easiest, easiest thing to talk about and sell so yeah, that's a huge part of mine that honestly, a ton of travel advisors don't do is they don't post about their own trips. And I think that's a huge, just a huge gap in the industry for sure. It just blows my mind they don't do that. [00:33:45] Speaker A: On the marketing side, my friend Matt Brooks of SEO Tarek says ChatGPT is your least trained but most popular customer support representative. As a business owner, what has been your experience in your stuff getting mentioned when people are doing research in their AI tools? Whether it's Gemini or you know, mentioning, oh, hey, I came across this of yours in GPT or I was asking Copilot and it came up with this. What's been, have you come across any of those genuine interactions or is that just something that here in the marketing side we're like, oh, that's totally, definitely happening. But yeah, is it, is it really happening? [00:34:30] Speaker B: Always. Every time I do a consult call, many of my clients are coming to me. They've never worked with a travel advisor before for, okay, so they're coming to me, which is my favorite because I'm like, I'm about to hook you in and you're gonna be mine forever. It's gonna be great. But yeah, so many people, I would say in the last year, you know, we get to the end of that consult call and I'm like, hey, who can I thank for referring? Because most of my clients come from referrals. Okay, who can I thank? And they're like, actually, I just, you know. Yeah, well, Google was the answer before, but now it's definitely getting into, oh yeah, I saw that on AI, you know, whatever. I asked Gemini and you came up, you were the first one. So it is kind of interesting and I do think that's, it's something we just have to keep in mind when we are marketing and updating all, you know, we're not. We used to think SEO minded and now it's like, okay, but what is AI going to be looking for? Because everybody's using it now. I mean, it just is what it is. Even like, I feel like my parents are using it and they are like such traditional boomers, you know, and they know how to do it. So I think we have to, we just have to lean into that because yeah, I've had that happen quite a few times where someone said that they found me from some sort of AI search for sure. [00:35:49] Speaker A: Just so you know, if you're keeping track of your Google Analytics, they just upgraded their software. Just upgraded Their program to add AI chat helpers as a default marketing channel. So you can separate and if you are advanced you can use your cloud or GPT to use the new Google Analytics MCP so you never have to touch the GA4 abomination from the marketing side. It's just a horrible interface that is so difficult to use and understand what's happening with your traffic. But they added an MCP server for Google Analytics. You can connect through that. So that's a hot tip for anybody on the marketing side. The default channel is added so you don't have to add those custom filters in if you were smart and savvy enough to do and now you don't ever have to actually open up Google Analytics. [00:36:44] Speaker B: Oh, that's such a good tip. Thank you. Love it. [00:36:49] Speaker A: Love it. I give and I take. I give and I take. So I know you're launching a new agency. Does that come with a new URL for the site? Is it aliramer.com and is transitioning to the agency? What's your plan on visibility and if people want to find you through a website? [00:37:07] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. So it's going to transition to Peace and pearl tribe travel.com that's gonna happen this week. I'm super excited and then everybody can always find me on Instagram as such a great place. Like I said, that's where the majority of my audience tends to find me because that's where I'm posting just kind of the real deal authentic me all the time. And so that's alli. It's going to be Ally Peace and Pearl Travel so that will switch over this week and you can find me there. And then finding me on LinkedIn is a great spot too. I talk to more of like an advisor industry audience on LinkedIn and kind of give more behind the scenes of business there. And yeah, that's Ali Ramer, so that's easy enough. But yeah, we're transitioning everything this week again I have my to do list of all the things I need to change over which is super exciting. And yeah, it's going to just be very authentically me which I'm super excited about. Thanks. [00:38:05] Speaker A: Yeah, best of luck and happy travels.