When You’re the Only One Who Believes in Your Business

Starting a business is never easy. Starting a travel agency from scratch while trying to raise a family? That’s a whole other level.

When I launched Dugan’s Travels, it wasn’t from a sleek corner office or with a full team of investors cheering me on. It was from my kitchen, with a baby in my arms, driven by the desire to be home with my children while still pursuing a career I loved. There weren’t crowds of people validating my dream. In fact, many didn’t understand it at all. Some still don’t.

I know many of you reading this feel the same way.

You’re trying to build something meaningful, a travel business that not only supports your hard work and dedication but serves your clients with care and expertise. But sometimes it feels like you're the only one who sees the vision. Friends book online without asking for help. Family members scroll past your carefully crafted posts. People assume it’s just a hobby.

Let me tell you something: you’re not alone.

Even now, more than two decades later, I still face moments when people overlook my agency. When they book a cruise or a family trip and never think of reaching out to me or one of our incredible advisors. It's sad, especially knowing how much better we could have made that experience for them. How much thought and care we would have put into the details. But this business has taught me something invaluable: Belief in yourself must come before the validation of others.

I’ve seen it time and time again with the agents I work with. The ones who succeed are the ones who keep showing up, even when it’s quiet. The ones who keep marketing themselves, even when no one is commenting. The ones who keep learning, booking, building, even when the world doesn’t quite get what they’re doing.

Building a business isn’t about being recognized overnight. It’s about believing in your service, standing by your value and giving your clients 110%, whether they see it or not.

So, if you're in that season where you're your biggest (or only) cheerleader, keep going. Every big agency, every successful advisor, every seasoned pro you admire was once standing exactly where you are now, hoping someone would take a chance on them.

Sometimes, the person who needs to take the biggest chance on you is … you.

And I promise, you’re worth betting on.