Yes! I do have basic marketing advice for someone new to the travel business ownership journey. And if you bear with me for a second, I am going to use the analogy of dating.A few years ago, I watched a reality TV show, called “Geek Love.” While the show wasn’t about marketing or dating, as a marketing expert, I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between the two.The “Geeks” in “Geek Love” are die hard fanatics of comics, video games, movies (like Star Wars) and they convene every year at the largest pop culture event in New York City, called Comic Con. They may like different characters but they all have one thing in common – they are aware of their nerd-i-ness and the word “geek” is self proclaimed.A hugely popular activity at Comic-con is speed dating. As people roll into the convention center, a gentleman with a microphone announces the speed dating event and directs people to a room. Surprisingly, there are plenty of women who are fanatical about their comics or video games. The men still out-number them, but there are enough to make speed dating happen. Many of the speed daters have VERY little experience dating.The happy ending is that love connections are made….and lots of them! Not bad for a bunch of beginners.There are some great marketing lessons to extract from this. For one, your target market is hanging out where you hang out. Just like these “geeks” haven’t had luck meeting someone in the traditional setting like going to bars, you might not be getting great results from traditional marketing. But when you put yourself in front of a group of people with a common interest, the matches happen far more easily.Here are a few more rules that are common to both marketing and dating. Remember, no matter how long you’ve been out of the dating game, you still need to learn how to “date” in your business.1 You must get out there;2 You must commit to being out there consistently – not once in a blue moon;3 Be clear about who prince charming is (that goes for your ideal client too);4 Put yourself out there with activities you enjoy, that feel authentic to you. Don’t involve yourself in activities just because you think “hot women” or “hot prospects” will be there.5 Own, accept and value who you are. Go after a mate because you want to share yourself with someone else, NOT because you want to fill a void.For anyone that wants to become a travel agent, the last one is super important. You MUST value yourself and your services. And your motivation for wanting clients should come from wanting to SHARE your value with others. More often than not, I see the motivation coming from a wanting to GET more clients and having those clients validate your worth. You MUST own your worth first. Success will NEVER come if you don’t.If you’ve needed some motivation to get your business on a new track, pretend your business is single and has committed to finding a mate this year (although it’s several mates for your business). Go through the rules of dating and apply them to finding new prospects for your business. You might even get “lucky.”If you want a step-by-step marketing plan as well as guidance on selling travel and becoming a travel agent, be sure to check out Gifted Travel Network’s Travel MBA Program.