Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Flight Attendant Built a 10K Monthly Side Hustle in Travel Planning
Transcript
- Lucas: You know, I think one of the most common things I hear from listeners is, 'I love planning trips, but I don't know how to make money at it.' Luna: Right, it's one of those hobbies people assume can't pay the bills. But there's actually a pretty clear path if you have the right angle. Lucas: And that's exactly what today's guest figured out. Her name is Maria — she's a flight attendant based out of Dallas, and she built a side hustle doing custom travel planning that now brings in about $10,000 a month. Luna: That's impressive. And she didn't start with a big agency or anything, right? She was just a flight attendant with a laptop and a knack for itineraries. Lucas: Exactly. She started by offering to plan trips for friends and family — but she treated it like a business from day one. She used a simple Google Form to collect preferences, built sample itineraries, and charged a flat fee per trip. Luna: What was the fee? Like fifty bucks? A hundred? Lucas: She started at $75 per itinerary. But here's the key: she didn't just send a list of hotels and flights. She included restaurant reservations, activity bookings, even a day-by-day timeline with buffer time for jet lag. It was a premium product from the start. Luna: That makes sense. If you're just sending a list, people can do that themselves. But a full itinerary with local tips — that's worth paying for. Lucas: Right. And she had an insider advantage: she knew which airlines had the best routes, which airports were easiest to connect through, and she could recommend specific seat assignments. That kind of detail is hard to replicate. Luna: So how did she go from friends and family to $10,000 a month? That's a big leap. Lucas: She started a simple website — nothing fancy, just a one-page site with a few sample itineraries and a booking form. Then she posted in a few Facebook groups for busy professionals, like lawyers and consultants, who travel frequently but hate planning. Luna: That's a smart target audience. They have money and no time. Lucas: Exactly. Her first paid client outside her network was a corporate lawyer who needed a two-week family trip to Italy. She charged $300 for that one, and it took her about 10 hours. That's $30 an hour — not bad for a side gig. Luna: But ten hours for one client — how scalable is that? I imagine you can't just keep adding hours forever. Lucas: That's the thing — she realized early on that custom itineraries are time-intensive. So she started building templates. She'd create a 'Rome in 5 Days' template, then customize it for each client. That cut her time per itinerary from 10 hours to about 3 or 4. Luna: So she's basically productizing her knowledge. That's a classic consulting play. Lucas: Exactly. She now has templates for about 30 destinations. And she also offers a premium tier where she actually books everything for you — flights, hotels, tours — and charges a 10 percent service fee on top of the itinerary fee. Luna: I'm curious about liability. If she books a flight and something goes wrong, is she on the hook? Lucas: She's careful about that. She doesn't call herself a travel agent — she calls herself a 'travel planner.' She's very clear in her contracts that she's providing recommendations and booking assistance, but she's not responsible for airline cancellations or hotel issues. She also recommends travel insurance for every trip. Luna: Smart. That's the kind of thing that could sink a side hustle if you're not careful. Lucas: Absolutely. And she learned that the hard way — her first year, she had a client whose flight got canceled and they blamed her. She ended up refunding the itinerary fee just to keep the peace. After that, she added clear disclaimers and a cancellation policy. Luna: So what does her typical month look like now? Ten thousand dollars — how many clients is that? Lucas: She averages about 15 to 20 clients a month. Most opt for the basic itinerary at $150 to $300, and about a quarter go for the full-service booking package. The full-service clients are where the real money is — she made $2,500 on a single two-week trip to Japan last month. Luna: That's wild. And she does this while still flying? I thought flight attendants have irregular schedules. Lucas: She does — she's still a full-time flight attendant, but she only works about three or four days a week. She uses her layovers to do research, visit hotels, and scout restaurants. So her job actually feeds her side hustle. She'll be in Paris for 24 hours and use that time to check out a new boutique hotel for her itinerary templates. Luna: That's the dream scenario — your main job gives you an edge in your side hustle. Not everyone has that, but it's a good reminder to look at your own job for hidden assets. Lucas: Totally. And she's not alone — we've seen this pattern in other episodes. The nurse who started a patient advocacy business, the paralegal who started contract review. The key is to find a skill or knowledge you have that others need, and then build a simple service around it. Luna: What about tools? She's using Google Forms and templates — anything else? Lucas: She uses Trello to manage client projects, and she's started using a tool called GuideGeek, which is an AI assistant for travel planning. It helps her generate initial itineraries faster. She still customizes everything, but it cuts down the research time significantly. Luna: So AI is actually helping her, not replacing her. That's reassuring. Lucas: Yeah, she sees it as a research assistant. She says she spends more time now on the creative parts — finding hidden gems, unique experiences — and less time on repetitive stuff like flight schedules. Luna: I'm thinking about someone listening who might be in a similar position — maybe they're a teacher with summers off, or a retiree who loves travel. What's the first step? Lucas: Maria's advice is simple: plan one trip for someone for free. A friend, a family member. Do it as a favor, but do it professionally — with a written itinerary, booking options, and a timeline. Then ask for feedback and a testimonial. That gives you a portfolio piece and proof of concept. Luna: And then you start charging, obviously. But how do you set a price? Lucas: She says start low — like $50 to $75 — and raise it after every five clients. She was at $300 within six months. The key is to not underprice yourself for too long. If you're good, people will pay. Luna: It's a great story. And honestly, the fact that she's still a flight attendant — she's not trying to replace her income entirely. She just wanted a flexible second stream. Lucas: Right. And that's a smart mindset — not every side hustle needs to become a full-time business. Sometimes it's just a way to earn extra money doing something you love. Luna: Speaking of which — and this ties in — we've been able to keep this show ad-free because a small group of listeners chip in a few bucks each month. It's through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. If the show has helped you think about your own side hustle, that's the way to keep it going. Lucas: Yeah, and we really mean it — just that small monthly contribution from a handful of people has kept us independent. No ads, no sponsors, just us talking about real stories. Luna: And we appreciate every single one of you who does that. It genuinely makes a difference. Lucas: Anyway, back to Maria — one last thing I thought was interesting. She's now testing a subscription model where she sends a monthly 'destination spotlight' — a curated guide to a new city each month, with hotel picks, restaurant recs, and a sample itinerary. She's charging $15 a month for that. Luna: That's smart — recurring revenue. And it's low enough that people won't think twice. Lucas: Exactly. She already has about 200 subscribers, which is an extra $3,000 a month. And the content is mostly stuff she's already researching for her clients anyway. Luna: So the lesson here might be: start with a service, build expertise, and then productize that knowledge into something that scales. Lucas: I think that's exactly the takeaway. Maria's story shows that you don't need a huge audience or a fancy website. You just need a skill that solves a real problem for a specific group of people. Luna: And a willingness to charge for it. Lucas: And a willingness to charge for it. That's the hardest step for a lot of people. But once you do, everything changes.