McWriters

Entrepreneur: One who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.

Entrepreneurs are special people. Without them, capitalism would simply cease to exist. I enjoy it when I have the opportunity to sit down and talk to an entrepreneur about their business. I find it exciting to hear their story. Every time I sit down with a business owner and discuss their company, I always come away with some nugget of information that I can apply to my own ventures.

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with Rhonda Sand and discuss her adventure through life and her business, TMI Tours & Cruises. I hope you enjoy this insight into Rhonda’s thoughts and reflections about her life and her business.

Rhonda Sand was born in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and has lived here all of her life. After graduating from Coeur d’Alene High School, Rhonda went on to take several courses at North Idaho College (NIC). While she enjoyed the courses, she decided that obtaining a college degree was not a priority for her. She entered the workforce, landing a job with a local company that required her to arrange private and corporate travel quite a bit for them. In her role with this company, she was responsible for making most of the travel arrangements for both commercial and private aircraft – a task that she enjoyed. Due to a lay-off by this employer, Rhonda went to work for a small travel agency in CDA. It was during this time that Rhonda refined her skills as an agent, learned the importance of superior customer service, and really caught a vision for what she truly enjoyed – exploring the world. After working with this company for a couple years a larger company found out about her skills and perseverance and hired her when the smaller company was struggling. She was with this larger company for well over 10 years in sales and management. This agency was sold and the owners wanted to manage the agency themselves. Selling the competition seemed impossible to Rhonda and since the travel industry was small in Coeur d’Alene, Rhonda decided to start her own travel agency in 1994.

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Tim: What is the biggest challenge to you as a business owner?

Rhonda: Time. Managing my time in the office and staying on top of priorities is always a challenge. Balancing work and time with my family is always tough. One way I try to keep on top of things is by spending time in the office early on Saturdays. Because my kids usually sleep in on Saturday mornings, I’m able to come in at 5am and spend a few hours focusing my attention on various projects.

Tim: What has never really been a challenge to you as a business owner?

Rhonda: Employees. I am totally blessed to have most of the same staff since we opened. I have many key employees that have been here since the early years. This is what allows me to travel and focus on projects that I feel called to spend my time on. I know when I am on the road that I have a team that is there for me no matter what. The company virtually runs itself due to their commitment and integrity. Of course, we have had our hiccups!

Tim: As a female business owner, what suggestions do you have to other women who are thinking of starting their own business?

Rhonda: I would recommend that they seek out wise counsel. I surround myself with qualified, professional people that I’m able to discuss problems, challenges, and ideas with frequently. I also spend a lot of time in prayer. I would also urge them to do background checks on any key employees and be creative with your clients needs. We try to think outside the box and let them outsource various components of what they need from us. A lot of times they don’t need a full service travel agency. They just need backup, insurance, licensing, negotiating, or staffing. We also have mentored a lot of group operators who just need pieces to produce their own group movements and meetings.

Tim: What are some of the goals you are working toward now with TMI Tours & Cruises?

Rhonda: There are several things that I am working to develop further right now. I’m trying to learn more about how to maximize the HUBzone status for my business here in Kootenai County and to find out how it can benefit some large projects we are working on. I’m having the staff work on ways to tap into the Chinese market for inbound tourism. TMI is also an OFAC-authorized Travel Service Provider (TSP) for Cuba. I would like to see us continue to develop the humanitarian access to that island. A lot of our staff has been busy expanding our ability to arrange conferences, corporate events, retreats, and training sessions here in Coeur d’Alene. We have some marvelous locations available to host these types of events here. Companies are looking to get away from the traditional hotel and conference room scenarios of the past. We are able to secure exciting, unique venues – turning these company events into desirable and productive meetings for them. They have had lots of fun with the blog on tmitours.com.

Tim: What is the biggest reward for you as the owner of TMI?

Rhonda: Over the years, I’ve been able to travel with many of my clients and staff. I have a lot of repeat business and as a result, I have developed some great relationships with many of my customers. Traveling to locations all over the world with them is always an enjoyable experience. I have been transformed and I have seen my friends and employees become transformed too. TMI is also a member of the prestigious travel group Virtuoso which gives us the ability to showcase our skills as a company for specialized travel to places such as Africa and the Middle East. Our affiliation with Virtuoso allows us to create some incredible trips to these areas for our customers.

Tim: Where are some of your favorite places to visit?

Rhonda: Ethiopia, the Sinai Peninsula, and Yemen. Ethiopia is a special place to me. There are so many needs there that need to be met. I feel called to use my business as a mission to that part of the world. I see Ethiopia as a place where I can effectively use my business to make a positive impact on people’s lives in that country.

Tim: What destination would you most like to travel to next?

Rhonda: Timbuktu. Because of its name and notoriety I see people being willing to travel there in the future. In addition, it has great humanitarian needs. It is a place we can add to our roster where we can send our friends who not only want to make a difference but want to see something unique when they are there. I have loosely been involved in some campaigns on the rivers of Mali and those clients we worked with came back very excited.

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Not only is Rhonda a busy, dedicated business owner, she’s also a wife of 30 years, mother of two, and a foster mom. She’s very active in her church and in the community of Coeur d’Alene. Rhonda is very committed to caring for the Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Program that her Pastor runs. This is a well respected drug and alcohol addiction recovery program for women. She has also had a hand in encouraging the men’s program which just opened a few weeks ago. She also is busy mentoring families who are trying to adopt children.

I’d like to thank Rhonda for taking the time to talk about her background and her business. TMI Tours & Cruises is located in downtown Coeur d’Alene on the lower level of the new Chamber of Commerce building on First Street. Whether you are looking for an exciting adventure on the other side of the world or a unique way to explore the beautiful Inland Northwest, I would encourage you to stop in and discuss your travel desires with Rhonda and her staff!