Never Thought I'd be Gambling

Wow...what a few weeks it's been! Going from part-time to a full-time manager position makes you feel like you've been thrown to the wolves. The learning curve was steep for me, but since I had a chance to clean out the email inbox (over 300 emails)....and many of the overstuffed drawers and loose papers around the office....and made a few of my lists, I feel I am in a better position to do my work. So what do I do?

I'm a Tour Manager. I set up at least twenty day trips per month with some overnighters over the long weekends thrown in for good measure. Almost all are bus and van trips, and we go all over Germany...mostly, as well as countries that can be reached in seven hours or less, which is just over a good half dozen. It's a dream job really. Yes, we have our bread and butter sightseeing tours, but we also do what I want to do. My mind is spilling over with ideas, and I'm pretty excited about sharing some of those destinations with our community and fellow travelers.

I actually bought one of those digital voice recorders to change the subjet...and not the one where you say what row and space your car is in...but one where you can put your voicenotes in folders and can find them again. In a job with lots of moving parts and lots of ideas flowing, I think it is a necessity! I had a few nights where I did wake up thinking, oh my God, did I forget to order a bus, book a city guide and what if my tour escort doesn't show up or did I put gas in the van....you know, the typical "I just started a new job and don't feel comfortable yet" feelings. I think this is the first weekend that was virtually low stress.

And why do I think I'm gambling? Because setting up tours is a strange bird. You set up a tour in hopes of people signing up. As it gets closer and you don't get the numbers you initially budgeted for or you get more, you start crunching the numbers. Then comes decision time? Do I cancel the tour? Do I upgrade to a larger size bus? Do I need to "buy" another city guide, because in this particular city, a city guide will only take 20 people? And other such questions...so yes, you are gambling, because twice now, I did not cancel a tour, because I had a good feeling, and both filled up at the last minute. So far I haven't lost money on a tour, but I bet it will happen, and there I will be explaining myself on the red carpet. But other than that, it's low stress....no really.

So, if you are in Europe, have been in Europe and have some great ideas to send this way, please do! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, if you just started a new job, please share what it has been like for you!