Cruise Planners

For example, before the business started she had booked a trip to Disney World with another agency and found it missed a few beats. She wasn't sure whether to purchase a dining plan or not, for example, and didn't realize they would always need to make reservations for dinner.

Now, Angus said, she books reservations for her clients when she creates the trip.

"I can show them how to do it to get the biggest bang for your buck and you don't leave anything on the table," she said. "Vacations are something people don't take all the time and when you take it you want it to be perfect."

Angus uses the network of Cruise Planners agents to get good information on destinations, and calls resorts for details if she hasn't been there.

She also keeps an eye on prices. If travel costs go down, she makes sure the client's do, too. Like most travel agents, Angus makes her money from the travel industry rather than clients—her services are free.

She said starting a travel business at a time when most people book online was not easy, but she found that personal contact made all the difference.

"I research everything," she said. "It's not like booking on Expedia or any other Internet company, because you have a voice to talk to."

She said she also can save clients time.

"The difference is putting it all together if you're retired or afraid or computers, or if you really don't know where you really want to go," she said.

Her experience and resources also can save time even for a computer-savvy traveler who needs to put together a complicated trip at a specific price point, she said.

Angus, who is bonded and insured, is available evenings and weekends.

"You can get me Monday through Sunday. I answer the phone from 9 a.m. to 7 at night. I returns phone calls ASAP."

Building up the clientele was challenging and Angus found that working from home takes discipline.

"I treat my days like I'm going into the office," she said.

But her schedule lets her drop off her son, now in the fifth grade, and pick him up for school.

All in all, Angus is satisfied.

"I wish I would have started this 18 years ago," she said. "It's definitely been very worthwhile."

Cruise Planners, 817-889-2745, www.ca-travelbysea.com