Have You Honeyteered Today?

I have a client.

I don’t have a name, but I have a client.

What’s it a name anyway? They could be overrated and maybe I’m onto a revolutionary new marketing approach:

“Who did you book the trip through?”
“Oh you know... that nameless company.”
“Nameless company? What?”
“Yea, they have no name, but a fabulous product.”
“Who doesn’t have a name? Why don’t they have a name?”
“I don’t know, there’s just no name…”
“How can you not have a name?”

And so the conversation goes. Very Seinfeld-esque. No name, great product – hey, it could get people talking...

I have a slogan too, “Volunteer Vacations for Special Occasions.” Just no name.

I have a business plan and a concept, but no…. ok, you get the point.

Anyway, here’s my concept, I’ll tell you about the clients in a minute:

To be the premier online source of customized honeyteer and volunteer vacations allowing people to celebrate their special occasions by contributing to the improvement of people and communities in need around the world. Experiences blend volunteer service, cultural explorations, and traditional R&R to meet the customer’s preferences.

(That no-name travel place) is committed to responsible tourism and environmentally friendly operations. We seek like-minded vendors and organizations as business partners.

I’m open to feedback – I’ve been cornering everyone I can find to solicit it. I’ve done pretty well so far and my outplacement support has been a huge help. For some reason Tara and I are the only ones there under 40, maybe 45. The majority are senior execs with Ivy League educations let go from places like GE and IBM. What they heck they’re doing there and why the heck Tara and I are there with them is beyond me, but the beauty is they all seem to love talking to me about my plan… and better yet, they all like it. A lot.

No one’s heard of a ‘honeyteer’ though. It’s a real term. You can Google it and get a few hits – one is a featured article on TheKnot.com and another is an article from Travel Agent Central. There’s also a quote:

"For a newly married couple, participating in a cause greater than themselves may offer the perfect balance to their wedding," says Michael Organ, Executive Director of Charity Guide, a nonprofit organization that promotes volunteerism. "Some newlyweds find it especially meaningful to start their new lives together by giving back."

…. thanks Mike. That’s exactly what I was thinking.

The best news is I bought the domain. www.honeyteer.com That’s me. Now I just need to help fan the flames.
You can help too, just throw it out there in random conversation…
“I took the car to the shop and got the honeyteer checked today.”
“What did you say?”
“Oh, honeyteer, it’s this new idea….”

Or maybe…

“I bought some eggs, bacon, and honeyteer for breakfast.”
“I’m taking the dog on a honeyteer.”
“That workout was brutal, I need a beer and some honeyteer.”

These are just guidelines of course, you can ad lib as necessary.


I know what you’re thinking now, and no, Honeyteer is not a business name, neither is Travelynn (just for the record, that domain is already gone.) Honeyteer is too narrowly focused, I want to capture a bigger market. Travelynn is too vague. (Feel free to dispute me on this if you feel strongly.) I’ll post some new name options at the bottom. My last options didn’t go over too well, but I understand what you mean, Amigo Love does sounds like a raunchy Hispanic porn site.

As for my clients, they’re getting married in September and will be my first honeyteers ~ Michelle and Rick. (Michelle was on my AmeriCorps team and so was Amy P. Even Celia, the first official follower of this blog, is a friend from there, so if this whole venture is successful I’ll have a lot to thank AmeriCorps for.)

Michelle e-mailed me five days after I was laid off asking if I had any ideas for an environmentally friendly, volunteer service based honeymoon. I haven’t talked to Michele in a long time and our e-mail volleys are few and far between. Her message and request were completely out of the blue, or is that green? Either way - Kismet.

Michele and Rick like the idea of Cost Rica and Belize. “Tropically places”, as Michelle puts it. Since I’m traveling to Guatemala for my next Habitat build in July, I figure why not swing by Costa Rica and check it out? Belize too. Then I read that Panama is equally as eco-friendly, so I had better visit them also. Plus, Nicaragua and Honduras are right there, so it would just be plain foolish to not pop in and say ‘Hola.’ I wouldn’t want to come across as being unfriendly.

The trip isn’t all fun though. I’ll be researching organizations to partner with and spending most of my time visiting their facilities. I’d have a tough time recommending something I haven’t personally seen and approved of. Oh yeah, and I guess I’ll have to check out the local night life and fun stuff too, don’t want my clients to get bored.

As for how this whole idea came to be, the truth is my friend Mathieu approached me about starting a travel company a year ago. It never got off the ground, but the darling little seed has been germinating ever since. I’ve watered it, fed it, nurtured it. My friend Meredith even tended it last fall on a hike near Bear Mountain. As we communed with nature, she told me about honeyteers and pushed me to start my own biz. Suddenly I had roots. I might kill every houseplant I ever own, but mix Matt’s idea, with Meredith’s concept and Michelle’s needs and… Boom! I'm on Miracle Grow!!