International Volunteer HQ

After graduating at 22 from Otago with a MBus and BCom, Dan Radcliffe signed onto the Telstra Clear graduate programme, but quit after a week, deciding that working for someone else wasn’t for him. CNZ chats to Dan to find out how he came to start International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ).

At the time I felt I needed to do something completely different, to give myself time to find what I wanted to do in life. I didn’t have a great deal of money but wanted to travel so decided a volunteer holiday abroad would be the best way to this, says Dan.

Unfortunately, after extensively researching various companies, the costs of volunteering with the cheapest company I could find were still extremely high. After working for 6 months on my parents’ farm to get enough funds together, I went and taught in Kenya for four months, travelling through Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Egypt.

The trip was fantastic and really opened my eyes; however, after meeting numerous people involved in volunteer tourism in various countries, I still could not fathom how the trips could not be done cheaper.

On my return to New Zealand in 2006, International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ) was born with the goal of becoming the world’s largest and most affordable volunteer travel company.

On this page: A growing business The value of networking Steep learning curves Success secrets

A growing business

After extensive research for partner companies and a fleeting six-week visit to Kenya, Nepal, Vietnam and Thailand to establish initial partnerships and staff, IVHQ was launched in late July 2007.

While initial progress was slow, by December 2007 we had grown enough to add Peru and Ecuador to our list of programmes.

Over the past two years we have added Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, India, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Colombia and Guatemala to the countries on offer and now send more than 5000 people on our trips abroad annually. We employ five staff in New Zealand and through our local teams we have 350+ staff working for IVHQ worldwide.

The value of networking

I’ve always appreciated the importance of trying to absorb as much advice and knowledge from others with experience. When travelling, I’ve tried to network with local teams and companies similar to ours to get more ideas, but a lot of the time I have had to take a “learn as we go” approach.

Friends from school and university, now practising in marketing, finance and law, have always been extremely forthcoming with help and support, which has been a huge help.

Steep learning curves

Managing international staff has also been a steep learning curve. We deal with such a large number of cultures and our staff have a huge variety of backgrounds – some have completed MBAs, while others are unable to read or write. It can be extremely difficult and frustrating trying to work out what methods of management work best in each country.

Initially, I probably tried to deal with too many people from too many different cultures and backgrounds and never managed to get 100% out of any of them. Having a highly reliable person at the top of each local team who knows their staff and programme inside and out, and is able to delegate, manage and motivate their teams effectively and then report directly to our head office in New Zealand, has proven to be the best way to overcome this problem.

Success secrets

The people who have had the biggest influence on IVHQ have been my parents. Their unwavering support, from the day I decided to start IVHQ and had to move back home to make things work financially, to the present day where Mum still works in the head office in New Plymouth as part of our team, has been incredibly important to the overall success of the company.

We have also been very lucky to be associated with some very supportive businesses and people in New Zealand. We have a very dedicated team of staff, not only at our head office in New Plymouth but throughout the world, who have a passion for what we are doing.

The most important piece of advice I’ve been given? Preparation, planning and self-belief are critical to success.

Having the confidence to start a business with a high chance of failing, and walking away from the standard safe 9–5 job out of university, were tough decisions to make. But by researching the market thoroughly, and planning for a variety of highly likely outcomes, I was confident I could make the company work.

Looking back over the first three years of the business, self-belief and confidence have been very important, as the business has progressed. New ideas or things that haven’t worked have generally been directly related to a lack of planning or research on my behalf.

Despite the relatively fast growth of the company, there have also been a lot of moments where you question yourself. In these times, remembering to be confident, and to believe in my abilities and what I am doing, has been crucial.

Business Drill-down

Business type: Volunteer placements for volunteers in developing countries.
Main products: Placement service for volunteer travel customers, sending 5000 individuals overseas annually.
Number of staff: 5 in New Zealand, more than 350 worldwide.
Trading since: 2006
Main markets: Worldwide
Website: www.volunteerhq.org

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