Route J-1

By Daniel Grave, J-1 Summer Work Travel Alumni from the United Kingdom

Daniel Grave representing team UK at California Cup in Santa Barbara

Beginning in 1990 as a student from Portsmouth University, I spent two summers on the J-1 program with a good friend of mine.  It was the beginning of a journey that led to starting my own business, which last year served over 200,000 clients and is quickly growing to a world wide brand.

This was a unique J-1 program where I began to develop my entrepreneurial skills selling educational books door to door in the United States.  At first, I was a bit skeptical about going off to run my own business in America, but as my friend had done it before and the Southwestern program had been around since 1868, I thought I’d give it a shot.

Daniel Grave standing at 18th tee at Pebble Beach

Fortunately it turned out to be a tremendous learning experience for me.  Having that J-1 visa and being exposed to business principles in America set the foundation for the business I run today.

During those two summers I learned so much about people, sales, attitude, enthusiasm and success principles.  After graduating I became a full time employee and built a sales organization of more than 100 students over the next 8 years. During the ‘off’ season I travelled the world and went to places like India, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam and Costa Rica – because I could afford to. By growing my own sales organization I learned leadership skills and business management skills from American business that I would need for the future. It was like running my own business but with the support and guidance of a highly professional mother ship.

Daniel Grave (far right) with two of his fellow Golfbreaks.com Directors at their annual GONGS Awards night

The skills I learned and the confidence I gained from working with the Southwestern Company during those J-1 summers equipped me to set up and run my own golf travel business with three other friends in the UK.

Golfbreaks.com is a world leader in golf travel, with over 150 staff and offices in Windsor UK, Charleston SC and San Francisco CA in the USA, and Copenhagen, Denmark. We send over 200,000 people on golf vacations worldwide annually, arranging their tee times, accommodations, ground transportation and flights. We make booking golf vacations easy and save golfers time and money by offering extensive choices with a first class service at unbeatable prices.

None of this would have been possible had I not taken advantage of the J-1 program in 1990.

Categories: Program Spotlight