059: Starting an Eco-Adventure Travel Company With Diane Valenti
Ever Better Today
English - March 10, 2017 08:00 - 34 minutes - 32.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 65 ratingsCareers Business Entrepreneurship Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
How and why does someone start an adventure travel company? Diane Valenti joined me on the podcast to share her story.
As a corporate consultant specializing in instructional design, Diane works with Fortune 500 companies. She loves to travel and jump into new projects. But it was a vacation with her father in Peru that truly activated Diane’s adventurous side!
During that holiday, Diane “met a guy,” returned several times to visit, and was inspired to activate a different kind of travel company. She created Llama Expeditions to offer travelers an authentic experience in South America, and an opportunity to work with local non-profit organizations.
Why llamas? They represent unconditional love and are a perfect symbol of her carefully planned tours that respect local cultures and follow the motto “It’s OK to leave a trace, just make sure it’s the right trace.”
Diane’s philosophy on starting a business is: “It’s OK if you don’t know everything about the business you are starting. Just roll up your sleeves and stay in the game.” She says that sometimes you’re better off not knowing the details and tackling challenges as they come!
If you're thinking about your next adventure but you're not sure how to get started, check out my Discover What’s Next Coaching program!
Key Takeaways:
[2:46] Unbridled kindness from a local community led Diane to make giving back part of her eco-adventure business.
[10:16] Eco-adventure travel is traveling with a sense of consciousness.
[13:05] Diane explains why she uses a llama to represent her business.
[16:45] The challenges Diane ran into setting up an eco-adventure travel business and the lessons she learned.
[22:40] Like many adventure travelers, discretionary time and income allow Diane to continue traveling.
[24:09] Websites can be a great source of information, but they don’t include everything you need to know.
[30:20] Learning new things, like the Turkish language, keeps Diane inspired.
Mentioned in This Episode:
Italki, a website for learning languages