My exchange with Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs in Canary Islands in Spain started in December 2021. I decided to take part because I felt that it will give me a chance to gain experience and confidence in an international business environment. This can be very useful if I later decide to start my own enterprise. I was interested in learning from an entrepreneur involved in running a small company operating in the real estate sector. I believe that, when well designed and executed, a life of a business owner can be very enjoyable and mostly stress-free. For that reason I chose Canary Islands for the location of my exchange.
Most of the islands in the archipelago offer great weather for almost whole year and good life quality. The other reason was fairly informal and relaxed way of conducting business comparing to bigger cities like Madrid or Rome. I chose my host because of his down-to-earth attitude and willingness to put trust in somebody who didn’t have experience in the real estate or any other kind of business. I like to think that I have a talent for simplifying and optimising what other people do and I wanted to test this believe in a real-world environment. I’m still not sure if I’m ready to take full responsibility for my own company, so participating in the programme seemed like a good way of crystallising my goals.
Even though I arrived shortly before the beginning of the Christmas season, which normally is a quiet period in this industry, I was able to participate in variety of activities from the very beginning. Due to moderate weather almost everything, including computer work, can be done outdoors, which was one of my criteria while choosing the destination. Almost endless sunshine and warm temperature puts the contractors and clients in a good mood, which is not always the case in other destinations. My host provided me with all the professional support I needed, but at the same time, he granted me complete freedom to organise activities in the way which I considered the most suitable.
