It was a busy couple months.
Looking back at me from two months ago and comparing her to me from today, I can confidently say that I learned so much, and even though it’s only been a few weeks, the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs has already proved invaluable to a beginner entrepreneur like me. I can’t believe all the growth I’ve experienced in the past two months!
My plan going into this exchange was to learn as much as I can in these four months and start my own business. So far, this experience has been great in gaining new skills and knowledge. The variety of day-to-day business responsibilities constantly challenges me to get better at what I’m doing and motivates me to keep improving my skills. For the most part, I was focused on building the technical skills I was lacking, like learning the tools, techniques and understanding the data I wasn’t so familiar with before.
I am learning so much every day, not just about business, but also entrepreneurship, mindset and the approach to work-life balance, project management and seeing beyond what’s happening around me in the present moment.
Eveline, the Host Entrepreneur, is a wonderful person to work with and to learn from. We’re constantly challenging each other, not only in business, but also in personal growth. We’re exchanging interesting insights, which help us grow our perspective and go out of our comfort zones. It’s really great having this support and someone so experienced in my network. The team is also amazing — they are all committed to achieving the common goal and it’s very refreshing and encouraging to have people like them around.
Gaining more responsibility, creative freedom and being shown more trust in some areas of the Host’s business, this Erasmus experience has shown me a new path. I always thought that I will be going down the route of sole entrepreneurship, however after all the positive experiences, challenges and growth opportunities in the past two months, I can see so much more value in building a great network and collaborating with professionals in the industry.
By having this strong network around, not only am I noticing more possibilities for my future business, but also realising how much there is to learn about different areas of business and entrepreneurship.
At the halfway point of this exchange, I’ve been challenged in ways I haven’t expected. I had to improve my problem-solving skills, come up with solutions on the spot and think progressively, ten steps ahead and plan into the future.
It’s been great having so many skilled people around, and thanks to this Erasmus exchange, I can now see a huge value in working with a mentor, teacher, or someone who you consider successful in your own means and learn from them — because this decision might allow you to progress much faster, instead of trying to figure out all the unknowns on your own.
There is a saying I deeply believe in and I have seen it in works many times in my life. They say that you become the collective of the five people you surround yourself with… and following that, if and when the opportunity arises, I will be very happy to expand my network even more and build strong, future-proof relationships. It’s great that the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is strongly focused around getting the right skills and building a strong business network. I wish every entrepreneur at the start of their journey could experience that!
