The program has been challenging for me from multiple perspectives, one of them being the fact that I am far away from everything I know, needing to adapt to local rules, ways of doing things, etc. So even if I was on a beautiful island, when I know I have a certain responsibility, I tend to stress myself and this whole ‘doing my best’ gets rather consuming.
This experience clearly showed me what has transformed into non-negotiable, but also what I would not pursue as a business model. I came here also with the curiosity of seeing how coliving life is in reality and if this is a business that I could pursue. But in reality, it’s too much for me, as an introvert, dealing with so many people, energies, requirements, and technicalities of the house and so on. So I consider this a win, even if it came with me being in an environment that doesn’t fit me. I am happy about the fact that I got to practice my workshops, it was a great coming out of my comfort zone, and I felt I could add extra value to participants’ life, both personal and professional, by also sharing my story and acting as an example of how I do what I do every day.
During the program, I feel like that probably also the cultural barrier had a role into it, as our visions weren’t always align and our comprehension was different over the same topic. But we managed to find a middle ground in some aspects and on those ones I could show my expertise, even if it felt more like executing, rather than implementing a new vision or strategy. As improvement, definitely getting my own space for the last 2-3 weeks of the remaining program. I need it. And there are things that I personally would improve, but here there is a conflict on stepping over how someone does business, so definitely that is not the goal.
I feel like every entrepreneur should run their business as they want, even if it’s not how I would run it. I am a big fan of automation and optimization, which I did propose multiple times, but there are people who find safety and comfort in the same way they’re doing things, over and over again. Gives them a sense of control.
