Chapters ending and beginning
The first chapter of my journey as an entrepreneur has come to an end, and the next chapter is starting. What a journey it has been in one of the craziest years I have (and maybe the 21. century world at large has) ever experienced with COVID-19 turning everything upside down. Leaving the virus aside though, let me tell you about this amazing chapter of my journey that has been the past 6 months.
Let’s begin with the hero of this story – me, the entrepreneur. Young, unexperienced, but full of ideals and visions, I have always wanted to have a positive impact on the people around me, the communities I am part of and the world at large. However, I have always felt so small and so insecure about what I am and what I do. With these qualities and struggles I went to Vienna, Austria to learn how to become an entrepreneur – super excited about what I hoped to achieve, yet very nervous about how to get there.
Like in every hero’s journey, the hero meets some helpers along the way who offer support and guidance. In my case, my HE and his team were these helpers. By constantly challenging me, assigning me new tasks, offering feedback and giving me responsibilities, I grew and grew. I learned to trust my abilities, my team members, and the freedom of going through this journey in a foreign country. Had I attempted to go on this journey in Denmark, I would not have grown as much so quickly. It challenges and liberates to cross the threshold to the unknown. Slowly but surely, I grew into the role of an entrepreneur.
My confidence rose and so I started working on developing my own business further. I began giving some classes on Fridays, testing the prototype I had developed, so to say (the service I am offering is dance classes to help release stress, regain trust in yourself and your body, and explore your potential). I connected with many new relevant people, gained confidence, spotted new business opportunities, and was able to put much of what I was learning from my HE into direct action. With Corona then happening, the classes had to come to a hold, but it gave me time to develop the business structures behind my concept. I build a website, created social media accounts, and even found a colleague who is joining me for the next chapters of the journey (I hope).
With the foundation of all the learning I had received from collaborating with my HE and testing my service in different settings – sometimes in relation to my HE’s business and sometimes on my own – I managed to release much of the insecurity I had felt about going my own ways and believing in my vision. With the right relations, a lot of grid, and enough passion, becoming an entrepreneur is possible. Even for young, inexperienced, little me.
My greatest takeaway from the journey is definitely the importance of the team. I have always been a lone wolf and I began this journey, thinking I would do it and end it alone. I am so happy to say that I was mistaken. My HE and his team and I had such a good collaboration that I have not only gained business experience but also new friends, and we are going to continue our collaboration, which will be a huge asset to my own business as we share our target group and both work in the field of personal development. We still have a lot to learn from each other and there are so many things we can (and plan to) co-create together. I am very excited about the next chapters of the journey, and so grateful for the EU to make such things so easy to do.
I leave you with a picture of me and the team celebrating a huge milestone I have been head of. The picture was taken few weeks before this first chapter came to an end and was a beautiful conclusion to six crazy but absolutely beautiful months.
