QUESTIONNAIRE about school companies - SOIZ TIME from Poland

1.     Are you satisfied with your cooperation between members of  your school company? Why?

We are satisfied with the relations between workers in our company. They are based on partner relations and mutual respect. We cooperate with each other by planning and taking decisions together. We try to share the tasks fairly.

2.     Did you have any problems with running your school companies? How did you cope with them?

There were minor misunderstandings which we tried to solve together by talking to each other. Sometimes we couldn’t do some tasks in our company by ourselves so we had to ask vocational subject teachers to help us.

3.     To what extend did you manage to accomplish  all plans and activities which you had set  in your business plan?

We managed to organize a few interesting events:

·       a city rally for SOiZ students

·       a city rally for Erasmus + partners

·       class trips to Warsaw and Krakow

·       conducting a game ‘Communication in a team’ in other classes by using Lego blocks

·       St Valentine’s Day contest

·       we also run a FB profile

4.     To what extend did you accomplish your business plan?

We accomplished it successfully in all points.

5.     What was the strength of your school company?

Mutual respect, acceptance, friendly relations, tourism hobbies, eagerness to work and determination in doing the tasks are our strengths.

6.     What was the weakness of your company?

Low financial possibilities and no profit earned from the events were our weaknesses. Sometimes we also lacked enough time to work together.

7.     How successful was the school company and what are you proud of?

Our biggest success was preparing and realization of the school trips to Warsaw and Krakow. We prepared the itineraries, calculated the trips and booked the hotel, all tickets and admissions. We played the roles of tour guides by ourselves.

8.     What knowledge did you acquire while running the school company

Running our company we learned how to run business. All the vocational subject classes taught us a lot. Thanks to them nothing surprised us. We learned how to prepare itineraries, organize events and prepare calculations.

9.     What skills did you get while running the school company?

While running the school company we learned how to monitor organizing trips, how to run a travel agency and how to cooperate in a team which consisted  of students from our class- different personalities. We learned that in order to run a business we need to be determined and eager to do it.

10.  Can you see any opportunities for development of your company as ‘real’ entrepreneurs in the future?

There is a big opportunity for our company to become a big real company because the basis for success is our self-denial, creative people and integrated team. We believe that running the company as a big real one is a big challenge for us but also an adventure, because we all truly love tourism.

11.  What opportunities and threats can you see?

Our age, knowledge of tourism and the market, ability to speak three languages( English, German and Italian) are our big advantages. We are aware of the threats that are waiting for us in current world. Cieszyn is a small town with a lot of travel agencies competing with each other. However,  self-discipline is most important, which we know we can make it!!!

Forget the Meir, Convoi is where it’s at in Antwerp

Tucked neatly behind Waagnatie, on the banks of the Scheldt, you’ll find Antwerp’s newest and hippest shopping centre. Convoi has been created from over 50 shipping containers, which provide retail space to 40 businesses selling fashion, food, and design items for you and your home.

But there are no chains here. At Convoi, the tenants are mostly young and local entrepreneurs looking to try out an idea or product. “I wanted to make it as simple as possible,” says Kim Soeffers, the driving force behind the project. “Convoi gives them a space to test and evolve. Each container comes ready to use with lighting, wi-fi and a selection of fittings. All they have to do is bring their products.”

Entrepreneurial Skills

The Skills You Need to Build a Great Business

What makes someone a successful entrepreneur? It certainly helps to have strong technology skills or expertise in a key area, but these are not defining characteristics of entrepreneurship.

Instead, the key qualities are traits such as creativity, the ability to keep going in the face of hardship, and the social skills needed to build great teams.

If you want to start a business, it's essential to learn the specific skills that underpin these qualities. It's also important to develop entrepreneurial skills if you're in a job role where you're expected to develop a business, or "take things forward" more generally.

Cieszyn Castle

They are the first center of design in Silesia, they show how design can change an enterprise. 

They cooperate with public institutions and they try to find solutions which can make life easier. 

Every year Castle starts making events in January - they makes concerts, workshops, lectures, meetings for kids, teenagers and adults.

Made in Italy: a key driver for the scaling-up of your startup

Italy is celebrated throughout the world for its art, culture, creativity and manufacturing quality. These are the foundations on which the unique supply chain for “Made in Italy” products is built. Italy has brought industry, culture and lifestyle together in a way that does not only concern design and the superb quality of fashion, food and furniture, but also sheer artistic expression in all of its forms. Tellingly, a (1)KPMG report recently stated that “Made in Italy” is the 3rd best-known brand in the world. By establishing your startup in Italy, you will have the chance to leverage our most celebrated sectors, add value to your products and scale up your business.

Back on track!

Iconic "Syrena" , again conquers the hearts of Polish people. 

This iconic car, was made in Poland in 1955, and the company had finished the production of the car in 1983, after releasing over 520 000 units. 

Thanks to European Union funds, in Kutno a production of a new model of Polish car „Syrena" will start gain. However, this is not gonna be a car being sold on a large scale, but only in several hundred copies annually. Amateurs of Polish "Syrena" are already getting excited.

From the production line, in the first year will come  50 copies of "Syrena S201" , which shape will be modeled on its previous model. The design of the car is made by Bartosz Andrzejewski , a student from Warsaw Academy of Art. Components for "Syrena" will be made in Kutno. The engine with the capacity of 1,4l and power of 90KM and manual gearbox will come from General Motors. 

Modern "Syrena S201" will be equipped in ABS, air bags, air conditioning, electric windows and mirrors and electrical power steering. The car has already received his homologation, of Industrial Institute of motorization. 

Photos of Syrena on:https://www.facebook.com/NowaSyrena  

Photo source: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/93945/wacky-syrena-meluznya-r-is-a-394bhp-1100kg-racer-from-poland 

20 words you need to talk about....

20 words you need to talk about…

Startups and Entrepreneurship

A

Accelerator – Business organizations that offer professional services to help accelerate startups (consulting, management coaching, mentoring, financing). They are very similar to incubators but they can take an equity stake in the company they host.