Period of exchange: 18.01.2016 – 09.04.2016
I arrived in Malaga on 17 of January 2016 with the willing to start my best foreign experience so far and, I can say for sure, it really was a very fulfilling experience with a lot of benefits, new skills (administrative, marketing, financial skills), new friends and most important a new view in the entrepreneurial field.
From the first day I was received with opened arms by Ms. Kay Farrell and her company Malaga Bike Tours. The company team (Brendan, Damon, Fenne, Arlette, Sanne and Robert) alongside Ms. Kay Farrell helped me to understand and get the inside info of Malaga Bike Tours services, the way to approach customers and how to properly repair a bike (thanks to Brendan).
Ms. Kay Farrell was my mentor during this experience, helping me with information about how to start a bike business (taking in count the country profile), how to use the marketing tools (we jointly developed the company website), how to evaluate the competition, how to plan your cash flow, how to adapt to the changes in the market and how to develop the business in the future, all alongside administrative tasks in the company.
Entering this entrepreneurial exchange was definitely the best decision I could have made to start and develop my future bike business in Romania.
Profile of the entrepreneurs:
NE:
My name Istvan-Etele Demeter, I spent 12 weeks in Malaga as an entrepreneur exchange in the bike tourism sector. My goal was to get an inside view of a company that works with bikes and does tourism. During my staying I managed to deeper my bike maintenance skills and also my managing skills.
HE:
My name is Kay Farrell, I own a bike-tourism company in Malaga and I was looking for a mechanic and tour leader.
Quote of the NE
“From day one I was received with opened arms by Ms. Kay Farrell and her company Malaga Bike Tours. The company team (Brendan, Damon, Fenne, Arlette, Sanne and Robert) alongside Ms. Kay Farrell helped me to understand and get the inside info of Malaga Bike Tours services, the way to approach customers and how to properly repair a bike (thanks to Brendan).”
Quote of the HE
“This is the first time I have participated in the EYE programme and it has been an extremely positive experience for myself, and I believe for Istvan as well.
Istvan worked very well alongside our bike mechanic, learning the intracacies of bike mechanics. He always worked diligently to make sure that all the bikes were in good working order. He easily adapted to the work culture and quickly became a valued member of the team. He helped organize clients for the bike tours and bike rentals as well as accompanying large groups on the tour.
Besides being an excellent mechanic, Istvan also gave lots of input with his ideas on marketing and web/ logo design. He even developed some updates on our current logo on his own time.
During our meetings and conversations about starting a new business, it has been interesting for me to see and hear another entrepreneur’s points of view and questions that have occurred from observations made. I have enjoyed sharing my experience of starting up a business and all the highs and lows that come with that. It has also been a chance for me to stop and reflect on how I have done- and do- things.
It has been interesting for me in another regard, too. It is the first time I have worked with anyone from an Eastern European county (Romania) and for Istvan it was his first work experience in a western European country. In this respect, I think that the exchange has also served as a cultural one for both of us as well.
All in all, I think it has been a very valuable and enjoyable learning experience. It was wonderful having Istvan on the team. We will surely miss him but wish him all the best with his new venture.”
New and experienced entrepreneurs shall apply for the programme via the web page www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu
For further information about the programme:
Ms. Cordelia Badescu Ms. A. Sarateanu, CSCS
Cordelia.badescu@fundatiadanis.ro anna.sarateanu@cscs.it
This article was funded by the European Union’s COSME Programme (2014-2020).
The content of this article represents the views of the author only and it is her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
