Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs - reasons why you should join us

Here is the story of one of Startup2 EYE successful New Entrepreneurs, Milica Jovanovic, from Serbia, who applied for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program, and started her exchange in Porto, Portugal, with her Host Entrepreneur Carlos. 

``If you are wondering how did my idea start for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs then this text is for you. It started primarily when I founded my own consulting agency. From the day I founded, I heard about this phenomenal program and built the opportunity to embark in these waters.

If you want to be an entrepreneur, you really need to have a feeling for it, someone would say that you have to be born for it, but I would say before you start you need to be sufficiently informed and ready for all the ups and downs. An entrepreneur has the freedom to do whatever he/she wants in life, one example is this kind of exchange. You have the opportunity to come to educate, share examples of good practice and experience, assimilate something and improve your company.

In addition to learning, developing yourself and your company, you are also learning about different cultures, travelling, creating international friendships and going out of your comfort zone to change yourself.

My exchange started in Porto, Portugal, in the non-government organization GeoClube in May, lasting 4 months. During this time I am learning about various European programs and funds, but also help in writing projects and to implement them.

It is very important that your Host is open that you can have a connection with him and that he/she is ready for a variety of your questions. My Host is Carles Ferreira, professor of geography and president of the organization. Our talks are not just business-based, they are much more than that, they are mostly about the culture of their country, about relationships between other countries, what you can expect and what to visit.

We are currently working on a project on social innovations, where I found out what's different in Portugal in relation to my country, how social entrepreneurship is going on in the market and what is happening in youth education.

It is important to distinguish the EYE program from ESC - European Solidarity Corps ex EVS - European Voluntary Service because you are not just a volunteer on this program, you are here to be in senior positions in the organization and contribute to their development.

A month ago, I participated in the project and transferred one part of my knowledge in the form of a workshop with other participants in order to expand knowledge about organizations' confrontations.

So you have a lot more options when you come with experience and in that way, you just break through barriers to improve yourself. For me, the best feeling for you is when you do something you love, and you leave the comfort zone because you have to raise it all to a higher level, take care of dialogues, because you do not speak their mother tongue, nor yours, so try to learn new languages, and to learn other people yours. Constant learning is another feature of this program.

Also, I celebrated the first birthday of MIA Consulting here, which is even more desirable when I see one year after I'm progressing and what's next.

After two months I can say that I have found myself and I am happy that I have the opportunity to spend spring and summer in this beautiful city, but also I spend time with people in the organization, from which I learn something new every day.

If you are interested in what needs to be prepared for the Erasmus program for young entrepreneurs, the business plan and several motivations is a bigger job, but do not despair, after that a very pleasant period is followed. If you need help in Serbia, I strongly recommend the Business Development Centre Kragujevac to help and provide you with full support.

  

No matter how much you know about business or how much you are learning, sometimes it's good to have a mentor. By that, we can see the bigger picture of our company and the idea of businesses itself. So if you liked my experience you can contact RBC and also me, and I am open to all your questions.``