By this time, I feel like I’ve fully arrived in my role here at Sun & Co and in Javea. Hosting
has become second nature at this point, and I have moved on to incorporate my strategic
skills in the marketing area.
In the first weeks, I struggled a bit with organizing my day, but also with communicating and collaborating with the team. The working environment is quite fast-paced and dynamic since the situation can change very quickly, on an organizational level in terms of bookings, cancellations, resources, and responsibilities, or on a personal level depending on the influence of guests and changes in the community.
If this experience has revealed one thing to me so far, it is the fact that I really enjoy working with people. I never had the opportunity, and really the privilege, to work closely with people.
Since I am not in a role that demands me to lead or direct anybody, but in most cases rather listen, respond, and facilitate, I’m learning and practicing a whole new way of
communicating. Those communication skills seem to not only benefit the way I interact with guests but also with my peers and superiors.
In the past, I sometimes struggled to convince people of my ideas or communicate strategies effectively. I think that might have been due to the fact that I concentrated too much on my perspective, instead of genuinely listening and understanding the other point of view.
This change has, among other things, led me to analyze the current situation around an
event Sun & Co is organizing in April and to develop a marketing strategy in response.
Instead of going through a detailed and long-lived process, I was able to incorporate the
working pace, practicality, and adaptability I got familiar with in the last weeks and present a simple and effective strategy plan within a matter of days.
The presentation has won me the trust of all team members, and we are slowly shifting to
get me more involved in the overall marketing strategy and process. Since the company is
working mostly with flat hierarchies, I’m learning to communicate my needs, time, and
responsibility effectively. Working in a small team, I also realize more and more the
importance of being effective and practical, but also the trust and reliability necessary
amongst team members.
During the last weeks of this month, another team member joined who will be helping out in the marketing area. It is a very interesting experience to help with the onboarding that I just recently went through myself. I keep noticing that beyond the act of onboarding itself, making sure a new person feels welcome, integrated, and empowered is not something that can be reduced to a task on a to-do list.
Onboarding in this sense is an open-ended effort that requires openness and responsiveness from all parties involved. No matter the professional skills, sometimes the
better team member might be a sociable and flexible person, instead of the highly qualified professional.
Wojtek in Javea, Spain – Month 1
Full trust from the first moment. Those words probably describe best how my arrival and
work during the first weeks at Sun & Co in Javea felt. I was welcomed for an onboarding
week in the coliving space and introduced to the idea, concept, and reality of co-living on the west coast of Spain.
Co-living, unlike coworking, is a concept that extends its services and responsibilities beyond the professional realm. Coworking spaces are for people who do not need or do not want to rent or buy a personal office. Co-livings are spaces for people who do not need or do not want to live in one particular place throughout the year – namely: digital nomads and remote workers.
My responsibilities and tasks at Sun & Co are split into two areas: Hosting & Marketing. In
general, the company facilitates and hosts a space for guests to live and work in. Hosting
includes regular organizational tasks like organizing the spaces, checking in new guests, or
receiving feedback. However, a significant part of Sun & Co’s approach is the reliability and
personal connection to the co-living community. There is no explicit necessity or hierarchical demand to be personable, but as a host, I spend a lot of time with the guests, and handling the organization as well as relationships during their stay really makes a difference in their perception of the co-living experience.
The marketing role revolves more around the promotion of the co-living and Javea, the town it is embedded in. In this area, I was given a lot of autonomy, along with the permission to incorporate my personal talents. I’ve proceeded to use my photography and videography skills to create high-quality content for the social channels. I also used my time to get a better understanding of how the marketing is organized and what key factors are relevant for the success of the marketing measures.
Generally, I am granted a lot of freedom in terms of how I structure my work, and I am
allowed to fully incorporate my creativity as well as soft skills and people skills. I feel very
trusted and am excited to explore a new way of working
Hannah in Galicia – Month 5
Winter in Galicia. I tried to write a lot and put all my thoughts and ideas to paper. However, I also had the longing to just enjoy the silence, slowness and peaceful time here. So much has happened in the past weeks that it is difficult to grasp it sometimes. The Erasmus+ funds have given me the opportunity to really learn a lot about Galicia, entrepreneurship here, the potential of my project and even get it started and acquainted in the most beautiful way. Dennis is the best host in the world as he opened up so many doors for me, connected me with great people, shared important insights. All of this I want to collect in a document as part of my reflections from this time. Let’s see if I will find the time for it this month.
The highlights of January was a small workshop with the school kids from here about permaculture and the first annual meeting of The Foundry, where I could participate in! This gave me an even greater insight into the organizational structures, the processes in place to facilitate the meeting and the happenings and plans for the upcoming year. Dennis and I have already planned some events together, and might even join forces in another project that will be happening here, but that’s still in the very beginning of the ideation process. So I might be able to tell more about it in my next report.
I have spent a lot of time this month on my financial plan for my project, looking at feasible fundings, further crowdfunding options or creating attractive investor incentives to support my project. Let’s see what will come out of it but I am confident as I have received so much positive feedback for it! Oh and I also went to an Xunta Galicia event around sustainable construction and opportunities for entrepreneurs, where we were welcomed with open arms, which was another highlight as it connected me further to the Galician ecosystem.
Hannah in Galicia – Month 4
This was a great month. Galicia feels like something very homey already. The people I met, the nature around me, the project here, it all feels familiar already and like it’s coming together nicely. We did a bioconstruction workshop at the place where my project will be evolving and my project and its vision to renovate a stone house into a learning center became more graspable and concrete as I learned that it is actually possible to do. Building with wood, stone, clay and calk is so beautiful. The photo below was from the workshop with the bioconstruction teachers.
Dennis has helped me immensely to learn so many things about the region, the construction industry and possibilities, has connected me to his network and so on. We have done a small workshop together around permaculture and food forests and will be doing another one in January. The Foundry also hosted a little Christmas market with an exhibition of art from children that are part of a school project at the Foundry.
There will also be the annual association assembly in January that I will be participating in. To do that I have decided to become an associate in the Foundry, which I am very happy about, as I will stay in Galicia. That also allows me to co-create with the Foundry and be more involved in it in the future, partner up with our project, do cool things together and so on. 😊 I am looking forward to spending the holidays here with everyone and celebrate the many things happening in the past months in my project and in the process of this Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs stay. Merry Christmas!
Hannah in Galicia – Month 3
I have now, more or less, arrived at the half of my stay in Galicia.
It really feels like a very productive time here, as I am not only learning so much from Dennis and the Foundry, but also progressing a lot in my project. The highlight is that we (meaning I and my sister, who is doing the project with me) took the decision to officially found the legal entity of our project here in Galicia, a non-profit organisation (in Spanish: organización sin fines de lucro). We called it “Pouqiño a pouqiño”, in English “step by step” inspired by the Galician mentality to not rush it but rather go with the flow and take small continuous steps towards the vision. This feels like the official start of a big commitment, but amazing as it is exactly what we have always wanted. Now things are getting more concrete. Of course, this was a lot of bureaucratic work and still is. However, I find the Spanish bureaucracy more straight forward than the German one, so that’s a plus :-D.
On top of that, we are working a lot on our financial strategy, our business model right now, where I receive lots of ideas from Dennis as well, which is great.
In the Foundry always happen so many things, that it is impossible to write about everything. The latest highlight was the creation of a geoglyph out of turnip greens, that also attracted the local press. You can read about the project here (but it’s in Spanish) https://www.elprogreso.es/articulo/a-marina/geoglifo-grelos-marina/202311141333161708133.html. The Foundry continues to be a thriving place with many cultural and educational events happening and I continue to be deeply inspired by it as well as its visionary: Dennis 😊. This Sunday is a public exhibition of the geoglyph and art from school students that use the Foundry as their creative classroom, which I am looking forward to. Grateful for this Erasmus opportunity.
Hannah in Galicia – month 2
The second month here in Galicia is almost over and a lot has happened – in my project and the Foundry.
Working with Dennis is great, he is very open to show me everything and takes his time to go in depth with certain topics, we get lost in conversations quite often. He also has taken me to community events around the area. My favourite one was a rewilding activity for the eucalyptus monocultures. I learned a lot about the ecosystems including eucalyptus monocultures here as well as the economic and social problems and opportunities connected to them. It’s a complex topic, but it really is crazy how eucalyptus has overtaken the forests here.
The time here has really propelled my research for my project too when it comes to house renovation planning, prices and the legal conditions. Inspired from Dennis and my new environments, I also gained new ideas for future events, community building activities and educational offers for my learning center. The best thing is that I have come to learn about all legal entity possibilities for my project and believe to have found the best option for it’s thyme and our learning center, the “Hope Hub”. I have researched about the steps to found a non-profit Spanish association, which is what we will probably create.
It feels like it will be all coming together slowly – and I am only here for two months, I cannot wait to spend more time learning, progressing, planning and implementing next steps for my project. Furthermore, the next weeks look interesting as Dennis and I are talking about teaming up for some first events together.
Next to all the project developments, we have had some crazy weather, 2 weeks of pure sunshine and 30 degrees, which allowed me to spend some more time by the beach, in the water and visiting some more places by the beautiful coast and forests. I also started “ice-bathing” in the mountain water river, which is already quite cold. The picture shows the spot where I mostly go to which is close to where I live – it’s so beautiful! Now it’s raining and stormy again, let’s see what November will bring!
Hannah in Galicia- first month
A very exciting first month is over. I came to Galicia to learn more about the wonderful community project “The Foundry” of Dennis while also working on the expansion of my project “it’s thyme”. My vision is to build a learning center for sustainability and social innovation in Galicia through renovating an old stone house in a sustainable traditional way, creating a sustainable food forest, building community around it, offering educational programs and throwing event and much more.
Because Dennis has founded a project in Galicia which included the renovation of old stone houses, community-building and sustainability, I was excited to get to know his project better and learn from him. He welcomed me warmly, showing me around and introducing me to the people and animals currently living there. We dedicated a lot of time to getting to know each other’s projects through presentations and just lots of conversations in the office, the Foundry’s community rooms or in the garden. Next to that I soaked up all the impressions about the community life at the Foundry as the way the project is designed around self-organization is very fascinating to me. There have also been some small events happening at the Foundry such as a discussion night around gentrification in Galicia, which I joined and a hands-on workshop around pottery. It’s nice to see how broad the activities are here.
Next to the impressions at the Foundry, I feel very lucky to be in this part of Europe as it is truly beautiful with all the amazing forests, mountains and valley views, really magical beaches and long coastline full of nice spots to ex
plore. So far, the environmental factors such as the climate, flora & fauna here in Galicia are very supportive for my project. I am looking forward to the next months ahead of me and am curious what else I will encounter and learn. However, I can already say that I truly feel grateful to be part of the EU once again to enjoy such great exchange program that will surely help me and my project grow a lot!
Jonas in Las Palmas – last month
In the fourth and final month of my participation in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program in Gran Canaria, I can look back with pride on the significant progress and achievements I have made in my entrepreneurial journey.
This month I have fully devoted myself to the creation and management of an online community for The Investor University. The goal of the project was to transform an existing group of students and members into a thriving and interactive community where they could share valuable insights and information about investment strategies.
With the guidance and support of my host entrepreneur, I successfully developed a long-term strategy for managing the online community. I worked to understand the needs and expectations of the platform’s users, assess their responses and satisfaction, and make the necessary improvements to enhance the user experience and increase engagement.
One of the key aspects of the project was the use of Discord, a communication platform, for community management. I learned the features and functions of Discord and, with HE’s guidance, created a content plan and scheduled regular posts to keep the community engaged. Through continuous changes, activities, and multimedia content, I ensured that the community remained active and grew.
During this month, I also honed my marketing skills and learned effective strategies to promote the online platform and build a strong user base. The HE provided me with valuable insights into user interactions and activities, which helped me plan new courses and tools to effectively meet their needs.
The experience of managing the online community was invaluable, and I gained skills in customer service, data analysis, content creation, and social media management. I also improved my image and video editing skills, which will be useful for future marketing efforts.
Overall, my participation in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program in Gran Canaria was a life changing experience. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be surrounded by experienced entrepreneurs and experts who guided and inspired me on this journey.
Now, as I approach the end of the program, I am excited and confident to start my entrepreneurial journey with a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience. I am determined to apply everything I have learned to successfully start and run my own business, and I look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the entrepreneurial community. The Erasmus program was the steppingstone I needed to achieve my dreams, and I will always cherish this transformative experience.
Jonas in Las Palmas – month 3
In the third month of my participation in the „Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs“ program in Gran Canaria, I have experienced a remarkable development. My skills and knowledge as a young entrepreneur have developed and I feel increasingly confident and competent in my role.
This month I have focused intensively on implementing my business idea. With the help of the experienced entrepreneurs and experts on site, I have refined my business model and adapted it to the requirements of the market. Through their valuable advice and constructive feedback, I was able to further develop my ideas and concretize my plans.
By actively contributing to new ideas and processes, my creative side is strengthened and improved. Through the increasing responsibility I can make more decisions on my own and I learn to deal with the consequences.
The inspiring atmosphere here in Gran Canaria has further fueled my creativity and innovation. The beauty of the island and the pleasant climate contribute to the fact that I feel motivated and full of energy every day. Being able to relax on the beautiful beaches after work or take advantage of the wide range of leisure activities on offer has helped me find a healthy balance between work and leisure.
With each passing day, my enthusiasm for my entrepreneurial journey grows and I firmly believe that after completing the Erasmus program, I will be well prepared to successfully start and run my own business.
Jonas in Las Palmas – month 2
Jonas is currently doing a 6 months exchange in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Here you can ready what he has experienced during his second month.
In the second month of my participation in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program in Gran Canaria, I have fully engaged in the whole process. I have reached a point where I can handle most tasks independently and my level of responsibility is steadily growing. Applying my newly acquired knowledge and skills to my future projects has become second nature, and the program provides me with a safe and supportive environment in which to hone my skills.
One notable change during this month has been the continued development of my mindset. I have embraced an entrepreneurial mindset that allows me to more effectively execute my ideas and vision. I have learned to look at situations from different angles, which allows me to look at things from different angles and come up with innovative solutions.
My constant thirst for knowledge drives me forward, and I am constantly having new and exciting experiences. This continuous growth in knowledge has equipped me with the tools to tackle new challenges with ease. I am adept at dealing with various problems and have developed a repertoire of solutions. This new found resourcefulness not only enables me to overcome obstacles, but also paves the way for my continued personal and professional development.
Gran Canaria’s vibrant environment has provided an inspiring backdrop for my entrepreneurial journey. The entrepreneurial spirit on the island has served as a catalyst for my own innovative thinking, and I am motivated to push the boundaries of my comfort zone.
Participating in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program in Gran Canaria has been an invaluable opportunity for me to expand my skills and knowledge to pursue my path as an entrepreneur. The practical experience I am able to gain here is unparalleled and will undoubtedly have a positive impact on my future professional endeavors. I am very grateful for this opportunity and look forward to the remaining time in the program where I can continue to learn, grow, and take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way.