Report completed by Callum, Jack, Cameron, Emily, Sam and Caitlin

March 2016

1. What did you observe and learn in Poland in general and to do with the entrepreneurship theme?

About Poland in general

• In Poland there was a fashion for neon lights called Neonisation.
• A traditional Polish dish is called pierogi which is a polish dumpling which is traditionally eaten at Christmas.
• The capital city is Warsaw, which has a new area and Old Warsaw.  In World War II Warsaw was destroyed and they rebuilt the city which is now known as Old Warsaw.  They then made the new Warsaw.
• There is a war memorial for all the people who died in World War II in the Old Town.
• Agriculture and farming are important industries in Poland.

About entrepreneurship

• It is very hard to start a new business and may take a couple of years to get going and get a reasonable income.  However if you have ‘passion’ and are committed you will get there and have your own small business.
• If you don't promote your business then it is harder to get income to keep your business going.  A way of doing this is making a website or using social media.
• You have to make sure you really understand what your business is about and how to run that kind of business before you start building it.  You also have to make sure you have a plan to keep your business going in its early days so you have enough money until you get a good income. 
• We learned about the number of entrepreneurs in the country and that there are certain laws that must be followed.
• We also observed that having a unique angle or product is beneficial to making a profit and being successful.

 

2. Which was the life history or entrepreneur that inspired you? Explain why.

 

We enjoyed the life history from the man with the honey business. It was interesting to hear how he has developed his business from 2 hives into one of the best honey businesses in Poland. We enjoyed tasting the samples of his different flavours of honey and several of the UK group purchased jars of honey from him.

He had a really good story of his life and how he was able to start his business.   He was persuasive and told us a lots about how hard it was to start his business and keep it up and running but if you have commitment you will get there.  (This is the same with ‘passion’).  He told us how, when he wasn't getting as many customers and he was scared he may not be able to afford to keep his business running, he started selling his honey in local supermarkets which boosted the amount of customers and income he got, so much so that he now gets the opportunity to do speeches for people including the school in Warsaw.

 

3. Which were the positive aspects about the visits on the second day?

We enjoyed all of the activities whilst we were on our visit because we were learning about Poland. The Soho museum was interesting because learned about what life is like in poorer countries.  The neon museum was interesting because we learned about why all of the neon lights had to be turned off.  We particularly liked walking around the Old Town because it was historic and a rather pretty place which was rebuilt after the war. It was good then the the students were telling us information. We also enjoyed the restaurant because we got to try pierogi which was ok and it meant we were trying new food.  Lastly the chocolate museum was fun, learning about when it was founded and where the cocoa beans come from and especially decorating the wafer biscuit.

 

4. Imagine that you have started a small tourist company in your region. What will you recommend to your clients?

Piece Hall

Eureka

Haworth Bronte Parsonage

Walk along the canal from Sowerby Bridge to Hebden Bridge

Bolton Abbey and the Yorkshire Dales

The Royal Armouries

Leeds Museum

Tropical World

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

 

5. Which of the businesses (visited in Poland) would be possible for you to start in the area where you live?

In England we could start an apple farm because we can grow a variety of apples in our climate and we could make the juices like they did.  If we wanted to we could also start a small honey business or a plant business growing herbs. We could also start a small company which produces cold meat.  All of the businesses we were introduced to would be able to be undertaken and built in England.

 

6. What do you suggest for the next mobility?

 

More activities with the other students to get to know them.

Get more information about the country and area.

More sight-seeing and a pack of information about the sights.