Another edition of the “Young Entrepreneur” competition, aimed at secondary-school students, is coming to an end. The competition aims to expand knowledge of the basics of entrepreneurship, develop motivation to improve skills, and foster entrepreneurial attitudes and thinking.
The competition consisted of two stages: in the first, participants prepared a written business plan. The twelve best business plans qualified for the next stage, in which the participants presented their work to the jury (comprising Józefa and Marek Witas, owners of Agora Bookshop, and Mirosław Sakowski, a teacher of the basics of entrepreneurship).
On Thursday, 11 March, the committee heard the final seven presentations. “We will focus primarily on three elements: the usefulness of the idea, its appeal, and the financial analysis,” says Mirosław Sakowski.
“Today it is very difficult to come up with a solution that would guarantee a young person a reliable source of income after leaving school,” Marek Witas points out. “Most of the ideas included in the business plans were somewhat unrealistic. All the plans underestimated costs. Almost everyone counted on a grant from the European Union. No one assumed that it would first be useful to gain experience and capital.
The young entrepreneurs are considering, among other things, establishing a dance school, a beauty salon, a recycling company, or a hotel for animals. “Some of them show promise as entrepreneurs and possess a great deal of knowledge,” says Mirosław Sakowski. “We are impressed by the way they use multimedia techniques,” adds Marek Witas. “But they still have many things to think through,” Józefa Witas points out. “We tried to draw their attention to gaps in these business plans. Every business is difficult. We wanted them to understand that when running a business, you have to think about every detail.
The results will be announced and the prizes presented on 9 April 2010, in the conference room of the Bolesławiec County Office. The winners and their supervisors will receive prizes worth a total of PLN 2,500 (1st place: PLN 1,000, 2nd place: PLN 700, 3rd place: PLN 400, 4th place: PLN 250, 5th place: PLN 150). In addition, the first-prize winner will receive a statuette funded by Zakłady Ceramiczne “Bolesławiec”.
The organizers of the competition are: Bolesławieckie Towarzystwo Gospodarcze, Powiat Bolesławiecki, and Księgarnia Agora. The IstotneInformacje.pl service is the event’s media patron.
(information ii)