Another edition of the “Young Entrepreneur” competition, aimed at upper-secondary school students, is drawing to a close. The competition aims to expand knowledge of the basics of entrepreneurship, develop motivation to improve skills, and shape attitudes and entrepreneurial thinking.
The competition consisted of two stages: in the first, participants prepared a written business plan. The 10 best business plans qualified for the next stage, in which participants presented their work to the jury (comprising: Józefa i Marek Witasowie, owners of Księgarnia Agora, Mirosław Sakowski, headmaster of II LO and entrepreneurship teacher, member of the Bolesławiec County Board Dariusz Kwaśniewski, owner of Gospoda Kruszyna Leopold Habiniak and Stanisław Kamiński, director of the PKO BP branch in Bolesławiec).
On Wednesday, 11 April, the committee heard five presentations. “We want to select the best entries,” says Józefa Witas, chair of the jury. “Above all, we are looking for business plans written independently. It happened that a project was excellent, but the competition participant was unable to defend it. The opposite also occurred: last year’s winner’s business plan was not impressive, but the way he presented his work convinced us that he deserved first prize.
“The committee mainly assesses the feasibility of the idea,” Mirosław Sakowski emphasizes. “The winner of the previous edition of the ‘Young Entrepreneur’ competition is a graduate of II LO. He put his business plan into practice. He now successfully runs his own company.
The young entrepreneurs are considering, among other things, setting up a company installing solar collectors, opening a hotel for animals, and creating a roller-skating and inline-skating rink. The results will be announced and the prizes presented on 10 May at Teatr Stary.
The winners 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 competition is organized by Bolesławieckie Towarzystwo Gospodarcze, Powiat Bolesławiecki and Księgarnia Agora. According to BTG president Karol Stasik, achieving business success requires a good idea as well as qualities such as perseverance, determination and passion: “Upper-secondary schools primarily prepare students for the final exams. It often happens that a young person finishes school and does not know how to cope in a new situation. We want young people to have the opportunity to become self-employed and take matters into their own hands.
(information: ii)