3.2- Erasmus, una forma de vida

Tanto me gustó la experiencia Erasmus que llegué a plantearme si sería posible mantener este tipo de vida en el largo plazo.

Debido a que es imposible repetir esta magnífica beca y quizás a que estudio economía, pensé que la forma en la que podría seguir relacionado con los erasmus era creando una empresa dedicada al cubrir todas las necesidades que pudiesen tener los estudiantes de intercambio que habitasen en Madrid.

Durante el año Erasmus se me ocurrió una idea de negocio relacionada estas actividades, así que decidí plasmarla en un plan de negocio del que incluyo en esta memoria únicamente la introducción del mismo, que son las tres hojas que vienen a continuación escritas en inglés:

1 Introduction.- Business plan.

A successful business plan asks for many different analyses to be held beforehand. All the necessary analysis shall be developed within this written paper on the new venture idea “Enjoy it!”.

I will start up by presenting my new venture idea, as it is one of the most important parts in the business plan. After presenting the idea, an evaluation is necessary in order to test the viability of the idea and make sure, if the idea is good enough to actually start the business. According to the evaluation, one can decide, whether to change the idea, abandon it or start up the business.

1.1 My new venture idea.

The main idea of my new venture is to offer all kinds of demanded products and services to the Erasmus exchange students studying in Madrid.

Furthermore, also local students can use our services, if they find them interesting. In the future, if the business is a success, the company can expand to other cities.

The success of the venture lies in the fact that the exchange students demand much more services and products than those offered by the international departments of the universities.

I myself have experience as exchange student, as I have studied abroad in Belgium, Austria, Portugal and Italy. During my studies abroad I observed, what are the needs of a student who is on an exchange program abroad.

I have also been a customer to different companies that provide services to exchange students. As a customer, I was able to compare and evaluate the different products offered and therefore have a better knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the industry. Thereby, I have the opportunities to copy the strengths and avoid the weaknesses or change them into strong points.

Also, I believe that I would be a good manager, as I have developed my social and intercultural skills by travelling a lot. I have visited more than forty countries and have knowledge of five different languages.

All the previously mentioned factors sum up to proving that I could start up a new venture that would help Erasmus exchange students.

This year I am graduating Rey Juan Carlos University with a degree in Business Administration. Moreover, I have taken extra courses on intercultural communication, management, export management, tourism and leisure industry management, history, information technologies, geography, and six languages in 10 different countries.


2 Business description.
The first section of the business plan provides a detailed description of the business.

The name of the business venture shall be “Enjoy it!” The name of the brand, which is also the slogan is short and appealing and also shows the basic philosophy of the new venture. It is easy to pronounce and to remember for the customers. The language chosen is English, considering the importance and the spread of it all over the countries. The name of the business contains an emotional vibe that maintains the funny and dynamic philosophy of the venture.

The business address for any legal aspects will be my personal home address. A special online address has been created for the customers, which already functions and can be visited at http://urjc-lade-businessenglish.blogspot.com

Obviously, the website shall be improved before actually starting up the new company, however, I find it important that it already functions and a welcome post has already been posted on it. All kinds of internet links, useful information pictures and resumes of the company activities, download and other services and products for Erasmus students will be offered on the website http://urjc-lade-businessenglish.blogspot.com.

An e-mail address has also been in order to have a fluent and regular contact with the potential and existing clients of the company. The address is enjoyourerasmus@hotmail.com. It was decided to mix the slogan of the venture “Enjoy” with the word “Erasmus” (our target group), thereby creating two different options, how to read the email address. One option is “Enjoy your Erasmus”, the other one is “Enjoy our Erasmus”. Both of the options are inline with the business idea, as they represent the opportunity for Erasmus to be a client as well as for a local student. Both of these groups will be able to understand the funny and appealing message of the e-mail.

The password that suits both website and the e-mail is the same – “urjclade”. The password shall be changed before starting up the new company.

In the short run, there will be no physical address of the company, however, in the future the company shall possess a room rented in a student residence or assigned by the university on the university campus. The room shall be requested from the university to host the group of students that are involved in the work of the company, who will maintain high cooperation with the international department of the university.

Nowadays, the importance of the tourism industry in the Spanish economy is already high and still growing. Therefore, I believe that our new company will find a free niche in the industry as its provided services and products differ from the ones already provided in the sector. The secret of the success hides in the fact that our company provides academic services which are developed especially for the needs of the exchange students.

The form of business ownership is an important part of the business description.

It was decided to have the sole proprietorship form of ownership because this legal structure is the easiest way to start up this kind of a company. This is the simplest and oldest form of business ownership and it is the best for the new company because in the new company the business’s assets, earnings and debts will be strongly linked to the owner and therefore there will be no legal difference between the sole proprietor as an individual and as a business owner.

This company will need a full time dedication during some periods, for instance during the beginning of the academic year, when the exchange students have just arrived. This period will include some excursions and farewell party. The company will need only part time dedication during the rest of the year.

After graduating I am going to continue studying to improve my knowledge and experience. I will be able to manage my time because my studies will require more time during the examination period and will require less time during the rest of the year.

If I continue studying at Rey Juan Carlos University, I will be able to maintain contact with the Erasmus students.