Kristiana is one of our participants in the third cohort of entrepreneurship course. She speaks 3 languages, she is interested in photography and arts and already has her own business – she makes gift boxes for special occasions.
When she decided to join the training, motivated by her teacher Desislava Alexandrova, Kristiana has already started to develop her business. However, she decided to get involved because "it does not happen often in Breznik or even in Pernik that there is entrepreneurship training." And she was pleasantly surprised both by the lecturers and by the program itself.
"In the beginning it was difficult for me to study - lectures and theory, but it was also very interesting. I was interested in starting a business, but thanks to the training I learned how to expand my knowledge, how to reach more target groups. The theory was very interesting, the creation of a business plan too - to have a precise and specific goal that you want to pursue, that's what I learned, "says Kristiana.
She added: “The lecturers helped me understand that you can have partners, investors, broadened my horizons, they showed me that not everything is a straight line. With the entrepreneurship course, I seemed to see everything we learn in the same subject at school - how to make a business plan and think about how to realize my ideas. "
For her, the most valuable lesson from this experience is that young people need to be involved in this type of initiative, because it creates a great environment for making valuable contacts.
Although only 18 years old, Kristiana doesn't just make gift boxes, she has a box full of ideas in herself.
She plans to expand her range of products with more gift boxes, this time for birthdays and weddings. With one of the girls in the course, they decide to combine their ideas to expand their business. And that's not all, thanks to the good relationship with her mentors, Kristiana was involved in vocational skills training through a number of activities that took place in the Netherlands. Although it is aimed at trainers who work with young people, which is not in the field of the young girl, she grabbed the opportunity and now she plans to implement a project on similar topics in Bulgaria.
The mental health training she plans to hold will take place this autumn in Sofia, where Kristiana will be a student of international relations.
Although she soon left the small town, the young girl is still interested in improving the quality of life in Breznik. She shares that she would be happy to volunteer in future initiatives of the Regional RAISE Youth Center and has ideas for conducting training for career development or creating interest clubs.
"We also need activities related to ecology and environmental protection, which should be aimed at the youngest, because every change starts with them," says Kristiana.
More about her business you can see here: https://www.facebook.com/GiftBoxForYou2
The RAISE Youth project, implemented by the Center for Development of Sustainable Communities, covers over 500 young people aged between 18 and 29, living in the municipalities of Pernik, Breznik, Trun, Radomir, Zemen and Kovachevtsi, who are not currently involved. Within its framework, various trainings for career and personal development are passed, and the most active 20 participants will be provided with additional training and mentoring assistance to start their own business.
The RAISE Youth project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Youth Employment.