The following article appeared in the Daily Herald newspaper on Tuesday, March 17, 2015.
Definitely hope we can do this again sometime soon! I realize that many people are interested in this topic, so would love to share what I know.
If you or an organisation you know would love to organize an entrepreneurship workshop, do let me know and we can work something out!
Caribbean Students take part in entrepreneurship workshop
UTRECHT- – Damien Schmidt, a young professional in the Netherlands originating from St. Eustatius, and the Caribbean student association CSV on Saturday concluded a successful two part entrepreneurship workshop in Utrecht.
Ten mostly-senior students and young professionals from the islands attended the event which focused on the so-called business model canvas and the business validation board. The intention of the workshop was to introduce participants to entrepreneurship and to help them develop their idea of starting up their own business, explained facilitator Schmidt.
“We taught the participants how to work out their plans, how to communicate and approach potential clientele. They then had to test, speak to outsiders about their business plan, and further develop their idea,” said Schmidt, owner of marketing and communications company DASTRU Consulting.
The first part of the workshop, held on February 28, started off with a segment called entrepreneurs church, which served as a motivational, inspiring instrument to jump into the actual workshop. The second part of the workshop on March 14, started with a recap, followed by presentations of business plans which were judged by Schmidt and Jeffrey Williams of CSV based on viability and from an investor’s perspective. Rolph Frolijk was the winner.
Schmidt said the workshop clearly demonstrated that there was a need for these kinds of workshops, not only among senior students and young professionals from the Dutch Caribbean in the Netherlands, but also in St. Eustatius where he held a similar workshop in January this year. On the request of CSV, Schmidt hosted a workshop on branding in March 2014. “It went well, so we agreed to do another one,” said Schmidt.
CSV is a non-profit organisation with the objective to help students achieve their (academic) goals in the Netherlands.
