Success stories

New entrepreneur:
Šárka Vyhnánková (Czech Republic)
Age: 26
Company name: Studio Šárka Vyhnánková (Start-up)
Sector of activity: Crafts, art materials and accessories

Host entrepreneur:
Arnulf Christian Dähne (Germany)
Age: 50
Company name: Linke, Dähne & Partner Restauratoren pons asini (21 years of experience)
Sector of activity: Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services

After a parenting gap in between studies the new entrepreneur Šárka Vyhnánková is currently finishing her bachelor's degree in stone restoration. She has always been very curious to find new opportunities for experience abroad. Whenever there is a space and an interesting place where she can improve her skills, she does not hesitate to travel. After 12 years of part-time work in the field of restoration/conservation of cultural heritage, she decided to become a freelancer. This is formally the only way to succeed in the market in this field, but Šárka did not know anything about business before and started looking for programmes to learn. The EYE programme caught her interest. She found it very interesting to combine practical experience abroad with helping her start her own business and improve her language skills. Moreover, there was a gap of several months between her degrees, so she decided to give it a try.

With her host entrepreneur Arnulf Christian Dähne, Šárka concentrated on ongoing projects such as the restoration of baroque ceilings in a hunting lodge, including frescoes and stucco work. Šárka had to decide for herself how to save a sandstone monument - and lead a discussion about the restoration process and compare different approaches to threats in both countries. The new and host entrepreneurs discussed the challenges of running a business, time management, combining multiple projects, ordering special materials, preparing invoices, taxes, etc. In the office-related part of the work, she got to know new tools, such as an invoicing programme that she will use in her own business in the future. Finally, she was involved in the communication process by participating in work meetings and control days with the heritage office officials. All these day-to-day tasks helped Šárka to develop a much clearer idea of the parts that make up freelancing in restoration. It is a very complex field that combines craftsmanship, knowledge of technology and materials, the ability to manage a project, to solve unforeseen issues, financial knowledge and plans, and many other entrepreneurial aspects.

The most important benefit for the new entrepreneur was that she had the opportunity to learn how this very unusual practice is run, both in terms of project development and office management. This field is very unpredictable and depends on grants and donations from investors, which means that you have to be very flexible and learn to work on different projects at the same time. Usually new colleagues are not involved in decision-making, but participating in EYE gave her valuable inputs about other aspects necessary for developing a new business. Šárka greatly appreciated the trust and responsibility given to her by Arnulf. It helped her to combine the theoretical and practical parts, which she found very useful. After her participation, she has a very clear idea of where and how to start her own business and what she needs to get started.

For more information, please contact the local contact points involved in the exchange:

New entrepreneur's contact point:
Regional Development Agency of South Bohemia (Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic)

Host entrepreneur's contact point:
ITALIENISCHE HANDELSKAMMER FUR DEUTSCHLAND (Frankfurt Am Main, Germany)

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