Success stories

Yulia Romanets is 29 years old and comes from Ukraine. Before the outbreak of the war, she started working as a freelance stylist in Ukraine. She moved to Germany and realised that she could use this time to further her career on an international level. Yulia already knew that she needed to expand her network and learn more about styling and running a business as a freelancer in Europe, as this is a big difference from the Ukrainian way of working. She wanted to become a fashion and personal stylist. Both fields require different preparation and knowledge. Yulia also knew that there were areas closely related to styling, such as photography, where she could gain experience in the administrative field, but also make useful collaborations. She then applied for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme and found a host, Anna Martynenko, who had gained entrepreneurial experience as a freelance photographer in Berlin. Anna was interested in working with Yulia, sharing her experience and knowledge of freelancing in Germany and learning more about how styling and photography are connected.

Yulia and Anna worked together for three months. Anna helped Yulia with the administrative tasks of a freelancer and introduced her to international clients. Yulia learned more about mood boards and their importance for any kind of collaboration. The new entrepreneur also discovered Berlin locations, trends, brands and local businesses to collaborate with. Both entrepreneurs explored photography and post-production. Anna showed Yulia different techniques of shooting, selecting photos and going through post-production. Yulia and Anna shared their knowledge in photography and styling and benefited from exchanging information about their countries' markets and different approaches to freelancing. According to Anna, her participation as a host entrepreneur allowed her to benefit from new ideas and joint work, to develop her skills as a mentor, and to share and learn knowledge about styling.