My routine as a New Entrepreneur
My name is Enrico Armenia, my hometown is Trieste. I am a Web Designer and Social Media Specialist and I help professionals and small businesses to create an online presence.
I have always believed that my training did not necessarily have to be academic, so I moved to the other side of the world to gain experiences that no book could ever give me.
In the summer of 2022, I started my Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs project in Lisbon. My host company is Tinta nos Nervos, a bookshop, art gallery and co-working space. There, I am managing social media to increase the online sales of their e-commerce. With my host, Luís Azeredo, I undertook entrepreneurial training and new international projects that allowed me to launch my digital agency.
It has been more than two months since I moved to Lisbon. A lot has happened in these weeks.
The work is progressing well, every Saturday there are art exhibitions and workshops. A couple of weeks ago, there was the inauguration of an art exhibition by a local artist (Gonzalo), a famous painter and designer in Lisbon. During the inauguration, I also had the pleasure of meeting a Portuguese actor Ricardo Carriço with his wife and I had the chance to have a conversation with them.
In July, with my host entrepreneur, we focused on creating the pitch of my business plan.
My daily routine starts at 7 in the morning, I read for about twenty minutes and then I write a travel diary about the activities I do, places I see, people I meet, my thoughts in short, all the experiences I live. Then, I take the metro, walk the short distance to reach the shop and start my activities. My business deals with the creation of social content, both videos and photos and updates of the same on my website, for example creating quotes and video feedback to customers who buy books.
I collaborate with the host company team who help me write in Portuguese. Every Tuesday I attend meetings where I have the opportunity to present new ideas and opinions to the whole team. I have created an editorial plan to better organise the content, a new practice for the company. I have introduced new software and show how best to use it. I talk to both local and international customers, as the shop is located in a very touristy street of the city. I have met some famous local artists.
Recently, I started a new project, opening my Youtube channel for the first time. I share videos on a weekly basis, communicating in front of a camera, on Erasmus initiatives, my life in Portugal, and my experiences in New Zealand, Australia and Lithuania. So far, I have received great feedback from those who follow me. It is a new way to push myself out of my comfort zone, improve myself as a person and give value to the world.
Every Tuesday and Thursday in July from 7 to 11 pm I attended a basic course in Portuguese, thanks to which I had the opportunity to make good friends with a Dutch guy who is active in the same filed as mine, an English girl, a Tunisian boy and Americans form California.
In mid-July, I did an interview at an online event in Trieste, where I shared my travel experiences and promoted Erasmus and WHV projects for young people, because they are still little known opportunities.
The first week of August, a client of mine from Trieste, a contemporary painter, came to visit Lisbon. I showed him the host's company introduced the team, in order to establish possible future collaborations. We visited Porto (the second largest city in Portugal), various museums, art exhibitions in various galleries and made contacts for possible collaborations.
I met two potential clients, an Italian who has a publishing house in Lisbon and a Portuguese art non-profit association where I presented my agency and my services. They were very enthusiastic.
Thanks to the business plan, I am clarifying how I want to set up my company, what financing could be needed and the place where I would like to operate.
Every day, I am absorbing new input from international people, getting new ideas and settling into the working mindset of the Portuguese. I have visited many places such as the coin museum, the contemporary art museum, the Fado museum, several beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. I made friends with a Brazilian guy, who is helping me learn and practice Portuguese.
These have been very intense months and I notice constant improvements, both professional and personal.
I like Lisbon and the project is very useful.
Enrico Armenia (IT)
Hi, I'm Enrico, originally from Italy. I'm creative, dreamers, travellers, independent person. Currently, I'm doing EYE in Lisbon in a Bookstore
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