Start(-up) at the Finnish

Working As An Importer & Retailer Helped Alan Morris Serve Two Types Of Customers & Maximise His Business

Alan and his partner wanted to start a business, so they decided to base this on their passion for keeping fish, so they founded Lakeuden Akvaariotarvike Oy. He tells Mark how they started importing, distributing and retailing aquariums across Finland. He explains that they started without a concrete business plan, but now planning for the future HAS become more important, especially as they are now considering how to expand and grow the business.
Alan’s tips about serving discrete customer segments, via separate online stores, and how to maximise their profitability, are a must-listen for any potential entrepreneur.
 
🐡 B2B distributor www.aquatics.fi | 🐠 B2C retailer www.fishtank.fi 
Read about the project https://www.syo.fi/blogi/maahanmuuttajayrittajyydesta-pitovoimaa-etela-pohjanmaalle/

How Belkys Barrios Turned Her Passion For Fitness into a Women's Health & Wellness Business

In this episode of "Start-up at the Finnish," Mark speaks with Belkys Barrios, a fitness instructor and personal trainer originally from Honduras in Central America, now living and working in Seinäjoki, Finland. Belkys shares her inspiring journey of moving to a new country and starting her own business in the Women’s Wellness and Fitness industry. She talks about the challenges of dealing with culture shock, studying and upscaling her qualifications, and then starting her own business. 
Belkys explains the opportunities she has encountered as an immigrant entrepreneur and how her determination, plus support for the local fitness community, helped her launch and establish her business. She also shares valuable tips and insights for anyone interested in entrepreneurship. 
 
🏋🏿‍♀️Belkys Barrios Fitness https://www.barriosfit.com/home/ 
Read about the project https://www.syo.fi/blogi/maahanmuuttajayrittajyydesta-pitovoimaa-etela-pohjanmaalle/

Business Consultant Richard Haukka Tells How Working on Short-Term Projects Created Opportunities

Richard explains how his daughter’s decision to move to Finland, her grandparents' homeland, inspired him to give up a 25-year career in Canada and become an entrepreneur in Finland. He tells how, in a short time, he has completed a degree and formed Hawk’s Vision Consulting. This led him to inspire a new downhill mountain biking venture in Lapua, Simpsiö Bikepark, and to launch the Haukka Bikes rental business. Yes, he’s a busy guy!
Richard also considers how practical training placements and a couple of short-term jobs showed him the benefit of doing project work through his consulting company to find new opportunities.
🦅 Hawk's Vision Consulting https://www.hawksvision.info/
Read about the project https://www.syo.fi/blogi/maahanmuuttajayrittajyydesta-pitovoimaa-etela-pohjanmaalle/

Photographer Sarah Senf – How Her Hobbies Gave Her Confidence to Become a Business Owner

Sarah speaks to Mark about her journey to Finland from Germany in her early twenties for a relationship. She tells about how she focused on learning Finnish and worked a couple of part-time jobs before returning to Germany to study professional photography. She also describes how her other hobbies gave her the confidence to become an entrepreneur.
Sarah also explains how the local ‘photographer community’ supports each other and the benefits of collaborating to offer additional services that her customers request.
📸 Sarah Senf Photography https://www.sarahsenf.com/
Read about the project https://www.syo.fi/blogi/maahanmuuttajayrittajyydesta-pitovoimaa-etela-pohjanmaalle/

Mark Wiltshear & Jiuliano Prisada Introduce Start(-up) At The Finnish

In this episode, regular host Mark Wiltshear speaks with Jiuliano Prisada to introduce the Finnish Institute for Enterprise Management (Suomen Yrittäjäopisto), the ‘Pitovoimaa maahanmuuttajayrittäjyydestä Etelä-Pohjanmaalla’ project, and how this podcast series fits with the aims of the project – inspiring entrepreneurship in the South Ostrobothnia region of Finland.
Mark & Jiuliano explain their journeys to becoming entrepreneurs in Finland, how Mark became a podcaster, why South Ostrobothnia needs more immigrant business-owners and how being involved in several things helps to build a strong network.
https://www.syo.fi/blogi/maahanmuuttajayrittajyydesta-pitovoimaa-etela-pohjanmaalle/

Start(-up) at the Finnish – a podcast about entrepreneurship in Finland

Welcome to this new English-language podcast, Start-up at the Finnish. In each episode, we speak to immigrant entrepreneurs to hear their stories, learn from their tips, avoid their missteps and celebrate their progress. Not every start-up is a unicorn, so our aim is to help you take small steps to start your own company that supports your lifestyle.