As a part of our Lift Your Spirit series, we like to introduce you to innovative people and ideas. We find these people and what they do to be inspiring, so we sit down with them and ask them about their creative spirit. We hope that you find your spirit lifted in reading about what inspires their work and ideas.
Meet Stefania Scognamiglio. First as an intern, later as coworking space manager, she spent 3 years in Brussels to develop Betacowork, the most established shared office coworking space in the city. In fact, she believed so much in the idea of coworking that she decided to bring it to her home country, Italy. We had the opportunity to sit down with Stefania before she returned to the motherland and to ask her a few questions about her experience and what inspires her.
Coworking & Betacowork
-Why do you think coworking is important?
Coworking improves the life of both entrepreneurs and the economy. It’s a special place– it facilitates collaboration between professionals in a creative workplace. Coworking also creates a support network for entrepreneurs, where they can meet and ask questions.
-What makes Betacowork unique?
Definitely the community. There are more than 200 active members, and they share much more than a desk! Betacowork has a great community.
Stefania’s Experience
Stefania applied for her internship at Betacowork through Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, an initiative that tries to bring aspiring and established entrepreneurs together – all over Europe.
-What made you apply for your internship?
I wanted to learn from an experienced entrepreneur. I needed concrete work experience after all of my studies. Why coworking? I wanted to discover an emerging business. It’s not really well known in Italy, so I wanted to learn more about it. Last but not least, there was Ramon, the founder of Betacowork. Not only is he a true pioneer for coworking in Europe, he was – and is – an amazing person to work with.
-What about your experience do you find worth sharing?
It was an incredible learning opportunity. The huge community at Betacowork provided a lot of help, support, and encouragement. I didn’t hesitate to launch myself in PR, events, and public speaking, so I guess this experience taught me to be more open and confident in myself or my ideas.
-What are your plans for the future?
After 3 years in Brussels, I decided to move back to Italy, my home country. I wanted to bring coworking back! Like I said before, coworking is not really well-known in Italy, and I think it’s a very important thing to have. My life is really changing!
Inspiring the Entrepreneurial Spirit
-How do you turn your ideas into realities?
You need to try, to experiment. You have to make mistakes! You also have to ask for help. You can learn from others’ experiences, and who knows? They may have made the same mistake and can help you.
-Who or what inspires you the most?
I’m not inspired by a specific person, but I’m definitely inspired by the entrepreneurs and freelancers that are around me every day. They don’t depend on anyone else, and they believe in their own ideas! It’s such a stressful thing to do, but their ideas come to life and that inspires me.
-Do you have any advice for someone with an entrepreneurial spirit?
If you have an idea and you really believe in it, then share it with others and ask for help. I would recommend that you apply for a job in a startup or coworking. If you already have that mindset, it’s good to involve yourself in it. You can really learn a lot and develop the right skills!
-How do you think that you can inspire others?
By experience, I want to show that you don’t have to be afraid of making mistakes. I was proactive and willing to learn. This internship created a job and a life opportunity! I want to bring this same experience to my home country.
And of course… Coffee!
-How does coffee lift your spirit?
For me, just smelling coffee is enough to give me energy and positive thoughts! When I was younger, my mother would make coffee 3 times a day and I would love the smell of it.
If you would like to keep up with Stefania’s journey, you can follow her on Twitter. Want to read more about Betacowork? You can browse through their webpage. If you’d like to stop by, you can find them at: 4 Rue des Pères Blancs in Etterbeek – Brussels.
Questions?
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