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Erasmus Young Entrepreneur & Digital Nomad Profile: Guillaume Avond

Community Manager Community Managers, entrepreneurship, Locus Workspace, profile , , ,
Erasmus Young Entrepreneur & Digital Nomad Profile: Guillaume Avond

Check out Guillaume’s website: gamastudy.com
 
Name: Guillaume Avond
Hometown: Montségur sur Lauzon, France
My name is Guillaume Avond and I’m a French Entrepreneur. I founded the Language Agency GAMA Study a year ago. I am now visiting Locus as part of the programme “Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs”. This programme aims to help European entrepreneurs develop their business by gaining experience in another country and increase their list of contacts.
Hometown: Montségur sur Lauzon, France
Fun fact about hometown: Montségur sur Lauzon is a small village located in Provence in the South of France. Although it’s a tiny place (1200 people), we are the national Capital of Black Truffles, that very expensive mushroom.
Occupation: Entrepreneur

Field of study: Master’s Degree in Project Management and Web Development.

Did you already have an idea of what a coworking space was before you came to Locus?
Yes, as I am working remotely myself, and often changing location, I had interest in coworking spaces but never get the chance to work from an actual one. I used to work remotely from home and sometimes from cafés, but I think a coworking space is definitively the best option.

Why did you decide to do your training at Locus?
As I mentioned, I am at Locus as part of the programme “Erasmus for Young Entrepreneur”. Firstly I chose Prague as a destination because it is located in Europe with the same time zone as France, which is a good point for my job. The cost of life is also lower than in Western Europe. Finally I chose Locus because a coworking space was the ideal place for me to grow my business. They were looking for an entrepreneur with web development and community management skills, so we matched perfectly. J

What are some of your goals for your time at Locus?
On one side, I am here to help Locus to grow their online presence on social media and to finalise their new website.


On the other side, I am here to meet other entrepreneurs and freelancers, and enjoy the services of a great coworking space.

What do you do that allows you to be location independent?
I founded the agency GAMA Study last year. It is a language studies agency which helps students from all over the world book language courses at reduced prices.

Thanks to established partnerships with schools, we offer language training tailored to all clients, whether they are professionals, students, new entries to the job market, retirees, or groups, and for all budgets! 

The job allows me to work remotely from everywhere in Europe.

How would you say that being location independent has changed your life?
It allows me much more freedom than I had before, with a fixed-location job. I can travel when I want, where I want, and I can settle in any country in Europe, as long as it is  not too far from France in term of time-zone.

On the other hand, I also lost a bit of freedom in the evenings and on weekends, as I often need to work. I also need to be connected to the Internet all the time so I cannot go backpacking in exotic destinations anymore.

How many countries have you visited and which one did you like the most?
I have visited most of the countries in Europe as well as Peru, Bolivia, USA, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is hard to say which one was my favorite, but Bolivia and Taiwan are definitively on the top of my list because they are not so “touristy”. You can have a real adventure without being surrounded by thousands of tourists, and have the chance to order food without speaking a word of the language.

What are the biggest challenges you have faced living a nomadic lifestyle?
Changing cities is often a mess, as you need to find a new apartment, new friends, new activities, etc. It can be fun at the beginning, but after a while, I just wanted to stay in the same place for a longer period of time.

Do you think Locus Workspace is a good place for digital nomads?

Locus Workspace is the perfect size for a coworking place. Not too small, not too big. There is a real family atmosphere as most of the members know each other’s and often go to restaurants and have lunch together. As well, a large number of the members are not Czech and everybody speaks English here.

What is the best thing about working and living in Prague from a digital nomad’s point of view?
Prague is a great place for Digital Nomads. The quality of life is very high and the prices are low, especially for food and drinks. If your job allows you to get a good salary, you can live like a king here! 

It is also a charming city, full of history but also nature with many parks around. Moreover, it is very safe and you can easily travel to other European countries from here!

Intern profile: Gabriel Goin

Community Manager Community Managers, Locus Workspace, profile ,
Intern profile: Gabriel Goin
My name is Gabriel Goin and I’m a second-year student in a Bachelor degree program for business and management. To complete my second year of study, I needed to do an internship abroad. I chose Prague because I know a lot of people who went there and they all loved it, so I wanted to discover this city.

Hometown: Mouilleron-le-Captif, France
Fun fact about hometown: Captif means captive, and during the French revolution Mouilleron – le – Captif became Mouilleron  -le – libre which means free. Unfortunately they didn’t keep that name.
Occupation: Intern @ Locus Workspace; Student
Field of study: Business and Management

Why did you decide to study business and management?
In high school, I did an economics and society diploma, and I really liked a lesson about economics and consumer behavior. That’s why I wanted to continue in that field. I also chose that because I didn’t have a precise idea of what I wanted to do, and I know this field will open more doors than it will close. 

Did you already have an idea of what a coworking space was before you joined Locus?
Yes. I did an internship in one in France last year. Before that, I didn’t know. But the experience is still very different as it was a young coworking space (just 1 year when I arrived), so it was much smaller and the tasks were different because my main goal was to increase the visibility of the company.

Why did you decide to intern at Locus?
I’m currently in my second year of university and one of the requirements is to do an internship abroad. When I began searching, I already knew that I wanted to intern at a coworking space because of my previous experience, and I really liked it. After hearing about Prague from friends I wanted to discover the city, and Locus was the best option for me because it is an international and English-speaking coworking space.

What are some of your goals for this internship?
My goals for this internship are to improve my English, mostly my pronunciation, learn more about the job of community and event manager, and gain experience in this job.


What kind of responsibilities do you have as a community manager?
My main task is to make people feel welcome and comfortable at Locus. I also have to organize events, ensure they run smoothly, and do many other tasks such as social media marketing, blogging…

Intern Profile: Nirouz Kwrbou

Community Manager Community Managers, Locus Workspace, profile ,
Intern Profile: Nirouz Kwrbou

My name is Nirouz Kwrbou but everyone calls me Rose, I’ve lived in Prague since 2013, I moved from Cairo, Egypt. I am currently on my third year of studying at Anglo-American University in Prague; my field of study is Politics and Humanities. I’ve always been interested in politics since a young age and I knew that that’s what I wanted to study. I also finished my high-school degree here in Prague at Riverside International School. The past years in Prague have been great, I love the city and I feel like a native. Prague is very beautiful and very diverse, and that diversity shows in the Locus members. I’m looking forward to getting to know Locus members better in the coming months and making more international friends.

Hometown: Tripoli, Libya.

Fun Fact about Hometown: The Tripoli International Fair, founded by the Italian government in 1927, is said to be the oldest trade fair in Africa.

Occupation: Intern/ Student

Field of Study: Politics and Society

Why did you decide to study Politics and Society?
Living in the Middle East and coming from a North African country, I have often heard adults talking about our country, Libya, and many others in the region that are facing problems. I am fascinated by the idea of similarities, differences and theories bringing nations together, and the same that are separating and putting borders between them.

Why did you decide to intern at Locus?
At first it was merely to fill in the internship requirement for my university. But I later came to find out that I genuinely do enjoy spending time at Locus, everyone is so friendly and the community reminds me of my school because of how tight knit it is. The space is also beautiful and seeing everyone working makes me want to work.

What are some of your goals for this internship?
My goal is to make connections with like-minded people and to gain experience working and learning from everyone around me.

What kind of responsibilities do you have as a community manager?
One of my main responsibilities with being a community manager is making sure everyone is comfortable and taken care of. As well as planning our weekly or monthly events, social media outreach, marketing, business plan development and so on. It’s a little bit of everything.

Did you already have an idea of what a coworking space was before you joined Locus?
I knew what a coworking space was but I had never been in one or involved with one so I wasn’t sure what the environment would be like. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

Intern Profile: Grace Arel

Community Manager Community Managers, Locus Workspace, profile ,
Intern Profile: Grace Arel
My name is Grace Arel and I am a third-year undergraduate student studying abroad in Prague. My home university, Bethel University, is in St.  Paul Minnesota. This semester I am taking communication and history classes at Charles University as well as interning at Locus. During the few weeks I have been in Prague, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Czech culture. Prague is beautiful and I love the rhythm here. I look forward to getting to know the Locus community better this semester. Here’s a little info about me.
Hometown: Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, United States
Fun Fact about Hometown: There are 11,186 lakes in Minnesota, so its nickname is “The Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Being active and enjoying nature has always been an important part of my life.
Occupation: Intern / Student
Field of Study: Relational Communication, Digital Humanities, and Graphic Design

Why did you decide to study Communication, Digital Humanities, and Graphic Design?

After graduation, I want to work in the Museum field as an exhibition designer or curator. The fields of study I chose equip me with a wide range of skills. Relational Communication examines human behavior in a practical way, while Digital Humanities and Graphic Design give me important “hard” skills to take with me into the workforce. The combination of these fields gives me a variety of options to decide what I want to do with my career.

Why did you decide to intern at Locus?

During my first visit to Locus, I was impressed with the space and the atmosphere. The members seemed very friendly. I was excited to learn that community is one of Locus’ core values- creating relationships is part of the job description! All these factors made me excited to join the team here.

What are some of your goals for this internship?

My internship goals for the semester were to intern at a creatively-minded, cross-cultural, collaboration-based organization that provides me the opportunity to jump in and do hands on designing and event planning as well as practice intercultural communication. Locus gives me the opportunity to do all of the above.

What kind of responsibilities do you have as Digital Marketing Specialist?

As the Digital Marketing Specialist, I will be developing, implementing, and managing marketing campaigns, using web analytics to measure and optimize social media, working on updating the website as well as creating a promotional video for Locus.

Did you already have an idea of what a coworking space was before you joined Locus?

I have friends who I began coworking with this last fall. My friends and I found that we are more efficient and productive when we are surrounded others who are also focused on getting stuff done. When I heard that Locus was a whole workspace dedicated to coworking, I was excited to experience coworking on a larger scale in a cross-cultural setting.

What is a fun fact about you?
As a teenager, I lived in the Amazon jungle for a month teaching English.

Member Profile: Cory Benson

Community Manager Locus Workspace, members, profile ,
Member Profile: Cory Benson

Check out Cory’s website: bikerumor.com

Where are you from?
I am from a small city near Washington, D.C. called Frederick, Maryland. It’s the first city outside
Washington, D.C. that’s not a suburb.
What’s a fun or interesting fact about where you’re from?
The region is very closely tied to Chesapeake Bay and seafood and it’s basically the only thing I miss from growing up: fresh crabs, oysters…

What do you do?
I am a cycling journalist. I report on new bikes, test them, and travel around Europe riding and reporting about new bikes.

What are you currently working on that you’re most excited about?
I am looking forward to riding in new places with friends I meet a few times a year. The next project is called “Rapha Prestige Bohemia” and is a team competition along the German/Czech border. The region is called “Saxon Switzerland” [on the German side] and across the border [on the Czech side] it’s “Bohemian Switzerland”.

Why did you choose to work from Prague?
I married a Czech woman in the USA, it was a good opportunity to return to Czech Republic.
It’s good to work in a lower stress environment. Having kids and raising them is easier and more
relaxed here.
 
Why did you choose to work from a coworking space?
I am not productive at home. I need peer pressure to be motivated. I also needed a place to bring
professional meetings. When I started to work in Locus I had a very different job, I was an architect so
I needed a more professional environment both to attract and maintain developer client relationships.
 
Why did you choose Locus in particular?
The location was a big deal. I started in the former Locus location and I really needed a professional environment and it worked well for the needs I had at that time.
What describes the kind of location-independent work you do?
I work for a company based in the US and I manage a group of remote freelancers in Europe. I am a remote manager. I am definitely based in Prague but I travel out of Prague 30 or 40 times a year both for work and for fun.
Before you joined a coworking space, what were the biggest challenges of doing that kind of work?
One is trying to strike a balance between work and play. Traveling is tiring, I need to recover but don’t
have time for it. Work traveling can be very entertaining but time consuming. Before joining a coworking
space, the biggest challenge was separating the work and play: riding a bike for fun or riding a bike as a job.
 
How have you overcome those challenges?
By separating work and home physically. Commuting to the office by bike gives me the chance to move
away from the home life and be ready for the work day.
 
What is the main benefit you’ve gotten working from Locus (not already mentioned above)?
Having a place that is reliable. Here, I don’t have to worry about it when I come back from traveling
or from the weekend. I can just come to Locus, sit down, and start working.
What’s the best thing about living and working in Prague from the perspective of being a location-independent professional?
It’s a city which is central in Europe and it’s really easy to drive to the Alps or Belgium. The airport is
good and it takes me few hours by plane to go anywhere in Europe, which is good for my work. I can
get on my bike and be completely out of the city within half an hour, Prague ends relatively quickly.
 
Any other interesting projects you’re working on that you haven’t mentioned already?
I have an upcoming trip to Mallorca, then a road trip to Switzerland, then I’ll be in Tenerife in November.
These are all work trips.
 
What is a fun fact about you?
I don’t have only one job: I was a stonemason first, now I am a journalist, I am also a licensed architect. I was the first green building LEED accredited professional in the Czech Republic and I teach building technologies at International Architecture University in Prague.