What risks will an entrepreneur face on an untapped market sector? What education does an entrepreneur need that seeks to invest on the spa market? How are critical moments overcome, and how does it feel to hire your first member of staff?
"Being an entrepreneur primarily means employing staff who depend on you, working more than any employee and having the largest possible amount of freedom to make decisions. Of course, the decisions must be made alone, so there are also risks related to the decisions," explains Liliana Paraipan, general manager of Eden Spa centre, which opened at the end of 2005
At 31, Paraipan runs her company alone, but was just 24 when she opened her first business together with her husband. The faculty she graduated from gave her the opportunity to choose the business she subsequently became involved in.
She targeted an untapped market niche - the spa segment, and outlined a business strategy.
"In 2005, very few people were aware of the concept, and even fewer thought of investing in it. On the one hand, being a pioneer in a field provides the advantage of being the first to arrive, but also throws up the risk of an uneducated market," says Paraipan.
She opened her first day spa in Romania to fulfil a personal ambition. After a lack of market competition, Paraipan says that in the first year she focused heavily on the training of professional therapists and educating customers with regard to spa services. When the spa opened, the team consisted of 10 people, whilst at present the number of staff stands at 14. Initial investments topped 200,000 euros.
As the boss, she believes her position involves a higher degree of responsibility compared with an employee. At the same time, she also has to be ready for possible failures and have solutions to cope with these situations. In her opinion, the ma
