Today we’d like to introduce you to Franziska Pohl.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Franziska. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
For me to be where I am right now it took me seven years and a move from Germany to San Diego. It started with a language school in 2012 where I fell in love with San Diego. My first San Diego visit was great but I left without making one American friend. I met a lot of international students & visited all touristy places in San Diego but I still didn’t know what it was like to live like a San Diegan.
I knew I had to come back so I studied Business Administration in Bamberg, Germany to do a semester abroad at San Diego State University. In Fall 2014, I was able to start my second journey at San Diego State University. During that time I was able to rent my car, live with American students & learn more about what San Diegans do.
After my Semester at SDSU, I was motivated to find an Internship in San Diego as well. And I did, a year later in 2015 at VAVi Sports & Social. I was responsible for the new international interns & gave them advice on where to find housing or what to do in San Diego. I loved helping and sharing my experience with them.
My time at VAVi in combination with my experiences as an international student made me realize that there are a lot of students and interns in San Diego that don’t know how to use their short time to learn as much about the San Diegan Culture as they want to.
Fast forward a few years later and several more trips to San Diego, it was clear to me that something had to be done. Enter in, Integration Abroad.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The first obstacle showed up before I was even able to start my own business. I needed a visa that allowed me to start a business in us. It took me longer than I thought to prove my business could be viable enough for the government to approve. After almost a year I was allowed to start and make it official. I was able to come up with the way I want to serve my customers, what kind of messages I want to show & how to run the marketing campaigns. But there were a few other things that were hard for me. It wasn’t easy but I was lucky enough to know an accountant who helped me out with the financial part since that’s something I am not good at. I’ve learned early that it’s okay to ask for help especially if someone else is better at something than you are. It’s also allowed me to focus on my customers & the actual growth of my business. I’ve also been listening to people in specific industries who have way more experience than I do & it made life as a small business owner more exciting and less scary. There were a lot of up’s and downs but I tried to focus on making my customers happy & how far I have come.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
At Integration Abroad we support international students & interns who are coming to San Diego with housing, transportation, lifestyle & more. Our goal is to make their stay in San Diego as smooth and safe as possible. We make sure to arrange all basic needs & guide them through their time in San Diego with weekly event updates, a personal tour guide, sports leagues with VAVi to meet other San Diegans, etc.
We’re a one stop shop with personal mentors which sets us apart from other businesses in the industry. Especially for companies that don’t have the time to help their incoming interns it’s a great way to ensure their interns are in good hands and they can focus on their internship.
Since I founded this company with my fiance, a local San Diegan, we can give our customers an experience made by people who have gone through what they are going through and know the area better than others.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up bilingual with German as my first language & Romanian as my second. I’ve always been very interested in different cultures & loved analyzing people from other countries to understand the differences.
Since I was the oldest child I was always responsible for my little brother and cousins. I loved taking the lead and ensuring everyone was okay. I knew they were looking up to me & I tried to be a good role model. I was always a big dreamer, very positive and sometimes naive. Which was the perfect recipe to reach my goals. This recipe was perfect to help me stay motivated and patient even when the road got hard. I loved setting goals for myself & achieving them. I had big dreams and I was able to understand that I need to approach my dream step by step without giving up.
After my first visit to the states in 2008, I knew I wanted to live & work here. I was able to understand early on that every step I take needs to bring me one step closer to my dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.integrationabroad.com
- Phone: 6194305243
- Email: Franzie@integrationabroad.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/integrationabroad/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/integrationabroad/
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