Scotsman is selling music business events in Poland
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This post is an interview with a Scotman named Brian Allan who is selling music business events in Poland mainly but also abroad. The plan is for this type of interview to be published on these pages.
The interview was in English and has also been translated into Danish by me. If you prefer to read it in Danish you can read it here. The interview was made in January this year.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and why you moved to Poland?
“My name is Brian Allan, I’m Scottish. I was in the British Army for 5 years and I went to Canada for 6 years. I became a singer, made a few albums and had a few songs on the radio in Canada and then in Scotland and I got my first record deal in 2002 in Los Angeles.
Moved there for two years and I started writing with top producers and songwriters behind successes such as Skylar Gray, Kiss, Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and all those people.
I moved to Poland in 2004 because I had a Polish friend and he invited me to come and visit him here and I fell in love with Poland. Then I did a lot of corporate concerts and I had my own bar called Rock for two years. I used to host live music events for ZuraWina and Pure Sky Club every Friday.
It’s basically me, I’m the singing chef I stayed in Poland because I have 3 beautiful Polish children, so I decided to stay here and Warsaw is my home.”
What has changed the most since you moved to Poland when it comes to doing business here?
“People speak more English. They are a little more open to trying new things … not much, but a little. It is still very secular, which is due to the fact that the government is not in a positive mood towards foreigners. Poles tend to stick together. They still may not see the long-term business benefits rather than a quick profit.”
What are you doing in business today?
“Trying to find online events (interview was made during lockdown, red.). Which is hard considering my core business requires people to be together so they can sing like a choir. It is impossible to teach Zoom due to layers. My first and last event in 2020 was for L’oreal in January.”
Wow, that’s a long time ago
“Yes.”
What are the benefits of doing business in Poland?
“None.”
What is the most difficult part of doing business in Poland?
“Confidence. Getting partners to see the long term. Not having a strong Polish partner My former Finnish business partner said it best “Poles think that if they lose, it’s OK, as long as their partner loses more”
I’m sorry to hear that, but many other expat- Entrepreneurs have a different view. Don’t you think you’ve been very unlucky?
“I think what I wrote Bro … as a freelancer here, if you do not have a strong Polish partner, you will have it hard. And I was very unlucky I know successful expats here without Polish business partner It certainly happens, but it also depends on the industry.”
What are the main differences between doing business in Scotland/UK and in Poland?
“The language. I never had a Polish partner here. It’s hard to try to think BIG here … In addition, people love when you fail. Very strange mentality for me. Poland reminds me a lot of Japan, where everyone says yes to everything, as it is polite, but very few follow up.”
What do you think it will be like to do business in Poland in 5 years?
“Better. It gets better year by year.”
Better how?
“People start thinking long term. The older generation where they want to see a quick profit is slowly disappearing.”
That was the interview with Brian Allan, who as mentioned earlier sells music business events mainly in Poland. Thanks to Brian for attending.
You will find his company website here, where you can read more about his business events and see more photos from previous events. Do you also want to start a company in Poland? So contact me in this regard also if you need a Polish subcontractors etc.