Jasmin, Laura, Laisa, Julia, and Svea are 11th-graders at Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium in Münster. While their interest in business topics was limited before, Videoblogger Economics showed them how exciting it can be to dive into the world of businesses. Their contribution to the competition was so good that they won the Audience Award in the online voting—and a visit to the professional bloggers of Studio71 in Berlin. Read here as they tell us about their experience:

TOUR OF STUDIO71

Not particularly well-rested but full of excitement and enthusiasm, we boarded the train to Berlin at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. The train was surprisingly punctual, so that we already arrived at Berlin Central Station just before 10:00 a.m. A short trip by subway and we had arrived at our hotel, where we had just a little time to unwind before moving on to Studio71 at 12:00 noon.

Once we had arrived on the Studio71 premises, we were given an extensive and very interesting tour. We were allowed to look into all of the areas, and Torben Glander explained to us in detail what each of the departments did. He also took plenty of time to answer all of our questions. The tour gave us a whole new perspective of what goes on behind the scenes during the production and publication of a professional YouTube video. We also caught a glimpse of two YouTubers in the studio who were immersed in a preliminary talk for a new production.

MEETING WITH JANAKLAR

After the tour, we were joined by Austrian YouTuber JANAklar. Our interview with her was very interesting, and she was extremely nice to us. We were able to ask many questions, which she responded to openly and honestly, without mincing words. She explained to us that you can only succeed in this profession if you put your whole heart and soul and all your time into it. It was especially interesting to hear what she had to tell us about the life of YouTubers. The videos they produce are extremely labor-intensive. For instance, while filming, it is important to make sure to have good sound and light conditions, and editing alone can take many hours. In general, this profession means a lot of work, because self-employment comes with a lot of responsibilities: For instance, you have to do your own tax returns and arrange for your own health insurance. We would never have thought that making a successful video would take so much additional work next to filming, and it was very impressive to see this in person. But it was also cool to hear about the many facets of this lifestyle and profession. Collaborations with large companies and corporations present them with many opportunities, such as the chance to attend high-profile events or travel to exotic countries. That sounds very enticing, of course, but it's also a lot of hard work happening behind the scenes that can only be managed if you go at it with a whole lot of passion.

BERLIN BY DAY AND BY NIGHT 

After the interview, we took our leave from Studio71 and still had enough time to process our many impressions over a nice meal, after which we took a look around the city. Among others, we visited the information center of the city palace, the Kurfürstendamm, and of course also the Brandenburg Gate. In the evening, we explored the Oranienstraße in the Kreuzberg district. The hotel offered welcome recuperation after this long day. On Friday, everything was considerably more relaxed. After breakfast, we went around the shops a bit and then had a look at a few different corners of Berlin before jointly making our way home around 6:30 p.m. We had two really fun, exciting, inspiring, but also exhausting days that went by much too quickly!