[quote style=”boxed”]Get married and have children earlier![/quote]
Karl Schwärzler was born in 1961 in Austria. He shares his passion for events and being a host with his parents, who run hotels in Austria and Liechtenstein. After managing hotels in Canada, Switzerland and Austria, Karl decided to move to Vienna to learn about tourism consulting and study marketing and sales at Vienna University of Economics.
Upon returning to Liechtenstein, he decided to found his own business, a tourism consulting bureau. In 1996, he hosted the first rent a village event for the International Flight Attendants and Airline Pilots Association (IFALPA) and in 1999 he founded xnet, a communication agency which markets “rent a village by xnet.” Karl Schwärzler lives in Liechtenstein, is married and is the proud father of 2 sons and 1 daughter.
What are you working on right now?
At the moment we are working on an international sales forum to be held in September 2012 in Bregenz, Austria and a couple of rent a village events coming up this year with 150 to 450 people in attendance.
Where did the idea for rent a village by xnet come from?
The idea came with the occasion to organize something special (authentic and away from mainstream conferences and incentive programs) for the IFALPA ski meeting in 1996. We decided to give them the whole village and organize everything very professionally, like a resort, but together with the locals as partners. This event was very successful, and soon after Peugeot Germany, Wyeth Pharma and Arcor Mannesmann held rent a village events in the original village of Brand.
What does your typical day look like?
Taking kids to school, checking email in the office, meetings with clients, gathering ideas for events and developing new programs.
How do you bring ideas to life?
Mostly in a team with our creative director, Wolfgang C. Kuthan and Angela Engler, my assistant.
What’s one trend that really excites you?
The age of less.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Organizing a sales conference for 1,200 people who didn’t like the destination in the Alps their management chose because they were originally told they were going to Orlando, Florida. Learning: you still can make people happy. Just go for it and give it your best.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Get married and have children earlier!
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Keep calm and carry on! (In success and crisis)
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
A platform for social events, helping institutions find a corporate partner for events.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and how would you go about it?
Greed and hunger! I would want everyone to give a percentage of his/her monthly salary to providing international aid.
Tell us a secret.
I am not sure if 3 children is enough ;-). Don’t tell my wife.
What are your three favorite online tools and what do you love about them?
- Facebook: The viral aspect.
- Prezi.com: Different presentations and easy to work with.
- YouTube: The viral aspect.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
The Age of Less by David Bosshart because less can also bring benefit. More quality than quantity. An auspicious way to change our lifestyles for the better.
What’s on your playlist?
Lucio Dalla, Tiger Lillies and Kruder & Dorfmeister.
When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?
I laugh out loud very often. One thing that recently made me laugh was a smartphone video on YouTube in which a frog sits in front of a smartphone screen and tries to catch animated flies and ants that run across the screen. After being frustrated after 6 or 7 failed attempts, the frog bites the thumb of the guy holding the iPhone and hangs onto it.
Who is your hero?
My parents who are facing the inevitable final stage of life with audacity and dignity; just as they lived.
Will you overcome the third worldwide economic crisis since the founding of xnet?
Yes because rent a village by xnet is unique and is being discovered more and more by those outside German speaking countries.
Will mankind become smarter and avoid a world war because of atomic programs, hunger and economic crisis?
I hope so!
Connect:
Rent A Village Website: www.rentavillage.com
xnet Website: xnet Website:www.xnet.li
Karl Schwärzler Email: [email protected]
Karl Schwärzler on Facebook: www.facebook.com/karl.schwaerzler
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.