Ana Paniagua gives free rein to her creativity. In her office in Frankfurt she draws sketches, tries things out on her computer, develops ideas – and tosses them into the rubbish bin. Then the perfect idea comes to her. She grins and throws herself back into her work. Around 300 km to the south in Hechingen in Baden-Wurttemberg, Imad Srywel is bent over the engine bay of a vehicle, deep in concentration. His movements are precise, then he checks everything one last time and wipes his oily hands on a cloth, a look of satisfaction on his face. Paniagua is a media designer, Srywel a master vehicle mechatronics engineer. It’s hard to imagine two more different careers, but these two young people share something in common: both are migrants and both have ventured into the world of self-employment.
“Mexicans are feistier – and happier, too, perhaps, but the Germans are more reliable. I like that a lot,” is how Ana Paniagua describes the cultural differences. The 33-year-old comes from Mexico City and studied graphic design in her homeland. It was love that brought her to Germany, where she first worked in Frankfurt as an au pair and took a language course to get to C1 level.
More than anything I always wanted to bring my own ideas to life.
Ana Paniagua, media designer
It would have been complicated to get her Mexican degree officially recognised in Germany, so she decided to take a three-year training course in media design at a small advertising agency in Wiesbaden.
Advice and start-up funding
“The training was excellent and my team were lovely, but more than anything I always wanted to bring my own ideas to life. And the best way to do that was by going freelance,” Ana explains. She attended preparation courses, got advice from the Employment Agency, wrote a business plan and at last won start-up funding. Since 2023, she has been creating designs and websites for small and medium-sized companies. Online sales of her range of illustrations, jewellery designs and printed bags are growing, too.
School leaver – trainee – master
