From 'Princess' to Entrepreneur
Growing up, I was very comfortable. Many would have considered me lucky. I know I was.
When my parents first met in Russia, they didn’t have a lot of money. Before I turned two, my dad got a new job, so we moved abroad, to Norway. We stayed there for 7 years before making another move to England. And that is where and when the cash started to flow in my family, it continued to increase as the years went by. My parents were happy to give me a childhood they didn’t have themselves.Whatever I asked for, was given to me. I had my own computer at the age of 11 in my own bedroom.
During my teenage years, I was lucky enough not to work part-time, unlike my high school peers.
I never knew what I wanted to do for a living. I didn’t enjoy many subjects at school. When I went off to university, I chose to pursue tourism because travelling seemed like an interest of mine. I was still extremely privileged during my university years. I lived away from home, but my dad still paid for my studies and accommodation. I was renting a nice flat in London with a friend. I grew up with a hard-working father and an introverted stay-at-home mother who never seemed to have a desire to learn anything new. I came to realise that I felt a lot like my mom - I was given the financial support to do whatever I wanted, I didn’t need to do much myself. My future and the thought of being unable to financially support myself scared me. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t know either. I lacked confidence. The only independent source of income I had ever had was from babysitting at the age of 21.
My parents moved to Gran Canaria while I was still studying Tourism. As I graduated, I felt lost. London didn’t seem like a good place to be in. I decided to move to Gran Canaria. It seemed like a good option - I wanted to learn Spanish and live on a tropical island with loads of tourists. Maybe I could even find a job in tourism? My dad suggested that he would eventually buy an apartment for me to live in. So, I imagined myself living in my own apartment, on a beautiful island... and of course, I decided to go for it. I started a new life chapter in the Canary Islands in September 2018. After a little over a year of getting settled and acquainted with the new culture and language, I got hired by a certain UK airline to be a service agent (doing check-ins). This was a huge step for me in 2019, starting an official working life as an employee. It was a part-time job; so, I couldn’t support myself fully but I was proud of myself for making a baby step.
As I earned more than I’d ever earned before in my life (which was not actually that much), it felt great. I was happy to spend money that I had earned myself and wasn’t just handed to me. But as time passed, I noticed that something was a little bit off. I felt no emotional or intellectual connection to my job. I was simply trained to fake a smile for each customer interaction I had. For some, it works, but for me, it certainly didn’t. Although I struggled with getting out of my comfort zone and lacked confidence to try new things, I still wanted to do something with larger meaning. I thought working for myself would’ve been great but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Few months before agreeing to my job I had seen an Instagram account that talked about being your own boss and working from anywhere in the world. I decided to look up that account again and see what it was all about. So I looked it up, I think in February, 2020 and as I learned about it, I knew I wanted to do it.
As COVID struck the world, tourism in the Canary Islands stopped. it was the perfect time to move forward with this opportunity I had discovered. I had to buy, what you could call an expensive product, try it, and become an independent distributor. Basically, I was investing in this product and was hoping to get profit. I was pumped about the idea of finally providing for myself. An image of my future independent self kept me going.
I never saw myself as an entrepreneur or a salesperson, but when I heard that I was supposed to promote clean, healthy, and sustainable products and in turn become financially free, I was in.
For me, 2020 is a year of drastic personal growth and change. Oh, and now I can also say that I own an incredible medical-grade water ionizer machine that creates 7 different PH levels of water. I drink alkaline water that hydrates better than any other water and is rich in antioxidants. I was working from wherever I wanted, owned a machine that creates superior quality drinking water, helped other people to live a healthier life, and supported myself financially. Now, I could call myself an entrepreneur.
Until this change in my life, I never questioned why people don’t think about water nearly as much as they think about food and material items. Now, water is something I am passionate about. What excites me the most, though, is helping other people start their business journeys and earn high commissions while being completely themselves, promoting true health, and educating people about water, specifically, Kangen Water. I feel like I have a purpose, a challenge, a voice.
I see myself impacting many lives and leading my own team to do the same. I am now thinking of several ideas that I want to bring to life.I used to be a shy, insecure, “princess” girl that never stepped outside of her comfort zone and now, I am working on building my own team, empowering others, advocating for health, well-being and sustainability. I don’t even know how I got here. I am not only financially secure, but I am, little by little, growing entrepreneurial mindset and experience. I promised myself that I wouldn’t raise my children as my parents raised me.
I am never going to look back and although, I know that my parents will be ready to help me out financially whenever I ask them, I don’t want it anymore. One day, I will return the favour and spoil them with gifts and trips that they never saw coming from me.
Text: Yana
Illustration: Saulė Gimžūnaitė