Every day I tell hundreds of women that they are valuable. That they have already done a lot. That every child raised, every meal cooked and every difficult decision made is an achievement. But I often wonder: have I done enough myself?
I am not superhuman. I am Ukrainian. Like millions of my compatriots, I have lived through war and the unknown. But I am also a manager, a teacher and an accountant, and I felt responsible not only for myself, but for everyone who trusted me with their education, their career and their hope.
From McDonald's to my own practice
When I arrived in the UK, I could not say a simple sentence in English. From my very first days I worked at McDonald's. My diplomas, certificates and awards did not stop me, and I talked about it openly with my clients, who own companies. It was an extraordinary experience: lessons with native English speakers, and paid ones at that. In my spare time I studied British tax law, explaining everything I learnt in videos and free consultations.
Six months later I opened an accountancy practice in the UK. A few months after that I launched a course for Ukrainian accountants. Today it has more than 300 graduates, and the course is CPD accredited.
Why women
I work with very different people, often with men who own businesses, and it is easy for me: I think logically, speak to the point and respect structure. But my passion is women. A man running a business is often focused only on work. A woman carries the business, the children, the kitchen and the house. And then there is war, moving, studying, a new country, a new language, loneliness. And she survives. And she grows.
During the war our husbands were not allowed to leave, and we found ourselves in other countries with children, without the language and without support. We had to start from scratch.
The road taught me
I used to be afraid of driving to Kyiv. The war changed me. Bulgaria, Istanbul, Paris, Barcelona, London: I drove everywhere. And I realised that if I can drive in a foreign country without knowing the language and under new rules, then starting a new business is not scary. An accident is a fatal mistake. A business is just a step.
I studied the traffic rules of each country and saw that they are similar. It is the same with taxes: if you know the system of one country, you can deal with others. That is how my YouTube project Business in Europe was born, where I explain, together with local experts, how to set up a business in different countries. Then came the UK accounting course, the course for the self-employed, and translations into Polish, Arabic, Persian and English. And there is more to come.
I am not perfect. But I share my experience because if I can do it, you can too. I want this to be read by a woman who is sitting with a child in her arms right now and is afraid. I want her to believe that her time is still ahead. Because I have seen it. I have lived it. And I am not stopping.
If I can drive in a foreign country without knowing the language, starting a new business is not scary. An accident is a fatal mistake. A business is just a step.
