I started my journey by working in corporate structures. I worked for the auditing company PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a large diversified holding company. At that time, I didn’t even think about entrepreneurship and own business. I built a corporate career in large companies, gained practical experience and constantly improved my skills.
It became obvious that I would always have a choice: either take time off from children’s events (matinees, birthdays, etc.), or simply skip these very matinees and other significant moments in the child’s life.
Given my increased level of responsibility for completing work tasks, I knew that I would feel guilty and uncomfortable when I was on sick leave due to my child’s illness.
Having thought about these things, I decided to act. For myself, I determined that I have three years of maternity leave, which are provided to me by my employer and the law. Over these three years, I must move from working for a corporate structure to working for myself.
I analyzed my skills and capabilities. By that time, I not only had practical experience in the field of auditing and accounting, but also had teaching experience. I began to gain teaching experience while still in graduate school. Before defending my dissertation, I gave lectures and conducted seminars to students.
The beginning of the development of independent activity was the reading of lectures, seminars, webinars, but not for students, but for accountants, auditors and financiers. Here I taught to a more demanding audience; these were already practitioners, accomplished specialists. Working with this audience is more difficult and more responsible.
I independently concluded agreements with training centers, which offered me to speak in front of their audience. This educational activity began to generate income for me, which I organized on my own.
At the seminars I received positive feedback from the audience. In my opinion, this was due to my extensive practical experience of working with large projects and working in large companies. My practical experience was very important and useful at the seminars, thanks to which the training for the students had practical significance. They received specific ways to solve their problems, and not just general phrases and attitudes.
After I established myself as a high-level expert, thanks to seminars, they began to offer me direct projects in the field of reporting according to international standards and auditing financial statements.
I approached the implementation of any project with full responsibility. My main principle in my work is high-quality and timely provision of services to the client. Not a single project was “filled up” or done somehow. All projects were prepared with full dedication, at a high level and always on time. Thanks to this approach, I began to grow projects in the field of audit and IFRS.
At one point, the number of projects increased so much that I began to think about the need to involve employees in these projects.
So first one employee appeared, then a second, and currently I have an audit company, a huge number of implemented projects in the field of auditing and international reporting. My clients are large companies. At the same time, I continue to conduct teaching activities, i.e. I continue to read seminars and webinars for practicing financiers.
At first glance, such a start in business may seem quite simple, since it does not require significant financial investments. However, this is not so, since I accumulated my personal capital (knowledge, experience, qualifications) through many years of hard work.
Therefore, it cannot be said unequivocally what will be easier for a novice entrepreneur: to use finances or accumulated experience. Perhaps both of these factors will play a role in your successful start.
Analyzing my experience of starting a business, I can note the key factors:
- the first factor in establishing your business should be personal motivation. This is where any business begins;
- Next, we determine what we are ready to invest in the development of this business: finance, equipment, or, as in my case, experience, knowledge, best practices, skills, qualifications.
- we are not afraid to apply our knowledge and experience in a familiar area, but as an independent figure;
- responsible approach to business, performing services and work in such a way that the client returns to you and recommends you to others;
- continuous improvement of one’s qualifications, following the times and current demands.
It is thanks to these factors that I can confidently say that I have built a successful business from scratch.
