Starting a business after forty: six great success stories. Starting a business after forty: six stories of great success Stories of starting a business at 50

According to statistics, the majority of aspiring entrepreneurs are young people between 20 and 40 years old. And this is quite understandable, since young people want everything at once, they are more prone to risks, more mobile and open to new things.

However, oddly enough, many people start their own business after 50 years of age. This is explained by the fact that retirement is approaching, the size of which does not allow one to hope for prosperity.

In addition, the children have already grown up, there is a lot of free time and, finally, you can do what you had no time to do in your youth.

Start a business at 50 years old.

Another reason that people start a business at 50 years old is because they have some capital that they want to invest before inflation eats it up.

Start a business at 50 years old.

All these reasons play their role in organizing their own business by mature people. But the main role, of course, is played by the desire for self-realization.

Start a business at 50 years old.

After all, with age, people already know how to set priorities and know exactly what they really want.

Start a business at 50 years old.

How successful are late starts?

Everything again depends on the set of knowledge and skills of the novice entrepreneur, on his experience accumulated earlier.

1) The most successful people are have gained work experience in commercial structures Oh.

Start a business at 50 years old.

Those who come from commercial structures already know what risks arise when doing business; are able to calculate not only income, but also expenses; soberly weigh their options.

Start a business at 50 years old.

2) Another successful category of people, those starting a business at 50 years old are middle and senior managers power structures. Extensive connections acquired over the years of work allow us not only to see the development potential, but also to solve many issues with the help of acquaintances.

3) It is more difficult for those who have worked in budgetary sphere in secondary positions. However, among them there are successful businessmen who have achieved success due to high motivation and practical skills acquired during their work.

What needs to be done to start your own business at age 50 or later?

1) First of all, evaluate your potential, reconsider your skills and knowledge, understand what you really want to do in order to realize yourself fully. Only self-employment that brings satisfaction can lead to success. Impossible to build your own successful business, doing something that your heart is not in.

2) In addition, you need to estimate the amount of capital that can be invested in the business. without bringing yourself to complete ruin. After all own business always carries risks, so you need to be prepared to part with some part of the money, considering it as tuition fees.

Start a business at 50 years old.

Start a business at 50 years old.

You just need to treat it as a non-repayable investment in your business.

3) And you also need to enlist the support of family members.. It is difficult to achieve success if, instead of support, you receive reproaches for wasting time and money.

Examples of other people's successful endeavors should keep us optimistic and confident in the success of our business. And then everything will definitely work out.

Start a business at 50 years old.

Start a business at 50 years old.

…The rain doesn’t care whether you like it or not.

He still keeps going.

Mancubus...

Today my biological age is well over 50 years old, and my physiological age and internal sensations are 35 years old.

Lately, right after my birthday (I was born on Epiphany on January 19), I tried to analyze my life: how I got into business, why, I started my journey into entrepreneurship at the age of 50 - at the very time when most people go into business. “well-deserved rest”, taking care of the garden and grandchildren?

As a result, I formulated a number of rules that I try to follow in certain situations and found about 50 reasons to open my own business and do business.

I hope that my experience will help some people understand themselves better and make, perhaps, some serious decisions in their lives.

That's what came out of it:

In life it is often very, very painful. In times like these, it's important to remember that pain is part of growth. It is important to accept what happenedas an impetus for development and as a kind of lesson. In this world everything is relative - there is no just good and just evil. Often what helps us change for the better, learn, grow, become wiser, stronger is what was initially perceived as something bad.

There were many problems, working for a salary, starting a business, betrayal and so on.I thank God and life for all the difficulties along my life’s path that helped my development as an entrepreneur and a person,for the people I have met, for my family, friends, children, grandchildren, my husband and everyone who surrounds me today and helps me.

And here 50 Basic Reasons or Principles , which guide me in life and which allow me to rise, move forward and win!

1. The main thing in any business is to start, so take it and do it.

2. Don't take on a job if you don't like it.

3. Always look at things from a positive perspective, accept everything, do more for other people, and you will see how quickly your life changes for the better.

4. It's not worth wasting time and energy trying to prove anything to someone. Better do something to prove to yourself that you are capable of more in this life. You cannot live without striving for anything and without motivation.

5. Live cheerfully and positive life, don’t do things you don’t like, it’s your life and you have only one.

6. Find something you like and you will find true human happiness.

7. If you want to achieve unprecedented success, set goals that, when achieved, will change the world.

8. Always stand on your own two feet and don't let anyone disturb this state.

9. Trust people. Without trust, a person cannot be happy and successful.

10. Live life to the fullest Today , without looking back at the past and without regretting the mistakes that I once made. Always remember that “yesterday” will never return, and “tomorrow” may not come. Live for today and spend it as if it were the last in your life.

11. If you are an entrepreneur and have not made mistakes, then you are not an entrepreneur.

12. I sometimes treat business as a pleasant entertainment and sometimes I forget where work ends and where personal life begins.

13. My pride never stops me from admitting I'm wrong.

14. I'm always glad when a person doesn't know what he wants. No, I’m not a masochist at all - it’s just that at that moment all my professional qualities were manifested.

15. My willingness to listen to other people's opinions and accept suggestions that are better than mine has consistently helped me throughout the years that I have been in business.

16. There is no place for conservative thinking in entrepreneurship because it clips your wings, makes you weak, unable to appreciate the facts, and simply kills you.

17. I am sure that you should not let the wretched word “no” stop you.

18. For me, creating a business means doing something you can be proud of, uniting talented people and building something that can seriously change the lives of those around you.

19. Don't be afraid to take calculated risks. Sometimes it's better to have a pie in the sky than a bird in the hand.

20. It is much better to promise less and deliver more than the other way around.

21. In business, as in life, it is important to do good.

22. I still prefer to talk to people rather than text.

23. My greatest achievement is that I always strive to give people independence, the opportunity to feel responsible and was willing to push them to take risks and achieve goals.

24. All my life I tried to stay as far as possible from offices and mostly worked in places where there were people: at home, in the square, in cafes.

25. Remember: no one has ever regretted spending too little time in the office on their deathbed!

26. I don’t stop being a businesswoman even when I’m in a robe, and, of course, a formal suit does not add business qualities to me.

27. In every organization, any leader - from the head of a department to a top manager - from time to time must take off his suit and get his hands dirty.

28. Provide employees with your email address and phone number. They won't pester you for no reason, but your actions will give them a powerful psychological incentive: they will know that if the solution to a problem requires your participation, they can contact you at any time.

29. An entrepreneur should not view failure as a negative experience: it is simply a part of the learning curve.

30. Luck does not come by itself: you have to work at it.

31. As soon as something stops bringing me joy, I start thinking about changes. Life is too short to live it with a sour face.

32. My slogan: live easily, with humor, and the money will come.

33. In life you always win something and lose something. Be happy and cheerful when you win. Don't regret losing and don't repent. Never look back - you still can’t change the past. But I try to learn from his mistakes.

35. The most important thing I always want to achieve is to keep my word to someone.

36. Morality is not an empty phrase in business. It makes all the sense.

37. Business is designed to improve and enrich people's lives, otherwise it is not worth starting.

38. Make friends with your enemies - this good rule both for business and for life.

39. Success that comes to you once will not feed you for the rest of your life.

40. You should treat people the way you treat yourself, and even better.

41. Money is a poor indicator of success. The only thing worse is fame.

42. If you ask me what I believe in most, I will answer: my family.

43. I happy man. I always laugh. I love people, life, good jokes. I really agree that laughter ennobles the soul.

44. I guess I won't stop until I fall.

45. I am firmly convinced that nothing is impossible in life.

46. Take everything that fate gives us with gratitude. Feel every moment of your life as a gift from above, as a treasure

47. Don't worry about trifles and don't complain - few things in this life really turn out to be important in the end

48. Remember that struggle is not an obstacle on the way, it is a path. And patience will allow you to maintain a good mood while working hard towards your dreams. So if you are going to try, go all the way. Otherwise there is no point in starting.

49. Criticism and negativity coming from other people should not bother you. People will always talk - no matter what you do or how well you do it. Don't try to please them, never let anyone's opinion change you. In life, you need to keep your head straight and look ahead. Only without looking around can you remain who you really are.

50. If we talk about a woman, the most important project in life is her children and their upbringing. And this is a huge responsibility. Each of us - I am sure - can simultaneously be a mother, a businesswoman, and just a woman. With proper time planning, it is quite possible to achieve success at work and raise healthy and well-mannered children."

You cannot force certain events to happen. You can only try to bring them closer. Love your life, trust your intuition, take risks, lose and find happiness by gaining new experiences. You may not know exactly where you intended to go, but you will eventually arrive exactly where you are supposed to be.

In which, I sincerely wish you to succeed!

Sincerely yours, Irina Belousova

Often people retirement age can't get a job. Why should “those over 50” be at the top of the list of candidates? On the path of struggle with prejudices

Kimberly Dart entered IN Lately I hear a lot from the media and directly

from clients that employers do not want to hire candidates over 50 years old. A very short-sighted and wrong approach. Now I will explain why. career consultant, blogger) once even said that staying in the same job for too long can result in “career suicide”! So why are employers afraid to hire older people if they have no guarantee that younger candidates will work longer?

Given that an employee's tenure at one job is about 3 years, why don't employers try hiring older applicants? If you know you can hire someone who is only looking for a job for the next 5 to 10 years, shouldn't they be at the top of the candidate list?

Some may argue that a young employee is worth less. In some cases this may be true. Aside from health insurance, a less experienced employee will undoubtedly be lower on the pay scale than a highly skilled employee. However, if you have decided in advance what the salary range will be, you pay within market value

and the candidate is interested, so what is the problem then? There are 2 types of older workers: those who work because they enjoy it, and those who work because they have to. This doesn't mean they can't be both at the same time. There are those who have accumulated savings, have a pension plan, and who have decided to work until the age of 65 and that’s it. At the same time, there are others who, for many reasons, have no savings, do not receive monthly payments and are forced to work to survive. Both of these types can be excellent workers. Both of them can become very.

loyal employees Plus, think about the level of maturity and development that old man

can be brought to your office. Yes, of course, you have a “young team”, and you are concerned that he will not “fit into it”. But maybe this is exactly what your company needs. There's nothing wrong with a little variety. Many managers work with 4 generations in their workplace.

Ideally, we all want to retire one day - at least I know I want to retire. interesting tips and ideas in the new community -

After 50 years, life is just beginning! This is exactly what the creators of the website for the baby boomer generation eons.com say.

The goal of this online community is to help people over 50 years old find new life guidelines, expand the number of acquaintances and simply live a rich, fulfilling life.

Probably the most life-affirming and inspiring is the section of the site dedicated to goals. In this section, everyone can publish their 10 goals that they intend to achieve before the age of 100.

Navigating the site is quite simple. It contains 7 main categories related to fun, love, money, looks, etc.

Unfortunately, Russian peers of their optimistic Western peers are rarely active Internet users, and therefore the prospects for such a project in Russia do not seem so rosy. Although, who knows...

© www.site – portal of business ideas


09.09.2007 20:05:11

Chinese Mei Aitsai founded a dating service in Kharkov that helps men from the Middle Kingdom find a bride from Ukraine. Aitsai decided to create his own agency after marrying a young Ukrainian beauty...

“Last mile” services, logistics systems involving drones and vacuum trains, “on-demand” delivery, to the trunk of your own car and without the presence of the owner. Let's see where the delivery industry is going.

Creation mobile applications With using Excel, reservation homemade food from local residents and a food delivery service at the stadium. Unusual services and new types of business in the service sector.

From Russian mothers on maternity leave to large foreign projects in women's businesses. A selection of new types of women's entrepreneurship that you can borrow or use for inspiration.

Commercial network Walmart is testing a revolutionary new food delivery service. The courier is allowed to enter the house and place groceries directly into the customer's refrigerator.

A service for organizing photo sessions on board a fake private jet has appeared in Moscow. The studio collects 14 thousand rubles from those who want to show off to their Instagram followers.

Pharmacy franchise today is promising option development of any network companies. However, many novice entrepreneurs do not know what the main features of running a business are...

The auto business is not limited to opening auto repair shops, tire shops and car washes. In this collection you will find 15 unusual business ideas on transport topics.

RANEPA experts whose developments are often used by the government
Russian Federation, several scenarios for raising the retirement age in the country. The most likely is to increase it to 63 years for men and 60 years for women. In the same time .

So what should those who are already over 40 but under 60 do? The solution could be to run your own business. In the West, people over 50 are one of the most active entrepreneurial audiences. People gained experience and formed start-up capital and are willing to take risks. A good example serves the UK, where about 20% of company owners are people over 55. And we are talking not only about those who have grown old in the CEO’s chair, but also about startups. For example, 43% of all UK residents who started their own business in 2015 are people over 50. And this despite the fact that such workers make up less than a third of UK company employees.

A similar trend is observed in the United States. If in 1997 people aged 55 to 64 years old made up only 15% of business owners, then in 2016 this figure was already 24%. A Gallup poll, in which more than 14 thousand people took part in the United States in 2015 (of which 2 thousand respondents were over 55 years old), found that the older generation is more entrepreneurial than those born after the 1980s: 12% Baby boomers said they were ready to start their own business in the next 12 months versus 5% of millennials.

In Russia, we were unable to find studies of the entrepreneurial activity of people of retirement and pre-retirement age - there are few elderly startupers in the country. But we found not only those who have been in business for a long time but are still launching new projects, but also 70-year-old “newbies”.

Vladimir Khoroshevsky

Teacher for artificial intelligence

Vladimir Khoroshevsky, 71 years old, search service scientific works Semantic Hub

Vladimir Khoroshevsky is a Russian scientist who has devoted most of his life to research and development in the field of artificial intelligence. He worked as an expert at the Ministry of Education and Science, the Russian Foundation basic research and the Russian Science Foundation, wrote hundreds of scientific articles and taught at leading universities around the world. And in 2015, the scientist became a startup founder and now holds the position technical director at Semantic Hub.

Khoroshevsky met the future CEO of the company, Irina Efimenko, 15 years ago, when she was still a graduate student at Moscow State University. They worked together to create natural language processing systems in one of the Russian companies, and then at the Center for Information and Analytical Systems of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. Three years ago, colleagues had the idea to set off on “autonomous voyages” and form their own team to transform the experience of developing high-tech technologies into business. At the same time, they met the third founder, Vitaly Nedelsky, who also dreamed of creating a company in the field high technology. “We needed a fusion of young impudence and experience. We have it. The kids, the students, pulled themselves up,” says Khoroshevsky. The team of 20 people included like-minded colleagues and students passionate about artificial intelligence.

At first, the team took on all proposals related to the analysis of promising scientific and technological trends using big data. But after completing several custom projects, it became clear that we had to work in completely different subject areas. “We soon realized that a wide range of different subject areas with strict restrictions on the time of project implementation would lead to the fact that we would know nothing about everything,” says Khoroshevsky.

Therefore, at the end of 2016, the company’s founders decided to focus on pharmaceuticals. The services offered by Semantic Hub are based on artificial intelligence and natural language processing techniques to assess the potential of new drugs. Intelligent system Semantic Hub collects and analyzes hundreds of thousands of documents: science articles, descriptions of clinical trial results, patents, opinions of doctors and patients. Then, based on the results of the analysis of primary information, reports are generated that record risk factors and competitive advantages drugs proposed for development. Medical and medical research is ordered pharmaceutical companies. According to Khoroshevsky, such analysis reduces the risk of failure, because people can manually study in depth no more than 1% of documents on a topic.

The partners do not disclose financial indicators, average bill for research - €100 thousand. In 2017, the startup was included in the top thirty of the international accelerator Grants4Apps in Berlin. And in August I raised 24 million rubles. from IIDF (according to SPARK, the IIDF share is 13.87%), private investors Valentin Doronichev and Vladimir Preobrazhensky. Khoroshevsky's share is not disclosed, but it is known that he owns a minority stake in the company.

“As a startuper, I feel completely normal and calm. I’ve been teaching for over 30 years and communicate with young people all the time,” says Khoroshevsky. According to the 71-year-old scientist, this is his first business startup; before that, he was involved only in scientific projects. He is attracted to a new business by two aspects: an interesting, knowledge-intensive task and the opportunity to bring the idea to implementation.

“I'm interested in all this. I spend most of my time on development and self-education. After all, if you don’t go forward, then you go back. I try to keep my brain in good shape,” explains Khoroshevsky.

Oleg Zagvozdkin

Closer to the body

Oleg Zagvozdkin, 55 years old, brand “Danila - Russian kosovorotki”

In his youth, Oleg Zagvozdkin traveled half the world as a sailor - he was in Europe, China, Japan, Singapore and other countries. Even then he noticed that national clothes play big role in the lives of many peoples. “In Arab countries, Scotland, Germany, people wear national costumes at significant moments for them. But Russians, unfortunately, have almost lost this tradition,” he says. In the early 1990s, Zagvozdkin returned to land, started a family in Vladivostok and opened a furniture production business, and two years later he moved to his homeland, Yekaterinburg.

There Zagvozdkin took up social and political work: he headed the Sverdlovsk branch of the movement of Sergei Kiriyenko “ New power"(part of the coalition of the "Union of Right Forces"), was the head of the party's election headquarters, organized elections in Yekaterinburg. Then he worked as a political strategist and GR specialist. “At some point, I looked around and realized that almost everyone I knew was involved in business, earning money, but what about me? - recalls Zagvozdkin. — I decided that it was time to find something I liked that would bring stable income" It was then that the long-standing idea of ​​reviving the love for national Russian clothing surfaced.

He studied books that told about the life of Russian peasants, and found detailed description traditional men's shirt - kosovorotka. It turned out that several artisans in the Urals are already sewing them. “But I would never wear what they were selling,” says the entrepreneur. “I decided to make the blouse fashionable, modern - so that you wouldn’t be ashamed to go out in public wearing it.”

In 2008, Zagvozdkin found a sewing shop in Yekaterinburg that made men's shirts, and ordered the first batch of linen shirts - about 150 pieces. To attract attention to the new product, he himself began to walk around the city in a kosovorotka. “A lot of people stopped and asked what it was,” I said. They were surprised and praised,” recalls Zagvozdkin.

He gave half of the batch to souvenir shops, and decided to sell the other half himself. I ordered a metal structure from local craftsmen - a portable counter on which to display goods - and went with the shirts to the arms exhibition in Nizhny Tagil. “There are a lot of foreigners there, I look into their eyes, lure them in - they come up, look, but don’t buy. And then it dawned on me - why should they wear my national clothes if they have their own?” But compatriots bought shirts for trips to the bathhouse and stylized weddings.

The entrepreneur returned to Yekaterinburg and set up his stall on the main pedestrian street of the city. At the same time, he came up with the brand “Danila - Russian braids,” which he registered with Rospatent. Kosovorotki sold out well - 200-250 rubles were sold per month at prices ranging from 1 thousand to 2.5 thousand rubles. The businessman’s profit ranged from 100 thousand to 300 thousand rubles. per month.

For seven years, Zagvozdkin was engaged in kosovorotkas in parallel with his social and political activities, and in 2017 he decided to devote himself entirely to business. He has written a business plan to develop the brand and is actively looking for investors. “I don’t have time to trade - every day I have meetings with potential partners, defending the project,” says the entrepreneur. “The national clothing market is promising and is still free, and with the help of investment support I plan to take a significant part of it.” He wants to raise funds for development through crowdfunding - a project called “Your Shirt Closer to Your Body” will appear on the Boomstarter platform in the next month.

The entrepreneur plans to sell the Danila franchise to the regions. The package will include a collapsible counter that can be transported in the trunk of a car and installed at fairs, a sign and a starter set of kosovorotki. “I want to attract young beginners and peers who will be able to promote my brand throughout the country and make money from it themselves,” explains Oleg Zagvozdkin.

Boris Smorodov

Waddle - don't roll

Boris Smorodov, 69 years old, “Russian felt boots” self made

Boris Smorodov turned traditional, unsightly shoes into a fashion accessory. Now the felters at his factory “Russian Valenki” produce 6 thousand pairs of shoes a year. The annual revenue of the project, according to RBC estimates, is about 12 million rubles. per month.

In 1992, Smorodov bought a dry-cleaning and dyeing factory in his hometown of Vyshny Volochek (Tver Region). “In Soviet times, the factory flourished, but during perestroika there were no more orders, all clothing collection points gradually closed,” says Boris Smorodov. “The boiler room was taken away from us, we had to work in outerwear.” To pay bills and wages to workers, they traded whatever they needed - vegetables, manufactured goods, made soap, there was even a car wash. After two years of such work, Smorodov realized that it was time to change something. A local mechanic gave him the idea and suggested that he start producing felt boots.

In Vyshny Volochyok there was already a large factory for the machine production of felt boots. To compete with a major player, Smorodov decided to felt felt boots by hand. He gathered four locals and took them for training to the village of Firovo, where at that time there was a workshop for the production of hand-made felt boots. “Every day I drove them 60 km in my car - I dropped them off in the morning and picked them up in the evening. It took eight years to develop the fishery. Well, what normal person would study a craft for so long? Young people need everything at once,” says Boris Smorodov. All this time, his factory continued to trade and operate as a dry cleaner.

By 2002, he finally managed to start producing felt boots. One fuller made no more than three pairs of shoes per shift—this could not compare with factory volumes. They took it for quality. “Our felt boots last for many years and can withstand cold temperatures up to 60 degrees, they are not eaten by moths,” the entrepreneur boasts. The main buyers were residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg: the factory is located on the highway connecting the two capitals. According to Smorodov’s calculations, 40 thousand cars pass by every day.

Gradually they switched from standard plain felt boots to decorative ones. “It is clear that Muscovites will not wear felt boots with galoshes, as is customary here. They began to attach rubber soles to them, embroider patterns by hand, attach rhinestones and appliqués,” says Boris Smorodov. He recently mastered the technique of photo printing and now accepts corporate orders for felt boots with company logos.

Travel agencies have become interested in “Russian felt boots” - now buses with foreign and Russian tourists constantly come to Vyshny Volochek. Smorodov realized that it was time to expand, and in 2012 he built a second floor above the factory, where he set up a museum and a store. “I often go abroad and see how local manufacturers work there: first, a group of tourists are shown how glass figures are blown in Venice or carpets are woven in Tunisia, and then they are taken to a store where a person buys these handmade things. And I decided to do something similar,” says Boris Smorodov.

Now he has two stores: one at the factory and one in the center of Volochok - for local residents who buy felt boots for daily wear. Orders are also placed through the online store with an English version. “Nobody taught me how to use the Internet. Life forced me,” says Boris Smorodov. ​Soon “Russian felt boots” will also be available for purchase in Switzerland and the USA: Smorodov has already concluded agreements with two residents of these countries who plan to open stores of Tver felt boots abroad.

Vadim Shemarov

Vadim Shemarov, 55 years old, customer search service in social networks “Shikari”

When Vadim Shemarov studied at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at ChSU named after. Ulyanov (Cheboksary), programming was taught as an elective - one or two semesters during the entire period of study. But this was enough for the student to get involved - he was sure that programming would be in demand in the future. And I was right.

My career began with distribution work in a design bureau in my native Cheboksary. And in 1989, Shemarov and his partners registered the first cooperative. We supplied computers and developed them ourselves software. There were also large clients, for example the local branch of Sberbank and republican hospitals who ordered the automation of business processes and the development of electronic queuing systems. And the most unusual order came from the USA - a programmer was developing software for compiling crime reports for the New York prosecutor's office.

Meanwhile, new programming languages ​​appeared and technologies developed. Shemarov says that he had to learn by doing. Colleagues took out books, instructions for computers, passed printouts from hand to hand. English language. Recently, Shemarov is usually attracted as a manager or technical director for various IT projects.

At the same time, he tried himself as an investor. For example, in 2011, he bought out an accounting company from Ainur Abdulnasyrov, the founder of the language learning service LinguaLeo. He says that he spent only a few tens of thousands of rubles. At that time, the authorities took taxi drivers seriously and demanded that they register as individual entrepreneurs. Shemarov hoped that he would occupy the niche of accounting support for newly minted individual entrepreneurs. But a year later I realized that the calculation was not justified, and resold the company with a small markup.

In 2016, while working on their next order, Shemarov and his colleagues Dmitry Afutin and Vyacheslav Sateev had to extract a lot of information from social networks. Afutin noticed among everyday and social posts posts with calls for help: people asking for advice on a tutor, builder or lawyer. Shemarov notes that people used to look for thematic sites, study forums and freelance exchanges: “Now they are used to solving problems without leaving social networks. They throw out a call and wait for the performers to answer them or for one of their friends to advise them.” For many companies, such posts are valuable - in fact, they potential clients who are ready to buy services here and now. Therefore, Afutin had the idea to monitor social media and using neural networks to separate requests by professional categories and sell information to companies by subscription, he suggested that Sateev found new project, and Shemarov became the third partner.

The project was called "Shikari". Partners started without investment, investing their time and experience. Now the service analyzes 24 categories of requests by type of activity, processes more than 10 million messages per day. Over two years, 20 thousand customers used it, of which 500 became regular subscribers (the basic tariff is 900 rubles per month). The entrepreneur does not disclose revenue, but says that monthly growth is 10-25%. He emphasizes that the project has reached self-sufficiency and allows ten employees to be paid, but the partners spend all the profits on the development of the project.

Irina Shevich

See the prospects

Irina Shevich, 56 years old, consultations for ophthalmologists “Opti-class”

Irina Shevich, a history teacher by profession, found her life’s work thanks to family troubles. When her child was four years old, it turned out that the girl could only see the first line of the vision test table. On the way to get medicine, my husband came across the book “Improving vision without glasses.” During the three days that the examination took place, Shevich read the book and began training her daughter’s vision on her own in parallel with traditional treatment. After three weeks, the girl began to see a few more lines - this was a breakthrough. And after eight months, the severity was restored to one.

Irina Shevich’s husband is a military man, so the family traveled around the country, and Irina herself began to advise numerous parents she knew on vision training methods. It soon became clear that she needed to get a specialized education, so she left her husband and three children for a month to take an ophthalmic nursing course in Alma-Ata. In the end, the family moved to Moscow, and Shevich got a job as a nurse at the Research Institute of GB named after. Helmholtz, worked in optical stores and laser correction centers. The longer she studied, the more she came to the conclusion that visual gymnastics, of which she was an adept at the start, was not suitable for everyone, and that she still couldn’t do without glasses.

Since 2006, Shevich worked for a company that distributed medical frames, spectacles and contact lenses. After five years, I got pretty tired of working in an office. “It got boring. There weren’t enough challenges and overcoming,” admits Shevich. At first, she tried to come to an agreement with the management: she offered to expand her responsibilities - they refused, she received an MBA in absentia - the knowledge was not useful in the office. Therefore, in 2011, when Shevich was 50 years old, she decided to open her own business.

First of all, Shevich applied to participate in international exhibition spectacle optics under its own brand “Opti-class”. I created a website, printed advertising brochures and began selling what I did best - webinars for optometrists and optometrists, seminars and master classes. Shevich trains future employees of optical stores to select glasses and lenses for patients, train vision, etc.; The company also offers advanced training courses for existing optometrists.

Irina Shevich registered an LLC and received a license to operate educational activities. But nine months later it turned out that the license did not give the right to issue certificates to students medical specialist, — I had to register the Private Educational Institution of Further Professional Education “Institute of Advanced Training and Professional Retraining.”

I had to figure out all the bureaucratic intricacies on my own. Shevich admits that developing a business without investments was not easy - the company is growing more slowly than we would like. Only by 2018, the entrepreneur recruited a team of four people and began to attract famous Russian and foreign experts to give lectures on the portal distance learning. Revenue for last year amounted to 3 million rubles, profitability - 60%.

“My parents still don’t understand what I do and why I had to leave my hired job. And the children are proud and also try themselves in business,” says Irina Shevich.