Olesia Rodina

Today I am an entrepreneur in a production business where design is combined with printing, finished products, and complex solutions for businesses. I began as a designer: I studied interior and exterior design, but the market quickly carried me into graphic design: logos, brochures, flyers, and business cards. I worked in a design agency, and one ordinary working day I suddenly looked at everything differently. Clients, communication, production, and processes all passed through me, and for the first time I clearly thought: why can't I open my own company?

I launched my first startup at about 25, with minimal budget and maximum focus on product. I knew advertising-production materials and technologies from the institute, so I was not afraid to begin. That was when I first tasted business: I began understanding production, demand, and the limits of growth. Later, Zatarga appeared as a systematic production company that grew from a small startup into a real business with several directions.

My business is a fairly male niche. It is not about "easy creativity". It is hands in paint, heavy equipment, printing machines, installation, physical work, and constant responsibility. I remember men in the market who worked nearby did not believe a woman could last in this field. Some even argued about how soon I would close the business. Honestly, that only pushed me forward.

I think a woman's strength in business is multitasking. Men often move from task to task: finish one, move to the next. For women it works differently. I can have 50 processes in my head at the same time and still think several years ahead. Perhaps that is why women are often more resilient in crises. We know how to adapt, plan, and keep business, family, and the future in mind simultaneously.

At the same time, I have seen many women who never dared to start their own business because someone "cut their wings". The most painful thing is when close people do it: relatives or husbands. That is why I advise women to listen more to themselves and their own desires. Someone else's unsolicited opinion is just noise. It is also important to be in an environment of strong people with results, who can support from experience rather than fear.

Over the last five years, I have changed a lot. I used to live by the principle: act first, think later. Now it is the opposite. I became calmer, more constructive, learned to protect my energy and invest it only where it truly brings results. The war strongly affected this. It forced me to reassess life, time, strength, and the people around me.

The only thing I did not expect from business at the beginning was how much personal time it would take. I practically had no maternity leave. After my daughter was born, I immediately started working from home with the child in my arms. I had enormous internal drive and wanted to move forward, so I did not live through that quiet motherhood period.

But business also gave me many warm moments. My daughter literally grew up at the production site. I still have photos of her sitting next to employees, drawing, cutting, and looking at materials. She remembers it. Business always takes something, but it also gives a lot.

During the war, we also help the military: branding and wrapping cars in camouflage, printing stickers for medical vehicles and units. It is not a separate project, but an inner need to be useful where we can.

Today I can call myself a happy person. For me, happiness is family, close people nearby, and support. My parents are no longer alive, but they gave me a very important thing: the feeling of family. We had a complicated family history, but despite everything, they taught us to stick together, help our own, and support those who have it harder.

How did the business idea come to you?

When I studied interior and exterior design, I unexpectedly got pulled into graphic design. I started working while still studying, and students were not eagerly hired by companies then.

So I began taking small orders: logos, brochures, flyers, business cards. I saw demand and started developing in that direction.

When I decided to open my own business, the idea of interior stickers appeared. At that time, it was only beginning to gain popularity: stickers for laptops, cars, and home decor. My first business started with such small products.

Later I understood production more deeply and saw that I would quickly hit the limits of my capabilities. I had only one cutting plotter. That was when I began thinking about scaling and developing my own production. My whole life is connected to design in one way or another.

What key skills helped you launch the business?

This may not be the "right" example to follow, but at the start ambition and stubbornness helped me most. When you are young, you have a lot of energy, your eyes are burning, and you simply take action.

Often I acted first and analyzed later. At that time, it worked in my favor. Today I would advise young entrepreneurs differently: first think, calculate, write a development plan and financial model. My path was very difficult.

What were the hardest challenges in the first years?

The first big challenge was the printing machine. Before that, I had only a cutting plotter, and a large printing machine was a completely different level. I bought an old machine, it was delivered and installed, and I stood there not understanding how to use it.

The technician told me, "Buy a book for beginners." But I stubbornly sat down, opened the manual, and figured it out myself. I remember sitting on the floor crying, my hands covered in paint, because nothing worked.

The second challenge was the contract with Epicentr. I urgently had to produce a large batch, but I had no laminator and no team. I was alone. That was the first time I faced hiring people, organizing processes, payroll, and responsibility for a team.

What crises did your business face and how did you overcome them?

The biggest crisis was the war. The business fell sharply, and for the first period I worked at a loss to preserve salaries and bonuses for the team.

The second blow was forced relocation to England with my child. The business stayed in Ukraine, and I did not know how to manage production remotely. I had to rebuild management very quickly, introduce new control tools, maintain team motivation, and open Zatarga in the United Kingdom at the same time.

Client geography also changed: many clients moved abroad. We began actively working with deliveries to Poland, England, and other European countries.

Which decisions were most effective for company growth?

The most effective decision was diversification. Most companies with printing equipment do outdoor advertising: banners, signs, and so on. That market in Ukraine is oversaturated, and it was difficult for me to enter.

So I chose another path: create my own product. That is how interior stickers appeared. At first, many people did not believe in the idea. Friends even joked and argued about how soon I would sell the equipment and go on maternity leave. But when they saw the result, they were shocked.

While others worked only on individual orders, I put production on flow: serial stickers for Epicentr, and later for Oldi.

Then I realized I needed another direction that would insure the business. That led me to comprehensive design of business spaces. My design education helped a lot: I could close the full cycle from idea and design to production and installation.

Which mistake do you now consider your most valuable experience?

My biggest mistake was the mindset "I will do it myself". I loved proving to myself that I could handle everything and achieve results with my own strength.

But over time, I understood: if you are fully immersed in every process, it is not a business anymore, it is just a job. When I started learning, talking to entrepreneurs, and entered the YBC environment, I saw another approach: you need to build a system, not be the person carrying everything.

How did you earn your first $100?

I earned my first meaningful money in my own business around 2015 by selling stickers through the website and ads. People began writing, calling, and placing orders, and I first felt that it could really work. As for the very first earnings in life, as a child I sold peas at the market.

How did you earn your first $1,000?

I associate my first $1,000 with 2017, when I decided to scale and bought a printing machine. Sales through Modna Kasta gave a strong push. We shipped products in batches, and that money allowed me to print new collections and enter larger sales channels.

How did you earn your first $10,000?

About half a year after scaling, I signed a contract with Epicentr. That became my first big income jump.

How did you earn your first $100,000?

2021 was my peak year. December was especially strong because the season brought very large sales. I already had development and export plans, but in 2022 the war stopped everything sharply.

How did you earn your first $1,000,000?

I did not reach one million. 2021 was the strongest year, but after the full-scale war began in 2022, everything changed abruptly.

My practical experience is systematizing a production business and building processes "like clockwork". I went from a designer selling first stickers to the owner of a printing production company with different directions, contracts, and teams.

I can also share experience managing a business remotely, when production is in one country and the owner is in another. For me, this became forced learning during the war and relocation.

I can also talk about product diversification: how to survive in an overcrowded service market, create your own product, and develop several directions that insure one another.

Your experience: how to systematize a business?

For me, systematization begins with people. I consider it a strong indicator that the team stays with me for years: the designer has worked since the company was founded, and managers have been with me for about five years.

I try to find people "by spirit", with similar values and ambitions, so everyone is comfortable working together.

Then it is important to create an environment for growth: train, motivate, give people the opportunity to earn and grow with the brand. For example, I launched a partner format with distribution and dropshipping, giving materials, terms, and support so people could sell our products and grow with us.

Your experience: how to grow 2x in a year?

My recipe for 2x growth is diversification and partnership.

For me, diversification is not chaotic expansion, but creating several related directions based on key competencies: design and production. This helps cover market and seasonality risks.

I am personally a little afraid of partnerships, but I see how powerful the tool is. If you find a person with whom you can fight for a result together, it can strongly accelerate growth.