Olha Poberezhna

Today I am an entrepreneur, founder, and CEO of Holt House, a premium beauty and wellness space in Warsaw. Before creating my own business, I worked for more than 12 years in international development and humanitarian programs. I coordinated projects in emergency response, recovery, and community development, cooperating with international organizations, government institutions, and local partners.

My last position was Adviser to the Ambassador of Denmark in Ukraine, where I was responsible for a portfolio of Ukraine recovery projects worth more than 120 million euros. These projects involved restoring critical energy and social infrastructure: thermal power plants, schools, shelters, hospitals, and other strategically important facilities.

Before that, I worked at the International Committee of the Red Cross. Six years of my professional activity took place in front-line regions of Donbas: Mariupol, Sievierodonetsk, Sloviansk, and Stanytsia Luhanska. That experience shaped my resilience, taught me to work under high pressure, adapt quickly to change, and find solutions even in the hardest circumstances.

Later, I understood that I was ready for a new professional stage. After many years in international organizations, I wanted more freedom in decision-making, the ability to define my development direction independently, and to build my own business according to my own values.

After my son was born, this desire only became stronger. I wanted more flexibility to combine professional realization with family life, and to create a business with long-term value, jobs, and positive influence on people's lives.

That is how my entrepreneurial path began.

Although entrepreneurship was not my childhood dream, I received my first business experience many years earlier. Together with my mother, we developed a company distributing professional cosmetics in Ukraine. We began with the French brand Novexpert and later worked with several international brands. I was responsible for marketing, brand development, educational projects, and cooperation with opinion leaders. Eventually, the business was sold because partners had different views on its development. This taught me how important financial discipline, transparent agreements, and shared vision between partners are.

After moving to Poland, I decided to buy an existing business. It seemed to me this would help avoid most mistakes because the salon already worked, had a team, clients, and processes. In reality, everything turned out much more complex. After the deal, problems began to appear that could not be seen during the audit: financial, operational, marketing, and management problems.

The first year became the hardest in my entrepreneurial career. Every day, I had to learn, make difficult decisions, rebuild processes, change management approaches, and build a strong team almost from scratch.

Today I understand that this experience became my best business education. It taught me to see the company as a system, take responsibility for every decision, and build a business that can grow not by chance or temporary success, but through clear processes, a strong team, and a long-term vision.

I develop Holt House not just as a beauty salon, but as a company with clear values, strong processes, and high service standards. I believe a successful business is a place where both clients and the team are valued equally, and long-term results matter more than quick wins.

How did the business idea come to you?

I do not have professional experience as a beauty specialist and never worked in the beauty industry. But for many years, I was a demanding client for whom service quality, cleanliness, and attention to detail were as important as the result of the procedure itself.

Choosing a direction for my own business, I was convinced that a service company can be managed successfully even without technical industry education if you have strong management competencies, system thinking, and a deep understanding of client needs. I gained exactly these skills over years of work in international organizations, where I was responsible for large teams, complex projects, and concrete results.

At the same time, after buying the salon, I understood how complex the beauty industry is. It is a business with high competition, significant operating costs, and very sensitive economics. Taxes, rent, payroll, marketing, and constantly rising service costs require daily analysis and fast management decisions.

Success in this field is determined not only by the skill of specialists. It starts with strategy, effective processes, a strong team, financial discipline, and the owner's ability to make the right decisions every day.

What key skills helped you launch the business?

The foundation for me was the skills gained in international organizations and the diplomatic environment: strategic thinking, the ability to work with people, make decisions under uncertainty, and build effective communication even in the hardest situations. Discipline, a systematic approach, responsibility for results, and the ability to build processes that work regardless of circumstances are also important.

I pay special attention to the team. I believe a strong business begins with people. It is important to create an environment with mutual respect, transparent rules, timely pay, professional development opportunities, and open dialogue. This internal culture becomes the basis of high-level client service.

What were the three hardest challenges in the first years?

One of the first challenges was the effect of geopolitics and war on client behavior. Part of the solvent audience left Warsaw for other European countries, and the spending habits of those who stayed changed significantly. People became much more attentive to expenses, which directly affected demand and required adapting the business model to new market realities.

Another difficult challenge was promotion on the Polish market. I quickly understood that approaches that work in Ukraine do not always work in Poland. I had to study the market again, understand client behavior, test new marketing tools, and gradually build brand trust among the Polish audience.

A third important lesson was rethinking my own expectations. I realized business development is not quick wins, but systematic and consistent work. Sometimes it requires unpopular decisions: cost optimization, process revision, team-structure changes, or abandoning ineffective approaches. These decisions create the foundation for stable long-term company development.

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

The first year after buying the salon was a period of constant challenges. After the deal closed, operational, financial, and management problems appeared that could not be fully assessed during the audit. What looked understandable and controlled on paper turned out to be much more complex in reality.

General economic and geopolitical instability was another challenge, directly affecting demand, client behavior, and daily business decisions.

The biggest change for me was the transition from international organizations to entrepreneurship. I used to work in a system with established rules, structures, and responsibility distribution. As a business owner, I understood that there is nobody who will make decisions for you. Every decision, from finance and marketing to hiring, firing, or purchasing, ultimately rests on the owner.

Which decisions were most effective for company growth?

The strongest impact came not from individual new ideas, but from decisions connected with building an effective management system.

One first step was optimizing the organizational structure, especially administrative functions and roles that did not create enough value for the business. Such decisions were not easy because any change affects people. But later it became obvious that a more compact and clear structure allowed the company to work much more effectively.

The next important step was organizing business processes. I involved an external business consultant to systematically review the operating model, administrative processes, marketing, and financial management.

Another important decision was rethinking the financial model. I gave up intuitive discount and concession decisions and began relying on financial indicators and the economics of each service. This allows more balanced decisions and stable long-term development.

A key decision was fully restarting the marketing strategy. When I bought the business, there was essentially no system for stable new-client acquisition, so we had to build it from scratch. We reviewed positioning, channels, ad campaigns, and introduced a systematic approach to attracting and retaining clients.

Which mistake do you now consider your most valuable experience?

The most valuable lesson was realizing that difficult management decisions should not be postponed. As a manager, I hoped for too long that certain problems would solve themselves or that the situation would change with time. Business quickly showed that every delayed decision has a price.

How did you earn your first $100?

While studying in Cyprus, I worked as a waitress in a British marine bar visited by military personnel from British military bases.

How did you earn your first $1,000?

In 2014, while working in an international humanitarian organization, my official salary was about $1,000 after taxes.

How did you earn your first $10,000?

I accumulated that amount gradually through many years of work in international organizations, stable income, and bonuses for successfully implemented projects.

I can be useful to entrepreneurs in three directions.

The first is transition from international organizations or the corporate sector into one's own business. I know the difficulties people face at this stage and how to adapt management experience to entrepreneurial reality.

The second is building a systematic service business: creating effective processes, forming a team, developing marketing, and making management decisions that help the business grow.

The third is buying an existing business. I learned from experience that after purchase, the hardest stage begins: rebuilding processes, solving hidden problems, and making decisions that determine the company's future.

Your experience: how to systematize a business?

For me, business systematization begins with the understanding that the owner cannot and should not do everything alone.

That is why I involved a business consultant who helps build business processes, the operating model, marketing, and the management system. My main task is to build a system that works independently of specific people, provides stable results, and can scale.

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

Today my main goal is to build a strong foundation for further business growth. I see doubling the company as a second-year goal after completing key internal changes.