Alina Malchenko

From Employment to Founding My Own Agency

I’m Alina Malchenko, founder of Alure Digital Agency. My entrepreneurial journey began with a job in digital marketing. I managed social media advertising, ran pages, and worked with websites. Later, I decided to go freelance so I could organize my work independently and take responsibility for my own decisions.

At first, I handled all the projects myself. When I had more clients than I could serve on my own, I started hiring assistants and delegating some tasks to them. Gradually, this grew into a team and, eventually, an agency.

A Systematic Approach and an Eye for Opportunity

What key skills helped you launch your business?

First and foremost, a systematic approach, flexibility, and the ability to spot opportunities. It’s important to me to understand where the market is heading, recognize changes, and assess how they can be used to grow the business.

My experience in digital marketing became the foundation of the agency. I knew how to work with advertising, social media, and websites. Over time, I began applying this knowledge not only to complete projects but also to organize the team’s work.

Learning to Trust Others

What were the 3 most difficult challenges you overcame in your first years of work?

The first serious challenge was moving to self-employment. When you work for a company, you have a certain degree of stability and know what to expect. When you work for yourself, you are responsible for your own income and results. You need to be prepared for that.

The second challenge was building my own team. I had to learn to delegate responsibility while also understanding how the work was being done and how to build business processes.

The War That Brought Clients’ Work to a Halt

What crises has your business faced, and how did you overcome them?

The biggest crisis for me was the full-scale war. Many clients’ operations came to a halt, and our projects stopped along with them. At one point, I had only two clients who were still operating. It was a difficult period. I didn’t know what would happen next, when work would resume, or whether new projects would come in. I had to work amid uncertainty, with no clear idea of when the situation might change. But we decided to enter international markets.

Trust Without Oversight Can Be Costly

Which of your mistakes do you now consider your most valuable learning experience?

For me, it’s learning to find a balance between trusting the team and monitoring results.

There were times when I handed processes over entirely to others, relied on my colleagues’ experience, and shifted my attention to other tasks. Sometimes this led to mistakes. Over time, I realized that delegating doesn’t mean letting things run on «autopilot». It’s important to stay involved in the processes and understand how tasks are progressing.

I can share my experience in internet marketing and help entrepreneurs navigate questions about promoting their businesses online.

Over the years, I have gone from completing projects on my own to managing a team. So I can share not only my professional marketing experience, but also my own insights on delegation, organizing work, and monitoring results.