Kniazieva Liudmyla Oleksandrivna

From Donetsk to Kyiv in 2014: if you can’t find a job, create one yourself

Today I am an entrepreneur in infrastructure development (Miller Association by PAKA group): marine terminals, ports, and investment in development initiatives. My journey is not a romanticized story about a childhood dream, but the result of decisions made in difficult circumstances and taking responsibility for my own path.

Since 2008, I have worked in real estate and development in a corporate environment. That is where I built my solid foundation: understanding how decisions are made, how processes are established, and how large organizations function.

In 2014, the war forced me to move from Donetsk to Kyiv. I quickly encountered barriers: as a displaced person, I found it difficult to get a job. At that point, I made a pivotal decision — if I couldn’t find a job, I would create one myself. That was the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey.

I work in an industry traditionally considered “male-dominated.” This presented a challenge of its own. I don’t offer universal advice, but I can share my own experience: at a certain point, I realized that I needed the right partnerships to negotiate effectively and scale. I began bringing in male partners to join me in negotiations. This significantly improved our interactions, especially in markets where women are still not seen as equal players. Today, my key partner is my husband. We work as a team, complementing each other: dividing regions, roles, and responsibilities.

I work in the Caspian region, where the cultural nuances of business call for flexibility, strategic thinking, and the ability to adapt. At the same time, working in Ukraine is easier for me because I have a deep understanding of the mindset and context.

One of my strengths is the ability to build partnerships and work across different markets and cultures. I understand clearly that when entering a new market, you need to involve local partners or managers who know the landscape well.

We are now developing a new area: investment in the defense sector. This is a strategically important and complex sector that requires long-term vision, resilience, and a systematic approach. Over the next 5 years, I see this business becoming a much larger and stronger organization.

My life involves constant mobility: different countries, different markets, and new challenges. Looking ahead, I am considering moving to another country and establishing a stable base for life and growth.

For me, it is important not only to achieve business results but also to work on my inner state. I am an emotional person, which is why I am now exploring Stoicism in greater depth—as a tool for working with my thinking, reactions, and sense of balance.

Charity is another important part of my life. We help Ukraine, but we don’t publicize it. In particular, we build connections between Britain and Ukraine, helping international foundations enter the Ukrainian market and support the country.

Corporate experience provided the starting point, while circumstances gave me the push

How did you come up with the business idea?

I have worked in real estate and development since 2008. I gained most of my experience in the corporate sector.

In 2014, after the war began in Donetsk, I moved to Kyiv. I realized then that, as a displaced person, it would be difficult for me to find a job. So I decided to follow this principle: if you can’t find a job, create one yourself.

That is how I launched my own business in 2014—first as a sole proprietor, and later growing it into a company. It wasn’t a classic “business idea,” but rather a logical continuation of my experience and a response to the circumstances.

Negotiation, reading people, and business communication as my greatest strengths

What key skills helped you launch your business?

My strength is communication: the ability to talk to people, read them, and negotiate. Everything related to negotiation and business communication.

I am also developing a project in business communication and profiling.

Building a portfolio from scratch, investing my own money in the company, and a team without a track record

What were the 3 most difficult challenges you tackled in the early years?

The first was having no portfolio. When you’re just starting out and have no case studies, people don’t take you seriously. Despite my corporate-sector experience, I couldn’t use those projects as my own portfolio. So I had to prove my expertise literally from scratch.

The second challenge was finances. There were periods when I had to invest my own money in the company to complete projects and keep the business running.

The third was building a team. During the first 2–3 years, it was difficult to put together a strong team because the company had not yet built a reputation in the market. Attracting experienced specialists was especially challenging.

Lockdown, downsizing the team, and moving to online consulting to survive

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

The biggest crisis came in 2019–2020 during lockdown. We were effectively unable to work, but continued paying salaries, which put significant strain on the company’s finances.

At a certain point, I decided to reduce the team, and I moved to working online as a consultant. This helped us get through a difficult period, although the company incurred losses. By the end of 2020, the situation began to stabilize, and we gradually resumed operations.

Entering a different market before the pandemic led to the strongest financial growth

Which decisions proved most effective in growing the company?

The company’s strongest growth came before the pandemic. The key was the decision to reshape the business and enter a different market—that led to significant financial growth.

Go straight to the decision-maker—don’t waste time on managers

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

I don’t see my decisions as mistakes—they are experiences that sometimes come at a financial cost.

One key lesson: you need to see every deal through to the end. And it’s very important to go straight to the person who makes the decisions. Don’t waste time communicating with managers who have no real influence.

The ability to find those people and build a direct relationship with them is probably one of the most valuable lessons from my work.

From bottles and a bicycle in grade 5 to $100 000 in the first six months of her own business

How did you earn your first $100?

In equivalent terms, I earned my first $100 back in school. It was in grade 5–6. In the summer, my brother and I washed beer bottles, collected them, and handed them in for recycling. We earned our first money this way and bought a bicycle.

How did you earn your first $1 000?

I worked as a promoter for a tobacco company. We worked on the streets near kiosks, exchanging people's opened packs of cigarettes for new ones — for example, Winston or Marlboro.

At the same time, I kept cigarettes from other brands that people gave us during the exchanges. At the end of the day, we reported to the company, but I sold some of these cigarettes individually in the dormitory. At the time, this was common practice among students.

In the end, I earned around $8 an hour — a lot, considering that my parents were earning about $100 a month at the time. I made $35–40 a day, plus about $100 extra from selling cigarettes.

That's how I earned my first thousand. Later, I began to scale this operation by bringing in other women who worked for me for lower pay. It was my first experience building a small team.

How did you earn your first $10 000?

I earned my first $10 000 in the corporate sector, working as a development director. It came from my salary and performance bonuses.

How did you earn your first $100 000?

I earned my first $100 000 in my own business during its first six months. It wasn't one big payment; it was the sum of many deals and projects that I handled independently.

How did you earn your first $1 000 000?

I didn't see my first million as a single sum in my personal account. It passed through corporate accounts as part of various projects.

Development involves large budgets, so the money comes into the business gradually and is withdrawn just as gradually. In effect, it was an accumulated amount: approximately $100–150 thousand a year. Perhaps after several years, I could have recorded this million as one total.

Negotiations, the Caspian region, and preparing for high-stakes deals

My key strengths are negotiation, reading people, and business communication.

I can help establish effective communication within companies and prepare for important negotiations, especially when the stakes are high and thorough preparation is essential.

I can also be helpful through my contacts and experience working in the Caspian region.

Processes documented before launch — a corporate school as the foundation

Your experience: how do you systematize a business?

Systematizing a business starts with documenting its processes. I learned this in the corporate sector and applied the same approach to my own business.

I had all the instructions, protocols, and processes in place before launching the company. If an entrepreneur lacks this experience, they should either bring in a consultant or learn how—for example, by pursuing an MBA. It all depends on the industry.

Luck, a team, and the financial readiness to handle a greater volume of money

Your experience: how do you grow twofold in a year?

To double in size, you need three key things: first, luck—to get involved in the right projects; second, a team capable of delivering; and third, financial readiness to scale.

The company must be able to handle a greater volume of money and manage it effectively.