Section 1: About me. Dossier.
«I realized that the main question is not whether you will reach point B, but who you will become along the way. I tried working with coaches and psychologists, but understood that each of them operates within their own paradigm and, to some extent, shapes you through it. So the key is being able to work on yourself independently and take responsibility. In short, it is about self-reflection. It opens up new levels of self-understanding at different stages of life—at 25, 33, 36 years of age, and beyond. And it is what changes me as a person.»
Liashenko Yana Mykolaivna
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Join the clubSection 2. About the business. Dossier.
Section 3: Biography.
Today, I am an entrepreneur and lead the team at ADWService. We help e-commerce businesses grow through Google Ads and implement AI solutions to scale across different markets. I see business as an engineering system: it is about process architecture, procedures, quality control, and the ability to consistently reproduce results over the long term.
This approach is an extension of my character. I am drawn to complex challenges, structured thinking, and discipline. The same applies to sport: I train for and compete in half-Ironman races, where results are always the consequence of consistency, not a one-off effort.
Money matters to me, but I have never viewed symbolic amounts as the main business trophies. A milestone such as the "first thousand" or the "first ten thousand" means little on its own without context. What matters much more is what it takes to reach that figure, what kind of model underlies it, whether margins are maintained, and whether the system can be scaled without losing quality.
I remember well the period when generating the same amount of revenue required a great deal of manual work, dozens of low-paying clients, constant communication, and a heavy personal workload. Today, a different marker matters much more to me: we have made it to a completely different level in average contract value, the complexity of our projects, client trust, and the quality of the system behind the service. If monthly support once cost around $50, today the average cost of support is around $1200. To me, that is a much more meaningful milestone than any one-off revenue figure.
My real business milestones are:
moving from manual work to systems architecture;
increasing average contract value as a result of real value, not simply raising prices;
being able to work with larger budgets and more complex e-commerce projects;
building a team and processes that maintain quality without relying solely on my personal oversight;
market recognition that confirms this model really works.
I value the moment when a system starts working without you: there is a steady flow of leads beyond just word of mouth, processes are in place, the team handles operational tasks, and you can step away without anything breaking.
My life is quite intense. It has several parallel tracks:
a business that constantly brings new challenges;
my family and my child, who especially needs my involvement right now;
sport through structured training (triathlon: swimming, cycling, running);
learning, both professional and personal.
Sport has taught me the most important lesson: results come over the long haul. It takes discipline, consistency, and the ability to keep going even when "the plan goes awry." For example, one of my races went nothing like I expected, but it is precisely moments like that that build endurance and character.
I also think a lot about balance, and over time I have realized that it does not exist in an ideal form. There is only flexibility and the ability to set priorities according to the stage of life you are in.
As a mother and an entrepreneur, I see my role as not only growing the business, but also setting an example through actions, not words. Children rarely listen to ideas in theory, but they almost always pick up on behavior. It is important to me that my daughter sees more than words about strength, discipline, or growth—that she lives alongside them as the norm.
In 5 years, I see myself:
among the top teams in the Ukrainian market;
operating internationally, particularly in the US market;
more mature in management, motherhood, and understanding my place in the world.
Material outcomes are a consequence for me. The foundation is being systematic, creating value for clients, and being able to adapt to change.
There was no single "idea" in the romantic sense. It was more a natural development of circumstances and my own way of thinking.
I trained as an accountant, but fairly quickly realized that I did not see the kind of room for growth I wanted in that role. At the time, my husband was selling electronics from China, and the business had reached a point where it needed either to scale significantly or to be honest about its limitations.
At the same time, we were figuring out advertising on our own, and that was when I saw much greater potential in this field. I realized that marketing is an environment where results depend much more on the quality of decisions, systems, and thinking than on external factors such as logistics, customs, or delivery times.
My first project was in the stretch ceiling niche, for a company in Kyiv. I found my first client through OLX—it was a lawyer specializing in land matters.
Then word of mouth started working, and gradually it grew into a systematic business.
This field turned out to suit me better than trading in electronics, which depends on logistics, customs, and time to market. In marketing, results depend much more on the quality of the work than on external factors.
That is how the company took shape, and it has been around for more than 12 years.
1. An entrepreneurial environment from childhood
Both of my parents are entrepreneurs, so from childhood I lived in an environment full of ideas, decisions, change, and growth. This instilled in me the habit of not waiting for the "perfect moment," but taking action, accepting responsibility, and thinking in terms of opportunities rather than limitations.
2. Discipline and a systematic approach
These qualities made it possible not only to launch but also to scale the business. Many companies that started alongside us (including after completing Google Mini-MBA in 2016) have already disappeared from the market.
3. Focus on results (the 80/20 principle)
I do not work from chaotic to-do lists. We focus on the 20% of decisions that deliver 80% of the results.
4. Strategic thinking and task setting
To me, strategy is not a beautiful plan on paper, but the ability to connect a goal, resources, priorities, and concrete actions into a coherent logic. This applies both to my own business and to working with clients: it is important not simply to do a lot, but to understand exactly which decisions lead to the desired result.
5. Having an approach of our own rather than copying the market
I have never followed what "everyone else is doing." On the contrary, I have always been interested in understanding processes more deeply and creating a system of my own. Rather than copying the market, we build our own rules of the game where standard approaches no longer deliver the results we need.
Ultimately, this is what enabled us to:
rank among Ukraine's top 30 agencies (according to Ringostat);
be among the top 3% of agencies according to Google;
work with clients for 5–6 years and longer;
participate in international programs and testing initiatives from Google.
1. Finding clients and building a steady flow of leads
At the start, the hardest thing is not simply finding clients, but building a systematic flow of leads that does not rely only on word of mouth. If a business depends solely on referrals, either it is operating in a very narrow market or there is a problem with its model.
At first, clients come and go, and that instability is a major challenge. Especially in the conditions of 2014: war, economic turbulence, and exchange-rate fluctuations. In that environment, building a steady flow for a small, still-unknown agency was extraordinarily difficult.
2. Developing a business model
The service sector is radically different from product businesses or brick-and-mortar operations. At the beginning, we did not have a clear understanding of how to build this model properly: processes, scaling, and unit economics.
That understanding came through mistakes, testing, and gradually immersing ourselves in the specifics of the market.
3. Learning to value our work
One of the key challenges was learning to set a fair fee that reflected the value. Impostor syndrome is especially strong at the beginning.
I remember that our first fees—around $50 a month—seemed like a major achievement to us. But in reality, we were undervaluing the amount of work and the results we delivered to clients.
I call them two "reset points"—moments that test whether a business is viable.
1. COVID-19
At that time, a significant share of our clients came from offline industries: salons, cleaning, renovation, and healthcare. We also had many clients in the US and Europe.
When lockdown began, everything came to a halt almost at once.
We quickly reassessed our approach:
we shifted the business focus,
identified weak spots,
restructured our client and service mix.
This allowed us to stabilize.
2. The full-scale war
This was more of a mental crisis than a business one. The constant pressure of uncertainty set in:
retaining the team,
working with international clients,
maintaining financial stability.
This period changed us as a team:
we reviewed our business processes,
became more flexible,
changed the way we make decisions.
Our advantage was that we were not tied to physical assets. This allowed us to weather the crisis, although mentally it was one of the most difficult periods.
1. Clearly defining our own "point B"
The key skill is understanding what you really want. Most people live according to other people's goals—those imposed by marketing and trends.
But once you define your real goals, the entire system starts taking shape around them:
business processes,
structure,
clients,
the way you work.
2. Stepping out of the "doer" role
At a certain point, an owner can no longer remain the "doer" on whom all the results depend. For a long time, I built strategies, set up advertising, and carried a large share of the key work myself. But at some point it became clear: if everything depends on me, the business cannot scale. Growth begins when you stop being the only center of execution and start building a system that can operate reliably.
3. Delegation
This is one of the most difficult, yet critical, skills. Delegating the things you do best is psychologically very hard.
But it is precisely this that:
unlocks the team's potential,
gives people room to grow,
lets you see the system at the architectural level rather than at the execution level.
4. Our own rules of the game
We do not copy the market. Instead, we:
delve deeper into processes,
look for unconventional solutions,
develop approaches of our own.
5. Being willing to be a "pioneer"
Every strong decision involves an element of risk. But a growing market rarely rewards those who merely repeat what is already common knowledge. It is important to me not only to work well within existing rules, but also to be ready to create new approaches where the old ones no longer deliver the desired effect. That is how new opportunities, new products, and a new level of business emerge.
It was not having my own guiding principles—not understanding what was good for me and what was not.
Even in adulthood, people often simply copy the behavior patterns of their parents or those around them without reconsidering them.
Another critical mistake is avoiding responsibility:
shifting it onto a partner,
onto coaches,
or onto circumstances.
But your capacity to grow depends directly on the level of responsibility you are willing to take on.
This habit can show up in everything: business, sport, and relationships. And it is what holds back growth the most.
A salary as an accountant; the first money I earned entirely on my own.
Approximately $1000/month - 2015–2016.
Approximately $10 000/month - 2016–2018.
Approximately $100 000/month - 2019–2020.
Approximately, the «million» had already been reached during 2021–2023.
Section 4: How can I be useful? Experience I can share.
I work well with long-term goals, such as training for an Ironman. I know how not just to «make it to the finish line», but to build a system that makes it possible to achieve results consistently and immediately set new goals.
My strengths are:
discipline,
systems thinking,
process management.
I have a different vision for building a business. I don't follow well-worn paths if they don't work for me. I create my own approaches and architectures.
In marketing, I have spent many years proving my expertise through practice: where others stop, I keep scaling.
I also know how to:
set goals that reflect genuine desires, rather than ones imposed by others,
work on mental endurance,
build training and recovery processes in sport.
I also work extensively with advertising, particularly in English-speaking markets, and have experience working with international clients.
Every business is a system. You can think of it as an engineering blueprint: each business has its own—hierarchical, matrix-based, or mixed.
The key is that every element of the system performs a repeatable function.
A system works when:
processes are repeatable,
results are consistent,
quality is predictable over the long term.
How to put this into practice:
1. Break it down from the micro level to the macro level Each process is divided into simple, clear actions.
2. Standardization
instructions are created,
the correct way to perform tasks is documented,
at the outset, oversight is provided by someone more experienced.
After that, the process becomes repeatable and can run independently.
3. Interconnection of processes The system should be designed so that:
processes reinforce one another,
and partly monitor themselves.
This reduces the need for manual oversight.
4. Working with operational roles There's no need to overcomplicate simple tasks. If a process is:
repetitive,
doesn't require complex thinking,
it should be:
documented in instructions,
assigned to someone to carry out.
5. Delegation as a core CEO function In practice, a leader's job is to delegate continuously. Even when it's difficult, delegation:
takes the load off the system,
makes scaling possible.
6. The minimum viable product principle There's no need to build a perfect system right away. Create a basic version → test it → improve it.
1. Set the right goal The goal should not just be ambitious; it should be realistic under current conditions. If the gap between point A and point B is too large, you need to either:
change the goal,
or redesign the system to support it.
2. Redesign the system around the goal. If the current model doesn't allow for growth, it needs to change. Sometimes radically.
3. Focus on the 20% that drive results. You need to identify the key actions that truly affect growth. For example:
increasing the average transaction value,
changing lead generation,
working with a different customer segment.
But it's important to note: increasing the average transaction value isn't an abrupt decision; it's the result of building up the value you offer.
4. A strong network and connections. Growth often happens through people:
partners,
clients,
referrals.
It's important to know how to connect with the right people.
5. Two possible approaches to growth
either sustained, systematic work through discipline,
or focusing on key actions that deliver quick results.
In either case, being realistic matters: not every market can be scaled in the same way.
Section 5: Club value
