Oleksandr Chyhryn

How welding work became the start of a business in Poland

I’m Oleksandr Chyhryn, an entrepreneur working in the training and employment of welders in Poland and Europe.  

My path in business began with the trade of welding. I completed training, worked in the field, developed my skills, and eventually went to work in Europe. There, I advanced to become a project manager and saw how the European market operates. 

At a certain point, I realized I had hit a ceiling. To move forward, I needed to open my own company. But I lacked capital at the time, and, more importantly, I knew I couldn’t take on a business like that alone right away. So I returned to Ukraine with the capital I had earned in Europe and opened a welding school. I started from scratch: organizing courses, working with equipment, and developing the curriculum.

Demand gradually grew. My experience working in both the Ukrainian and European systems helped me understand the needs of both markets and address the shortage of quality welder training. Eventually, our training center became one of the strongest in Ukraine. People even came from abroad to study with us.

After the full-scale war began, I left Ukraine and moved some of the equipment to Poland. About half a year later, I opened a training center there. Gradually, I began building a new business model that combines training, certification, and employment for welders in Poland and other European countries. I’m also launching a manufacturing division. In this way, the trade that started it all gradually became a business operating in several European countries at once.

Communication, partnership, and market knowledge

What key skills helped you launch your business?

The first is being communicative and able to keep moving forward: negotiating, not being afraid to have conversations, asking questions, and understanding the market’s unwritten rules.

The second is the ability to build relationships on a win-win basis. It’s important to understand what the other party wants and negotiate on equal terms so that both sides benefit. Otherwise, it won’t work for long. This is especially true in Europe, where many family businesses take a long-term view.

The third is understanding market conditions: taxes, regulations, how things actually work, and the differences between Ukraine and Europe.

Language, bureaucracy, and new rules of engagement

What were 3 the most difficult challenges you faced in your first years of operation?

- The language barrier: when you’re not completely sure you’ve understood everything correctly, any mistake can be costly.

- Bureaucracy and slow processes. Government offices, paperwork, and the need to do everything by the book. I was used to many issues being resolved faster in Ukraine, but here you have to go through longer cycles and withstand time pressure.

- Changing the way I worked with partners. Approaches that work in Ukraine don’t always work in Poland. This tested my resilience and my ability to enter a new market the right way.

Cash-flow gaps became the biggest financial challenge

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

There were no systemic crises on the scale of war or a pandemic during our time in Poland. The company has officially operated in Poland for three years, starting after the full-scale war began.

The closest thing to a crisis was financial cash-flow gaps caused by European payment practices. Companies may pay for work under contracts after 45, 50, or 60 days.

A Polish director became a partner and helped scale the business

What decisions proved most effective in growing the company?

The biggest boost came from a staffing and partnership decision. I hired a Polish director.

He handled about 90% of communication with clients and brought in contracts that I probably wouldn’t have been able to secure on my own. This was due to the level of trust and access to higher-level negotiations.

Because of the war, there was less trust in Ukrainians in business. Goodwill is one thing, but businesses check everything. Eventually, the director became my partner, and this was an important step in scaling the company.

The most valuable mistake: trusting people too quickly

What mistake do you now consider your most valuable learning experience?

I consider my most valuable mistake to be letting people get close too quickly—in both life and business. I immediately shared a lot of information because I wanted to share, advise, help, and speed things up. But people often don’t appreciate it or, on the contrary, withdraw.

Over time, I adopted a different approach: slowly, little by little. Reciprocity should be built not through money, but through a healthy exchange. Communication should give you energy, not take up your time and resources.

From my first welding jobs to $100 000 in my own business

How did you earn your first $100?

I earned my first $100 doing welding work. 

How did you earn your first $1 000?

I earned my first $1 000 either at a job or through my own welding work as a business. At the time, the line between those two formats was thin.

How did you earn your first $10 000?

I earned my first $10 000 in my own business.

How did you earn your first $100 000?

I also earned my first $100 000 in business. I reinvested this money in growth and did not take it out of the business. 

Growing a welding business in Europe

I can be useful to entrepreneurs and people building projects in Europe in three areas:

First, employment in Poland, Germany, and Belgium, as well as understanding the basic rules for operating in these markets.

Second, certification and training for welders under the Polish and European systems.

Third, technical aspects of welding: processes, equipment selection, and setting up production and training processes. I can also share my experience finding clients and handling operations in this niche.

Systematization starts with the team

Your experience: how do you systematize a business?

For me, systematization starts with a team that takes tasks off the owner’s hands. Each role has a clear function and area of responsibility. In my business, it works like this: a coordinator manages processes and oversees staff. One person handles HR, calculations, payroll, documents, and the paperwork for delegations and business trips. A recruiter is responsible for finding and working with candidates, while also building a pipeline of people for training—paid or free. The director handles clients and general contract matters. Salespeople work on commission.

When tasks are properly delegated and people work within a system set by the owner or director, the business picks up speed and stops depending on one person.

Doubling a business starts with contracts and people

Your experience: how do you grow х2 in a year?

To double in size, I would first build a minimum team capable of handling an increased workload. Then I would focus on two elements of the model: contracts and people.

For contracts, I would strengthen sales, increase the number or quality of salespeople, and look for partners who can bring in new contracts.

For working with people, I would build a recruitment operation or partner-based recruitment to fill the contracts.

I would create a controlled micro-crisis: increase the flow of people and clients, then adapt the system to the workload. This helps avoid inflating costs too soon. For example, there’s no point in hiring a large office team if there aren’t enough contracts yet or enough people to work on them.