We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alena Kim. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alena below.

Alena, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

I have been working since I was 17 in various types of businesses—ranging from video production, including organizing shoots, filming, and editing, to launching offline franchising projects with unique products. I have also worked at an international branding agency with globally recognized brands and have launched and developed unique restaurant concepts. Within each field, I have handled completely different aspects of the business.

All this experience has led me to truly understand how a business operates from the inside out—I am not just an employee. Now, when I work with clients, I develop solutions that are not just technically interesting or visually appealing, but solutions that deeply resonate with employees, customers, guests, and partners on a fundamental level. We anticipate needs before they arise.

Above all, my projects prioritize people and human connection.

Alena, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I create events of all kinds and formats — but truly, it’s in my blood. Back in the days of the Soviet Union, when the country was still closed, my mother was constantly organizing activities and eventually even founded a film club. Since childhood, I was fully involved — always by her side, helping and soaking it all in.

As I grew up, I worked in various areas of business, and yet, no matter the role or industry, I kept organizing things — even beyond my official responsibilities.

Now, when I work with clients, they choose me because I have a very proactive approach. I treat their projects as if they were my own. People enjoy working with me because there’s a lot of humanity in what I do. I truly love people, and I focus on building trusting, supportive relationships that help reduce the stress of running a project.

After all, we’re surrounded by stress every day — but it’s in our hands to minimize it.

I have a strong aesthetic sensibility and an insatiable curiosity for life. I’m always growing, learning, connecting, and finding inspiration — which allows me to see things with a broader perspective. Clients really value this, because my thinking goes far beyond traditional or standard frameworks.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

That’s such an interesting question that I don’t even know where to begin :)

I guess I’ll start by saying that for most of my life, I believed my place was in corporate employment—I never saw myself as a business owner. That just didn’t seem like me. But at the same time, I always held leadership positions within the companies I worked for. People constantly told me that I should start my own project, but I think my lack of confidence held me back.

Then, I moved to Istanbul for work and continued working as an employee. At some point, though, my employer stopped paying me, and I realized that this was the sign—it was time to pull myself together and start monetizing my skills without hesitation. But then COVID happened, and as we all remember, everything shut down. I was left completely broke in a foreign country.

At one point, I received an offer for a remote job, and of course, in that situation, I couldn’t turn it down. I needed money to survive. Before getting that job, I had actually launched my own clothing brand during the pandemic. But when I received the job offer, I got scared again—starting my own business in such uncertain times felt too risky. I could end up with nothing, and I needed financial stability. So once again, I put off doing my own thing.

But you know, according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs—you have to meet your basic needs first before you have the resources to create.

While I was working remotely for that company, I still had this fear of being left alone in a foreign country without money again. So, alongside my main job, I started taking on different freelance projects.

Over time, as I realized that my side projects were not only sparking more interest but also gradually demanding more of my time and attention, I reached a turning point. At some moment, I decided to leave corporate employment behind and fully dedicate myself to my own business.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I have a boutique business approach, and when I work with clients, I treat their business as if it were my own. I’m genuinely invested in helping it grow and become better.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://alyonatin.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/alyonatin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alyonatin.kim
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alenakimtin

Image Credits

grib.t.s, imgazukin