The morning the war started, I sat at my desk, watching my entire world collapse in real-time. My thriving coaching business – 15 years of blood, sweat, and tears building it to multiple six figures – vanished overnight. It wasn’t just money disappearing. It was like someone had ripped away my whole identity.
My Russian-speaking market? Gone. My team of 12 amazing people? Gone. My sold-out programs?
Everything I’d built – gone in an instant. The business I’d poured my life into had disappeared like smoke.
But you know what killed me most? The voices in my head that wouldn’t shut up:
- “Who do you think you are, trying to coach in English?”
- “Your accent is terrible. Nobody will take you seriously.”
- “You can barely express yourself – how can you charge premium prices?”
Every morning, these thoughts tortured me. My logical mind screamed that this transition was impossible. But something deep in my gut kept whispering: “This is your path. Keep going.”
For months, I lived in this horrible limbo. On the outside, I tried to stay strong for my few remaining clients. But inside? I was terrified. Every morning, I’d walk to the sea in Odessa, watching the sunrise with tears in my eyes, asking God: “What if I can’t do this? What if I’m too old to start over? What if everyone can see what a fraud I am?”
The day I had to let go of my last team member broke me. I sat alone in my office, staring at my empty screen, feeling like the biggest failure in coaching history. Here I was, someone who’d helped thousands of people succeed, and I couldn’t even help myself.
But something strange happened in those dark months. I kept beating myself up about my terrible English. I was struggling to understand the new market. But suddenly, I had a powerful realization: I thought being an outsider with nothing was my biggest weakness. But this was actually my superpower.
Think about it – how many coaches have built successful businesses in two completely different worlds? How many truly understand the terror of starting over? I wasn’t just teaching transformation anymore – I was living it.
Everything changed when I stopped trying to be perfect and started being real. Instead of hiding my accent or apologizing for being “foreign,” I began sharing my raw journey. No more polished marketing. Just honest conversations, one person at a time.
Now when coaches tell me they’re scared to transition their business or feel stuck, I feel it in my bones. I know that paralyzing fear of questioning everything – your expertise, your prices, your right to even call yourself a coach.
But here’s the truth I learned from losing it all: Success isn’t about being perfect or polished. It’s about having the guts to start before you’re ready, to be real when you want to hide, and to keep showing up even when the path looks impossible.
Maybe you feel stuck between your old self and who you want to be. Maybe you’re changing markets or reinventing your business. Here’s what I want you to remember: Your biggest setback today could be preparing you for your greatest comeback tomorrow.
I rebuilt everything from scratch in a new market, and I can show you how to turn your challenges into opportunities too. Because while our stories might be different, the courage to start over? That’s the same for everyone.