Bermet Tologonova, owner of Padishah restaurants chain, President of the Association of women's football of the Kyrgyz Republic
On the activity
My path as an entrepreneur started with the family business.
Now I am the owner of Padishah restaurants chain. This is a living business, and we invest our own funds and efforts today to have income tomorrow. For my team and me, this business is part of life.
I am engaged in strategic management and operational activities are assigned to the team. I work mostly online. Control over all the work, sales I carry out through groups in Telegram and WhatsApp. I deal with strategic and marketing issues. My mission is to provide decent income and working conditions to my employees. People should enjoy their work.
Despite that our business not too big even on the scale of Kyrgyzstan, we constantly support sports. I am the head of the Association of women's football in the Kyrgyz Republic. We started with organization on-site service during the matches. Then, such cooperation has moved into one of my public works. In our region, it is the most easily accessible sport for the rural population. You need only the ball and the field to play football. Children can develop physically and take leisure time.
I do this because I have the opportunity to give simple girls a chance to play
I do this because I have the opportunity to give simple girls a chance to play, to be in the training process, to feel part of the team. I am convinced, only with the help of team play you can achieve success. The family is a team effort and any business is teamwork. One man can do little.
I have four children, but so happened that at the moment I am responsible for 10 children. We also constantly help a boarding school of the Red River for special children.
On women's entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan
There are many women in the Kyrgyz business, especially in the restaurant business. The hospitality system is the area where women's approach helps to achieve good results. Also, many women in the country open atelier, fashion and beauty salons.
The attitude in society and the difficulties
Over the past 10 years, stereotypes and attitudes towards women in business totally have changed.
In our country, most of the household issues carried out by women. And this work often unnoticed, because there is no stable result. Today cooked to eat, and tomorrow you need to cook again. The same goes for washing and cleaning. It's an endless circle of worries. Therefore, I think that now, to make lives easier, women need to work.
And to have a flexible schedule, better to work for yourself. And if it will bring additional income, the woman will be able to delegate part of the homework. The free part of the time can be spent on their own development, sports, hobbies — something that will bring harmony and inner balance.
The difficulty is that sometimes men are taken more seriously.
About features of women's business
Business is just business. It's never male or female. Men achieve more than women because they are able to turn off everything else when dealing with business issues. I realized this only after time and now in matters of business, I try not to succumb to emotions and not to scatter my attention on trifles. Excessive emotionality is what hinders women in business.
Laura Zhorobekova, 33 years old, hometown — Bishkek, entrepreneur, @laurazhzh
On the activity
I started doing business in 2011 when I returned to Kyrgyzstan, after graduating from a bachelor's degree in one of the top universities in China. I started by ordering jewellery and accessories from China. Thanks to advertising on Instagram, things went well, which allowed to open three points of sale at once and to supplement the range of women's clothing.
Brand Someone Special successfully existed for two years. After I got married and had the first maternity leave. I had to close stores. However, I wanted to do some activities and earn my own money while sitting at home with the child. So I opened an online store for children's things, advertised goods from China, which could be ordered for customers from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
After the birth of the second child, I became even more productive, began to take on individual training of clients. Remotely on WhatsApp told how to make orders on the most popular online trading platforms in China, how logistics works, how to promote profiles in social networks from scratch.
Now Mama.Inbusiness is my main and favourite project
Now Mama.Inbusiness is my main and favourite project, where about 1,000 women from all over Kyrgyzstan have been trained. I have my own team, which I am grateful for the coordinated work. In addition to courses, I again had a store for the sale of jewellery wholesale and retail DejaVu. As an important activity, I also highlight blogging, thanks to which people learn about all my projects and believe in them. I see that that people go for ideas, energy, they do not buy from stores, but from people whom they trust. Therefore, I spend a lot of time blogging.
On women's entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan
The level of women's entrepreneurship in our country is growing everywhere. Sometimes it seems that all successful projects are carried out by women. And even in those areas where only men could achieve success.
I am pleased that our school helps women without special training to start a small business and earn money. Great that women want to develop and not afraid to start a business.
The attitude in society and the difficulties
Society is loyal to women entrepreneurs. I can see it from my students. Most of them live with their husband's parents, have more than two children and meet good support in the first steps to their business. Women around us open restaurants, beauty houses, cooking courses and earn well. They are an example for others, and it motivates.
For a woman in Central Asia, as elsewhere in the world, is not so easy to do business in comparison with a man. We have a great responsibility for our husband, children and parents. For many, business meetings with representatives of the opposite sex are also not easy but not commonplace in our society. We rush home to infants, sometimes refusing profitable business offers, cancel business meetings with men if the husband is jealous. The East is a delicate matter. There must be a balance in everything.
About features of women's business
In my opinion, women are great entrepreneurs. In business important to simultaneously do dozens of things, monitor the activities of a large number of people and keep the overall focus on development. Women do it inside the family every day. We know what, wear, eat and drink every member of our family, and solve thousands of issues of life and comfort of the family.
I'm absolutely sure a woman has as many children as she can easily lead projects. Women are incredibly effective and multitasking, while men aren't. We have flexibility important in working with people. The men are firm in decisions and do not always easily change course.
In general, I would not divide the business into a male and female — rather, a successful and not very successful. With a good head and team, a business can be incredibly successful, and gender doesn't matter.
Kristina Kuzmina, 28 years old, hometown — Bishkek, head of the beauty salon and chain stores Grimerka, @kristinakuzmina
On the activity
I have been engaged in business for three years. First I opened the salon, then a year and a half later the store. It all started with my work as a makeup stylist because I always loved to create beauty. I specialized in light, natural makeup. At that moment I got into the right wave, was the trend for naturalness, so my services were in great demand.
After I had reached certain professionalism, I trained my first team and together with them opened my own salon. A year later, we expanded and moved to a new building. Now, together with the beauty shop operates women's clothing store Grimerka. The whole range, I pick on my taste.
On women's entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan
It's nice to see the level of women's entrepreneurship is growing every year. I often see in social networks such as Instagram, Facebook successful businesswomen who have opened their own business. I know and admire many of them. Their stories motivate for further development.
I often see in social networks such as Instagram, Facebook successful businesswomen who have opened their own business
The attitude in society and the difficulties
Society has a positive attitude towards women involved in the business. Despite the Eastern mentality of our country, I can't say that I have ever faced with difficulties related to gender. On the contrary, sometimes it's easier for me.
About features of women's business
Women guided by intuition than by calculation. I graduated from journalism, and I have no economic education, so it's easier for me to focus on my life experience and intuition.
We women all pass through ourselves, and this is the main feature of women's business.
