Transcript
00:00:02
Veronica: Hello, Karina. My name is Veronica. Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed for our blog. What is your name and what is your business?
00:00:11
Karina: Hi, I’m Karina, and my business is called Stellar Crystals, and it’s a crystal business.
00:00:21
Veronica: What does your business do?
00:00:23
Karina: I import crystals from all around the world, and I host live sales on Instagram. And I have a website and. Yeah.
00:00:31
Veronica: That’s it. What is your home country and your native language?
00:00:35
Karina: My home country is the UK and my native language is English.
00:00:41
Veronica: What was your professional studies before you started your own business?
00:00:45
Karina: I have a diploma in early years and education and I was a teacher for 15 years.
00:00:52
Veronica: Tell me about your product or service. What did you choose? Why did you choose to offer this?
00:00:57
Karina: Um, my product is crystals and I chose to offer this as it was something I was very passionate about. And I love the aesthetics of crystals.
00:01:08
Veronica: I have bought some candles from you beforehand. Can you tell me about the candles?
00:01:12
Karina: Yeah, I had the candles locally produced and we infuse them with the crystals so that when you like your candles, they give off the energy of the crystals as well as the scents.
00:01:24
Veronica: Why did you decide to start a business in this new country?
00:01:28
Karina: I moved to this country, and then I brought the business with me to Portugal because I work remotely. So I thought it was a great thing to do.
00:01:37
Veronica: Describe the difference between working hours and free time. Comparing when you first started the business to after it became profitable.
00:01:45
Karina: And it’s not that different. I grew my company organically and I still do that, but because it’s my own business, I am working all around the clock. But I can work when I choose to, but I still do it all organically. I don’t there’s not much difference in time.
00:02:03
Veronica: How did the idea of your business change from start to finish?
00:02:07
Karina: Um, like I said, I grew it organically, so I sort of followed my heart and I grew it organically as well, which means that I built it up at a slow pace, at my own pace, and I’ve just gone with it, basically.
00:02:21
Veronica: Okay. Did you use any inspiration or knowledge from your home country to come up with your business idea?
00:02:28
Karina: Um, I started the business in the UK, so I built up a lot of my clientele there and I then tried to move it to Europe. So then I had to reach a wider audience basically.
00:02:41
Veronica: Do you have any tips for somebody who is just starting out with entrepreneurship and business?
00:02:46
Karina: Yeah, I would say be authentic to yourself because, you know, there’s going to be a lot of other people trying to do the same thing as you. And what keeps your customers returning to you is being authentic and following your passion as well and not comparing yourself to other people.
00:03:02
Veronica: What is the one lesson from your experience that a migrant entrepreneur can learn from?
00:03:08
Karina: Um, I think when you’re moving countries, you do need to find out a bit about, you know, I’m doing import. So that was a bit of a hurdle for me. I’ve got a few language barriers, but I think, um, yeah, I do a bit of research on sort of tax and import and things like that before you start because it can be hit with a bit of a shock if you just go ahead without doing your research.
00:03:30
Veronica: So you’re very busy person. Thank you for your time. Do you have any last words for the people who will read this?
00:03:36
Karina: I think yeah, absolutely. I think you should take a leap of faith when you’re starting a business and you’ve got nothing to lose and go for it.
00:03:44
Veronica: Thank you so much, Karina.