When you are passionate about what you do, you realise that it requires endless hard work, self-discipline, and learning dozens of difficult lessons. This can be daunting, but it is the only way truly successful business projects and strong personal brands are born. Yulia Nugmanova, founder of the international healthy food service Eat&Slim, has done exactly that.
I started my business with a franchise six years ago, after returning to my hometown of Almaty. My husband gave me a gift that changed my whole life — he bought me a franchise of the Russian healthy food company Eat&Slim. The first eight months were challenging: I got into debt, did not understand the specifics of the catering industry, and then the franchisor declared bankruptcy.
This news devastated many partners, and half the outlets closed immediately. But for me, oddly enough, it freed my hands. I contacted the Eat&Slim head office and asked for permission to continue working independently under the same brand.
The company agreed, and I started practically from scratch — one chef in the kitchen, a small rented workshop, and one courier for deliveries. In just three months, I paid off my accumulated debts. Five months later I had 45 regular clients.
Many believe that business is not for women: the conditions are too harsh, you need an iron grip. I am convinced that with the right approach, you can successfully combine entrepreneurship with the role of a loving wife and mother. The main thing is to set clear priorities and maintain balance.
About 80 percent of my time is spent on work. But I try to find at least a couple of hours a day to spend with my loved ones. It is not about the quantity of those hours but their quality.
On February 18th last year, we launched the project in the UAE. Within three months, we broke even. Now Eat&Slim already has about 200 regular customers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Customers in the UAE are more demanding and spoiled by service than in the CIS. But there are also advantages: we have become better, more organised, and more attentive to detail. The Arab market has taught us a lot. Our plans include entering the corporate sector in Kazakhstan and the UAE, and opening offline Eat&Slim mini-cafes in Dubai based on the Keto model.