• Katerina, you started your business around two years ago. We would love to hear about your experiences as an entrepreneur. How did you come up with your idea or concept for the business?

Before starting Coshamie, I was working in-house in sales and marketing for design companies, and there I would watch and observe our clients who were primarily interior designers, I would listen to what questions they asked about various products and what issues were they facing in general, and so on. Also, since I was always surrounded by interior designers and artists, I decided to focus on this particular niche - Interior Design and Art.

• Can you describe your company? What is unique about your business?

Coshamie started off as a digital marketing agency for interior design and art firms. However, our main emphasis now is on Instagram. We have developed great knowledge around this platform, and truly enjoy managing several Instagram accounts. Simultaneously, we are growing our own Instagram account @coshamie where we curate interior design content that we enjoy and want to share. Every day we post a new inspiring interior design image, and then we observe how our followers interact with it and how they react to it. It is fascinating to make such observations, it feels as if we are taking a new
interior design class each day.

• What would be a typical day for you? What would be a good productive day for you?

My days can be very dull as I need to sit at my desk to work on client’s projects. But I have a few methods and approaches which I genuinely appreciate, and I usually practice these in the mornings and in the evenings.
I enjoy mornings and I love waking up early, so I can have some time for myself. I get myself a glass of warm water with lemon and open my journal to note my morning gratitude, then look at my schedule and compare it to my priorities for the day. This allows me to be focused. But I won’t lie to you, it is a challenging process in today’s world and especially when I am constantly bombarded by social media notifications. I used to check Instagram immediately after waking up, but now I have stopped doing it.
In the evenings, I make sure that I list my evening gratitude and my wins for the day. Sometimes I am excited about my progress, and other times, I am little disappointed. However, I have now learned not to give myself a hard time for ‘failing’ to achieve it all. Do I check my Instagram before I go to bed? Yes, I do. By now, we have established some excellent “Insta-relationships" and like with every other relationship, these relationships need to be nurtured.

• An entrepreneur’s journey is usually paved with challenges. How do you manage stress and how do you work under pressure?

There are a few things I do. On occasions, I do meditation. I have also now made a list of things, situations and people, all that makes me stressed. This enables me to better understand the patterns which I need to avoid, and help prevent difficult situations.

• What is your best workplace well-being tip?

The best tips I can offer are – listen to, learn to trust and respect others. Again, this may sound easy but it is a real challenge to make it all happen on a regular basis.

• How do you manage work/life balance?

This is something I have been working on for some time. I used to be terrible at it, as I felt I needed to be always busy. I never used to go on holidays and would never give up a job offer if I had the time. I have now learnt the importance of taking breaks and going on vacations. I am still, however, aiming for the right balance.

• What book do you think everyone should read?

I can think of many! I love to read so I can offer infinite recommendations. But if there was one single book everyone should read no matter at what stage of their life they are, it would be the legendary book by Dale Carnegie, How to win friends and influence people

• What type of leader are you?

It is hard to give a short answer to this question. I am well aware that I need to acquire new leadership skills as the work environment is constantly changing. I am all for charismatic leadership!

• To what do you attribute your success?

Living in abundance.

• What would you most like to learn today that would help you in the future?

To answer this question, I would simply repeat my previous answer. I would like to learn to live in abundance.

• If you had to advise someone who is just starting out, what advice would that be?

Read the book E-Myth before you start the business.