‘The most important thing is continuous self-education’ 

From humble beginnings as a freelance designer to leading a thriving brand development firm, Yuliya Zatulovskaya’s journey epitomises entrepreneurial ambition. 

The desire to create her own agency came to Yuliya Zatulovskaya, founder and managing partner of Golden Minds, a Tashkent-based brand development firm, soon after graduating from university.  

After working for an American company on the local market for a year, she went freelance, working as a web and graphic designer, creating branding identities and websites for local and international customers. She already had a small team. 

“But I realised that we needed an agency,” she says. “I wanted to scale our efforts, take on larger projects, and work with big companies. I was inspired by the prospect of working with well-known brands, solving serious problems, and helping these brands. This became a strong motivation for creating my own agency.” 

Zatulovskaya admits that she didn’t, at that time, have the necessary skills and experience, saying that, “fate brought me together with a person who became my partner. He had all the necessary knowledge, and we teamed up to create Golden Minds.” 

The journey, she says, was not easy. “Our range of services was initially very narrow. We did what I was an expert in: logo design, brand identity, brand books, providing SMM services, and creating websites. We hired a team, rented an office, and covered all expenses, which required significant financial investments.” 

“In 2017, marketing was not as developed as it is now. We were all advertisers, and the market was closed, making it difficult to attract clients. During the first year, we strived to become profitable, and this process took about a year.” 

Constant competition 

Zatulovskaya is keen to talk about her education, which she cites as being crucial to her professional journey. 

“I attended an English-focused gymnasium, and I am very grateful to my parents for enrolling me in this school,” she says. “I was very lucky with my class and the children around me. The teachers were wonderful and very strong. This school had a significant impact on me, instilling a sense of achievement and ambition. 

“In our class, there was constant competition. Everyone wanted to be an excellent student and get the best grades. This pushed us to study harder, and I was no exception. I graduated from school with honours and entered university.” 

She chose a technical university because at that time there were no programmes related to web design or development among Uzbekistan’s state universities where students could study for free.  

“My parents couldn’t afford to pay for international universities. So, I chose the faculty of automation of control systems, which was related to IT and digitalisation,” she recalls. 

In her second year, Zatulovskaya had an internship at Uzbekistan’s Centre for Economic Research.  

“I started there without knowing how to administer computers or how everything worked. During the internship, I was asked to create a website. I saw how the system administrator was making websites, and it intrigued me. I decided that I would also become a web designer or web developer,” she says. 

“This was a revelation for me because I always considered myself a creative person but with a logical mind. Web design combined both creativity and structure. When I saw that the written code turned into a picture in the browser, I realised that this was my calling.” 

Managing remotely 

Zatulovskaya built her business after divorcing from her husband. “I had a small daughter who was only three years old at the time. During this period, my parents helped me a lot,” she says. 

“The primary responsibility for raising my daughter fell on my parents because I had to spend a lot of time at work, especially during the first three to four years.  

“I worked weekends and evenings, which sometimes led to burnout. Of course, I tried to spend time with my daughter, but she still spent most of her time with her grandparents. Later, we hired a nanny, and my daughter and I started living separately from my parents, with the nanny fully assisting us.” 

About to marry again, Zatulovskaya says that Golden Minds has reached a level where she is no longer the key figure in all processes.  

“Our team works remotely, and I manage everything from another country, living in America while the company is in Uzbekistan,” she says. This, of course, creates its own challenges. 

“This remote management of the company is a very interesting experience. My team in Uzbekistan takes on a lot of responsibility. I manage the company without partners, spending two-three hours a day on it, which does not affect my family duties. My daughter, who is now 10 years old, has become quite independent.  

The Uzbek market opens up 

Initially, the concept of the Golden Minds agency was to create a marketing hub of experts who could collaborate on complex projects. These could be independent specialists from various industries related to marketing, whom the agency would attract to solve client problems. The specifics and complexity of marketing tasks depend on the company’s growth and industry. 

“When I started the agency, we did not have enough resources, and the market was closed. At that time, the Golden Minds concept was not yet ready, as the timing wasn’t right. Therefore, we operated in a standard way: we hired specialists on an average salary who did their job well but did not produce outstanding results,” says Zatulovskaya. 

“However, in 2022, we felt the market in Uzbekistan opening up. International companies began to approach us, and their requirements were significantly higher. This became very interesting for us and gave us the opportunity to attract the best specialists from the local market and abroad to projects, as international companies were willing to pay for results. Competition emerged in the local market, and local clients, understanding this, were also willing to pay more. Thus, we had the opportunity to attract experts to implement interesting projects. 

“It can be said that the vision of Golden Minds, as I had envisioned it, began to unfold only in 2022.” 

Future plans include expanding and becoming an international agency. “Since I am currently in America, we are considering entering the American market,” Zatulovskaya adds. “Of course, it is vastly different from the Uzbek market, and marketing in Uzbekistan and America are completely distinct.” 

However, Zatulovskaya sees many interesting ideas that could be adopted from the American market and adapted for Uzbekistan.  

“We all understand that the American market is more advanced, and the same applies to marketing. Many trends start in America and then influence other countries, including Uzbekistan. Why not use this information obtained here, in the American market, and adapt it for application in Uzbekistan? I believe this could significantly enhance marketing in our country.” 

More support needed 

As a woman entrepreneur in Uzbekistan, Zatulovskaya says that she feels quite comfortable. “In my seven years of working in business, I have never experienced discrimination or pressure from society because I am a woman,” she admits. 

“However, as a woman entrepreneur, I fulfill multiple roles such as wife, mother, and leader. Finding the right balance between these roles can be challenging, especially in Uzbek families, where a lot of responsibility for family, household, and caring for children and husband falls on the woman. Women often treat their business like a child, unlike men who are not as emotionally attached to their business. This is a significant difference that plays an important role.” 

Unfortunately, Zatulovskaya says that there is currently insufficient support for women entrepreneurs in Uzbekistan. 

“It would be beneficial to see more benefits, grants, and other forms of assistance, as well as the creation of special organisations where communities of women entrepreneurs could gather and discuss issues related to women’s entrepreneurship at the state level,” she suggests. 

To women who want to start their own business, Zatulovskaya’s first piece of advice is gaining as much knowledge as possible about how to build and manage a business. This includes understanding how to manage people and establish business processes. 

“I have seen many stories where people started businesses without proper education, relying solely on intuition and energy,” she says. “This is especially common in Uzbekistan, where many start businesses with only money and desire, but without the necessary knowledge. This leads to many mistakes, causing many to give up and fail. The most important thing is continuous self-education.” 

“I also want to point out that throughout the post-Soviet space, as well as globally, there is a significant problem with finding good personnel. If you have a specialised business, finding good and responsible specialists becomes even more challenging,” she says. 

“It’s very important to learn how to hire people correctly and be selective in this process. If you don’t have the opportunity to hire an HR specialist or use a recruitment agency, you need to study the basics of hiring yourself. The way you choose employees will greatly affect the management of your company. Even if you are a good manager, hiring the wrong specialist can create many problems.” 

Advice for women entrepreneurs 

Zatulovskaya also says that an important aspect of running a business is to establish a clear organisational structure.  

“You should have a clear goal and an ideal vision of your company. It is essential to document all business processes and the functions of each specialist working in your company, as well as create instructions that are strictly followed. This will allow you to gradually step out of operational activities by hiring managers. Even in the early stages, if you have a small team where everyone understands their functions and takes full responsibility for them, it significantly eases management and frees up your time. It is very important to know how to delegate properly. Many novice entrepreneurs struggle with delegation. They hire people but continue to do their work, thinking they will do it faster, better, and more efficiently.”  

It is also crucial, Zatulovskaya says, to understand that when starting a business, you need to invest in advertising.  

“Many try to promote their business through word of mouth, especially if the budget is limited, to save on advertising costs. However, this approach significantly slows down growth. If you want to grow quickly, you need to invest not only in equipment and specialists but also in marketing. 

“These expenses should be considered monthly and seen as fixed costs. It could be around 30 per cent [of costs], but this amount can vary depending on the niche in which your business operates. But it is important to understand that this is not a small amount and is necessary to attract new clients. 

“Attracting new clients should be accompanied by excellent service, which increases the company’s LTV (Lifetime Value). This boosts customer loyalty, and they return to you. As a result, word of mouth strengthens, further promoting growth. The more clients you have, the more sales you make, and the more money you have in your company’s accounts.”