Braco Pobric
Welcome to Business and happiness podcast. I'm your host Braco Pobric. This episode is sponsored by life Success Academy, a place where you recreate your business and personal happiness. Hello, everyone. So today, I have a really very, very special guest, my friend, our friend Olga chin. She is the founder of enterprise technology and the former banker. And I wanted to add that she's also mompreneur enterprise study here on business. So, so Okay, I just wanted us to chat about, you know, business happiness, how would you handle all of this on daily basis, you know, two kids, and, and yet being like, so successful. So that's really want to talk to you about?
Olga Chin
So I do have two kids. In terms of background. I had my daughter kind of very early on in my life. You know, before I was senior in banking worked a lot of hours. So that was a tough part of my life, I would say right, now it's a little better, because I can balance it more. And I think that a lot of it. So I have two kids. One of them is 12. One of them has six reds, I do have a dog. I don't know if you know about that. But I do have a dog as well.
Braco Pobric
I've heard you have a dog
Olga Chin
It takes up a lot of time. But you know, look, I have a lot of support. I'm very grateful for support from my husband, but also being able to kind of compartmentalize things, right. I'm a big believer that there are certain things that are important in personal life and in professionally. And I don't focus on the minutiae details or anything else. I know that their goals, right, their goal isn't, you know, both for my kids where I know that it's important for them to do X, Y and Z. Right. And that's kind of what I focus on. And no one can do it all. Same with the business side, too. I try not to get bogged down in details, necessarily the unnecessary details, but always have this thick Northstar in mind, what am I trying to do? So same for the kids? Like, what do I want them to be?
Braco Pobric
So you know what you said a bunch of interesting things. But I wanted to start from that what you said at the end, that that really big picture. And I know one thing for sure that successful people always have that big picture. It's not about little details, they will outsource and we can talk about that, you know, all these little things that somebody else can do for them and even big things, right, I admit. But that's the big picture. For business for family. I really didn't think of that way. And that's why I think, you know, I don't think I was well, I wasn't that good as you are today, with your family and with the business. You know, I was doing okay, but seriously, so it's really hard.
Braco Pobric
So, but and you also said something that you compartmentalize, right. And that's something that's really, really important. Right? So, and I know you have a lot of help. A lot of people to help, but they don't, they're still you know, they still struggle. You know, they still struggle, balancing business. And in the Personal life In you said also something interesting. You said, now you have a more help than when you were, you know, a senior bank, you work crazy, crazy hours. And I assume you do now too. So what's the difference between these years?
Olga Chin
It's easier.
Braco Pobric
Tell me why. Why?
Olga Chin
Because I'm in control of it. Because Bratzo it is one of the biggest advantages of running your business is. On one hand, you do work a lot more hours. And a lot of it is also like your brain is on all the time. That's the biggest difference when I was a banker. My hours were pretty bad. But then I was able to say, nine o'clock at night, I'm gonna put my phone away, and I really don't necessarily care here. I care. Right.
Braco Pobric
You know, this is so cool. Because I don't know if you know, I don't think you do, but I actually left my job and this will be my full time thing you know. And it's thanks. And it's really interesting what you said like, it's 24/7 it never stops. You know, this morning I woke up at 3:30 or four o'clock I was up I did my exercise. I've been working since then. And it's not to say that they were not based when I worked as much, you know, doing doing for the company, but it's just you right? It's a differ in a way it's harder actually. Because...
Olga Chin
Don't you also feel that, you know, for example, my team, my entire team at Enterprise knows that between the hours of 3:30 and 4:30 or five, you're probably not going to get much of a response from me. Right? Because they understand, but then if they need something, I'll always be there at night. And I offer the same flexibility to everyone. But of course, it's different for me, it's my thing. But I think, Bratzo, so my advice to you is, you know, the flip side of this, is that your brain is always on, you're always thinking, Well, did I miss something and you can always, you can always do more. That's like, every day, I go to sleep being like, Well, my to do list didn't really get shorter today probably got longer. But I found ways to shut it off a little bit. So I can tell you like some of my techniques.
Braco Pobric
How do you do that?
Olga Chin
I, I found forms of exercise where it's really, really difficult on a body such that you're not thinking about work. You know, I love for example, Zumba, where the music is so loud, that you're not going to be thinking about work. And I also recently about a, you know, half a year ago, I we started doing Bikram yoga. And that is, that is exercise they do in like 107 degree room for 90 minutes. And trust me, you're not thinking about anything else, besides the fact that you're going to die in the next 90 minutes. And that to me is like I need that I need to shut my brain off. Sometimes.
Braco Pobric
That's that's a really good point. Because certain exercises, don't shut off the brain. Like you might be doing a little bit downstairs on a treadmill, but keep thinking of something else. Like, you know, sometimes I used to and I'm trying to do what you just said, you know, to make sure that brain is shut off. From from, from your internal dialogue and business creation stuff.
Braco Pobric
How about the children? So, you know, I, you know, both of you guys, you and your husband are very successful people. He's, like, amazing scientist. And I happen to know, that's why I said, and it's like the nicest scientist, I met the nicest guy. And, and so successful and so are you. And yet you find so much time in priorities, you know, your family and kids, how does that work? You know, his his, you know, Olga wakes up whatever time? And how does your day goes when you wake up? And how does it go? What do you do? And how do you feel the time with the children?
Olga Chin
Well, first of all, I my entire family is very supportive, including, like, even the dog to some degree. Because they understand, they understand we all went when I started enterprise, and I left my full time job. And it's a really big decision. I'm, you know, ecologically, it's huge. Everybody has to be brought in, I actually feel like the people who are the most successful as I see it, and I have some friends who have amazing businesses, your entire your husband, your spouse, if your spouse is not as supportive as like half the battle. So for us, my husband is not necessarily a morning person. So he takes care of his in the mornings a lot.
Olga Chin
And he like me, kind of started very early on, we have some part of the team overseas, and so they start working earlier. So it's really helpful. If I'm there in the morning, but in the afternoon, a lot of is like you know, I I take over. But Bratzo I'll tell you, my kids very well understand that there could be conference calls that there are some important ones. And frankly, that's a good lesson for them to that there are some days that you know, I'll be there. I'm, for example, today is a good example that I want o'clock. I'm a room parent for my kids class, and we're doing a Halloween party for them. So I'm doing that I'll take off in at one to two. And then two o'clock, I have a very big call with one of the top banks, right. So you know, you can balance it very well, as long as you your focus. And my kids very much understand that. I think it's I hope that they learn the grid concept from
Braco Pobric
it. You know what? You they will they do learn a good lesson. But I think what's happening is they are understanding because they understand there is something because like when I was you know, this was a full time job. And I also always had some part time businesses. I always had an office even in a small apartment in Brooklyn, and our son, he grew up that way the door was closed. And he was like, you know, five years old, he would knock if there's no answer. He would never ever come into the room. Right? I will just come out here if I work from home Get to the kitchen, my wife will be there. She'll be like, What are you doing? He was like, It's lunch to go work, I'll bring you lunch, right? So, so what you just said is really key that everybody understands, and that without support a family, one or two things are gonna happen. Either you will not have that family anymore. Right? You might be extremely successful, but you might lose them, or you will not knock the business and say, forget it, or go back to my family. I mean, seriously, I think it's just one of these two things. And,
Olga Chin
Bratzo, you know, what I also found that that was really interesting to me is that my family is okay. Talking to me about it. So you've met my husband is probably the opposite of me. Personality wise, he's very calm, very even, like, nothing ever bothers him. I'm the opposite. I'm more emotional. The really cool part. And I'm lucky with that is that he listens, he listens, and he will talk about it. Whereas I think that you could have said, Look, I'm tired of you talking about work all the time, right.
Olga Chin
And kids are this they kind of the same way. So they hear this, but we also, you know, to go back to your earlier question, they today, right? We do family, I cook almost every night. So we do that. So that's really important to me. And then enjoy. I have I have like music on and a kitchen. It's really fun. And then are other things that are important. Like my kids speak Russian, that's important to me. So you know, I read to them at night. So they're like, but it's not important to me. What, like some of the other stuff is not important necessarily.
Braco Pobric
Nice, but you know what, but again, what? I think what the lesson is for people that we can draw is it's not, this just didn't I know you keep saying right here support. But this just didn't happen. This is the relationships that you guys worked on for years. Right? And you probably will be working like I am with my wife and kids. Until the day I'm around to because doesn't stop that work doesn't stop. Right. It really does not in depth.
Olga Chin
Yes, you're absolutely right. Yeah, that is my mom and dad. But go ahead.
Braco Pobric
Yeah, but that's that's really I think that's the relationship that we establish. In that, like you said, immature parents establishing starts from early age that that's, that's really, that's what gets us to the point. Right. To, to get you to the point where you are today, I think.
Olga Chin
I think that's for me, my so my husband is is one pillar. I mean, my mom and dad, they've never not been supportive,ever.
Braco Pobric
Amazing. And I happen to know that they support you even today that they do some, you know, work both of them.
Olga Chin
They do. It was funny. So my father got involved with enterprise kind of early on, mostly because I hired developers and he came in, he's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on here. So he, he stays involved. And I tried to convince him to join full time. And I said that, you know, like, you know, if you don't join full time, I'm gonna hire somebody for that role. And he gets very offended. And so I think to him, this is like, such a cool thing that he's doing. And my mom, you know, I like to say she butts and like, you know, to project managers, she thinks that she can get everybody in line, so they enjoy it. I actually think like, I feel so bad asking them for help. But I gotta tell you, I think it actually makes them happier somehow.
Braco Pobric
Yes, you're absolutely right. It's not that you ask them for help, it makes them happier. Because, you know, again, that's the relationships with our kids that we established an early stage and we want to keep supporting them, you know, and that's what makes us happy. That's, that's true. That's true.
Olga Chin
There's a part my dad once said, he said that if I'm not involved, everybody's going to cheat, you know, and they're not going to do a good job. Like, I have to make sure that they do a good job. I was like, okay, that you're gonna do that. If it gives you pleasure, now, it's, I think it's really important. For me, personally, I think that's what makes it or breaks it. And again, I've seen kind of stories like that. And also, here's the other piece that I think is really important. So my family is supportive of me is not dependent on the outcome of it. And that is really critical because I know fully well that and this is not going to happen, but if enterprise fails for whatever reason, they're not gonna think differently of me. And then now is...
Braco Pobric
And it is also the key, that is also the key, especially, you know, with you and your husband and kids establishing that from very beginning, that's also the key. So that's, you know, you, it's 100% support. Now, you know, some people may say, Well, you know, I don't have that support, you know, from my husband, from my wife, from my partner, I don't have that support for my kids, what do I do? Seriously, some people will just say that like, and there's no simple answer. But is there any recommendation,
Olga Chin
then you have to love yourself that much more.
Braco Pobric
Now, notice that everything starts from from us loving ourselves by self love is the first.
Olga Chin
And I struggled with that, Bratzo. So I know my mom actually does that very well. But and she's a big believer of that. You have to love yourself like somebody else, right? Because we're so hard on ourselves. We're constantly in our heads, like, Am I doing a good job? Did I do this and not do that? But we have to, you have to put that behind you. So if you don't have that support network, it's all the more important that you develop this self love. It's unconditional love. Give yourself an opportunity to fail, and that's okay. It's okay.
Braco Pobric
There is no success without failure, is it?
Olga Chin
No, absolutely not. And there's, it's hard, it's really hard. And there are days, you know, my company and have a partner in the company's name is Dan. We joke a lot it that every day is like eating glass. Literally, it's hard. And every day there are problems. And then you step back, you're like, Oh, my God, we created this company, we have to call these big clients. But day to day, oh, my god is brutal. It is brutal. It means everything
Braco Pobric
And I understand you have like, you know, your clients are some of the largest banks. And you guys said, Do you really like amazingly well? How long ago did you start? Enterprise.
Olga Chin
So I went full time in July of last year. So just a little over a year ago, it was percolating as an idea for a few months before that, but we didn't really have much until we all you know that I went, I could go full time. I thought about it for probably a year, and started kind of working on prototypes, and so on and so forth. So but officially, we're just a little over a year old. So very new, very new. That's amazing.
Braco Pobric
And you already have how many employees are people working
Olga Chin
Just a little under 20. But we are about to do a fundraising. And so we're going to probably three times that so triple employees? And I have no idea how, by the way, so if you haven't.
Braco Pobric
So So you know, what would you that's another key I mean, honestly, to business success and happiness, what you just said, I have no idea how, you know how many times I said that to you know, I just did something recently with my business. And there was another individual who said, it's really impossible. Like you just thought you can't I was like, Yes, I can. And I don't know how but I'll do it.
Olga Chin
You learn.
Braco Pobric
What would you suggest? Folks who you maybe particularly moms, because because it's really, really, I think sometimes moms struggle to start their own business. We all do. But particularly because let's be fair, we all think we sharing, and we should be and of course we are responsibilities equally. But Mom is mom, you know, just it's just so much more. Now.
Olga Chin
It's not equal Bratzo.
Braco Pobric
It's not a no, we try and try, but it's not. So. So what would you suggest to do? You know, let's say because I have a lot of folks, you know, my students who, you know, they may have a full time job, and they want to move into something else, maybe still part time coaching babies, you know, some of them, you know, want to start the company, but again, you have to be careful, you can't just drop everything you have, unless unless you have a you know, not just moral support, but let's be fair money in the back. You can live a year or whatever, you know, wherever you design it. What would you suggest them to do? What's one of the steps? I mean, how to
Olga Chin
Brad's I think that the reason you what you said right now why that happens is because moms have a lot of guilt. Right? Mom have moms have guilt that well, I'm not baking cookies for you know, the school that oh, I'm not going to be that mom that drives my son to soccer practice right? And you always feel guilty, I shouldn't be doing more and social media these days and makes me feel corrected, like I'm done doing half the things that apparently everybody else is doing. But at the same time, I think what you got to understand is like, well, but what are the values that you want to teach kids? So start from there, right?
Olga Chin
Is the value that, you know, I'm making cookies all day long, maybe not? Right? You know, and that's okay. For me, the values are that I want them to be proud of me proud of themselves and know the value of hard work. And so if you look at it, but it's hard, you have to remind yourself that every day, right, so when you're a mom that struggles to figure out a daycare situation, well, why is my kid in daycare longer than other kids? Let's take that as an example. When you pick them up, instead of feeling guilty. Explain to the child look Mom has to work. And this is why she works there. And Aren't you proud of her? She did this today. It's so cool. Right? I can tell you, for example, my daughter, sometimes there are like different articles or like getting published with my interviews or whatever it is, right? Nothing, nothing major. But she loves that stuff. She'll she'll go and she'll scroll through it. And she's so proud of it. That's what I want to teach her. Not necessarily that, hey, I was never, you know, my kids were always the last ones to get picked up on daycare. And that's okay. Think I'm okay with
Braco Pobric
The always get picked up. They never really are not picked up for three days.
Olga Chin
Yeah, I mean, my parents said that, by the way. Right. So I'll tell you off the podcast. They are always picked up.
Braco Pobric
That's that's that's right. So yeah, I think that's I mean, you're absolutely right, we keep thinking, you know, if I don't, you know, yes, I think you're right, you're right, about guilt. And of course, you know, as a mom, but I think learning them, you know, hard work. And that gets valued. It's like, so important, right? And honestly, I think, I think what, what's really the most important is what they see at home. It's not like what we tell them, but what they see what you guys doing today. That's, that's what somebody told me, you know, 30 years ago, when my son was little, just don't worry about it. You know, we lived in Brooklyn, and you start worrying about all this stuff in drugs. And you go, you know, what are they gonna, like, do all kinds of things you don't want them to do. But the bottom line is what they see at home. That's where they're going to.
Olga Chin
And it's also a small step. So I think the second piece of it biases, somebody said that. So none of this is, by the way, original. I take a lot of different things from friends. But somebody said that every day, if you have a goal, every day, help a step towards that goal. What did you do to accomplish that goal? Because otherwise you're wasting a day, even if it's something so minutes to just start and every day? Do it's one step forward. Because what ends up happening is that after a year, small steps, you'll get somewhere amazing.
Olga Chin
And you'll look back like, Whoa, how did I do that? And that's how I think about my career journey. I actually have a friend who to your point, one of my friends actually just started a coaching business. You know, kind of executive coaching, with a little twist to it. She's a single mom, she just got divorced. She was in she has some health issues as well. But she really wants to do it. She feels like it's her calling. And every day. She's like, I don't have time for anything. I have two kids. My husband, you know, ex husband doesn't help. But everyday, she's like, Well, what do I do? And she's thinking about, and I think she was going to be hugely successful. So
Braco Pobric
Thanks. That's a great advice. I actually asked the folks, my coaches, same thing, what are you going to do today that will get you closer to that end goal, whatever that goal is, they got to have that and then two steps. That's that's a great advice. So. So basically, you know, you're telling them to set that goal, whatever it is that they want you to create that passion calling, right? And then every day do a little step and they'll get there, right? If that's what they really want. Right? If they have that big why? There will be Why'd y'all get there? Is that true?
Olga Chin
But how do you develop the why that's right key, right ,
Braco Pobric
here's my question to you then. What was your why you had to have big why? Why did you start doing what you're doing today?
Olga Chin
You know, Bratzo, a lot of people ask me that question and actually don't really have a great answer. I wish I did. And I'm just not gonna lie to you. I don't. I think that as a As a child, you know, there's there were folks in Russia that doubted, you know, I was really shy as a kid. And I, I want to do something great, like I really do. I'm fascinated, I look up to people who start their own businesses who are successful. I am. So again, fascinated by them. I think it's amazing. And those are right, my role models. And at some point I, I thought, well, if I look up to those people, you know, when we try to do it, instead of you know, coming to work every day and not enjoying my job. So there was a lot of like, that kind of psychological thing. And then the further that I get, the more opportunities we uncover. And would I, it's interesting, because I actually do this thing called investor letters.
Olga Chin
So for the past year or so, I have written a monthly letter to our investors and friends and supporters. And a lot of it is like, wow, you know, we hired too many employees, we did this, we did this release. And so we make them sound super exciting. And they are, but you know, they're just a summary. Now Bratzo the coolest thing is when you look back. And there was one investor who said, Why don't you save all those letters, and once every year, just go to the last year's one on that same month. And they did that. And I remember thinking, Oh, my God, we've done so much. We were like, babies back.
Olga Chin
Now, this. And I think it's really important to give yourself credit, because every day so hard, but just think back, where were you last year? Could you imagine doing this last year? And I think, I think it's, it gives me at least confidence, for sure. Because if I could do that in a year would have helped. Right? Right now for me, we have these like huge goals, right? We're gonna raise a lot of money, we have these partnerships with some of the largest banks. But I couldn't even imagine that a year ago.
Braco Pobric
Yeah, that's that, you know, what I call success? Five? In the old days, there was a file cabinet. Yeah, right. But we still have some some of us. And then, you know, you put your file and I years ago, I created that success file. And I will put things that I did really well, every once in a while when I feel down. I'll just open that up ago. Look, what would look what I did, right. So that sets a great, great exercise, and thanks for being so honest to say, hey, and some of us, you know, don't think or don't maybe have that big why. But it sounds like in your case, you know, at least a little while I was to prove myself and to prove other people that I can do this.
Olga Chin
And the team, for the team as well. I have an amazing team. And they have the same thing. We get on the phone and my guys, can you imagine, like what we've just done? And it seems like to them? They're like, Well, yeah, we kind of knew that. Like we didn't Well, but and Bratzo actually works really well for kids too. So what my husband and I do in the basement, we have boxes where I store their artwork every year, and I labeled it like Natalie, grade five, right? And sometimes we go back and say, like, do you want to take out a box? And so we take out a box and she would look at her painting. She's like, I did that. I was like, Yeah, imagine how far you curl. Right? So same exact idea. I think it works really well.
Braco Pobric
Great, great, great, great lesson learn that you shared any, any it's at the end that we should really, you know, never compare ourselves with other people, but compare ourselves with ourselves. So you can only look back and see Yeah, it was a year ago. That's what I'm comparing myself. I can't compare myself with somebody else. Totally different circumstances. million things that I could compare myself with me a year ago. That's what you you're doing, right? Yeah,
Olga Chin
I think so. I think I didn't think of it that way. But yeah, it's that's exactly what I think we do. So
Braco Pobric
Awesome. Listen, oh, God, thank you so much. This was such a crazy beautiful discussion. And I know that listeners will just they just got so many lessons. I can't even repeat them. They need to listen to this for the
Olga Chin
It was really good to see you. Thank you so much. I hope this was helpful. But Bratzo, thank you so much. Really good today.
Braco Pobric
Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure seeing
Olga Chin
I'll talk to you later
Braco Pobric
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