ften recalls the incident when little Katya painted a horse on the wall of her room. Many people would probably scold their child for her antics, but not the sisters’ parents: they sent the girl to art school. And what about Vera? She showed interest in numbers and puzzles at an early age. At school, the girl was often the winner of various science competitions. It seems quite natural to me that Vera chose world economy as her major at the university. In her sophomore year, she wrote a term paper on setting up a nail studio. And that is where it all started. Vera taught her sister how to manicure nails, and the two started working together. Initially, the best advertising was by word of mouth as the quality of services was of the highest level. Gradually, Ekaterina and Vera began conducting training courses in manicure, nail design, and modeling. Ekaterina’s artistic talent greatly helped her at work: first she developed a lot of nail design art techniques and then launched a whole series of study guides. Bingo! The study guides became very popular not only in Russia but also abroad. She began to receive invitations to numerous training sessions, seminars, and exhibitions. Ekaterina won the European championship twice in 2009, and 2010 brought her the title of world champion in nail design. The techniques she invented, such as Imitation of a Reptile Skin and Enamel Over Gold, have become iconic and are much loved by clients around the world. The success was so overwhelming that the sisters began selling franchises. In 2011, they launched their own brand called E. Mi. It is an acronym of the founder’s name – Ekaterina Miroshnichenko. Today, they have more than 120 representative offices in 65 regions of Russia, 8 CIS countries, and 25 European countries. And this is not the limit. Every year, the E. Mi schools continue opening worldwide. The Miroshnichenko business dynasty is a great example of entrepreneurs who managed to achieve dizzying heights from scratch. In my opinion, one of the secrets to their success lies in their unity and effective distribution of roles among team members. The girls’ father is the main investor, who is responsible for the strategic development of the company. Vera is the executive director. Ekaterina is the brand ambassador and the mastermind behind the whole organization, as well as the creator of all nail art patterns and techniques. The girls’ husbands also take part in the family business.
Here are some tips from Vera and Ekaterina for aspiring entrepreneurs:
• Don’t try to handle everything on your own. Delegate and trust your team.
• Learn more. Never stop developing yourself. Learn a lot. Spend more time on self-education and attend business events.
• Don’t be afraid of mistakes. The more mistakes you make, the more experienced you become.
• Develop the right attitude towards your failures and mistakes. Fear nothing. Out of every ten decisions, only two are right.
• Each mistake is a stepping stone on your way up. Take failure properly and learn to enjoy it.
Vocabulary
start from scratch [stɑːrt frɑːm skrætʃ] – начинать с нуля
fascinate [ˈfæsɪneɪt] – очаровывать, восхищать
inspire [ɪnˈspaɪər] – вдохновлять
encourage [ɪnˈkɜːrɪdʒ] – стимулировать, побуждать, воодушевлять
self-help book [ˌselfˈhelp bʊk] – книга по саморазвитию/самосовершенствованию
introspect [ˌɪntrəˈspekt] – заниматься самоанализом
renowned [rɪˈnaʊnd] – знаменитый, прославленный
think big [θɪŋk bɪɡ] – мыслить масштабно
come across [kʌm əˈkrɔːs] – натолкнуться, случайно встретиться
determined [dɪˈtɜːrmɪnd] – решительный
strong-willed [ˌstrɔːŋ ˈwɪld] – волевой
overspend [ˈəʊvərspend] – сорить деньгами, тратить слишком много
affluent [ˈæfluənt] – богатый
nail technician [neɪl tekˈnɪʃn] – мастер маникюра
mastermind [ˈmæstərmaɪnd] – идейный вдохновитель, руководитель
ambitious [æmˈbɪʃəs] – амбициозный
persistent [pərˈsɪstənt] – настойчивый, упорный
strive [straɪv] – стремиться
pastime [ˈpæstaɪm] – времяпрепровождение, занятие
term paper [ˈtɜːrm peɪpər] – курсовая работа
tutorial [tuːˈtɔːriəl] – обучающее пособие
overwhelming [ˌəʊvərˈwelmɪŋ] – ошеломительный, потрясающий
representative office [ˌreprɪˈzentətɪv ˈɑːfɪs] – представительство
Exercises
1) What do successful entrepreneurs have in common?
2) Who is the author of the book The Business Dynasty. Five Family Values That Create Capital?
3) What products does the company specialize in?
4) Why do Ekaterina and Vera fall in love with the beauty industry?
5) Who was the key figure in shaping Ekaterina’s and Vera’s personalities?
6) What is their dad’s main motto?
7) How do the sisters manage to maintain a warm and friendly relationship working together?
8) What kind of person is Ekaterina?
9) What kind of person is Vera?
10) What was Ekaterina’s favorite pastime as a kid?
11) What was Vera into as a kid?
12) Which of the two sisters became the world champion in nail design?
13) What does E. Mi mean?
14) How many representative offices does the company have at present?
меня всегда восхищали люди, которые начали с нуля; мотивирующие книги по саморазвитию; понять их образ мышления; окружать себя людьми, у которых есть чему поучиться; мне случайно попалась одна занятная книга; стратегический лидер; компания предлагает широкий ассортимент высококачественной продукции для ногтей; их мама – медицинский работник по образованию; достичь таких поразительных карьерных высот
he got involved in salon equipment manufacturing; one meeting or some wise advice can sometimes totally change your life; global icons; to unravel the secret of their success; financial literacy; he instilled love for work in them; to teach children to handle money properly; wealthy families; combine work and study effectively; mix business and personal relationships; links of the same chain; nail design art techniques; receive invitations; effective distribution of roles among team members
Creative task No. 9
“Pearls don’t lie on the seashore. If you want one, you must dive for it.” Discuss what this saying means. State your opinion on the topic.
Ralph Lauren
Certainly, being born rich is a privilege. Wealth provides a person with status, power, and better opportunities that help succeed in life. But what if you are not born with a silver spoon in your mouth? Are there ways to get rich from nothing? In my opinion, it is a rhetorical question. In the previous chapters of this book, we went over numerous success stories of business tycoons whose life paths were thorny and who managed to reach unbelievable heights in business. These non-fiction success stories are meant to inspire you and restore your faith in a better future. The renowned fashion designer Ralph Lauren has gone from a tie salesman to a billionaire and the founder of a fashion empire. How did he manage to achieve such success?
Ralph Rueben Lifshitz, best known as Ralph Lauren, was born on October 14, 1939, in the Bronx, New York, to a poor immigrant family. His father was a house painter, and his mother was a homemaker. Ralph was the youngest of four siblings: two brothers and one sister. The family lived in a small apartment in an impoverished neighborhood of the Bronx and struggled to make ends meet. Despite his humble background, Ralph developed a keen interest in fashion and style at an early age. As a young boy, he escaped his dull everyday life by immersing himself in the fantasy world of cinema. The boy wanted to look like an English nobleman. He drew inspiration from such movie fashion icons as Gary Cooper and Cary Grant. Ralph Lauren always thought big and outside the box. According to his biographer Michael Gross, it was Lauren’s imagination that helped him become so successful in the fashion industry later in life.
As the story goes, Ralph once visited a friend from a wealthy family. The would-be designer was astonished to see a separate dressing room in the house. That is when he probably promised himself that someday he would get rich and live his dream life. As kids, we often make promises to ourselves and set goals for the future. Those are impulses, in a way. Some forget their dreams, while others make them come true. Curiously, in his 1957 high school yearbook, in the “What I Want to Become” chart, he wrote “millionaire” as one of his life goals. It is safe to say that even then, as a teenager, he dreamed about escaping from poverty and building a brighter future. And he did it with one correction – he became a billionaire, one of the wealthiest people in the world. In his late teens, he changed his last name to the more elegant “Lauren” after being teased constantly at school. Some people believe that a name change can affect a person’s destiny. Well, I personally think it is up to us to create the future that we want.
After graduating from high school, Ralph went on to attend Baruch College in Manhattan, where he started studying business but dropped out after two years. After serving in the army for two years, the young man started his career as a sales assistant at Brooks Brothers. Undoubtedly, it was not his dream job. Ralph Lauren had always thought big. He dreamed of creating his own clothing brand. It must be stressed that Ralph was amazingly insightful and had a keen eye for style and trends, which helped him create his fashion empire. Besides, he also had the courage to go against public opinion. The thing is, back in the day, narrow neckties were the trend, but Ralph had his own idea of beauty. Inspired by the style and elegance of the 1960s movie stars, he decided to create an innovative line of wide designer ties. It was a revolutionary decision. Ralph Lauren, with his insight and a keen eye for style, knew he could revolutionize fashion. And he did it: he introduced the fashion for British ties. The story goes that Lauren started making ties from straps of fabric and delivering them to small shops himself. Success was just around the corner. Customers were pleased with the novelty, prompting Lauren to establish p