Building a Remote Business: A Belarusian Woman’s Journey to Success and Empowering Others

Building a Remote Business: A Belarusian Woman’s Journey to Success and Empowering Others

Margarita Palieva, hailing from the small Belarusian town of Mozyr, transformed her career and life by embracing remote work. Five years ago, she not only transitioned to a remote work format but also began teaching others how to do the same by establishing a school for remote assistants and later a recruitment agency. Her journey is a testament to the fact that a dream career doesn’t require a big city office, and there’s never a perfect time to start. Today, her story inspires many, proving that a successful career can be built from anywhere in the world, balancing motherhood and travel.

Chasing Winter in Warm Lands

It all began with a simple desire, one that many can relate to: I wanted to spend winters in a warm country. Not just enduring the Belarusian winter, but waking up to the sound of the ocean in a place with palm trees and warmth. However, I also wanted to build a career and earn a living. For me, this seemed like an unsolvable contradiction: how to combine stability, ambition, and my immense love for travel?

The first thought that this was possible came to me in 2015 in Sri Lanka, where I went for my first wintering. I was a single mother on maternity leave (my child was 2 years old) and saw these strange people with laptops on the beach for the first time. They were doing something, laughing, enjoying their wintering, and clearly earning money. For me, this was like seeing aliens. The idea stuck with me, but at that time, I didn’t believe it was possible for me.

By the way, that first wintering rewired my brain: I learned that travel could be a lifestyle, met my second husband, and became independent in every sense of the word. One decision (and believe me, many tried to dissuade me!) changed the entire trajectory of my life.

From Office Career to Remote Work

Returning to Minsk and ending my maternity leave, I dove headfirst into an office career. I got a job at a company producing black caviar, starting from the bottom as a receptionist secretary. It was an invaluable experience: I learned not to fear communication with the most serious entrepreneurs, as black caviar is a product for those with money.

At this job, they paid for my first internet marketing course. At that time, a thousand dollars seemed like an astronomical sum to me. This was not just training but an investment in me and the company’s future. We began implementing these tools in our business. This experience taught me the main thing: not just to be an executor but to see business processes from the inside and always do more than expected. A simple rule that still helps me in my work today.

From Internet Marketer to Career Creator

That first internet marketing course, which was paid for me, became my ticket to another reality. I started combining office work with my first remote projects. I remember the moment when I received the first sum comparable to my office salary. It was like an epiphany: it works! I became pregnant with my second child and eventually left the office completely.

My first remote employer was a money coach; I got the job through the chat of graduates of that very course. We launched financial literacy courses. I worked as an internet marketer, but in fact, I was that very “multi-handed” assistant who does everything: from setting up advertising to organizing all processes.

In parallel, I collaborated with Belarusian bloggers and observed how their business was arranged from the inside. And I saw a common pain, a common need: entrepreneurs, experts, and even those whose business was already successful, desperately lacked hands! They needed to hire not a narrow “specialist for one task,” but a universal assistant who would take away that very routine that they never get to.

In 2021, this idea took shape as a clear decision: I launched my first stream to train remote assistants. Then it was more of an experiment, a response to the market demand I saw. The first stream had 25 people, mostly from Belarus. Of course, I didn’t create this profession from scratch but gave a name and structure to the role that was clearly needed in business. I saw that the market was screaming for help, and many talented women sitting in offices or on maternity leave had all the skills to provide this help. My task was to connect these two universes.

Teaching Approach and Its Effectiveness

When I first started teaching, I thought the main thing was to give the right tools and algorithms. Very quickly, I realized: the main battle takes place in a person’s head with themselves, with their fears, with uncertainty, with the inner voice that whispers, “You won’t succeed.” Therefore, my approach is not a conveyor. I recruit small groups of up to 20 people. Only this way can I know each of my students, see their progress, and, more importantly, their fears. When I talk about an individual approach, it’s not a beautiful marketing phrase but a necessity.

The course itself lasts about 2.5-3 months. I don’t believe in long months of theory: people simply lose their enthusiasm. Everything is built on practice: short 20-minute lessons to fit into the rhythm of life, and immediately – homework. Once a week, there’s a mandatory call with me or invited speakers. Top assistants who themselves earn thousands of dollars or entrepreneurs who talk about what kind of assistant they are looking for and what they pay attention to come to these broadcasts. This is necessary so that the girls hear not only me but see real people with real results.

97% of my students are women, mostly from small towns in Belarus. They don’t want to return to the office after maternity leave because they understand: combining a full workday with raising children is incredibly difficult. Those who already work in the office but have hit the “ceiling” also come: there’s nowhere to grow further, and the small salary is no longer satisfactory. Many of them already have a huge set of skills from previous activities – teachers, secretaries, administrators. My task is to help them repurpose this experience into a sought-after remote profession.

But the most important part is not even the skills; the most valuable module is about employment. We don’t just write resumes but learn to sell ourselves. I advise making at least 10 responses a day: it’s like pumping a muscle. We conduct role-playing games; I arrange real interviews for them so that when they get to a real one, they don’t get lost from simple questions. And, of course, internships, because many come without any experience. I negotiate with entrepreneurs who are ready to take a beginner for a couple of months.

For more insights into building a successful remote career, you can visit Forbes, a leading source of business and career advice.