Nataliia Pinchuk first gained experience in social media marketing while running the social media account for her nail services business when she lived in Ukraine and Poland.
She had always wanted to start her own social media marketing and management agency, but this plan was put on hold when she moved to England with her husband and young daughter in September 2020.
When Nataliia first came to England, she realised she’d forgotten a lot of her English and had to start learning again. As she and her family settled in Carlisle, Nataliia got a job in a local food factory. This work was interesting to Natallia who likes “seeing how things are done from the inside” and “seeing production from start to finish”. However, due to back pain caused by the heavy lifting and long shifts, Nataliia had to leave her job.
After hearing about the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) through the Job Centre, Nataliia decided to revisit her plan to start her own business. Once her application was approved, Cumbria Business Growth Hub – who oversaw the delivery of NEA in Cumbria – provided Nataliia with her own business adviser, access to training, workshops and financial support while she got set up.
During Nataliia’s first session with her adviser, Justine Douglas, she was so excited to get started she thought she “could get her business plan ready in four weeks!” While it might have taken a bit longer than that, it wasn’t long before Nataliia was ready and So Nataly Social, was officially launched in April 2022.
Shortly after this, Nataliia had to put her business on pause as she found it hard to concentrate due to worries about her family and friends who were affected by with the war in Ukraine.
Since relaunching her business in January 2023, Nataliia has been very busy after taking on three clients in the beauty, hospitality and financial services sectors. She is proud of being able to help her clients increase brand awareness and grow real local followers, which results in an increased number of enquiries and bookings coming through social media.
So Nataly Social offers social media consultancy services, specialising in growing businesses on Instagram and Facebook. Nataliia covers everything from social media strategy and auditing to content. She has an in-depth knowledge of content creation and uses her graphic design and video editing skills to produce content which is “focussed on entertaining people rather than just selling a product or service.”
Despite having to overcome challenges, Nataliia has had success in the early stages of her new business. Since completing NEA, she has also been awarded business support through Cumbria Business Growth Hub’s Business Start-Up Support (BSUS) and Growth Hub programmes.
Looking to the future, Nataliia would like to grow her business further and eventually work with her husband, Roman Pinchuk, who is a skilled photographer.
Nataliia said: “Thanks to Cumbria Business Growth Hub, I transformed setbacks into opportunities, and today, I help businesses thrive in the digital world. Thanks to my business coach, Justine Douglas, I’ve learned that language barriers and personal struggles can hold everyone back, but when you are fuelled by passion, you can achieve your goals. I embrace every challenge with gratitude, knowing that every step brings me closer to my dreams.”