To kick off our interview series with women in business, we had a chat with a self-made New Yorker. Meet Yana Bononi, a female-entrepreneur based in the city, who pursues her career in fashion, art direction and writing. She is driven by empowering other women on a daily basis, and does so by sharing styling inspiration accompanied by powerful motivation and self-confidence tips. Yana told her story to FXLB and topped it with a personal advice to those who are yet at the start of their professional path.
My story begins in 2015 when I first came to US with an Internship program and soon met my future husband. I was always dreaming about New York. In my head it was the center of the world and the only place big enough for my ambitions. My husband is an artist and there is no other place for creative people like New York. It was our mutual decision to move here in 2017, only two days after we got married!
I remember my first month in the city, walking around with a batch of resumes, trying to get ANY job 😀 I won’t surprise you by saying it was stressful and not fun at all. People love to romanticize New York and I was one of them. One thing for sure: there is a big opportunity for those who coming here to reach their full potential. This is what I am trying to do every single day and it pays off.
I would even say it gets more and more important every year as the level of self – consciousness and mental health awareness are rising. I see my mission in inspiring women to live their lives the way they really want it instead of obeying society or circumstances. In my Instagram I am writing little daly essays on how to deal with wide range of life situations and take care of your self no matter what.
Many entrepreneurs think that an idea only can be incorporated into society by being radical. Society will divide it by two anyway so your idea only can survive if it’s insisting on itself. I personally have a different opinion. I want to revolutionize people’s minds gently, with love and compassion. I always leave an opportunity for a doubt and encourage my audience to have an open dialog. We all need a bit of enforcement to make a change in our lives, but I was abusing myself too many times to learn the effect. Now I prefer a gentler transformation.
Creativity is a form of energy and a power giving to a woman by the nature. There is a misunderstanding of creativity as work/business related skills when it’s around us every single moment. We can express our creativity in making breakfast, choosing daily outfits, taking care of ourselves in the shower or choosing route to school/work. For me being creative = being alive. It’s the act of being aware of what you are doing and do it with an emotion instead of mechanical repetition. So my answer is YES. Life of a person is only meaningful when it’s creative.
Being a multipotentialite myself I was asking this question a lot. There is no universal formula of success. Each route is different and beautiful in its uniqueness. One thing for sure no matter what is your background you have to work in the industry for some time to build connections and put your name out there in order to see results.
I have two projects in progress at the moment. I’m developing the “Adam and Adam” series around synesthesia (the relationship between sound and color). For this, I’m working with a music composer who creates sounds from colored bodies.
And also another project around Phosphorescence. The energies that emanate from the human interior. What we don’t say with words, but which we transmit through the body.
Unfortunately, this statement is only actual for the Western World and there are still many countries where woman doesn’t have an opportunity to work and even get an education. However, I totally agree that digital era changed the destiny of many women giving them a voice and an opportunity to build a career. I would say that the biggest challenge of being an entrepreneur is time management. It’s hard to maintain a normal schedule and I know it may sound ridiculous, but it’s hard to stop working!
Yes, yes, and yes! Last year I ended up in a hospital with severe panic attacks I’ve never experienced before. The amount of work I put on myself thinking it’s ok was totally not ok. I was working on several big projects in the same time without giving myself even one day off a week. Turned out I am only human… I am into therapy for over a year now and it helps A LOT. I took some time off to rethink my life. I prioritize my health and my family. I listen to my body now and keep saying to myself: “I have many years ahead to reach my goals. It doesn’t have to happen overnight, but if I won’t take care of myself it may never happen at all…”
There is one topic for sure you can talk about forever. Usually, it’s somehow related to your real passion. Think what really lights your fire. One thing (or many) you can do every single day even if nobody will pay you for that. And then plan how to become best in it. It will probably include work on your fears and insecurities, some skill obtaining, etc. Work on it every day. Work on it no matter what. Small steps lead into a big future and very soon you will see how your dreams become reality.
