What remains when everything you have built for years disappears? Business, stability, a familiar life, and confidence in tomorrow. For Yana Kosohor, the answer to this question became the beginning of the greatest transformation in her life.
Specially for Business Woman magazine, as part of the “Power of a Dream” project by the Portuguese representative office, Yana shared a story about loss, inner strength, and the courage to start everything from scratch.
Just a few years ago, her life looked like a successful entrepreneurial story. Her own chain of stores, a team, and a business that had been developing for over twelve years. It seemed that everything was built solidly and for the long term.
But the war changed everything.
Relocating to Portugal, refugee status, a tiny hostel room measuring two by two meters, two children by her side, and a closed business into which years of work, effort, and soul had been invested.
“At that moment, it seemed to me that I had lost everything. Because I sincerely believed that my business was me,” Yana recalls.
However, it was during the most difficult period of her life that she asked herself a question that changed everything: “Who am I without all of this?”
Instead of looking for just any opportunity to survive, she decided to pause and start building herself anew.
Without resources. Without ideal conditions. Without guarantees.
It was from that hostel room that Yana started her Instagram account. At first, it was scary. Then — honest.
For the first time, she allowed herself to speak openly about things that people usually stay silent about: debts, fears, loss of status, and the pain of having to let go of the life left in the past.
And this honesty became her new anchor.
People began to respond to her story, writing messages, reaching out for advice and support. Yana conducted consultations even while in the hostel, often for free, simply because she felt the need to be useful to others.
That was when she realized: despite all the difficulties, she was moving in the right direction.
The next challenge was the decision to leave the hostel and step into complete uncertainty. Without a stable income, without guarantees, without knowing what tomorrow would bring.
But with an inner feeling that true opportunities begin beyond fear.
And every time she chose movement over doubt, life opened new doors. People, opportunities, and solutions appeared that just yesterday seemed impossible.
Today, Yana Kosohor helps experts and entrepreneurs go through their own transformations faster and more consciously. She works with those who strive to realize their potential, build a personal brand, and not lose themselves on the way to new results.
The main conclusion she reached through her own experience sounds simple: a new level is never born in comfort. It begins where a person dares to take a step into the unknown.
Yana Kosohor’s story became one of the 21 stories of the “Power of a Dream” project — an international initiative by the Portuguese representative office of Business Woman, which united Ukrainian women who were able to turn the most difficult life trials into new opportunities.
This project is about women who do not let circumstances define their future. About those who lose — but do not give up. Who start over, even when it feels like there is no strength left.
Because sometimes the exact moment when it seems that everything is over becomes the beginning of the most important story of your life.
And if today you find yourself in your own “hostel of life” — perhaps this is not the end of the road.
Perhaps it is just its beginning.
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Фото: from the heroine’s archive