Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Liliana Petrova, Founder of The Petrova Experience, located in Brooklyn, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
The Petrova Experience is an international customer experience consulting firm that connects customer experience to ROI. Based in New York City, we design and implement customer experiences that help businesses meet and exceed ever-increasing customer expectations and market challenges. We are a Federally recognized Minority and Women-Owned Business that serves clients across sectors including transportation, travel and hospitality, healthcare, education, and non-profit organizations. In addition to providing customer experience strategy, innovative CX technology solutions, and design for customer-centric experiences, The Petrova Experience builds values-based organizational culture programs that improve employee experience and retention.
Tell us about yourself
I am passionate about creating better human experiences so we can all have better lives. The tagline of The Petrova Experience is "in pursuit of customer happiness." I take this tagline very seriously. I work hard every day to lead my team to help businesses and organizations of all kinds create experiences that bring ease, seamlessness, and joy to the day-to-day experiences of their customers and employees.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Immigrating to the US in my twenties, and building a successful corporate career, then launching a business of my own, doing what I love, is an accomplishment I am very proud of. The company I have built allows me to put together a dedicated team of experts who are as committed to customer happiness, innovation, and customer-centric culture as I am. To do this work, with such great people, for our clients who inspire us every day is more than an accomplishment. It is an honor.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things about being a business owner, specifically an entrepreneur, is adapting to all the ways entrepreneur life is different from corporate life. As a business owner, I have an even greater level of responsibility than I did as an executive in other companies. Along with that responsibility and the hard-won lessons of building a business, there is an even greater reward to know that you built this, and your clients and employees benefit from the sacrifices you have made.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Invest in a good website early, and make sure it remains a priority.
- Remember, feedback is a gift. It helps you understand your customers and improve your offerings. Seek feedback from trusted colleagues and advisors, and collect feedback from customers, starting with the very first one.
- No matter the size of the organization you are looking to build, create a set of values to guide your business. Values are the foundation of your organizational culture, which is the backbone of customer experience. Values define the work you do and how you do it - for you, for your employees, and for your customers.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://thepetrovaexperience.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePetrovaExperience
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepetrovaexperience/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilianapetrova
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lilianapetrova/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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