Irina Dorko is a fashion and fitness entrepreneur who spends much of her time on her blog sharing her travels and outdoor adventures. Through her personal blog, Irina is able to share her adventures from around the world, and it ultimately attracts tons of traffic.
Irina is also a self-described fitness fanatic. She surrounds herself with those who enjoy living a healthy lifestyle and those who can positively influence Irina’s life. Her true goal is to make the world a better place, and she emphasizes how important it is to make a positive impact on other’s lives.
Today, she follows through on her aspirations through her blogs. She operates her blog from all over the world in various exotic locations, and she shares her travels, healthy living tips, and favorite motivational quotes with her readers. She hopes to inspire her readers to make self-improvements in both mind and body so that they can enjoy life to the fullest and enjoy everything life has to offer.
How do you make money?
I run a small conglomerate of websites in the fashion and fitness niche and advertisers pay me to display their ads on my websites. It’s pretty much how most blogs make money, except advertisers pay me a premium because of the quality of my websites.
What’s your favorite part about your business?
I love that I can run my business from any area of the world. As you’ve pointed out, I’ve got the wanderlust bug and I’m always traveling around the world and exploring new places. It’s incredible that I’m able to run my business essentially anywhere in the world, provided I have Wi-Fi access of course. Not many people can say the same so I consider myself lucky to have the luxury of being so flexible in where I am working.
What are you focusing on right now in your business?
I’m just in “maintenance” mode so to speak. I’m happy with where my business is and I want to keep it steady and maintain my current level of success. When new opportunities present themselves, I will look to expand. However, I’m happy right now so I’d like to keep growth steady.
What is one marketing strategy that you’re using that works really well to generate new business?
In my industry, social media is arguably the best way to acquire traffic and new sales. People are spending more time on social media every year, and advertising platforms like Facebook’s continue to improve and enable advertisers to better target their audience. Of course, there’s always old reliable, aka Google Adwords as well, but for the most part social media is cheaper and more effective.
What is the toughest thing about operating a business like yours?
While traveling around the world and working from wherever I want is incredible, it has its’ drawbacks. Mainly, it’s very easy to get complacent. It’s very hard to motivate yourself to work when you’re on a beach in the Maldives. Or try working in Milan during fashion week. It’s sometimes very hard to motivate myself to work, but I’ve managed to stay on course for the most part.
What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
I can’t say I really have had a moment that I would say is the “most” satisfying. I’ve enjoyed the entire journey and realistically I think every day is satisfying because my business continues to grow.
What do you think it is that makes you successful?
I think my creativity and my continued drive to do better is what makes me successful. Where others falter, I work to improve on so I can constantly deliver a better product to my visitors. At the end of the day, it keeps them wanting more, and that fuels my business.
What books have inspired you
I pretty much tell everybody that the key to my happiness has been surrounding my life with positive influences. One book that helped me understand that was “Healthy Brain, Happy Life” by Wendy Suzuki. It really opened my eyes to how important it is to stay mentally health because your brain really controls all aspects of your life.
I plan on reading “The Four Hour Work Week” and probably one of Tony Robbins’ books as well in the near future.
Do you have any advice you want to share with an aspiring entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy. There are a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of setbacks, and an endless amount of stress. When things get tough, it seems like the only way out is to quit and give up.
My advice would be to never give up on your dreams. If you’ve got something you are truly passionate about, then work through the failures, the setbacks, the exhaustion, and you’ll succeed. Sure, success might only be years away, but once you finally reach a certain point, you’ll realize that the stress, the frustration, and all the struggles were worth it.