Harnessing Creativity for Success: Meet an Award-Winning Female Entrepreneur

Exclusive Interview

Tika Dugashvili, the founder of the company Wine Yard #1, located in the Kakheti region, was recognized at the 2018 Welcome to Georgia National Tourism Awards as The Best Woman Entrepreneur in the Tourism Industry. GEORGIA TODAY met her to find out more about just what it took to develop her business and to what she owes her success.

When and why did you decide to become an entrepreneur and start a business?

Everything kicked off just a year ago. We have a family-type business in Kvareli region for tourists and welcomed our first guests on September 8, 2017. In quite a short time, our business gained popularity. I’d never thought about becoming an entrepreneur, it just happened naturally in the course of my work.

The innovation came in promoting rural life. We have a typical Kakhetian house with a winemaking tradition, an agro direction, eco-tourism and other types of tourism, and we employ a creative attitude towards our business.

I was recognized [at the Awards] because our business contributed to the development of the sector and the Kakheti region.

Along with the Welcome to Georgia Award, I also won the National Award for Development of the Regional Tourism Industry and a prize for Family Business of the Year at the Georgian Times Awards. And all this happened within the first year of operation, which was totally unexpected but a nice surprise!

What encouraged you to enter the tourism sector?

I am encouraged and motivated by satisfied and happy customers, foreigners in particular. Each family member involved in the business is just as happy and puts effort into its development. The awards that I mentioned played an important role in motivating me even more to continue my entrepreneurial activities and grow my business. The fact that I was chosen by the Bank of Georgia and awarded a financial prize is absolutely wonderful.

What challenges did you face while developing your enterprise?

Inception with no capital or other resources is probably the hardest obstacle in developing a business. Where there is no fixed capital investment, it becomes difficult to solve particular problems or allocate finances as needed. And yet we managed to start our business with no loans. Our strategy is to expand our sphere of work step by step and to avoid borrowing.

What challenges are faced by female entrepreneurs in Georgia?

I don’t think there are any specific challenges faced by female entrepreneurs in Georgia. Through my example, I can definitely state that I’ve never had to deal with this issue. Maybe the fact that my father and brother are involved in our business helps me to avoid such issues, but I still think the Georgian market is quite fair towards both male and female entrepreneurs.

What else had a role in your success?

I’ve always sought to explore something new and have changed a number of professions. I’m a musician, but have experience working as a journalist. I was educated abroad and love working in different spheres and discovering novelties. I also enjoy meeting foreigners. Sharing cultures and experiences has been a fascinating and fun process for me since childhood. I think my love of an eclectic life was the main catalyst for me to start my own business and achieve success.

What are your future plans?

We plan to go beyond the local ‘borders’ of our region and start selling our cellar wine in the capital, Tbilisi, and export it to other countries. We are actively working on this process and along with wine are going to offer other Georgian products. Aside from my own interest and desire to develop the business, I aim to promote rural life and in this way help my region. I further plan to launch a new hotel, which will not be the typical hotel everyone is expecting to see: it will be quite unique and authentic in nature.

Do you have any advice for other female entrepreneurs?

My advice is to use the freedom of imagination and creativity, not to hesitate, and to put as much effort into your work as possible. One should definitely seek to find a sphere of interest and use all the strength necessary to come out on top. Exploring oneself and giving full freedom to your imagination is possibly the best way to start a business and become an entrepreneur.

By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya