Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. For Kira Tchernikovsky, Co-founder of Customerization, her aim is to do something meaningful and helpful with tangible results. While there are many different paths to success, Kira has her own approach to achieving – Tachless – from the Hebrew word that means “essence”, ‘purpose’, “to the point. Customerization was founded on this principle of serving SMBs and small corporate clients by helping them automate business processes with their technology of choice (Zoho or MS Dynamics). By focusing on the core essence of what these businesses need to thrive, grow, and scale, Kira is living and working on purpose every day. At Customization, “we aim to make clients’, their customers, and the employees’ professional and personal lives easier. Every day where we serve our customers and employees well is a successful day,” says Kira.
Kira’s Inspiration To Take A Step Of Faith
For almost 15 years, Kira has worked in B2B corporate marketing. She has been building and managing marketing teams and launching new products and services globally. The foundation for Customerization was a mix of a desire to reach new personal and professional goals as well as respond to changing environmental factors.
“When COVID hit, it felt like everything instantly froze. At that time I was working at a huge corporate company but I was also wrestling with the desire for more. I really wanted to help more businesses thrive but weren’t sure what the next step should be. This desire led me in search of a better professional self, so I asked people I trust what I’d be good at. Everyone said the same thing – sales, consulting, entrepreneurship. When did I ask them why do you think those let my best self shine? One of my colleagues said, ‘Because you already work in purpose, tachless, with the way you guide your team and launch products so why not step out of your comfort zone and try your approach in your own company?’ So that’s exactly what I did,” Kira shares.
She paired up with her husband and his team of superb technology experts to provide business
automation services. He had already built this amazing team, but he was hitting the wall as many small businesses do with the struggle of needing to do both sales and solution delivery. With the team focused on excellence in clients solutions, Kira knew this was just the opportunity to test her skills and focus on sales and growing their business.
Challenges Make You Stronger
“The worst and yet the most ‘popular’ challenge that holds us off from trying new things is fear,” states Kira. Fear of failure, fear of being judged as not successful, fear of becoming poor, fear of not being perfect – you name it…
Some of the challenges and fears she had to overcome were:
- Not having a professional marketing education and figuring out new marketing tactics in real-time.
- Moving to a new country and starting from scratch.
- Financial non-stability when starting a new thing.
- Balancing family and work, while managing all these other fears and worries.
- Learning new skills (like sales or technology applications) fast.
What helped her the most is lack of choice. Kira shares, “when you know deep down you just have to change something to make the kind of impact I wanted to make, I was able to stay focused and motivated. As well, I became really good at asking for help – from mentors, coaches, and communities. I took courses when needed, networked on LinkedIn and stayed tachless – ‘what am I driving towards?’, and making sure my daily work kept me on track to achieving those goals.”
Kira’s Contribution To Redefining The Industry With Innovative Ideas
There is a gap in the professional services/technology implementation market for SMBs and small corporates. There are huge services companies that just do not know how to do smaller projects without charging these customers a ton. Customers can also try subject matter experts, agencies, and freelancers who can deliver great results for basic needs but lack the knowledge to build the right solution with integrations and smooth communication between the tools; or the solutions they design are not scalable. Customerization fills that gap perfectly.
At Customerization we can :
- Proactively suggest the right solution (Zoho or MS Dynamics)
- Implement the system fast and effectively
- Provide business automation services at an affordable price point
Because Customerization’s goal is to serve SMBs and small corporates well, Kira sees potential in growing into different markets and offering additional services (including cyber security, online payments, and marketing) to help their customers grow the bottom line with confidence.
Kira shares, “We don’t make the software customers choose, we make the software customers choose work best for them. There is a big difference in always being focused on the outcomes and goals that customers have; at Customerization this is our specialty.”
The Best Recognition Received As A Leader
Great leadership is determined by blending the ability to take action from feedback and an unrelenting drive to lead others in service of a cause bigger than any one individual. “It was always the feedback that pushed me forward – feedback from the team, colleagues, management, clients, partners, and family throughout the years. I can be quite self-critical, but in building Customerization I have focused on taking action based on the feedback I would receive so that I could make our team, our processes and/or our solution better,” says Kira. She believes that the best validation that you are leading well is when team members and clients are looking forward to working with you again.
Responsibilities As Co-founder At Customerization
“I am focused on marketing and sales. I spend time developing relationships with SMBs and small corporates, learning more about their specific goals and how best to create offers that serve the needs of helping these companies with business automation. Once again, you see ‘tachless’ in action. We focus on what matters. Helping our customers achieve their goals, helps us achieve Customerizations’ goals. But it’s also our life, so we want to have fun along the way while enjoying the success of our clients, shares Kira.
“Of course, I don’t have a crystal ball and I don’t know how it will all turn out. But what I hope is that by staying focused on the outcomes our customers want, Customerization will serve our customers well, and this, in turn, leads to exciting growth and development for us,” says Kira. She has the plan, the will, and the aspiration to achieve, and knows for sure they’re moving in the right direction.
Maintaining A Balance In Personal And Professional Life
Kira has always been a working mom. And yes it’s hard to juggle both her personal and professional responsibilities. “The schedule is on the fridge, we have a good nanny, my husband is supportive and participates, and we have family help here and there making this juggling act manageable,” she exclaims.
“It’s a must to eat healthily and do some sports to keep the energy up and the brain functioning, but there are even times when I have had to let that go on the back burner for a bit,” explains Kira. What’s funny is being a mom has made me a better leader. On any one day, I will work with our team by facilitating conversations as we brainstorm solutions for a client. And just like a parent, I need to let them find the best solution by supporting open communication and a positive environment where no idea is a bad one. Other times, I am driving my own growth by setting up coffee chats with other marketing professionals or handling client calls. I never want to be a bottleneck in the process so I’m always looking for ways to streamline how we serve our clients. Every day I’m striking the balance between helping a kid find their shoes – why do they never have them just when you are leaving the house? – to help serve our customers well and grow Customerization.
So, yes, “life is busy,” shares Kira but she wouldn’t have it any other way. My message for aspiring entrepreneurs is to take the time to understand your strengths, figure out what problems you like solving, and build offers for the people you can serve best. Clarity drives action, and the most successful leaders I know are successful not because they never encountered doubt, fear, or problems, but they are successful because they overcame doubt, fear, and worked through problems. “Staying true to your purpose – tachless – is the foundation of it all,” shares Kira.
