Yara is 28 years old, from Kyiv, Ukraine. She moved to America a little over 3 years ago, where her life completely changed. She decided to join a reality tv show, only had 3 months to get married to her then boyfriend of 2 years, and soon were expecting their first child. They were married and shortly after welcomed their beautiful daughter Mylah. Shortly after that, Yara opened her own clothing store. It was a challenge for her as an immigrant, but was able to figure it out and yarazaya.com is running successfully! Now she has been in the USA for 3 years, she misses Ukraine very much, but her home is here now.
Just keep pushing, don’t give up!
– Yara Zaya
1) Can you tell us about your experience moving from Ukraine to America?
My experience moving to America was very hard. It was hard to me to adapt to the culture, I wasn’t able to drive at first, I wasn’t able to work. But now I have a family and a business here so I
am grateful for everything I have in this country.
2) How did you adjust to the cultural differences?
It was hard for me to adjust to cultural differences. I notice so many American people are much more friendly and smile to you. European people are much colder to you when first meeting. It was especially hard to adjust to the food in Louisiana as it is much different than anywhere in the world.
3) What inspired you to join a reality TV show and get married within 3 months?
I feel like I have good energy for reality TV. I decided to apply for the show pretty fast before arriving to the US, and was hoping it can give me something to do when I arrive to a new country. Luckily for me I was accepted, and I was able to keep myself busy and helped me make new friends in a new country
4) Can you share with us your experience of becoming a mother shortly after getting married?
Being a mother is the best thing that has ever happened for me. I understood that from the moment I held my daughter for the first time. but being a new mother in a new country for me was a tough experience. Shortly after having our daughter, my husband Jovi was stuck in South America for work for 4 months during the pandemic. During this time I was having to adjust to a new country while raising a small child alone.
5) How did you manage to balance motherhood and starting your own business?
To be honest, there was not much balance. I actually burned myself out a little bit by trying to do both. I love to be independent, and I wanted to create something for myself in this country. I am happy today that I pushed so hard and didn’t give up.
6) What were some challenges you faced as an immigrant entrepreneur?
There are a lot of challenges as an entrepreneur if you are an immigrant. My biggest struggle was to understand all the documentation needed to do this in the US. Every day I am learning something new still and adapting myself here with my business
7) Can you tell us about your clothing store, yarazaya.com?
We decided to start this clothing store because this is my passion. I love fashion and dressing nice every day. I wanted to share my style with the world, specifically with American women. I take pride in doing what I do, and hope to continue to bring everyone new styles in the future. I want for all women wearing my clothes to feel stylish, comfortable, and beautiful.
8) How do you come up with the designs for your clothing line?
I work with a supplier to show similar designs that I like to create something special for my customers.
9)What sets your clothing store apart from others in the industry?
Yarazaya.com is special because it has a piece of me in it. It is a small business and when you order something from us it is sent with love and passion. We want every woman to feel beautiful and special when wearing our clothing.
10) Can you share with us your proudest moment as a business owner?
My proudest moment as a business owner was seeing reviews come in when I first opened. Seeing that people were happy with their orders and buying something from me truly made me happy!!
11) What advice would you give to other immigrant entrepreneurs?
My advice to immigrant entrepreneurs is to just keep pushing. I can be hard for immigrants to understand the system. It can be easy to get discouraged with the overwhelming paperwork, language barriers, and understanding culture in a new country! DONT GIVE UP!!
12) How do you stay connected to your Ukrainian roots while living in America?
Luckily for me, I now have a Ukrainian best friend living not far from me. We get together with the kids, we speak our language, and can relate to things going on back home. I am so happy I was able to meet her, and that’s helped me out a lot to have her especially since the war has started.
13) What’s next for Yara and yarazaya.com?
Next for me is moving to a new city. We have been planning to move for quite some time now, but we have had a hard time deciding where to. we are thinking Miami, so we will just have to see!! Next for yarazaya.com is new trendy clothes coming your way with more and more happy customers!
