Driven: an interview with entrepreneur Irina Dorko

Irina Dorko is a hyper-successful entrepreneur ... in this article, we are honored to have the chance to pick her brain on a variety of topics

Photo courtesy Irina Dorko (https://about.me/irinadorko)

Irina Dorko sleeps, eats, and breathes fashion and fitness. She has launched several successful start-ups that help women achieve a better quality of life while looking good along the way.

Irina defines style and grace and has the drive and personality to go along with it. Outside of being a health nut and fashionista, Dorko is an avid traveler and actively gives back to creative arts charities in her local area.

1) How do you find work and life balance as an entrepreneur?

I find it very important to manage my time efficiently. The best process for me is to write down everything I want to accomplish the next day before I go to sleep. Not just business goals but relationships, fitness, consumption, and more. Keeping this very tight, prioritized list and making sure I follow it the next day has kept me very balanced and disciplined over the years. There’s something special about taking pen to paper to get all of your thoughts out of your head. I find that process to be much more effective than using any of the digital apps on the market. I guess I’m old school in that respect.

2) Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

In terms of business, the biggest influencer in my life was Coco Chanel. Gabrielle Bonheur or “Coco” as she became known, was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. Her story has inspired me to do be an independent woman with style and class. Her story was built into my foundation when I was a young child and has stuck with me ever since.

3) Describe your dream vacation. What’s at the top of your travel list?

Oh wow. You know I love to travel, right! I have been so many places already. If I could pick a new place to take a vacation, I would have to say Dubai. Something about the massive scale and beautiful beaches, not to mention the world class shopping! Everything in Dubai is on a much larger scale and the most important thing is how much growth it’s experienced over the past decade. Everything you could possibly want is there which is why it’s at the top of my travel list right now.

4) What do you do in your spare time to relax?

Oddly enough, relaxing is not really in my DNA. I have always been a busy body. Relaxing for me is doing yoga, running, or rowing. Long repetitive exercise is like meditation for me and it has always helped me feel more relaxed every day.

5) What’s one piece of advice you can share with others?

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Make sure to smile and laugh as much as possible, its good for the soul…

To discover more about Irina Dorko feel free to check out here site at http://www.irinadorko.com/ and be sure to follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/irina_dorko.