We share entrepreneurial stories to inspire great ideas...
Sarah Kiriliuk
I’m a mother of two, a long distance runner and passionate Torontonian. I love reading the news and my guilty pleasure is to watch advertisements on YouTube. I’m a strong advocate for female empowerment and am a board member for a youth leadership organization. I would love for my legacy to be that I’ve made a positive impact on the world! Visit Sarah at https://rise-agency.ca/
Agency President, Sarah Kiriliuk
- Contributed By: Sarah Kiriliuk
Tell us a little something about your business...
Rise Agency is a boutique creative communications agency that believes in the power of personal wellness and women’s empowerment. We find, build and tell uplifting stories that people pay attention to – through branding, creative advertising content and public relations.
When was your lightbulb moment?
After working for various agencies, in government roles and at nonprofit organizations for almost two decades, I was getting burnt out and discouraged. My husband kept telling me not to be so committed and that I needed to let go of work when I came in the door. This wasn’t something I could do – for me it’s all or nothing and would throw myself into my jobs with 200% effort. After one terrible experience working with a manipulative and psychologically abusive boss, I took some time to reflect and realized that if I was going to put in so much effort I should be putting it into my own business, and that’s how Rise Agency was born!
What are your three words of advice?
Pause is my first word of advise and constantly on my mind. As passionate women, we dive into everything and over-commit, overstretch and overwork. I try now to pause more in my day to day life, and take a deep breath, before responding to things!
Think business first is my next piece of advise. It’s so fun to get tangled up into the day-to-day operations of my business, but if you are a founder/owner/CEO it’s imperative that you are reminding yourself about what your role is. Of course I would rather be editing a video, but people, payroll and strategy come first.
Don’t take advice from strangers and trust your gut. Seriously, this is not a joke. I’ve had a few epic fails because I relied on contractor referrals from people I hardly knew or listened to someone giving me coaching advice. It took my almost 6 months to undo a decision I made based on someone else’s advice – despite my gut saying no!
Three words of advice...
Pause, think business first, trust your gut!
I’m a mother of two, a long distance runner and passionate Torontonian. I love reading the news and my guilty pleasure is to watch advertisements on YouTube. I’m a strong advocate for female empowerment and am a board member for a youth leadership organization. I would love for my legacy to be that I’ve made a positive impact on the world! Visit Sarah at https://rise-agency.ca/
“May your legacy create a footprint of success for the next person who steps into your shoes”
