Planting New Roots: Starting A Second Career In The Wine Industry (Part 2)
Interview with Daria Kholodilina, a Ukrainian native and co-owner of Trails & Wines, a Georgian tourism company. She and her husband started the company in 2018 to share their passion for wine and the beauty of Georgia.
In part one of this interview, I sat down with Daria Kholodilina, a Ukrainian native who started Trails & Wines, a Georgian wine tourism company, with her husband, Zviad. We discussed the ins and outs of getting a foothold in wine and the first steps. In part two, we focused on the social media aspect, the challenges of managing a business and working as a new mother, and Daria’s side project.
As a fellow working mom who does the majority of childcare, I was interested to hear how she juggles managing a business, the customer service aspect of her job, and staying home with a young baby. On top of that, Daria chose to breastfeed her son. Managing the schedule of wine tasting and nursing to ensure she isn't nursing with any alcohol in her system is challenging.
Q: You recently had a child. When breastfeeding or pregnant, you can't drink. How does your job look different now that you balance being a full-time mom and continuing to work?
A: so I mostly do my job online, it's only planning, but actually, I attended almost all the wine festivals in Tbilisi this year because I had great help from my husband and our moms. My mom was here for four months, so she and my MIL were helping and taking care of the baby. I was pumping, and for the whole of April, I was pumping an extra portion and freezing so that I could attend all the festivals in May without worry. There was a woman in wine, a zero compromise natural wine fair, a new wine festival, and a couple of others, a s wine expo, and I attended all because I could go for 3 or 4 hours without being afraid of him getting hungry. He was collaborating and having fun with Grandma and father, and I got to work. But now he eats everything I make, so I can't pull these tricks anymore. He has also started solids, so I can still do some things. It's also for several hours, though. It's not like I can go travel for two days overnight. It's temporary, and I want to enjoy the time with my baby because he will never be this small again. It's hard to lose the network because there are now even more events and tastings than before and new people in Tbilisi who have started doing tastings. I have this fear of missing out every day but, on the other hand, not missing out on my baby. I'm not tasting much now, but I keep reading. You know when they say the baby is small, but you can read what you are reading out loud, so I am reading him the wine science book by Jamie good. It's precious information about wine pruning and winemaking technology, so I'm curious to know how it will impact him, but at least I'm trying to keep my grip on wine. I have a lot of pictures I took in the previous two years, so I keep sharing them on social media and informing people about the different wines of Georgia. But I'm looking forward to when I can taste it normally.
Q: What advice do you give women who need to work but can't or don't want to employ a full-time nanny or daycare?
A: I don't want to use a nanny. I know that having childcare help is normal because people have to go to work after six months, so many friends of mine stopped breastfeeding around month four, switched to formula, and then started solids with the nanny at 6 with the help of relatives. Somehow I feel bad about it, but I’m lucky I don’t have to hire a nanny. My husband and his mom help a lot, so if I need to go to a meeting, I can take these two hours myself.
My advice, I don't know. Please don’t hesitate to ask for help if you can. Even a couple of hours’ service will be very beneficial. I know that not everyone can afford this. Honestly, I don't have an answer because everyone is so different, and I can't say ask for help if it's, for example, a solo mom who doesn’t have support available. Who do you ask for help? My husband once said he couldn't imagine how single parents do it because you need to work and provide, and on the other hand, you must care for the baby. So I don't have any answer, unfortunately. There is no recipe. Or work at nap times. That's what I do when my husband is traveling for work. We need to represent our company and be present to stay relevant, so he must attend events and keep networking. He goes, and I work at nap times while the baby and I are home alone.
Q: You recently started a passion project by opening up a motherhood-based social media brand, “mother in Georgia," where you create parenting-related content. How does this connect with your other work, if at all?
A: it's not connected. I'm just channeling my energy into something because I can also imagine if I didn't have a Georgian family, I would be lost entirely based on how my pregnancy and motherhood have gone. I think I would be lost in many moments, so I just wanted to share what I experienced, and maybe it will be helpful for someone else to know. But I started it when the baby was small and sleeping well, and now I don't have much time for it. After he is asleep in the evening, sometimes he doesn't let me go far or sit at my computer, so I'm writing many things from my phone. And when I have time for my mother in Georgia, I also write it in my google docs and use a Wix phone application on my phone, so I upload only from the smartphone. I think it's because I couldn't write anything decent about wine. After all, I wasn't tasting anything new, but I felt I needed to do something. So it's just sharing my experience.
Q: What do you think of the future of mothers in Georgia? Do you think you will continue it?
A: I wish I had more time for content, but I'm thinking of asking other international moms to contribute to having a little library of tips. It would be nice to keep it going. But again, once I am back in the wine world, I'm still determining how much time I will spend on it. It's a life project, but I hope it will be helpful to everyone who looks for information and finds it.
Q: What is the most critical piece of advice you can give someone who wants to work in social media or work online/work from home
A: there are a lot of free courses. YouTube and Facebook also offer access to their libraries of information. They explain in detail how to work and promote content. So to start with the free resource, and if you want more courses, there are many great options. Just figure out how it works, and you can find a starter job very easily because it's always in demand. The demand for social media is significant out of all my little career branches. It's the easiest to learn and easiest to maintain. But there are always changes in the algorithm, and you need to keep track of them. Things that used to work now don't work anymore. For example, Instagram promotes video content more. I wouldn’t say I like videos. I like photos and text, but it doesn't work, so I have to figure out a way to stay relevant.
A special thanks to Daria for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions about this fascinating career path and sharing her insights for breaking into wine. If you were inspired by her to peruse your passion project but need help figuring out where to start, reach out to us. At Misulis Group, we specialize in helping you find a career that excites you. Together we can build a roadmap to your future and a job you love.
If you are interested in booking a tour with Daria or learning more about wine communication, you can find her at www.trailsandwines.com and her motherhood social media pages at instagram.com/motheringeorgia.
