Kirsi Elina’s story: From the university world to an entrepreneur

I applied to study speech communication at the University of Jyväskylä. I wasn’t admitted the first time, but on the second time I got in. From the very beginning, the studies felt like the right choice for me. In the 1990s, journalism was a respected profession. Television and radio programmes were carefully planned and scripted. However, the sector changed rapidly as commercial radio stations and reality television replaced old-time journalism. It no longer felt like a right place for me.

Being an academic environment, the university sparked an interest in research work in me. When my fellow students spent time partying, I sat in the library reading for exams and working on essays. I completed almost two master’s degrees worth of studies within the same time my fellow students used to complete one degree. Although the knowledge I obtained through studies gave me a strong foundation, afterwards I have regretted that my student years were so performance oriented. Back then, I was not yet able to appreciate the importance of friendship and social relations. I imagined that my ascetic lifestyle and hard work would be rewarded with success in working life. The reality turned out to be something else.

Through teaching towards research

Before I obtained my master's degree, I was invited to act as a teacher at the university. The change from a student to a teacher took place overnight, and as usual for those times, without any orientation at all. Suddenly, I had to master the university’s administrative practices while planning a completely new study module on communications. It was a huge challenge, but I succeeded. 

At the same time, I started to realise the drawbacks of the university world. Young talents were exploited without remorse, and focusing on teaching meant a halt in career development. As a workaholic, I was thirsty for a career with prospects. Getting married offered me an opportunity to detach myself from the university, and I seized it. I decided to do so especially because I was in a deep crisis since my brother, who was one year older than me, had just passed away in an accident.

For a few years, I kept on working and searching for my own path. I collected good fees from different organisations for providing interaction training. At the time, it was common for organisations to seek solutions to problems in work community and business activities through one-day training sessions in public speaking. I got frustrated because I realised that the root causes of the problems ran deeper. Superficial training could not offer sustainable solutions to my customers, and money did not motivate me enough.

I became interested in workplace development. In 2003, my life changed again when I was elected to the Centre of Excellence for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research at the University of Helsinki. I was admitted to a four-year doctoral programme that offered not only in-depth theory teaching but also an opportunity to participate in extensive development projects. People still ask me whether it was worthwhile to change the high-paying communications consultant’s work to the uncertainty of a researcher. My answer is always the same: it was well worth it. Without those years, I would not have learned the skills I need in my current tasks as an entrepreneur.

Losses, challenges, and pulling through

Although I had found my place in the world of research, life brought about great challenges. As the mother of two small children, everyday life was hectic. However, the biggest blow came when one of my children became seriously ill when the other was still a baby. It meant the start of a months-long struggle for the life of my child. I tried to keep our family’s everyday life together at the expense of my own health.

At the same time, I lost my mother to aggressive cancer. She had been the pillar of my life. When I was grieving, I received a message from the university that my employment relationship could no longer be continued, as maternity and sick leaves had made me too expensive an employee. The supervisors and colleagues of my research unit helped me and arranged occasional courses for me to teach. First, I did one temporary job at the Open University, after which more opportunities began to emerge. At best, I carried out approximately 20 courses each year with separate work agreements. More than 200 students could attend my lectures at the same time.

I loved teaching, and the students seemed to love me. I finally saw a little light in my life again, but in the autumn of 2015, everything went dark again. My father passed away after having fought cancer for only a month. In the news, the then Prime Minister reproached us citizens about how unproductive we were. The University of Helsinki announced major redundancies and cuts. I totally collapsed and fell into a deep depression. I was convinced that I had failed in life and would only be a burden for my loved ones and for society as a whole.

To a new start as an entrepreneur

However, life offered me a new opportunity when a company in Turku spotted my information on a labour market website. I packed my bags and moved from my home in Siuro to a 15-square-metre rental flat in Turku for weekdays. I was responsible for selling the company’s technology to enterprises and educational institutions. However, the company’s activities were not on a stable basis, and it ran out of payroll funds one year after they employed me. 

However, from my short sales experience I had learned that entrepreneurial activity was not rocket science. With a good product and the will to listen to the customers’ needs you could go a long way. I had also noticed that customers were more interested in me and my thoughts than in the technology of the company I represented.

In other words, the product the market needed actually lied in my own expertise. When, despite my hard efforts to apply for a job, I did not find an existing customer, i.e. an employer, for my competence, I decided to make my own way in the labour market. I gradually started to focus on becoming an entrepreneur.

I invested in networking in several professional associations and found LinkedIn as a free marketing channel. Little by little, the number of my followers grew and grew.

I had never dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur. My parents made their careers in the municipal and state sectors without too much effort. All they had to do was to wake up and go to work in the morning, and then drag themselves back home in the evening. I had not seen or experienced how holistic entrepreneurship was. As a researcher, I was used to measuring success with degrees and the length of the list of publications. As an athlete, on the other hand, my worth had varied according to how quickly I could run a lap, for example.

Anyway, in 2019, I established a business name and in 2021 my current limited company Kasvun Katalyytti Oy. As an entrepreneur, I have been able to implement various coaching and training programmes either independently or through my numerous partners. I have been able to utilise my in-depth expertise as a participatory work developer in several socially significant projects, such as in the context of the employment area reform. In other words, I have had the opportunity to engage in precisely the kind of tasks for which researcher training prepared me. In recent years, I have supplemented my professional competence by acquiring the qualifications of an Executive Business Coach and a work supervisor. I also completed the CBM qualification for certified board members and strategy experts.

Entrepreneurship has also offered me new opportunities for earning money, which I could not even have dreamed of when I was young. My education in radio journalism has been useful when I have acted as a podcast host. In addition, my voice was used to train an AI, which enables more cost-effective production of audiobooks. Social media has also taken me by surprise. Younger generations may dream of a career as an influencer already in their childhood. For me, on the other hand, the opportunity to earn money through co-operation deals on LinkedIn came totally out of the blue.

Although I still miss regular daily routines and the support provided by a work community, I have learned to accept that my path has been different. In addition to public speaking, I have found my calling in writing. In 2023, one of my dreams came true when the Chamber of Commerce published my first book “Moderni johtaja – Työsuhteiden johtamisesta toiminnan johtamiseen” (In Finnish, “Modern leader – From leading working relationships to leading activities”).

Dreams for the future

Working life is undergoing a transformation, and permanent jobs are less common than ever. I would like to help young people understand that finding their own path requires more than just formal qualifications. For example, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of networking. If you do not have any networks yet, it is never too late to start building them.

Although I have achieved a lot, I never totally abandoned my research career. My dream job would be one where I could combine research and participatory development work in different organisations. I still – and hopefully for the rest of my life – have the opportunity to train young future talents for modern labour market both at the University of Helsinki and at the international Helsinki School of Business (HELBUS).

The dream of a sports career is also alive again. I’m still planning to find the time to enter veterans games in a sport that requires raw power.

Kirsi Elina Kallio

Image: Sam Jamsen