Ukrainian Ruslana Kuisma first visited Finland when she was 17 years old.
Last month, at the age of 45, Kuisma received the Migrant Entrepreneur of the Year award, gaining particular recognition for her humane leadership style as the founder of what became a very successful cleaning company.
The award was issued by Suomen Yrittäjät, an SME interest group. Apart from recognition, the award also includes a 15,000-euro prize, made possible by pension provider Elo, according to the group.
Today Kuisma's firm, RVK Palvelut, employs more than 60 workers and many clients, but it had humble beginnings.
The majority of the firm's employees are Ukrainians who fled the war, but also has Estonian and Russian workers.
"I don't feel like I'm their boss — we work as a team. I try to help them with things like finding an apartment and other things they need to do in Finland. I know very well how it feels to come here empty-handed and not knowing a single word of Finnish," she explained.
Her introduction to Finland came when she arrived for a visit with her mother — but then she met her future husband, Jari.
They settled down in Southern Finland's Kirkkonummi, and after her daughter turned one, Kuisma began looking for work at local shops and pizzerias.
"My Finnish skills were still weak, and I wanted to work in the cleaning industry. I eventually got a job at [hypermarket] Prisma in Kirkkonummi. I tried to clean the best I could," she said.
Management took note of her dedication, and it wasn't long before she became a supervisor.
Then opportunity knocked, prompting her to become an entrepreneur.
Kuisma said old clients offered her 20 cleaning sites if she started her own company.
After some encouragement from her husband, in 2017 Kuisma started RVK Palvelut, hiring 10 employees in the first month.
Customer numbers gradually grew, and by the end of its first year, the firm won a tender for cleaning work at 150 sites — and that meant hiring more people.
Family business
Along with her husband and daughter, Kuisma also took part in the cleaning jobs. She said that at first, their home washing machine was running around the clock to handle all the dirty rags and uniforms, until the company was able to get its own machines.
Those days are in the past though, as the firm's annual turnover reached nearly four million euros last year.
Kuisma said that despite her company's success, she still dons a uniform, loads cleaning supplies in the car and heads out to work sites if she's needed.
Kuisma said she encourages her employees to work hard by showing them that no task that needs doing is more important than others.
"In order to get good results, things need to be clearly explained to workers, and they need to be shown appreciation and care," she said.
Such appreciation comes in her remembering employee birthdays and getting them a gift. Before Christmas, the staff takes cruises to Tallinn.
The company also gives the workers' kids Christmas presents, a tradition that Kuisma remembers from her own childhood in Ukraine.
"When I was little, the parents would bring a holiday package of sweets from their workplace for their children. That made me really happy," she said.
Now, Kuisma says she's glad to be able to offer others similar joyful moments.
