BBA alumna as an entrepreneur in Dubai

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Hello! My name is Marjaana Pasila and I’m the founder of mytaskguru.com. I offer online marketing and project management services for businesses and individuals all over the world, working virtually from my home office. I’m based in Dubai and I’ve been living here for the past five years.

It’s been a while since I graduated, Xamk was actually called Kyamk back then. I studied business administration in Kotka and together with my fellow business students, we set up our own limited company as a part of our studies. I got my BBA degree in Service Sector Business Operations in 2007.

I have fond memories of studying in Kyamk. We had a nice group of students and back then, our studying method was very innovative and I learned all the basics of the business world that have certainly benefited me later in life. It also thought me a lot of discipline.

During my studies, I took part in the Erasmus exchange program at The Hague University in 2006. I spent six months in the Netherlands and being exposed to many different cultures and communicating in English every day for the first time in my life was an eye-opening experience. I also met my now-husband and the father of my children there.

The Erasmus exchange made me want to see the world even more. So as soon as I graduated, I was off to London. I started my career as a Finnish Language Tester for PlayStation games. It was a fun job but didn’t pay very well.

I also traveled around the world in different televised poker tournaments…

 

So after a while, I applied to work in an online gaming company’s support department. I got the job and again after some time, I applied for a manager’s role in the company’s Online Marketing and TV department. That’s when I started working on many different online projects. I also traveled around the world in different televised poker tournaments, working behind the scenes for TV and live stream production.

But after years in London, I started to be tired of my daily commuting in rush hour (the tube gets so busy!), and the constant rain. I had had my first child by then and felt that it was time for a change. So when my husband got a job opportunity in Dubai, we decided to go for it.

I started seriously looking into how to set up a business in Dubai

 

In Dubai, I had my second child so the family life kept me busy for a while. When my youngest child started kindergarten I started seriously looking into how to set up a business in Dubai. I felt that the global covid-19 pandemic brought opportunities in the virtual working work – finally, companies everywhere started seeing the potential in remote working.

I don’t know if I had the courage to set up my own business without the experiences I got from Kyamk back in the day. In life, you just never know when something you’ve learned will become useful. I would have never thought that today I’m a licensed business owner in Dubai.

…take every little job you’ve got seriously and be always friendly to everyone.

 

One thing I would like to say to the students is that take every little job you’ve got seriously and be always friendly to everyone. You just never know where that may lead. Sometimes, you only need one person that sees the potential in you, and your attitude is the most important thing. You can always develop your skillset but people will remember a bad attitude.

The response I’ve received so far with my business has been really positive and I’ve started working on some very interesting projects. This year, I’m focusing on growing my business, networking, and building a personal brand. I’m going to start blogging about online marketing and I’m also launching my own YouTube channel very soon, offering educational videos in English. And since I work in this field I will never stop learning, new things keep popping up all the time.

I’m always happy to chat with anyone who wants to pick my brain on something so please do not hesitate to get in touch. Thanks for reading and best of luck with your studies!

 

Marjaana Pasila 

 

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