Age is not a criterion
Natalya Sindeeva, 49 years old, founder and CEO of the Dozhd media holding
I love the 35+ audience very much. She is adult, independent, conscious. And I love the “40+” even more - these are people who came out of the 90s, that strong inoculation of freedom of spirit lives in them, which you get when all the possibilities are open to you. They make decisions quickly, are not afraid to change, experiment, start and try something. Even from the point of view of advertisers, this age in Russia is very interesting - after all, it is one of the wealthiest categories of people. In addition, it is obvious that today they are no longer the same as their peers were 20 years ago. These people look great, take care of their health, they are younger than, say, our parents were in the same 40 years. In my understanding, this is the golden age: on the one hand, you already have experience, you have gained a lot, on the other, you still feel like you are 25. And this feeling is quite objective - because you go in for sports, you monitor your diet. And you have more opportunities, the horizon of your planning is increasing - today we see people who, even at 60, change something dramatically in their lives and achieve a lot.
It seems to me that it is more difficult for young people today than for us. At that time, if you had ambition, it was as if there were no restrictions. Such was the air around - the society welcomed the search, entrepreneurial activity. You had the opportunity to do a lot - if only you had a goal. And our ambitions were large-scale: for example, to create a radio station. Or build a bank that will be the biggest of them all. All this was real then, because nothing of the kind had yet arisen around - the "clearing" was empty. And now a lot has already been done, high competition in all areas. And many people think: it would be nice to get a job in the state apparatus or find a job in some large corporation - to consistently receive salaries, bonuses, etc. This general mood influences the choice of young people as well. Although today there is something else - for example,small-scale Internet entrepreneurship is developing: young guys create websites, learn to promote ideas, make money where no special investment is required. Or they open small cafes, for example, with burgers: they start with a tent at Krasny Oktyabr, and then turn a tiny business into a network. It seems to me that now the fashion is more for something small, not huge. A new business doesn't have to bring in millions, it should just give you the opportunity to travel, buy a nice car, or invite a girl to a nice cafe. After all, ambition can be different too. It is important not to be lazy - and this is a matter of character and self-education - and strive to achieve something.with burgers: they start with a tent at Krasny Oktyabr, and then turn a tiny business into a network. It seems to me that now the fashion is rather for something small, not huge. A new business doesn't have to bring in millions, it should just give you the opportunity to travel, buy a nice car, or invite a girl to a nice cafe. After all, ambition can be different too. It is important not to be lazy - and this is a matter of character and self-education - and strive to achieve something.with burgers: they start with a tent at Krasny Oktyabr, and then turn a tiny business into a network. It seems to me that now the fashion is more for something small, not huge. A new business doesn't have to bring in millions, it should just give you the opportunity to travel, buy a nice car, or invite a girl to a nice cafe. After all, ambition can be different too. It is important not to be lazy - and this is a matter of character and self-education - and strive to achieve something. It is important not to be lazy - and this is a matter of character and self-education - and strive to achieve something. It is important not to be lazy - and this is a matter of character and self-education - and strive to achieve something.
The start of my career was when, after graduation, I moved from Michurinsk to Moscow. The decision was a turning point: Moscow is a complex city, as it accepts you, it rejects you. On the one hand, it is easy to achieve something here, but on the other, it is very difficult. Then the most important thing for me was the feeling: I can. When I first came to work on the “2 x 2” TV channel with Alexey Shakhmatov, at first I was engaged in some kind of garbage, received a small salary. And then Lesha said to me: "You are no secretary, but we have an idea for a program for which we need to raise 70 thousand dollars." And I collected them in just a month! Then no one could believe it: there was not yet the program itself, nor its pilot, nor the contract with the channel … At the very moment when I put a pile of contracts on his table, I realized that I could do anything. It is very important for a person at any age to understand: you can. Even if you are scared, even if everyone says "this is not possible" or "nothing will work."
How old a person is is not a criterion for me at all. I never ask those whom we hire about this. Although the youth audience for any media is a future consumer, and we keep this in mind. Rejuvenation of the audience is needed to stay modern themselves. And that means we need to look for the language the new generation speaks, try to find what is interesting to them. It seems to me that in our team, the average age of our employees is 27 years. This gives me hope that they feel this language better than I do, and bring it into what we do. This is a mutual movement: our generation gives young people experience, maybe the wisdom that we have acquired over time, and they bring new competencies and give the business a completely different speed. And this, in my opinion, is very cool.
The first success is at 46
Natalia Belyauskienė, 55, director, started her career at 38 and was nominated for an Oscar at 46
After school, I had absolutely no idea who I wanted to be. “Director” for me at that moment was an incomprehensible and mysterious word: I simply could not dream of becoming one, because I had not the slightest idea of what it was. My father is a military man, his family is very far from the world of cinema. Dad then said: "It is good for a woman to be an economist or a doctor." I definitely didn't want to be a doctor and chose, as it seemed to me, the lesser of evils - an economist.
I walked around the Plekhanov Institute and did not understand anything: there were tables with the names of faculties - and they were all like a Chinese letter. Already in the 4th year, when I was asked what Gossnab was in a specialized subject, I couldn’t answer - I really didn’t understand why any applications, consumers, commodity flows were needed … After graduation, I ended up in one of the Gossnab organizations for distribution - and understood that's all, this is my end. I asked the boss: "How can I quit your job?" “Only if you get pregnant,” he replied. Which I did: I went on maternity leave and since then I have not worked as an economist even once.
When my son grew up, I wanted to study - I have always loved that. I decided that I do not have enough English. There was a lot of English at the Academy of Foreign Trade. I graduated for two years, honestly wrote a diploma about advertising and branding - then it was a new word. I became so skilled that after my defense I was even offered to teach at the Department of Marketing. I was very surprised and said that I did not know anything about marketing.
I again found myself in open swimming. Once in the car I heard an announcement: director Yuri Grymov is recruiting advertising courses. I thought: well, this is my destiny, I will finish my studies for another year and will be engaged in advertising … Then it turned out that these courses gave me such teachers, whom it is simply impossible to gather in one place: Vladimir Khotinenko, Vladimir Motyl, Alexander Mitta, President of the Guild of Operators of Russia Igor Klebanov - all stars! At the first lesson, Khotinenko admitted: “I don't really understand what I should teach in your advertising courses. Better raise your hand, those who want to make a movie …”For me, this split second - the moment when you first ask yourself a question - decided everything. Is it really possible? Can you really want to make a movie ?! Of course, I immediately raised my hand. This was probably the first such moment of understanding in my life. And yes:then I was already over 30.
I started filming, doing absolutely all the educational tasks - as they say, and for that guy too. And after the advertising courses, I already quite deliberately went to the fourth "training run" - to the Higher Directing Courses. There I shot and edited - along the way having mastered the editing program - my first documentary "Orange", which received the debut award "Saint Anna".
I was lucky that I was married to a man who worked all the time to support his family. Of course, without this I would not have been able to study so long and joyfully. However, simultaneously with the acquisition of a new profession, I lost my husband. It happened somewhere at the end of his studies at the Higher Directing Courses. The reason was that I began to change, I had other interests - I just became different. And at some point it turned out that we did not talk at all - we had nothing to talk about. We both agreed on the need to part, and now we are great friends. My ex-husband is Lithuanian, our adult son made the decision to move to Vilnius two years ago, and I am happy to visit him.
We can say that the first success - the feeling that by and large you have succeeded - came to me at the age of 46. My first full-length film “If Everyone”, filmed in Armenia, was well received by the audience, she visited many festivals and even got into the long-list for “Oscar”. The most striking thing is that you realize that this is not what you tried for.
All these years, some of my acquaintances, meeting me, said: "You are all fluttering!" I think I was just allowing myself to leave the air that moved me. I listened to what was happening around. Indeed, very often a person drives himself like a squirrel in a wheel. He runs - in good faith, does not stop, does something. We do not see that something can be changed in life. Maybe not as radical as in my case, but still … They say that if you formulate the problem correctly and ask the Universe, it will happen. I think this is so - but not by magic, but because in this case we have to sit down and ask ourselves: what do I actually want? It is a big job to formulate a goal and not be deceived with it.
Photo: Getty Images
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