Maryana Lapchynska: The Most Valuable Investment a Leader Can Make Is Investing in Themselves

From Business to Transformation: How an Entrepreneur’s Experience Became a Foundation for Empowering Other Women

For more than fifteen years, Maryana Lapchynska has built and grown a manufacturing business, made strategic decisions, and led teams in an industry traditionally dominated by men. Over time, that experience evolved into a new chapter of her career—the creation of the transformational game ZnachymaYa, designed to help women build inner resilience, unlock their potential, and move forward with confidence. In this interview, Maryana reflects on leadership, balancing business and family, the power of women’s communities, and the decisions that have shaped her life.

You built a successful manufacturing business in a field where men still make up the majority, and later shifted your focus to working with women as the facilitator and guide of the transformational psychology game ZnachymaYa. When did you realize that your professional experience could become a powerful resource for other women’s growth?

Honestly, I can’t point to one defining moment. It was something I came to understand gradually.

For more than fifteen years, I built a business, made difficult decisions, learned how to negotiate, made mistakes, faced setbacks, and started over. At first, it simply felt like my own journey. But over time, I noticed that more and more women were coming to me for something beyond business advice. They were looking for support, confidence, and a different perspective on the challenges they were facing.

That’s when I realized my greatest asset wasn’t only my business experience—it was the experience of someone who had navigated fear, uncertainty, and change time and again. If my journey can help another woman discover herself sooner and find the courage to take action, then it’s worth sharing.

You often say that strong leadership begins not with management skills but with a person’s inner state. How has that belief shaped your own path in business, and how has it guided you through your most challenging decisions?

I truly believe that every business reflects the inner state of the person leading it.

When someone doesn’t trust themselves, fears responsibility, or constantly second-guesses their choices, it inevitably shows up in their decisions, their team, and their results.

There have been moments in my life when the biggest challenge wasn’t finding the right business strategy—it was rebuilding my own inner foundation. That inner strength is what kept me moving forward, even when there were no guarantees of success.

To this day, I believe the most valuable investment a leader can make is investing in themselves. A strong inner foundation makes strong decisions possible.

Running a company, raising a family, and investing in personal growth are often seen as a constant balancing act. What does balance look like in your life today, and what ideas about being the “perfect woman” have you had to let go of?

There was a time when I believed that a strong woman had to do everything and keep everything under control.

Today, I know that mindset leads to burnout.

For me, balance isn’t about giving every area of life the same amount of time. It’s about not losing myself while fulfilling all the roles I play.

I’m a wife, a mother, and an entrepreneur, but I also remember that I’m Maryana—a woman with her own dreams, desires, and needs.

That’s why I let go of the idea of being perfect. What matters far more to me today is being authentic, present, and happy.

Your transformational game ZnachymaYa grew naturally from your mission to support women. What are the biggest internal barriers you see in the women who come to you, and what helps them move from self-doubt to action?

What I see most often isn’t a lack of ability—it’s a lack of self-belief.

Many women become so accustomed to living for everyone else that they can no longer answer a simple question: What do I want?

They’re afraid of judgment, mistakes, and change. They wait for the perfect moment or for someone else’s permission.

In the game, we’re not searching for magical solutions. We help women reconnect with themselves, recognize their strengths, understand what’s holding them back, and take that first real step forward.

I believe transformation begins the moment a person stops waiting and takes responsibility for their own life.

Today’s model of women’s leadership is increasingly built on partnership, mutual support, and shared values. Why do you believe the growth of women’s communities has become strategically important—not only for individual women, but for business and society as a whole?

I believe strong women don’t compete with one another—they strengthen one another.

When a woman finds herself in an environment where she’s supported rather than judged, her growth accelerates.

Communities like these change more than individual lives. They transform families, teams, and businesses.

A woman who believes in herself raises her children differently, builds healthier relationships, leads with greater confidence, and engages with the world in a new way.

That’s exactly why I’m working to create a community where women feel safe to show up as themselves, support one another, and grow stronger together.

If a woman came to you today with talent, ideas, and the desire to grow—but fear was keeping her from taking the first step—what would you tell her, drawing on your own experience as an entrepreneur, mother, and mentor?

I would tell her something I remind myself of often:

Don’t wait for the perfect moment, because it may never come.

Courage doesn’t appear before you act—it grows while you’re taking action.

I’ve started over many times without knowing whether things would work out. I’ve made mistakes, changed direction, and kept learning. Every step made me stronger.

And there’s one more thing I would want her to remember:

You are already enough. You don’t have to become a “better version” of yourself before you deserve to dream bigger, show up fully, or begin something new. You have every right to choose yourself today.

Don’t try to see the entire journey at once. Take one honest step toward what you truly want. And when fear appears, don’t stop. Those are often the moments that determine whether you stay where you are—or create the life you’ve been dreaming about.

Because in the end, we rarely regret our mistakes. We regret the opportunities we never gave ourselves the chance to pursue.