Sergiy Korelov, businessman, business coach, father of four children, talks about the adaptation of immigrants in America. Moving to a new country comes with many challenges, from household disarray to homesickness. Newcomers face stress at every step, especially if their knowledge of the local language is limited. We were told where to seek help to ease the adaptation process and harmoniously integrate into American society by a successful businessman and business coach, Sergiy Korelov
Sergiy, you are a successful businessman. How did the idea of helping immigrants get on their feet, start their own business, and live a full life come about?
For me, it’s a challenge. I recently turned 50, and about five years ago, I entered a mid-life crisis, looking for a purpose in life, a mission, and recently all these thoughts crystallized. I want to help people adapt and integrate into American society. I have the keys, the formulas for solving psychological, sociological dilemmas, and business-financial ones. I want to dedicate my next 50 years to this work: holding conferences, seminars, educational events, involving other professionals from our community who would also teach how to start a business, increase capital, protect themselves, their family, and their assets from legal threats (lawsuits) and financial losses. And of course, to get mortgages, buy houses, and further invest in real estate.
Will the economic component play a significant role in your training?
Yes, I want to teach people to play “Monopoly” in real life and help them create a business plan, a roadmap from point “A” – entry into the USA to “Z” – achieving the “American dream”. And this is my outcry, my pain, my message. I am currently developing a website, building platforms on social media: YouTube, TikTok, and others. I have already realized what I can give to people, what my value, expertise is.
I aim to protect our people who move here. It’s clear that refugees and immigrants from the former USSR hold a special place in my plans. But I am ready to share my experience with people from Europe, Asia, Africa. We have Latin America nearby, Mexicans are coming. Often these people are naive, like children. And here in America, there are also sharks, vultures who will devour you, grind you up, and spit you out; it’s the law of the jungle, capitalism.
Therefore, my main thought now is to help people integrate and adapt with the right mindset, the right approach to business, the right skills and habits, how to conquer this land and make it their country and not feel like an outcast and not be rejected and poor.
The global goal is to teach people how to behave in America so that it loves and accepts you, and you are a respected, full-fledged citizen here. After all, I myself am practically a two-time immigrant in this country and twice started from scratch, so I clearly know and share your fears, worries, and anxieties associated with these global changes.
How and when did you end up in America?
I came from Ukraine, from Simferopol. And the beginning of my emigration is an accident and a funny story. It was in 1999, the borders of the recently collapsed USSR had just opened, our local entrepreneurs placed an ad in the newspaper that “Mr. Smith” from the USA was coming and would talk about how to legally get into America. They rented a cinema, hired some elderly American, and started selling tickets to this event. They put “Mr. Smith” on the podium, gave him a microphone, he said “Hello, my friends,” then they seated him in the first row, took the microphone themselves, and started talking about the Green Card. And this is a free application, a government program, but they were promoting it for money. And I was 25 years old then, I had recently married, my daughter was very young. I came to this event just out of curiosity, filled out the application, although I had no special desire, understanding, or need.
You didn’t really realize where you were going, what you were getting into?
Absolutely didn’t understand, but I sent the application as a real lottery. About half a year later, maybe eight months, around my 26th birthday, I received a huge envelope: an American seal, all these eagles, stars… I opened it, and there was “congratulations,” and a huge list of medical, bank, police certificates that needed to be collected. I doubted whether I should go, but my friends said: “Sergey, you can always return to Ukraine, we will be waiting for you, hug you, accept you, but try to go, maybe something will work out.” So my wife and I decided.
Did any friends shelter you?
At that time, we knew only one person in America, an acquaintance from Simferopol who lived in Alaska, and she said she would gladly take us in for the first time. We got on the plane: Eva, the eldest daughter, was two and a half years old, my wife Olya was pregnant, in her seventh month, and me. Our acquaintance Lyuba Kislova met us, and it was still March, snow on the street, gray weather, unfriendly, cold, wind. But when we arrived at her small house, the doors opened, a nice smell, cozy, warm, and on the kitchen table, there was a huge basket with a pineapple in the center and exotic fruits around it: bananas, kiwis. And we felt like we had entered the best palace in the world, but the house was actually tiny, the cheapest that could be in America. But for us, coming at that time, it was just a palace.
Sergiy, America is a land of real opportunities. What was your first opportunity?
When we arrived, we had one and a half thousand dollars, which we immediately spent because we needed to buy a car. The car was very comfortable, luxurious, but quite old, with high mileage. After three months, its radiator overheated, we lost the engine, and consequently the car. But America allowed us to register with the state and receive assistance: food stamps, gasoline coupons, and the right to study English for free. But I didn’t want to sit on state benefits and found my first job in a kitchen furniture manufacturing workshop. It was a private enterprise with irregular orders, so I also became a school bus driver. But I had enough for a third job as well. On Saturdays, I took care of an elderly lady, Grace, who was 99 years old. When her children went to restaurants and shops, I played chess with her, read books, made sandwiches, and spent time with her.
Then, with a new acquaintance from Seattle, Sergey Myasnyankin, we opened our first business: painting houses inside and out. I started watching how people make money. Then there was a boom in the construction industry. And I went into this field. Within a year, I already opened my construction company and became a general contractor for house construction. I was also active in social life.
How was it expressed?
At that time, there were many international families with different religions in Alaska. We created a base to conduct services in two languages – English and Russian. Local pastors noticed me, saw my energy and creative power.
There were Lutherans, Protestants, Baptists, Pentecostals. And we organized the March for Jesus and charity-social programs – first, then the second, uniting people. Then I said, let’s have one Sunday a year with a general church meeting. Many liked this idea. And 21 churches participated, canceling their personal services; we organized “One Lord Sunday.” This program lasted for three years; thousands of people attended these meetings. Newspapers started writing about us, TV made stories. Politicians also came: the state governor, former governor with their families, current senators, city mayors, and other political and social figures.
Yes, you said that politics, economy, social life were at their peak for you then.
We carried this torch, hope, unity. Then it turned into other collaborations; we sent missionary teams. I personally went to Peru twice with a team from our churches. We built churches in the jungle there. Then we started visiting prisons, helping people there. I reached a new social level, this society accepted me. I was invited to serve as one of the commissioners for infrastructure development in our town of Wasilla.
Then, when I started building houses, I received awards from the local society, the builders’ association. I became a kind of “bridge” in economic terms for many of our immigrants. For self-improvement, I went to university.
Sergiy, you had such success in Alaska. Why did you move to California?
I was 35 years old. It was 2009, the kids were growing up, and there were few educational choices. There was only one university in all of Alaska. Moreover, we are from Crimea, and here it was always dark, cold. So we started looking for a new place. Hawaii, California, Texas, Florida – the four main states we identified for ourselves because they are large, powerful, interesting, and warm. And we started traveling, communicating with people. It turned out that in San Diego, where we now live, in Southern California, we found the right people.
It was a second emigration because the mentality of Alaska and California is like Venus and Mars. San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego are dynamic, leading cities in business, politics, art, economics, scientific achievements, and biotechnology. San Diego, by the way, is a mini-Silicon Valley, a completely different energy, dynamics, different people with different money, different credit capabilities, different thinking, different education.
We brought our savings here, sold the house, sold everything there, and in six months lost everything, spent it all, and had no work. It was the 2008-2009 crisis when the economic bubble burst, banks and insurance companies collapsed. I have so many acquaintances who lost three, five, six houses, bankruptcy.
I had to forget all my regalia and achievements, get on my knees and turn screws, hang mirrors, pictures in rich houses, build some playgrounds for rich children and prove to myself, my family, and this society that it is possible to break through again at a new level. And I got a construction license, created a new company, and the company had more than 15 employees.
Is this company still existing?
I just recently closed this big chapter, closed the construction company, and left the interior design center and showroom.
In 23 years in America, I moved my family 18 times: from smaller to larger, from larger to better. Sold here, bought there, pulled profit here, invested there – it’s a science, an art. Living the way my family lives now, 99% of Americans would envy.
But not everything comes easy to me; it’s still a struggle now. I lead two-three projects, work a lot, but the result speaks for itself.
Have you ever regretted your decision to change countries?
In the first two years, of course, there were some memories, but since we arrived still quite young, I was 26, my wife was 24, we were able to adapt and reformat easily. And this is now my main message in the business school I am creating to help immigrants integrate and adapt in America: when we come to a new country, we must love it as our new homeland so that it becomes our new land, then an emotional and energetic connection is formed.
I am currently writing a book called “From Broken English to the American Dream.” The path from broken English to the American dream. I show on my story, the story of our four children, how to learn to live in a new reality. My wife and I were able to stand on our feet ourselves and raise our children in hard work and high moral and spiritual values.
Sergiy, you said you have keys that help in the adaptation of immigrants. Name some of them.
The first key is: We must assimilate into this society, love these people as we love ourselves. This is the golden rule from the Bible, love your neighbor as yourself, it works perfectly here. This society is mostly kind, honest, decent. But if we come here with arrogance, pomp, and snobbery, nothing will work. This is the first key.
The second is planned hard work. If you work hard but don’t have a plan, a roadmap, it will depress you, kill you, lead to depression. There must be a clear understanding of where you are going, why you must work hard for the first year, two, three, five. Because your goal is to save money, invest them in your first business, second, third, some investment, and then money starts working for you, experience starts working for you.
The third key is to learn to play “Monopoly.” 90% of Americans who declare themselves millionaires in their tax returns earned their wealth through real estate.
The fourth key is understanding how it works, how to optimize taxation, secure your assets, how to properly write and organize your business structures. It’s a whole system. You can’t explain it in two words.
The fifth key is the thirst to learn and constantly improve your personal level of thinking, self-education, self-discipline, and so on. I’ve probably spent about 300 thousand dollars on self-education: I buy courses, books, attend various seminars, and work with many mentors, coaches, and advisors.
How long do you give an average immigrant to open the necessary doors with these keys?
Everything is individual here, so in my program, when I act as a personal coach, the first step is called DNA. The first lesson when I meet my client, I try to break him down to amino acids, study his strengths and weaknesses at the molecular level, help the person realize his uniqueness, analyze himself completely, without shame and pretense, to form a “Personal Brand.” Because in America, you can be successful in any field. You can sell ice cream, grilled sausages, and hot dogs on the street, and if you’re a great cook, you can make a fortune out of it. First one cart, business goes well – created another 50 carts, hired other immigrants or students, you already have a franchise. This is a rather banal but very illustrative example. This is a land of real opportunities.
What hinders you in American society? What would you like to change in it?
Firstly, to remove greed. In my philosophical work “Cell of Life,” there is a chapter “Compare Communism and Capitalism.” With all its shortcomings, capitalism is currently the highest economic form. Democracy and capitalism are like the social-economic system of human relations. It’s the best option, but not ideal. I lead people to think that we need socially responsible capitalism. I would like to introduce a share of moral and ethical education into this society on the topic “how much does a person need?” Start from the minimum that makes a person happy and able to create and care for the rest of humanity and our entire earth as a holistic living organism.
Will you be giving your lectures, recruiting students, what will be free?
My help will be available to any person. I will have several levels of cooperation. You can get information on the YouTube channel, in Facebook and Telegram groups. This will be a community of people who need support. I also want to create such an international association where people share similar intellectual, spiritual, and moral values; I call it Kore Nation. I also develop a podcast of the same name.
The second level will be a package of courses from the business school, video seminars, personal contacts in the range of 700 – 1500 dollars. This business school will be based on specific practical steps: how to open a company, how to understand which industry to go into, how to multiply money, etc. I will help clear the head of the trash that is now on the internet, if you are 19 years old and don’t drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari, and you don’t have 100 million dollars, then you are a loser and don’t know how to live on planet Earth. This virtual reality: easy money, wealth, beautiful life from nothing – it’s a lie. It destroys humanity and the human concept of life based on balanced hard work, creativity, and care. “What a man sows, so shall he reap.”
Come on, you will sweat, work, earn real money, build a house or buy a house for your family, live, the value of everything will grow. And in parallel dream, invest, create.
The next level is for people who can afford training from 25 to 50 thousand. They either come to my city, and we really analyze their cases, build them right here. They came with big money, and we urgently need to invest it somewhere. Or I come to them here in America, and we solve the issues immediately and on the spot.
There is also my biggest program, I plan to implement it in 10-15 years. I want to create a fund, gather like-minded people with whom we will raise a business ecosystem with moral and spiritual values to help developing countries. This is primarily Latin America, African countries, Asian countries. I want to teach self-regulation and self-government, create micro-centers of prosperity.
And if you have a doctor, engineer, architect, or lawyer education, I can give an example of my wife’s success. She became a successful psychotherapist here, confirming her Ukrainian medical degree in psychiatry. But that’s a separate story.
Photo: personal archive of Sergiy Korelov