‘You need to find the work you love in life’ – Managing Director Rasa Levinaite on How She Got Her Job

Women are making their mark in the world of business like never before. In every industry and at every level, we look to women who’ve made it their own as an example for us to do the same. For our latest series, entitled ‘How She Got Her Job‘, we ask women who have achieved stunning success in their field to tell us how they got there, and their advice on how we can join them.

What was your favourite subject in school?

My favourite subject was history – very different from my accountancy background, I know! I found it fascinating to see how people lived in years gone by and how we as a society have evolved. The buildings, the artwork, I was just fascinated by all that. I wanted to be a history teacher when I was in school but unfortunately, in Lithuania, teachers made very little money and it just wasn’t possible. So I decided to become an accountant because my mother was an accountant too.

What was your first job, and what other jobs have you had since?

When I was young, I had many part-time jobs but my first real one was as an accountant. I was working for a non-profit organisation that dealt with people with spinal injuries, with me in their accounts department. Once I finished up with accountancy, I studied Economics in university and then came to Ireland, initially for three months in the summer to earn extra money for my studies in Lithuania. I worked as a chambermaid for holiday homes in Clare. While I was there, they saw on my C.V and that I was an accountant, so they brought me to Dublin to help their financial controller with accountancy. After that, the company went downhill financially, and so I began looking elsewhere for a job. I started in Ann McDevitt clinic, as it was, part-time as a bookkeeper, and rose through the ranks to become a general and financial manager. After the opportunity arose to purchase the business from Ann, as she was retiring, I took it straight away. I did that a year ago and wanted to rebrand, so we became the Wicklow Street Clinic

What does your daily routine look like?

It’s very busy day to day with the rebrand and running the daily business of the salons, but my days usually start with checking all my emails and then getting stuck into meetings. My days consist of trying to run PR, still doing the accounts and managing my team. I have an amazing team who have really gone above and beyond the call of duty; I wouldn’t be able to do it without them, they’ve been so supportive. My days are incredibly busy but I love it because I always wanted to branch out from accountancy and do more with the job I was in. Sometimes accountancy on its own can be a little boring!

What’s your favourite part of the job?

My favourite part is how rewarding it is to see clients being excited about the results of their treatment. It really makes me feel that we’re doing something worthwhile. When they tell me how happy they are with how they look, it just makes me feel like we’re doing something good. Again, we couldn’t achieve that without our team of therapists and how great they are at their job.

What’s your least favourite part?

Paying bills! Getting through the tax and the admin side of things is always tough.

What are the key skills you need to make it in your industry?

The main one I think is customer care; to listen to what your customer needs and wants from you. Another crucial thing is to be able to recognise and build a great team. You need to find the people who will go above and beyond for you and the business, and who want to achieve those big results.

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned for success in your career?

To work hard and, again, to treat your staff well, because a happy work environment transmits to happy customers every time.

Any regrets?

I really can’t say I do at the moment, but you can ask again in about five years! Right now, everything is great. It’s hard work, but I love it.

What do you wish you knew when you were starting your career?

There’s nothing I can think of. Sometimes I wish I could tell myself that you have to love your work and love what you do. You have to work hard and you have to stick to your principles. But I wouldn’t change anything about how I got here.

What’s the number one piece of advice you would give to young people starting out who want to follow in your footsteps?

I think the main thing is to love your work and be true to your principles, that’s my motto at the moment. If you don’t love your work, you won’t be happy in life. If you find yourself so unhappy about going to work every morning then something needs to change, and you need to find something that fits.