Interview with Svyatoslav Biryulin
CEO, Business Strategist, Board Member, Book Author, Senior Strategy Consultant
Non-members can read this interview story on my website. I also published a copy for my readers on Medium.com
Dear readers and writers, welcome to my new interview story, which introduces another accomplished writer whose writing impressed me greatly. I enjoy interacting with people from diverse cultures, countries, and professional backgrounds. I have been interviewing professionals for a long time.
I specifically enjoy interviewing writers. Each writer’s interview is special to me as each person is unique. My goal is to introduce them to my audience so that they can meet another interesting/relatable person on this planet and explore their work. I discussed the Importance and Remarkable Benefits of Interviews in My Professional and Personal Life.
In this interview, I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite authors,
, with whom I have collaborated on multiple platforms. His advice on strategy is invaluable to me. Mr Biryulin is also one of the 125 founding members of the Substack Mastery of ILLUMINATION Community, leveraging tier-3 services of our organization to scale up his strategy business in Europe. He recently has started to contribute to my website as a guest blogger. His book Red and Yellow Strategies was an eye-opener for me.Meet Mr. Svyatoslav Biryulin
Hi, Svyatoslav. Could you start by telling us a bit about your background?
G’day Dr Yildiz! I appreciate this opportunity, sir. I enjoy collaborating with you on multiple platforms. Like you, I come from a diverse business background.
I started as a manager and after many years of hands-on experience in different organizations and I worked my way up from various levels of the management hierarchy to CEO, a position I held for 13 years.
I led companies across various industries such as manufacturing, retail, and wholesale. In 2016, I stepped away from my corporate career to focus on board work and my own boutique consulting firm specializing in strategy consulting.
What are your hobbies, or what excites or entertains you?
I mainly enjoy cycling, hiking, and reading.
What are the top three books that affected your life?
I read so many books, but the following three made a big impression on me.
Peter Drucker, Managing For Results.
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow
Strugatsky brothers, Haard To Be God
Why do you write on Medium?
Medium is not my main writing platform anymore, but it was helpful in the beginning to find a new audience. First, I like writing. In my childhood, I dreamed about becoming a professional writer. Second, I am building my personal brand, and writing on platforms like Medium, LinkedIn, and mainly Substack is a way to achieve this goal.
I know you do well on Substack. Tell us a bit about your Substack experience! Why do you like it more than other platforms?
Substack is my primary channel for content distribution these days for various compelling reasons. Interestingly, I found it when I read a few Medium articles about it in 2022.
I like Substack very much because of the ability to control the distribution of my content, which is impossible on platforms like Medium or LinkedIn mainly managed by algorithms. On Substack, I don’t depend on constant algorithm tweaks. I can easily reach my intended audience without any gatekeepers or middlemen.
In a nutshell, I own my content and audience and take it wherever I want to. This independence is something a value a lot as a writer and content marketer for my intellectual capital.
What are your values as a writer?
As a writer, I need to:
A) deliver exceptional value for my readers who agree to invest their precious time in reading my texts and
B) I need to entertain them — to an extent. Nobody wants to read boring articles today, and most articles on business strategy are yawners.
I make my content on the topic entertaining, easy to read, and give value to my readers they need and desire.
How do you connect with your readers?
I always invite them to comment on my posts and articles, and I always answer all the comments to my best ability. I am open to criticism and value any type of feedback to improve my content and add better value to my readers.
Why did you join ILLUMINATION, and how do you find it so far?
I learned about this unique publication while taking an online course on how to write on Medium. It gives beginner authors a great chance to be read and noticed. It comprises a supportive, diverse, and wonderful community offering a great tool for beginners.
ILLUMINATION publications also support established writers allowing them to collaborate and grow together. I also appreciate the bridge ILLUMINATION creates between Medium and Substack which gives a competitive advantage to writers and help them to be more productive and proactive for their growth.
Thank you for establishing this community. I am proud to be part of it both on Medium and Substack.
What are the top five stories that you want to share with your audience and why?
I love stories in which I believe I managed to deliver a lot of value for readers. No wonder they are the most popular on Substack. I also add voice narration most readers appreciate a lot. Unfortunately, we cannot do it on Medium. Here are a few samples from my most loved stories on Substack.
Once Trusted, Then Ousted: Customers Have Fired Nike's CEO
Know Your Non-Customers
Don't Stare at the Speedometer - Look at the Road
Blue Ocean Fallacy
Goodbye, Strategic Planning
What are the success factors for you as a writer?
I still don’t see myself as a professional writer. I’m a business strategy consultant who got lucky: I need to write to build my personal brand, and I happen to really enjoy it.
But what really excites me are the growing numbers of my Substack subscribers and the reactions to my articles.
The key factors for my success as a writer are the same as for any other writer — write regularly, concisely, interestingly, and to the point.
What do you recommend to the new writers?
In one of the storytelling courses I took, I heard a very wise idea from the instructor: write not for success or money but to learn how to write. I try to follow this advice every day and work on each text to make it better than the previous one. I highly recommend everyone follow this advice.
What are your plans as a writer or as a professional?
My plans are to write two more books, run plenty of business strategy workshops, and help a few more dozen companies around the world find their path to a successful future.
Many thanks to Svyatoslav for allocating his precious time and giving us a glimpse into his interesting life. You can connect with him via his Medium account, Substack Notes, and LinkedIn Messaging. He also contributes to my websites as a guest blogger. You may check out his insightful book, which is now available on Amazon.
Red and Yellow Strategies: Flip Your Strategic Thinking and Overcome Short-termism
If you enjoyed this interview you may also check out 3 more Substack writer interviews from the following links including
, , and .
Quick Updates
Good news for writers: We made the rules much easier for writers of ILLUMINATION, former ILLUMINATION-Curated now Curated Newsletters, Synergy (Newsletter Boosting), and Technology Hits. We will update the rest soon. Here are the links:
ILLUMINATION, Curated Newsletters, SYNERGY (Newsletter Booster), and Technology Hits.
A Brief Intro to our Extending Community Bridging Medium with Substack in Innovative and Collaborative Ways
Now we have a great plan for our Substack Mastery of ILLUMINATION Community I drafted the plan on my website and look forward to your feedback and engagement.
ILLUMINATION Substack Community Support — Dr Mehmet Yildiz
This is a summary of 3-tier service offerings for creators, freelance writers, and content entrepreneurs on Substack…digitalmehmet.com
How I Architected a Charity Organization & Why I Will Run It Like a Business
Outline of my draft plan for creators, freelancers, and entrepreneurs empowered by the Substack networkmedium.com
Update on Substack Mastery Book
I recently wrote a book titled Substack Mastery. It has already become a best seller on Amazon. If you are interested, I decided to share the early version as one chapter a day for my beta readers. Here are the available chapters on this this platform which also provides free access to non-members.
Preface of “Substack Mastery” for Beta Readers, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19.
For those interested in taking their Substack to another level, here is a link where you can buy the Substack Mastery book through multiple online bookstores globally. It is also available in paperback format. I am in the process of turning it into audio and video formats too to appeal to a broad audience, as the topic is vital for freelance writers.
If you are a book author, you may try these additional publishing companies. In the next few days, my book will published on several more platforms, including Tolino via Thalia, which is one of my favorite ones in Europe, as it helped one of my books to be a best seller for 12 months.
The funds generated from this book will be donated to the management of the Substack Mastery site for the ILLUMINATION community. This education site also amplifies the newsletters of freelance writers.
I wrote about my monthly progress on eight different platforms to give an idea to fellow writers. It is an independent review and could be valuable for aspiring writers.
An In-Depth Performance Review of 8 Major Platforms I Contributed to This Month: Key Insights and…
Please explore some leading newsletters featured by ILLUMINATION-Curators in episode 12. It is an excellent collaboration tool for growing your Substack profile and newsletters.
Substack Mastery Featured Newsletters: Episode 12
Links to Previous Interview Interviews
I interviewed other writers on this platform. Clicking on the following image will allow you to easily access them. Follow the writers who resonate with you. If you are interested in being interviewed, please get in touch with me by leaving a comment on the story or DM me via Substack Notes.
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It's true that writing needs to be engaging. Especially online where things happen quickly. I'm still asking myself how I could read those treatises on quantum mechanics. Not sure I'd have the patience nowadays.
Thanks you for empowering writers with your interviews. I liked this one too.