Remus Bălan: From Corporate Career to Systematic and Profitable Entrepreneurship

Remus Bălan, entrepreneur and accredited business mentor, shares insights on leadership, business systems, entrepreneurial mindset, and building profitable, sustainable companies.

Remus Bălan has been, since 2012, an Entrepreneur, Licensed Trainer, and Accredited Business Mentor. He has specialized in profitable sales growth, business scaling, and freeing entrepreneurs from day-to-day operations. With a focus on implementation, practical application, and results, he has helped more than 550 entrepreneurs from over 54 fields of activity to profitably develop their businesses through systematization and sales growth. Remus Bălan is an engineer by profession, but has the soul of an entrepreneur. He started his entrepreneurial journey in Braşov during his university years, distributing products brought by sailors from Constanţa. After graduation, he was employed for 20 years in management positions at 4 multinational companies and 2 Romanian companies with nationwide operations. In parallel, he developed several businesses in various fields of activity.

He is co-author of 6 books, author of the books “Nu mânca broasca” and “Nu mânca broasca, antreprenorule!” and of the business blog “BIZIQ BOOSTER”. Together with his son, he created the videocast “1440 – Make Every Minute Matter.” He created and delivered more than 12 programs dedicated to entrepreneurs and their teams – the latest of these programs is ANUL DE 3 LUNI, in which he works with entrepreneurs on the development of the fundamental system for profitable business operations. Among the other signature programs are: “Fluxul continuu al clienților”, “Disciplina banilor” and “Business Booster”. He is Co-Owner of the BIZZ.CLUB Bucharest master franchise, one of the most dynamic entrepreneurial communities in Romania and Europe.

C&B: If we were to look at a narrative thread of your career, what were the key moments that defined you?

Remus Bălan: The first key period is when I was involved in high-performance sports. Between the ages of 10 and 16, I was a rugby player. The culture of this sport, the coach, and my teammates defined my character and decisively influenced my life.

The second period was during university (1986-1991). I engaged in trade based on a model I invented at the time, which I later encountered within corporations after the revolution. Additionally, I formed friendships that last to this day – we meet annually in different parts of the country and stay in permanent contact with most of my colleagues. With some of them, I even collaborate on a professional, business level.

Though short, the period working as an engineer in an auto service right after university showed me that this wasn’t what I was good at and that my career needed to go in another direction.

The period spent in corporations, meaning 20 years, allowed me to develop professionally, grow my knowledge, and improve my skills in a way I wouldn’t have achieved otherwise. As in university, I built lasting relationships. I have former colleagues and friends all over the country.

And as an entrepreneur in the field of entrepreneurial education, what can I say? I am constantly redefining myself. The contexts I find myself in every day challenge me to develop, learn, excel, and build permanent relationships.

I absolutely love what I do, and I believe my entire path has been a contribution to what I need to become to maintain my current pleasure and fulfillment. And it will continue the same way; the journey goes on.

C&B: What has been the most difficult moment so far in your journey and how did you overcome it?

Remus Bălan: In 2012, I made the step from employee to entrepreneur after 20 years of working in corporations.

Practically, I started the business with an employee mindset. Although I had been a manager and my role was to help entrepreneurial partners develop their businesses, being an entrepreneur is something else entirely.

You also asked how I overcame this obstacle: I made mistakes, I learned, and I paid both for the mistakes and for what I learned. In the end, what helped me most was applying to my own business exactly what I teach my clients to apply to theirs. Half-joking, half-serious, I often say, “It’s a good thing I attend my own courses; I always learn something.”

2018 was the turning point. Very difficult, I was on the verge of bankruptcy. For 6 years I struggled—sometimes growing, sometimes crashing the business. I worked chaotically; I had countless ideas, started many, and finished few. I was like the shoemaker with broken boots.

Then, at the end of 2018, being at the bottom of the abyss, I “woke up” and decided to work systematically. Since then, we’ve been heading upwards. I developed my entrepreneurial mindset and I work continuously to improve both how I operate the business and my skills.

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, regardless of obstacles?

Remus Bălan: I have always had an ambition or a dream; they drove me “into battle.” However, there were several, and they differed depending on the period of my life.

They all hit obstacles… it’s natural for it to be that way. My mindset is that it doesn’t matter how big the obstacles are; they are given to us to strengthen us. And perhaps to test us, to help us understand if and how suited we are for those ambitions or dreams.

As an employee, I had the ambition to become a top manager. I succeeded. Then I realized that wasn’t what I wanted in my professional life.

Now, as an entrepreneur, I have the ambition to create a system that simultaneously generates value for clients while allowing me to work only 3 days a week, maximum 6 hours a day. I’m still working on this; I’ve made very good progress, but I still have a way to go to reach my dream. I feel this dream is like the horizon: the closer I get, the more I realize there is more to be done, and it moves further away. I like this; it means we always have work to do on this dream.

I dreamed of emigrating to Canada; I did it in the early 2000s and returned after 4 months – we would have adapted, but it wasn’t for us.

Then I dreamed of retiring to Spain, and this summer we are moving – we aren’t emigrating, but we will spend more time there traveling. I will continue to serve Romanian entrepreneurs in Romania and everywhere else, just that for a period, I will do it most of the time from elsewhere.

I also had dreams I didn’t fulfill – that’s life. I consider they weren’t the right dreams for me, and I took the necessary lessons.

By far the greatest ambition and the biggest dream were – and are – related to my relationship with my son. We are doing well, very well; we have moved beyond the father-son bond that naturally leads to generational conflict. Of course, it doesn’t disappear, but we are friends, partners, and mentors for each other.

Oh, and one more thing. I’ve been a Liverpool FC fan since I was a kid, around 9-10 years old, and I had the ambition to get to Anfield. It’s extremely difficult, but I’ve succeeded 3 times. Once I even attended an official dinner where the late great goalkeeper Ray Clemence took part – one of my childhood idols – on the lot, when I played in goal, I was Clemence.

C&B: What were you like at the beginning of the journey and how do you feel you have transformed up to the present?

Remus Bălan: At the beginning of the journey, I was slimmer and more handsome.

Some things have changed, obviously. Back then, I had more certainties. Now I have only one: that it is possible for things to be different than I know.

Back then, I lost my temper quickly; now I am wiser, calmer.

Back then, I worked even 20 hours a day; now I value the harmony between career and personal life. With an emphasis on the latter.

At the beginning of the journey, ambitions were directed toward the career; practically, I lived exclusively to develop it. Now I consider the business – or the career – to be just a tool that finances my personal life.

And the kicker is, back then I wanted to retire at 40. Now I want to never retire, to always have something to do to maintain the harmony between the two aspects of life. As I said, I’ve become wiser.

On the other hand, many things have remained the same. My values are the same, and over time I have polished the behaviors that demonstrate them.

I really enjoy the journey I’ve traveled, which has constantly offered me something new. I don’t know how it happened that you are interviewing me right now; I consider myself to be at a new beginning: I’ve made several changes in the business, and we are moving to Spain. Let’s talk again in a few years to see how I’ve evolved.

C&B: If we were to meet your collaborators, what do you think they would say about you?

Remus Bălan: That I have integrity. That everything I feel, say, and do is aligned. That everything is based on my experience and expertise. I don’t speak from books or podcasts. That I also do what I recommend others to do through the prism of my career. But also my personal life. That they can rely on me because I am a man of my word and I value our relationship. That I am empathetic and firm at the same time. That I am a good professional and a person with a love for people. That I also have my own things to improve – I won’t say which; let them say it.

C&B: What is the most important decision you have made that changed your trajectory?

Remus Bălan: Every decision was important at its time because it contributed at least 1 degree to changing the trajectory. Regarding the one that contributed the most, I mentioned it above: the transition from a career as an employee in corporations to the status of an entrepreneur.

I am among those who reject the idea that multinationals oppress you, squeeze you, and then throw you away. They are not responsible for these actions, but each of us – we either put ourselves in such a context or we find solutions for ourselves.

They helped me develop, and I am grateful to them. I am glad I worked in corporations because those environments amplified my qualities and taught me to improve my skills. I am 100% convinced that without the corporate experience, I would have been a weaker entrepreneur and professional than I am today.

What I lacked in corporations, I later found in entrepreneurship. Now I have much more freedom in all areas of life. But also more responsibility – and that gives me energy because it is one of my values.

Everything I do now is at a higher level compared to corporations. I know it sounds paradoxical to talk about a higher level from the position of a small business when comparing myself to a corporation. But for me, it is so: now I am 100% responsible for everything. And that positions me at the next level.

As I said, I took many models from corporations. I adapted them and now apply them to myself and my clients. And that raises my responsibility to the maximum level. Joys and troubles likewise. All feelings are much more intense now. Relationships are more durable. Time has much greater value. Everything is at a higher level.

C&B: How did you build your leadership style or the way you make decisions? Was it a natural process or a learned one?

Remus Bălan: Firstly, through modeling my leaders. From some, I learned how to do it; from others, how not to do it. However, I was lucky to have more leaders from the first category than the second.

The second way I defined my leadership style was through study and learning, application, and feedback.

I believe, however, that I also have some natural inclination. I say this because throughout my life, trust has been placed in me and I received leadership positions before I was conscious that I could do it. Regardless, without learning, focusing on results, and effort to improve, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Talent is a gift. If you rely only on it, you remain forever a prospect and achieve nothing valuable.

C&B: What does an ordinary day look like for you now, and what moments of the day bring you the most satisfaction?

Remus Bălan: I am very happy to say that I have earned the right to wake up when I want. By nature, I am an “owl.” Naturally, I go to bed late and wake up late. Unfortunately – for me – society is built for “larks.” It was a struggle for so many years to wake up early to go to work.

Well, starting in 2012, I developed my business so that I can wake up sometime between 7:30 and 8:00. Until 10:00 is my time. I drink coffee with my life partner, do a Sudoku or two, read something interesting (from a book or the net), do some morning exercise.

At 10:00 is my first peak of energy, and only then do I start activity. That’s also when I schedule the first training or coaching sessions. I cannot afford to give my clients anything less than my maximum; that’s why I start sessions after this hour.

I work according to the Pomodoro model adapted to my time intervals – I take a 5-10 minute break every 50-60 minutes worked. Sometimes I work an hour and a half and take a slightly longer break.

At lunch, I take 30-40 minutes off. Sometimes I even take a nap – the so-called “power nap” of 20-30 minutes. And just like that, an hour passes without work.

After lunch, I have other coaching/mentoring or training sessions. Or various meetings. Usually, I finish at 18:00, but sometimes (and I want to change this) I start training sessions at 17:00 or 18:00; they last about 2 hours, and I feel I’ve already invaded my personal time.

Depending on the period, I replace the afternoon coaching sessions with writing, filming, or creating programs.

Obviously, there are also days with a different schedule, especially those when I go to BIZZ CLUB, our business networking club. Or when I have training at some company. On those days, I wake up earlier. Everything is OK; I can energize myself for a few days in a row even at the early hours of the morning.

At the end of the day, we go for a walk or a bike ride, to a show, on a visit, to a dinner with friends, or we simply end the evening watching a series.

The plan is to gradually reduce the work week to 4 days, then to 3, with a schedule from 10:00-18:00, then 10:00-16:00. And in our free time, to travel. As I said, I am working on this; it is my main objective in both areas: professional and personal.

C&B: What values or principles guide you in what you do and how do you apply them day by day?

Remus Bălan: For me, values are not just fancy words that sound good to be expressed pompously on a website. I am convinced that values are demonstrated through actions, through our daily behaviors.

I have 5 core values, the same in business and in personal life. Through them, I filter everything I do, all the opportunities that arise, and all the decisions I make. I choose my partners from those who have similar values.

GROWTH – From everything I do and don’t do, I extract at least one important lesson and decide when and how to apply it. Every day I am 1% better than the previous day.

EXCELLENCE – Every day I perform to the maximum of my abilities. I am far from being perfect (nor do I ever want to reach the belief that I am). However, in every interaction with clients (external and internal), I give the maximum of what I can give at that moment. For excellence, there is no substitute.

RESPONSIBILITY – I take responsibility for all my actions and non-actions, for my results, and for the consequences caused. I constantly seek solutions to the challenges and obstacles encountered.

COMMUNITY – Our success is measured by the value we leave behind us. I contribute to improving the lives of people in the communities where I live through non-formal education activities (offering time, energy, and know-how).

INTEGRITY – Everything I think, say, and do is aligned with my values and beliefs. We do ethical business and collaborate only with clients and partners who align with our culture.

C&B: What do you think differentiates your business or your professional approach from the rest of the industry?

Remus Bălan: There are two major things:

1. My programs follow a flow. My clients have businesses that are struggling for survival. That is, they don’t have clear systems, and therefore they are involved in all the actions and decisions of the business. Sales and profits are unpredictable, sometimes even non-existent. Unfortunately, most want to scale this state, which creates even more challenges for them. I focus on stabilization before scaling. We first work on implementing the THE 3-MONTH YEAR system (operating the business based on quarterly objectives and results), then we set up the marketing-sales process with all the profitable growth strategies, and the third step is related to financial discipline. These are the 3 fundamental systems. Only then do we enter the Business Booster program where we prepare for scaling.
2. The focus is on results. On practical implementation. Theory is available everywhere, but only correct implementation and consistent execution make the difference. Together with the entrepreneurs, my clients, we keep the focus on the desired long-term results and, simultaneously, on the short-term processes and results that lead us to those desired in the future.

I consider my success is given by the success of my clients. This is why I work with them; we put our shoulders together for their success. That’s why I only get involved in projects where I believe we can achieve results together.

C&B: What development plans do you have for the coming years?

Remus Bălan: I can work with as many entrepreneurs as my time and energy allow. However, the methods I have developed and refined can help many, many more Romanian entrepreneurs.

That is why my plan is to prepare a team of 3-5 collaborators to do what I do now. Practically, I will scale the business. For this, I am working to set up all the systems that allow us to multiply the current effort. And, why not, to increase the quality of the services we offer.

In addition to the main line of business, we will open another one dedicated to young entrepreneurs. I want to support them in starting correctly on their entrepreneurial journey and developing their businesses as they should. So they don’t make the mistakes that cost us money, time, and even health.

I believe that a healthy entrepreneurial environment offers benefits to everyone, not just entrepreneurs. Healthy businesses contribute to the budget, provide jobs, and raise the standard of living in the whole society. We too are better off in a good environment. We don’t get health by waiting for support from the Government or from other parts. We are the only ones responsible and the only ones capable of building this good environment for ourselves.

Is it hard? It’s not easy… But that’s exactly what drives us into battle, gives us energy to go forward. It’s encouraging that in Romania there are more of us who want this and are doing something concrete for it.

Therefore, future efforts will go toward multiplying our contribution to the profitable and healthy development of the entrepreneurial environment. I am firmly convinced that we will succeed.

C&B: If you were to convey a message to the people who follow your example, what would that be?

Remus Bălan: There are 3 things I want to convey:

1. In life and in career, you either grow or you go downhill – even if you don’t realize it. Apply what Steve Jobs said: “Stay foolish, stay hungry”. That helps you grow. And surround yourself with similar people. But remember that you are the only one responsible for your fulfillment.
2. Career is only a part of life. Of course, it’s important to perform in your career, but it’s only a tool that finances our personal life. Harmony (not balance) between the two doesn’t come from somewhere; we create it. Give great value to your life and your time.
3. Objectives are very important. However, the process is more important. Certainly, it gives us greater satisfaction. Keep one eye on the objectives and both eyes on the process. Enjoy the journey.

Remus Bălan’s journey is living proof that entrepreneurial success is not about luck, but about clarity, discipline, and ownership. From high-performance sports to corporate leadership and ultimately entrepreneurship, each stage has shaped a mature and grounded perspective on business and life.
With a strong focus on systems, implementation, and measurable results, Remus continues to actively contribute to the development of a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem in Romania. His work demonstrates that profitable businesses can support not only financial performance, but also a fulfilled life, lived in harmony with personal values. The journey continues, and its impact grows through those who choose to apply, not just to know.