From New Zealand to Finland – Johanna Hattingh´s journey

Johanna Hattingh sits down at the cafeteria’s table and smiles. Wintertime in Finland is chilly and a bit grey, but still, she is smiling. Johanna lived in New Zealand and worked as a culture and development advisor, coaching in business life and adult education. She lived peacefully with her husband, who got an interesting job opportunity far from New Zealand. Johanna and her husband discussed how to handle the situation and decided to try living separately, Johanna at home and her husband in Tammela, Finland.

– We both think that this will be a great opportunity. I will stay behind and keep everything going. I’ll visit Finland, and we’ll travel in Europe, Johanna says.

And then, just after two months, the COVID-19 pandemic happened, and New Zealand closed its borders completely. Johanna and her husband were in a difficult situation; her husband couldn’t come back to New Zealand, and Johanna couldn’t leave.

Jump to the Unknown

Johanna’s family was separated for three years during the pandemic. They had to make a decision about what to do in the future. They decided to sell their home in New Zealand, buy a one-way flight ticket for Johanna, and pack all their memories and important belongings. After three years of separation, the family was whole again, and they built their new home in Tammela, near nature and Finnish peace.

Johanna started her new life in Tammela and began to think about what to do in Finland. She wanted to use her previous knowledge and work history, and after a few months in Finland, she started her own business. She wanted to use her expertise in coaching and how coaching and empowering people can improve the quality of business life.

– I’m privileged and grateful for where I am now. I wanted to continue coaching in Finland because when you see people change in front of your eyes, just because they hear themselves think and find their own perfect sense. So that is why I landed on the Human Hub and started to provide coaching services in Finland as well.

Living in Finland

Johanna has lived in Finland for three years now. She started to study Finnish and integrate into the community and culture. Johanna thinks that the Finnish language is extremely difficult to learn, and she has studied for three years now and can help herself with it already. Johanna and her husband are really big nature lovers; they love to hike, bike, and walk around, especially in the summertime. In wintertime, they go for walks and breathe the crispy winter air.

Johanna started her own consulting business, the Human Hub, last April. Johanna says that she thinks ”ignorance is bliss,” and she just jumped into entrepreneurship. But were there some difficulties in starting her business?

– Of course, I faced some problems at first, like how to register the business name and understanding taxation was interesting.

Johanna used a lot of time to reflect and figure out what is meaningful for her. During her over half a year in Finland, she has already started to study Finnish and connect with other entrepreneurs. She also joined the Entrepreneurs Society to find connections and network. She has started to help international talents and their spouses with knowledge, giving and sharing her experiences, and coaching them. The main goal is to help them make things easier, integrate into society, and get a sense of belonging.

Johanna could say that she is an expert in how to integrate into a new environment. She really understands what international talents and their spouses and families feel when they come to Finland and everything is new. Finnish culture is different, and Finns have different habits, and understanding a culture better is sometimes difficult. That is why Johanna loves to coach international talents.

Future

Johanna believes that she can make a difference in people’s lives.  The content Johanna delivers in her workshops is different from what others offer.  Johanna has done research of the needs of people coming to Finland, resulting in the carefully curated content. She believes in helping people by coaching and raising their awareness and knowledge of self.