Vision of Entrepreneurship

"The Entrepreneurship is the engine of economic development and an opportunity for the creation of new working places. Development of specialisation among employees in particular activities is important too. You should create normal working conditions. Entrepreneurship also includes raising the living standards."

How I became an enterpreneur?

" As soon as the Government opened the door for entrepreneurship. I registered the SOF CAO Company, rented premises, hired specialists, and started up a manufacturing of products, firstly, manually and in small quantities. After learning market demand and requirements, and, as soon as we gained our own clients, we bought new French and Belgian machines of medium class and expanded our manufacturing capacity. Several month later, we gained new exporters from Georgia and Macedonia, who became our clients, too."

Message for the 21st century

"Let us have a Century without wars and starving children, have a clean natural environment and provide many more opportunities for entrepreneurs. Let SOF CAO become a leader in the production of chocolate sweets and luxurious candy boxes with a team of best specialist in the world."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"I consider that Entrepreneurship should fulfil one's dream for independence, self-esteem, professionalism, honesty, hard and successful work with benefits both for the entrepreneur, as well as for the society as whole."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"Following social and economic changes in my country, including the collapse of the former socialist economy, I decided to have an independent professional and business position, and together with my partners, established a private company for production and sale of essential oils and natural aromatics, in 1992."

Message for the 21st century

"I wish that all people on the Earth live in a much better, free, open, safer, just and friendly world. Of course, the realisation of this goal needs a lot of dedication, but it is worth working for it."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

" The key factors are: enthusiasm, devotion, self-confidence, focus and a little bit of luck."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"I have always wanted to control my own destiny and my future. The democratic changes in Bulgaria found me as a researcher in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The changing conditions gave me a chance to set up a company, one of the first advertising agencies in our country. The market was still virgin: there was a great opportunity, but also a great risk at the same time. It was luck and challenge, too."

Message for the 21st century

" World is changing. Business is changing. Professions are changing. People have to change too. Let be more people than machines. Let preserve the human values."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

" Honest relationship."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"I have continued to accumulate and utilise my market experience since 1989."

Message for the 21st century

"Peace & Love."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"Opportunity for realisation of your personal interest through practical implementation of your ideas. Opportunity to provide and fulfil economic perspective through well-planned and considered decisions."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"I grabbed an opportunity for free enterprise initiative and quitted my job at the National Social Security Institute. I chose the textile and clothes making. Besides my personal interest and skills in this area, I had another reason: I considered that clothing, together with food and accommodation, is one of the basic necessities, that determine the standards of living of the majority of people. Beside that, I managed to build up a team of outstanding specialists, who have provide me with support I needed."

Message for the 21st century

"I dream that business in the 21st Century will be carried out with a positive approach. Let everyone use our strength and emphasise the quality of work and honesty in earning. I wish more faith in success: "One person with a faith is equal to ninety-nine, who are only interested", as John Stewart Mill stated."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"Major features of entrepreneurship include the following: developing and applying personal creative skills and ideas of the ENTREPRENEUR; building a team of competent managers, specialists and skilled workers, meeting the quality requirements, discipline, high efficiency and loyalty to the company; personal involvement of entrepreneurs in the creative design and profound knowledge of the production process; gradual, step-by-step expansion of the production capacity and continuous reinvestment in and improvement of equipment and working environment. My motto is: "Only the best if best is enough."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"I graduated as a chemical engineer. For many years, I had been working as the Head of a large R&D Laboratory in Bio-Chemical Analyses. In 1996, with the support of my husband, who owned a meat/processing firm, I established my fashion house. I started only with 5 machines, making boutique clothes ordered by our clients and collection for fashion shows. My pleasure was to create beauty as a designer of the company and the image of our high quality work gave me the courage to start up the production of ready-to-wear clothes. Soon, I received my first orders from Germany and Italy. Now our production capacity rose to 5,000 clothes per month. The tendency is to increase our capacity, and we are now opened to a co-operation with foreign partners."

Message for the 21st century

"LET EVERYONE OF US HAS A CHANCE AND STRENGTH TO BEGIN LIVING IN THE FULFILMENT OF OUR HIGHEST DREAMS. Let the beauty of the spirit and talent be preserved in the well-organised and technologically advanced global society, where all levels of competence and all social categories are united. Let us be tolerant towards the people, capable of programming their success, because they are the engine of progress. I believe that in the 21st Century, the mankind continues using a huge part of its energy for accumulating spiritual and material values. I believe that the impulse to experiment, discover and excel will not stop, and we all will maintain our dignity in all circumstances."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"Loyalty towards partners and clients, flexibility of production, application of new technologies."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"The economic changes in the 1990s in Bulgaria gave me a chance to fulfil my ambitions and use my creative spirit. So, I made it, I built it up and now I direct it."

Message for the 21st century

"Even in the 21st Century, the client remains God."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"Entrepreneurship is the ability to develop, manage and market high quality and competitive products."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"I found power, belief and energy for starting up a micro-enterprise only with three employees, at the beginning of the dramatic change in my country. For the next three years, our enterprise expanded, and the number of employees increased up to 60 people."

Message for the 21st century

"Let us create more jobs and have more well-dressed women."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"The main purposes of the factory management are as following: (i) to increase the production range; (ii) to design and produce new models of toys and products; (iii) to improve quality management and to obtain ISO 9001 certificate; and (iv) to find and penetrate new markets in the world."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"I am an engineer of furniture production, and I obtained a Diploma in Business Management, too. I worked in a factory as a technologist, constructor, Head of the Construction Department, and in human resources. In 1997, I became the Chief Manager of the VELLI 91 Ltd."

Message for the 21st century

"Even if you do not believe in wonders and fairy tales, you could still see the toys produced by VELLI 91, coming alive in the hands of children."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"Efficient co-ordination and use of all resources for achieving particular goals related to the development and management of company. Being perfectly informed about the existing conditions in the macro- and micro-environment, quick and adequate reaction to each change, aiming at the company's establishment as a leader in its field, as well as the acquisition of new market niches and their subsequent development and enlargement."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"I had a great ambition and strong will to develop the company, which I represent."

Message for the 21st century

"Let us offer our customers products of high and guaranteed quality."

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"An Entrepreneur has to possess the following qualities:an optimistic and personal look; to be calm and composed, self-reliant and have a firm belief in her own decisions and actions; to have good manners and education, good communication skills and ability to listen everybody; to be a sophisticated person; to know how to introduce and present her company and products and to persuade the audience; to be able to analyse every situation and to take a quick and right decision; to determine priorities and based on marketing information to determine the right company strategy; to be able to formulate tasks clearly and to allocate work correctly; to be sensitive towards her staff; to appreciate and respect the work of every one of her staff and to encourage the initiative; to resist panic and failure, and to find an alternative; to think and encourage innovation; to determine correct rules of behaviour and style of work in the company and stick to these rules; to be patient and stable in her behaviour; to be able to evaluate people and determine their abilities; to follow the main principles of business and to demand the same from her staff; and to have a courage to accept criticism and to be ready to adjust herself."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"After graduating from the University of National and World Economy in 1987, I worked as a Manager in an international trade organization between 1988-1992. In 1992, I established my own company "MILDEX" Ltd that dealt with export of Bulgarian foods and cosmetic products. In 1994, I registered some trademarks, and signed a Contract for the production of the first toothpaste of the MILDEX. In 1996, I made a decision to establish my own production facilities for production of cosmetics. In 1997, we started with investing in a factory for production of cosmetic products just with three laboratories. The period between 1996-1998 was the most important for building up my organisation, developing proper managerial skills, hiring staff, making decisions, dealing with financial matters, etc. In 1998, the factory began to produce regularly. At the same time, ten trademarks were registered. Between January and May of 1998, the factory launched the production of 16 new products Meanwhile, I also registered another patent on herbal toothpaste named Bilka, which was awarded with the golden medal at an International Exhibition during the same year."

Message for the 21st century

"Let us join forces and create together a better, more beautiful and more humane world for our children"

Vision of Entrepreneurship

"It is relatively easy to become an entrepreneur. You must have a dream, be willing to take risks, be ready to work sixteen hours a day, learn quickly on your mistakes, make compromises, but at the same time, be self-disciplined. On the other hand, to develop and grow is a difficult task. You must not only work hard and make sacrifices, you must not take unnecessary risks - so many depend on you - family, staff, clients, and suppliers. Every day is a learning experience. Mistakes can drive you out of business. You must not compromise quality. It is much better to suffer a loss, than undermine your brand image. And what is even harder is to carry out duties of a wife and mother, while at the same time striving to become a successful entrepreneur. You must double your efforts, dream more passionately but what real happiness is this is to be in charge of your own destiny."

How I became an enterpreneur?

"In 1987, I graduated from the Faculty of Fashion and Textile Design of the National Academy of Arts. For a few years, I worked as a teacher in Fine Arts and in the National Television. Parallel to this, I was making clothes for my kids and some friends. With the changes in the socio-economic and political regime in 1990 and during the boom of the emerging private sector, I decided to set up my own company, primarily for the domestic market. At the beginning, I started with 5 employees. As the company continues to build up its image and reputation, we established contacts with small retailers in more than 30 towns throughout the country. The company became popular with the products for child art groups, choirs and school uniforms. The participation in the International Fair in Plovdid, Leipzig, Vienna and Frankfurt helped us to establish contacts with Western European companies, and we began to export under our own brand name in 1995. My dream to become a Master of my own destiny and be able to fulfil all my desires came true and, at present, it is not only a satisfaction, but also a high responsibility for my employees, clients and colleagues."

Message for the 21st century

"Women can do it! You need to have a dream, to work hard and to love what you do! Our life is in our own hand. Combining imagination, persistence, clear goals, we could make a better life for our children and ourselves."