BUSINESS

What a business needs in order to develop and grow? Ideas, people and technologies are of utmost importance, but without proper spaces for goods storage and for work places for the specialists everything else would be unthinkable. In the recent years the office, industrial and logistic properties not only in Sofia, but also in Bulgaria, developed. The explanation is obvious – the Bulgarian economy is growing, largely due to manufacture, export and import, the outsourcing and IT industry.

People are important and without them the success of a company is impossible. Everyone in the field of business says that in one way or another, particularly during corporate events when managers face the employees for the usual speeches and addresses.

Language and our ability to communicate with complex linguistic structures is one of humans' defining features that separate them from other animals. But the skill to communicate, particularly when the two sides are speaking different languages, is full with underwater rocks and risks for mistakes and misunderstanding.

Modern economy is impossible without debts. They provide funding to start-ups and established companies to develop new ideas, manufacture, staff; they give individuals stability when puchashing property, goods or pursuing better education, and also provide oportunity to states to develop their economy, infrastructure, social policies. However, as with everything else, debt should be approached with care – both by the ones who offer it and the ones who seek it.

Bulgaria's advantages as a destination for holiday, spa, culture and nature tourism can hardly be disputed. But in the past few years the country has expanded its attractiveness as a conference destination as well. The positive effect of this is visible with the naked eye – it brings to the country spending visitors and generates both income and interest in other fields of Bulgarian economy and tourism.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step": the popular quote by Lao Tsu is relevant for business, too. Many of the innovations, the companies and the products that we now consider a necessity have started with a single step, a bold idea, an enthusiastic team, a lot of work and the right dose of luck.

Two clashing viewpoints dominate the discussion on contemporary Bulgaria economy. The optimistic one maintains that the country is doing well and cites as evidence the growth of the average wages, the low state debt and the low unemployment rates. The pessimistic one focuses on the continuing emigration, the drop in the direct foreign investments, and the last places Bulgaria takes in regard to income and standard of living within the EU.

We are living in an epoch in which the low-technology and high-technology become increasingly important, complement each other and sometimes clash. On the one hand, we are witnessing a revived interest in everything that can be done by hand and is made of natural materials. We plant flowers, we cook, we bake our own bread, we buy our children wooden toys, we choose organic food products and reduce our plastic use. We love to be among nature. On the other hand, however, we are entirely dependent on high technologies.

Modern economic environment is a system of complex dependencies and connections – change in one of its elements inevitably results in change in the others. The Sofia property market is not an exception. The improved economical environment in the past few years and the remarkable development of the IT and the outsourcing sector energised the market of quality office properties. An increasing number of companies in these fields arrive in Bulgaria or expand their local operations.

The managers in the company you take care off are overwhelmed by petty tasks that are way below their expertise. You have invested in a property with the idea to let it, but you lack both the time and the ability to pay the needed attention to your tenants. The block of flats where you live has difficulties with the maintenance of the shared spaces.

Your business is fine, but you want something more. You are aware that you, your employees and the market have potential, but you just cannot pinpoint where exactly to channel your experience and energy...

The problems in your company follow one after another, while you are so buried in your immediate duties to think over what is going on, why does it happen and how to solve the situation...

Speaking foreign languages has long become a necessity in the modern world. It is one thing, however, to be able to direct a foreign tourist in the street or to order a lunch while abroad. It is a completely different matter when moving to another country for work or study, expanding your business and establishing contacts with business partners beyond the borders of your own country, or organising an event with international participation.

In these and many other cases, professional translators are irreplaceable.

Regardless of the size of a business, the leaders and managers in it meet serious challenges almost at a daily basis. The character of these difficulties differ, but overcoming them inevitably brings the satisfaction of achieved results and success.

Sometimes, however, every leader and business face a problem which is hard to be solved without outside intervention. In such cases the best solution is to seek help from a professional coach.

When a big event in our life or business is coming, we have to clear dozens of details. Each of these is important for the final success and each step on this road should be made carefully and with consideration.

The sector is among the engines of the Bulgarian economy and together with outsourcing generates about 4.5 percent of this country's GDP – compared to 3.7 percent average for Europe. The employed in this field are estimated to 40,000 people, with an average salary of almost three times higher than the country average (2,700 leva per month in the IT in comparison to 1,090 leva). In Bulgaria operate more than 12,000 IT companies, specialising in more than 20 industries and fields.

In the past few years, even people sceptical about the development of modern Bulgaria started using a new word with a hint of awe: outsourcing. The concept, that is relatively recent for the country, has not only found a way in the modern vocabulary. The sector is undergoing a stable and impressive growth in this country. According to 2016 data, the average yearly increase of the IT and outsourcing industry in Bulgaria is around 2 percent. The sector makes about 3.7 percent of the GDP and according to some estimates employs 25,000 people.

Regardless of its size, not a single business can be stable and develop if its employees work without enthusiasm. This is an old truth, so old that it was identified as early as the 18th century, in the dawn of the industrial revolution.

The outside consultant is the solution. This is a professional who is a specialist in a particular field, but has the indispensable advantage of having an outsider's outlook of the situation. Thanks to this he is able to identify the problem, to offer a solution and to inspire change. The consultant is objective and is not under the influence of the company's internal dynamics. He or she can organise effective trainings of the employees, and also perform unpopular measures such as firing people.

Mastering foreign languages is an advantage in the globalised world, but it is also a huge challenge. Even polyglots – according to the Guinness World Records the first place belongs to Ziad Fazah, a Lebanese born in Liberia who claims to speak 58 languages – are not able to brave all the challenges of modern communication. The ambitious aim of creating programmes for mechanical translation, like Google Translate, is still far from perfection, as you can easily see if you try to translate a compound-complex sentence with it.

In such movies, the figure of the wise coach often has crucial role. In the critical moment, when the protagonist has lost faith and is about to give up, the coach inspires him break out of the labyrinth of self-doubt and to find a way to the right solution and ultimate victory.

Real life is neither sports ground nor a Hollywood movie, one might say. It is so. In real life, however, we have a figure to whom we can turn to when we are seeking for a solution and we cannot find it by our own. It is hardly a coincidence that this type of professional is also called a coach.