The path from the first salary of 68 leva to entrepreneurship and innovations

Introduce yourself in a few sentences..

My name is Leona Aslanova and I professionally engage in digital projects, innovations and business development, educational projects and recently with my own media.

What did you dream of becoming in your childhood?

As a child, I wanted to become a journalist, then I distanced myself from that profession for years, and now I am hesitating.

At what age did you earn your first money? Tell us about an interesting incident?

At the age of 18, I was already working as an intern journalist. Then I changed several fields and careers before reaching entrepreneurship and innovations. I don’t know if this is interesting in the context of Bulgaria’s acceptance into the Eurozone, but my very first salary, according to the pay slip I still keep, was 68 leva.

What are the main factors and examples that shape us as individuals at an early age and form our interests? What is your recipe for curiosity, sources and wells of information and inspiration at this stage of our human development?

The combination of family environment, school environment, and friends is what closes the early circle of influence. (Today, both the media and social media have a huge influence, but it wasn’t like that in my childhood). Depending on the degree and strength of this influence, each person forms their early value system and perceptions and expectations for life and the world. I am from the generation that grew up with a carefree childhood, a lot of sports and outdoor time, surrounded by books and high culture.

Today I continue to read a lot and I am diving deeper into classical music, and children and young people inspire me more than ever.

Has there been any significant change in your perceptions in your mature age about what motivates you to do or not do something?

Of course. At different stages of life, a person works for different reasons - to learn, for income, for fame, for convenience, to have something to do, to develop. Today I work on what interests me, gives me satisfaction and joy. I am consciously ready to sacrifice higher incomes - for the feeling of economic and social freedom, personal time and space, and joy from work.

Whose decision was it where to pursue higher education and what to study? Was this decision correct, viewed from today’s perspective?

My parents tried to “push” me each in their direction. My mother - towards law, my father - towards journalism. I chose “Bulgarian Philology” at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” as my first major because of my love for the discipline, the language, and literature in their entirety. At a later stage, it turned out that this education “was not enough” for the field of activity in which I was developing, and I supplemented it with economics and business administration.

Share more about your interests, knowledge, skills and hobbies?

There is nothing that does not interest me. I love the saying “boring people are bored”, because for me it’s exactly the opposite - I am curious about all professions and I want to learn every discipline. I am more conservative with my hobbies - I do a lot of sports and I am a passionate dedicated amateur gardener.

Would you change your profession today and which fields of activity capture your interest?

Yes. I am convinced that I will choose different professions at least 3-4 more times, because that’s how I am structured - diversity keeps me in better shape. If the public sector in Bulgaria changes favorably, I see my development in the future there; if it continues to degrade and deconstruct, as the institutional activity and reputation of Bulgaria devaluate - hardly. At the moment, I am fully dedicated to the development of our media project - NewDay.BG, which is innovative, relevant, and different from all other media in our country.

They say that personal branding is everything that people say about you, when you are not in the same room with them. What would you like to hear today?

I am not interested in what people say behind my back. I don’t know if I want to hear it or rather to be known, but it is that I have a personal critical opinion that I want to express freely, and anyone who cannot accept hearing a freely expressed opinion should not enter my personal circle, because they will be affected. I “suffer” from the lack of so-called soft skills by my own choice. I do not like polite communication turned into servility or hypocrisy; I do not approve of false compliments that hide true thoughts; I do not value hiding one’s own opinion out of fear or in search of conformity and benefit - I strongly respect people with their own position that is not a fleeting whim, but a complete expression of their personality and value system. People who consistently, purposefully, and genuinely fight for their beliefs with words and deeds.

Emotional intelligence, adaptability, and flexibility, as well as our soft skills are key conditions for success in recent years. How do you cope with the daily challenges of life to stay in good shape and mood?

I think I answered the first part of the question with the previous comment. In my opinion, social-emotional skills and emotional intelligence do not overlap as concepts. In the context of professional success, it is important for an entrepreneur to be able to choose their environment well - ecosystem, clients, partners with whom to work. My mood is maintained by my family and the work I love to do - working with young people, new ideas, projects and events, selecting which news is important and which is insignificant. This also applies to the people I surround myself with - in my closest circle they are particularly special, fighting, socially responsible, and innovative, like me.

What are the most important conclusions you have made so far about maintaining proper communication considering the different characters of the people you meet daily - colleagues, friends, close ones?

My general conclusion about communicating with people is to not engage in communication that is not benevolent. Everything else is details.

What do you think about money? What is their influence on your life? What is your advice to people who often ask themselves questions related to money and how sufficient they are?

I don’t have a particular opinion and I often quote my favorite saying: “any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem, but an expense”. I do not view money as something to accumulate, but like any parent, I want the best possible education and life for my children, so I invest in that.

What is the most valuable career advice you would give to people?

To turn what they truly love to do into their work and profession. This way they will work on what they like, and if you “burn” in what you are doing, it always shows.