If there is no goal, there is no success

Introduce yourself in a few words..
I am Alexa. That's what friends and close ones call me even before the analytical website ranking platform and the voice-controlled intelligent assistant from Amazon, based on artificial intelligence, which allows users to interact with technology, appeared. Now, due to the increased interest in AI, everyone finds my name very amusing. In the style of the well-known Bond, I am Alexandrova-Petrova, Alexandrina. I added the second surname to have some distinction in the names and to be more than sure that I will never fit into any administrative box.

I am a marketer. I reached this stage of my professional development in a natural way for me – I started as a reporter for a newspaper while studying PR. Then I became a specialist in digital public relations, public opinion management, social media, and performance advertising. Finally, I realized that before managing public sentiment and perception, creating or fixing an image, I need to know what the product or service is, who it is interesting for and who it is not, and what the strategy is to get it into the consumers' sight. I found that regardless of the industry, the needs of businesses are similar. I understood that companies of different sizes often suffer from the same “growth/stagnation mistakes” and this affects their work and marketing.

For the last three years, I have been involved in mentoring – for students (in ABLE Mentor) and for older people (in BASE Mentor) who want to develop their own business. I became a partner in Insurance BG, where we are making a mobile application that allows you to scan the car's registration and easily get a “Civil Liability” insurance. Of course, and all other types of insurance – health, travel, home, casco. At the moment, we are looking for investment.

I also work for a Lead Gen company – Smart ICT Solutions, which operates in five markets. The interesting thing is that the service for which the leads are delivered is highly regulated. For each country, Google and Meta have different requirements, and the legislations themselves are local.

Last but not least, although the project has lagged behind, I also have a small consulting company – Alexa Knows, where I help any business with whatever is needed.

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How would you describe your career in a few words?
Like a heartbeat. There are slower moments and more extreme ones. At first glance, it seems normal, but the more important thing is that it continues. And it evolves, changing.

What was the most important choice that shaped your path?
Every time I change my workplace, I make the most important choice. The overall most important one is that I accept challenges. How they will be evaluated in the end – after their completion, is a matter of experience and understanding. :) As we all know, good choices are a result of bad experiences, and bad experiences are a result of bad decisions.

What would you have liked to know at the beginning of your career that no one told you?
That the speed of sound may be the second strongest in the world, but it carries information with a delay of 10–15–20 years. Hahaha. Actually, my mom told me this on another occasion and in another way, but I “heard” her years later: “Listen to what they tell you.” Understanding what lies behind people's words and actions is difficult, but it helps a lot. :)

My father told me differently when I was 13: “You young people are very conservative.” Now I agree with him and I add – not only the young, but also most adults. Over the years, I have found that conservatism is directly related to the “background” – it contains experience, knowledge, skills, perspective. As my favorite boss Krasen Kostov used to say: “The background is important, Alexa, the background!”

How can a person understand which profession is suitable for them?
One way is to realize early on what they are good at and turn it into a profession. Or someone can help them with guidance, as long as they have the mind to listen. The other is to try different professions and find out where they perform well or as they would like.

In general, it is easiest to follow the rule that the “right” profession is not fixed – it adapts to and with them.

Which skills do you think will be key in the next 10 years?
Critical thinking and problem-solving, technological literacy, the ability to understand people, effective communication, respectful leadership, teamwork, creativity and adaptability, intercultural collaboration, entrepreneurial thinking, time, energy, and stress management, flexibility and resilience.

Bonus: data analysis skills, ethics in AI, working with no-code/low-code platforms, and the ability to tell stories. The last one has been key for centuries. :)

How to build a network of useful contacts without appearing interested?
By behaving normally with the person, focusing on them, not on their title. By writing to them from time to time, congratulating them on achievements, sharing useful resources, experiences, or perspectives on important topics.

What is the biggest mistake you have made in your career, and what did you learn from it?
That I rush. No matter how much I push the situation, action, people – it doesn't matter. Whatever is meant to happen will happen when everything aligns – the stars, the mood, luck, preparation, opportunity. Quick reaction is important, but there is a saying “Hurry slowly” for a reason. Well, I learned. Maybe. :)

How to recognize a toxic work environment and when is it time to leave?
I usually leave late – when my psyche has already signaled to my body and it shows that something is wrong: my hair falls out, I can't sleep, I get eczema, I am operated on for benign formations.

The toxic environment is easily recognized – when the focus is on mistakes and they are a tragedy, successes are taken as “normal” and ideas are not encouraged, decisions are made behind the scenes, and you are expected to be available 24/7.

What would you do differently if you could start over?
I would probably resist less against literature and math lessons in 6–7 grade and have better results on the exams. I would enter another school that might have given me a different perspective.

Since life does not offer this opportunity, I will focus on dreaming more and developing, so that it is interesting and fun for me. After all – we work with what we have.

How to maintain our motivation during times of stagnation?
By accepting that we cannot have motivation continuously. When something is important, discipline helps. If that doesn't help either, changing the perspective usually works. Conversations with people, reading, listening to books, or watching movies also yield results.

In extreme cases, if we have no motivation for one thing, we certainly have for another – we can just use the time.

How to achieve a balance between professional and personal life?
Balance is not like equal plates on a scale. It is more like juggling with several balls – you hold two, the others are in the air, and the goal is not to let them fall. There is no real balance – we pay attention to what is important at the moment, then to something else.

When is it time to change our career, not just the job?
When you feel that “this is not for you,” you have no desire to develop, you do not follow the news, you do not want to learn, it seems repetitive and meaningless to you.

Changing careers is necessary when you are ready to start over with something that makes sense to you, and when the fear of change is less than the pain of staying.

If you had to give just one piece of advice to people seeking success, what would it be?
Success is different for everyone, but it is always related to a goal. If there is no goal, there is no success. My advice is: set a goal (or more), define the conditions for success and the assessment – what is the price, the time, and the compromises.

What is your definition of a “successful career”?
When it combines meaning and inner satisfaction, growth and development, recognition and influence – without “eating” your life.