The true leader does not only look at the results — they see the people behind them

Introduce yourself in a few sentences – who are you today as a person, professional, and woman?

My name is Slavyanka Stoykova and I am an ambassador for the initiative International Women’s Day Entrepreneur in Bulgaria, which we celebrate for the 7th consecutive year here. In the remaining time, I am an entrepreneur and owner of a company for the import and distribution of professional cosmetics and a training center.

How does an entrepreneurial lady feel when International Women’s Day Entrepreneur arrives? What does this day mean for you personally and professionally?

For me, this initiative is associated with particular excitement because I remember the day I received the proposal, the reflections, the exchanged emails. It is also connected to my personal story; in fact, we celebrated the initiative for the first time less than a month after my son was born, so every November is a very intense and special month for me - it starts and ends with a holiday.

Professionally – this initiative has brought me many contacts with interesting and captivating personalities, made me more structured so that I can combine the responsibilities related to it, and more aware because it is connected with numerous causes, community, and support.

When you are part of such a community, you feel connected. I am grateful for this opportunity.

What did you dream of as a child? Is there anything from those dreams that still drives you forward?

My childhood was nice, but filled with the challenges of the transition. I remember my family's difficulties in providing a good education for me and my brother, even sometimes to feed us. I am a big dreamer in general, but I cannot say that I dreamed of success or being an entrepreneur. I knew that I was smart, that I was consistent and curious, and that I would have a good and peaceful life. Today I have achieved it.

Gradually, I am also realizing my dream from my teenage years, namely to give to people and society. In fact, this dream of mine is already at the core of my decision to become an entrepreneur and to manage my own business. I wanted to create goods that I could share with those who have not received the same opportunities and chances in life.

 

How did Your entrepreneurial journey begin? Do you remember your first steps, the emotions, and the difficulties back then?

It probably started like for most entrepreneurs – I took risks. I had just graduated from my first education and had been an employee until that moment, but I wanted more responsibilities, growth, and the company I worked for did not have the opportunity for that. I had already realized that I worked more than my colleagues; I just didn’t understand why I should waste my time on gossip and coffee breaks. I had more interesting activities like learning something new, for example.

During this period, I met my future partner and the person I now realize was one of my first mentors – Fabio Patuso. He saw the potential in me and gave me the opportunity to start a business together in the field of cosmetics.

There were many difficulties, but they were mainly due to my still unrefined personality and my inexperience and ignorance. For some of them, I had Fabio's support; in others, I made mistakes, and that’s how I learned.

What challenges did you face at the beginning, and which taught you the most?

Perhaps two were the main challenges I had to overcome – myself in terms of responsibility, realizing that everything is in my hands – both success and failure. Practically, this meant to “stand” on my strong qualities and use them to create the client base and to establish my cosmetics in the market, This was also related to a lot of learning because I sold B2B, that is, to people who often knew much more than I did about the products and cosmetics.

The second challenge at the beginning was a lack of financial literacy, which is why I enrolled in my second education – financial management.

What is the most difficult moment in your career or business, and how did you manage to overcome it?

I think that to this day, the most difficult period was the withdrawal of effective support from Fabio, because of another business he had started in Italy in the meantime. I was not ready to manage the company financially and accumulated debts to our partners abroad. I managed to cope with the help of family and a bank loan that was barely granted to me. I risked everything I had and could, but I managed to save my business, and from there, the development was only upward in terms of numbers.

A great motivation was also given to me by the CEO of the company whose products we distribute even today. I still remember the trip to Spain for a meeting with them, where we had to decide how to proceed. At that time, he gave me the greatest lesson in humanity and said that if I had a plan of action, he would support me because numbers are important, but he supports people. When I returned to Bulgaria, I literally had “wings” and unshakeable faith that I would manage. I could not betray that trust.

And what is your greatest success so far – that moment when you said to yourself “It was worth it”?

My company and I have been recognized many times in recent years – for the best established dermatocosmetic brand, for leadership, for entrepreneurship.

However, the moments when I felt true satisfaction are when my company became completely financially independent and the moment I realized that I had already created a structure and a team that can not only take over after me but is liked and is happy.

To see the change in the people you work with, to see how they develop, how they find a community and support in the team you have created, to see that they are happy and realizing their dreams is wonderful. This is how destinies change, and the world becomes a little better.

What is your greatest lesson as an entrepreneur and as a woman leader?

Balance. We all strive for it so much, yet it always eludes us. In fact, the moment I realized that it had always been within me, that everything is enough, that I am enough, and I do not need to race, I found a way to “hear” myself and my authentic “I” and to express it in the best way. I no longer do anything despite myself, I do it for myself and the people I respect and love.

How do you maintain your curiosity and inspiration – what are your sources of energy, knowledge, and new ideas?

I love to frequently step out of my comfort zone; this keeps my creativity alive and new ideas come to me. As I mentioned, I am a very curious person – about everything – people, life, what surrounds us. I am one of those people who are very energetic and full of ideas, and my challenge has always been to learn to give structure and organization to my ideas so that they can be realized.

What helped you the most in the transition from education to entrepreneurship?

In fact, I think that nothing helped me. At that moment, I relied on my personal qualities; I was also sufficiently young and crazy not to seek the security characteristic of the following years of development, but to try. I graduated with a standard university education, philology, Slavic philology. The expectation was rather to become a translator, journalist, a person who engages in writing, and I still do – I read and write a lot, and in fact, I worked as a translator until I wanted to use all 7 languages I had studied to express my thoughts, not someone else's. I don’t know where this boldness came from; I am generally quite a modest person, but I felt that I had done enough to help people understand each other, and I want them to hear my voice expressing my thoughts and ideas.

How do you maintain your personal brand and how would you like people to talk about you when you are not in the room?

I maintain it with authenticity. I know so well who I am and what I want that even out of modesty, I cannot say anything else or anything different from my opinion. I think that such people are called painfully honest. Naturally – I choose my words carefully; my philology has given me a rich set of ways to say one thing or another, and I always assess according to the situation, but I never tell a lie; for me, that is a punishable act.

In this sense, I think that the people I interact with feel my priorities as responsibility, dedication, not hurting, unless it leads to growth through truth, and if they say something in the room without me, they probably don’t say anything different if they are also true. 

Women’s leadership is often associated with empathy and resilience. How do you balance between strength and softness in managing people and processes?

I think that balance comes from awareness. Over time, I have turned my empathy and softness into strong qualities because they are truly needed in our society and our teams. But not everything is at any cost, and the person is my priority. At the same time, every business must achieve results. The goal of every successful manager is to maintain that very thin balance between the comfort and happiness of their team and categorical and better results, that is, the balance between “feminine” and “masculine” qualities. Otherwise, how do I balance – with love, acceptance, and understanding towards myself and other people.

How does an entrepreneurial lady maintain herself – what helps you to always be in shape, inspired, and confident?

Taking care of oneself is important. The biggest and most important project for us is actually ourselves, our health, mental and physical well-being. I dedicate time both for beauty rituals; with my work, this is part of the practice, and for calming the mind, meditation, and sports, so that I can keep my body in shape. I am very interested in longevity and a healthy lifestyle; the cosmetics industry is related to this. I have realized that my well-being is at the core of the well-being of all my close and loved ones. Only then can I be their harbor and be useful to them.

What are your rituals or practices for emotional intelligence, balance, and harmony in a busy daily life?

I always leave time for myself, to assess the situation before I act, but at the same time, I never delay action. I just take a moment for clarity.

A busy daily life is a matter of a wrong perspective. Very often, people share with me that they are worried to call me when they see how many things I am involved in. They imagine that I am very busy. In fact, with our daily lives, we are all very busy, and none of us has time. That’s why it’s even more important to prioritize correctly and clearly realize what are the important things for us. I am busy with the important things for me; I pay attention to other important things at another time.

What place do money occupy in your perception of success? What is your personal principle regarding financial independence and satisfaction?

Money for me is a measure of results. When it is absent, I take action to improve the result. Money is often also the freedom to choose, but for me, it has never been a goal in itself. They are a concomitant result of my goals for development and growth.

What advice would you give to women who are considering starting their own business but are still hesitant?

The advice here should be personalized because if there are hesitations, there are also obstacles – real or fictitious, but they exist. I would not want to inspire someone to achieve an impossible goal for them or conversely – to be too skeptical about a business for which they have all the qualities. For me, meeting with a consultant or with a owner of an existing business similar to yours is a good idea, even several meetings. I have always emphasized the importance of a supportive community – surround yourself with positive, curious, and active people, but believe in the end only in yourself. We women have strong intuition; connecting with ourselves brings only positives.

What do you want to leave behind – in your organization, community, or in the world?

I want to leave love, harmony, responsibility, and attitude. Personal example is important to me. Each of us has a larger or smaller community of people we influence. I often ask myself how I influence the people around me and evaluate myself and my opportunities for improvement because the pursuit of development is constant for me. Everything I have achieved, I share so that it remains after me.