Don't waste time in illusions about doing the 'right thing'

Introduce yourself in a few sentences!

My name is Mihail Atanasov and I am the founder and manager of PROGS Agency - the largest specialized email marketing agency in Bulgaria, working with clients from all over the world.

Currently, I am engaged in managing and growing the agency, but I plan to start my own ecommerce project in the future.  

What did you dream of becoming in your childhood years? 

I have had different periods in which I wanted to be different things - in kindergarten, I wanted to be a military pilot.

A key moment was when I decided that I wanted to do business with the idea not just to 'make money', but to have an impact in Bulgaria and beyond. There are many things around us that we don't like and we see how they can be better. The question is whether we will choose to remain inactive or seek a solution to these problems, regardless of whether they are small or large. 

Thus, in high school in 8th grade, I decided for myself that whatever I would do in the future, I would want it to be related to a business that contributes to something. To this day, this is my big long-term vision - I think that is where the desire and motivation to grow the agency and to want to start more businesses in the coming months and years comes from. 

At what age did you earn your first money? Tell us some interesting story?

I earned my first money in the field of email marketing when I was 17 years old between 11th and 12th grade. This was my first freelance project, from which I earned 180 dollars. It happened through the freelance platform Fiverr and it was a cleaning company in Hawaii, USA. It so happened that the first client in my life turned out to be a small business on the other side of the world with a 13-hour time difference. 

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 in this stage of our human development?

First of all, I would definitely say - the challenges and 'inconveniences' that happen to us. It is precisely this that makes us think creatively and creates the motivation to do something in one form or another. Looking back at the beginning of my career, I always remember the difficult moments I had - moments when I thought everything was ending and there was nothing I could do to realize myself as a marketer. 

A key moment that motivated me to have my own business since I was a teenager was the constant expressions of people around me about how everything is bad in Bulgaria and that it won't get better. This motivated me from the start to do something that could make a change. 

At times today, I feel that due to the comfort I am surrounded by in my daily life, I stop feeling the initial drive that brought me to where I am today. Realizing this, I strive to avoid becoming too comfortable and I am working on starting a new project that will challenge me in the same way as at the very beginning.

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

I often think about this topic and realize that one of the main differences today compared to before is that I used to strive to 'escape' from a way of life that wouldn't suit me. Today, as I already have an established foundation, this cannot be my main motivation. When I no longer 'am running away' from having a mediocre and unsatisfactory job, I look at where I can go. 

I realize that although I have built a 'satisfactory' life for myself, I am not even close to fulfilling the vision I described in the previous answer. This is starting to become my main motivation, instead of striving to provide a good life for myself.

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

After 12th grade, I went to study Creative Business in the Netherlands, and I wouldn't say that the decision wasn't mine. Of course, my parents expected it from me, as did society in general. But still, the decision was mine and was based not so much on others' expectations of me, but on my desire to completely change my environment. 

I felt that I could no longer be in my hometown Varna and needed to go to a new place that would be completely new and different. So after seeing a few ads and doing a quick research, I decided it should be Utrecht, Netherlands. 

I believe that the decision back then was correct, but not because of the university I was at, but because of the experience of independent life abroad, that I gained. 

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

I love to do calisthenics or in other words 'bar exercises' - performing various exercises that do not rely on equipment and weights. 

In my childhood, I played a lot of table tennis and basketball. Today, I am still a fan of these sports and enjoy practicing them when I have the time and opportunity. 

I also love to run in combination with calisthenics.

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

I wouldn't directly change my field of activity - rather, I would expand it over time. I don't want to do the same thing my whole life, but I also don't want to rush too much and let things go 'through the motions'. 

I believe that for me, the agency is just the first step in the business. 

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?

A person who knows what they are doing and has a vision. Someone who has several big and successful businesses that provide people in Bulgaria with something more than a good way of life. 

A person who has invested a lot of time and effort to achieve this, without having received things 'on a silver platter'. 

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

I have several methods and principles that help me with this. The simplest things are to take vitamin D in the winter and to train. Just these two things can greatly change how we feel and help us be happier and more productive. 

When I have more difficult cases, I always strive to think them through well and discuss them with trusted people before I act. 

And lastly, I think it is very important to look for ways from time to time to detach from the daily chaos and look at things from above - without thinking about the last email from a client, the preparation of the monthly plan or that table we need to fill out next week. This helps me a lot to make key decisions that could improve things overall - decisions that I would miss if I only think about daily cases every day. 

What are the most important conclusions you have made so far about maintaining the right communication considering the different characters of the people you meet daily – colleagues, friends, relatives? 

Every person carries their life cases and problems and this influences their perception and yours. Everyone has their own point of view and we must be able to understand it and put ourselves in that person's shoes to first understand whether and how we can 'work together'. 

It's not about accommodating everyone's problems, but rather understanding them and then thinking of options from there. Just that 'understanding' can already open many doors.

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

Some people see money as something evil that ruins us, while others see it as a number that makes us happy. For me, neither of the two options is correct. I see money as a tool that opens opportunities and covers risks.

For me, money is a tool for pursuing my goals and vision. With more money, we can afford a greater impact and easier realization of our ideas.
Sometimes money can mislead us, as we see how it accumulates or drains. People become obsessed and petty and greedy when they do this, and that is why it is important not to allow ourselves to go in that direction at all, but instead to look at it calmly, so that our thrill comes from our plans, not from accumulated funds. 

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

Years ago, I read the book 'Turning PRO' by Steven Pressfield and I am reading it again now. 

It talks about the so-called 'shadow career' - a career that hides our true ambitions. A job or university that we use to justify that we are doing the right thing, while we actually realize that we are just running away from our calling, dreams, and vision. 

Many people follow their Shadow Career in one form or another because they are afraid to step out of their comfort zone. Thus, we find other easier activities to justify ourselves. 

So my advice is to look at what your Shadow Career might be and assess whether you are currently following it blindly or are in the right direction and not being misled. 

This applies to everyone, both young and inexperienced, as well as experienced professionals. For myself, I currently feel that the agency itself is my Shadow Career - five years ago, this was my next step, and today, as the step has already been taken, in its current form, it is starting to become what I was originally running away from, due to fear of the next step.