Svetoslava Georgieva is Chief Operating Officer and Executive Chairman of the Management Board at Unique Estates. This year, she celebrates 20 years in her professional career, she has only spent into the structures of AG Capital.
In an interview with Sylvana Vassileva she tells about the challenges she has dealt with and the satisfaction from working for a well-established and successful business structure like AG Capital.
20 years is a long period for dedication to a single job. How did everything start for you?
It all started with an interview with Mr. Hristo Iliev 20 years ago, which set the beginning of my career as a broker at Address Real Estates in Varna. In 2004 I have been trusted to lay the foundations of this company in the region of Sofia. It was a big step that changed my life completely. I can say that in the commercial sector I managed to climb all the steps in the hierarchy. I have been in the shoes of the consultant, then at the position of a team manager, regional director, development director, to the senior management positions as chief operating officer and chairman of the board of directors that I am holding today. Over the years, I have been awarded many times and I have earned my colleagues' recognition for the results I have achieved. But what I really consider to be a success is the ability to go so deep into the business as to be really useful in what I do. Working in only one field, you can really give the company and the holding the most of yourself, develop professionally, and help people around you grow. That brings me great satisfaction.
How does it make you feel, the fact that you have been part of the holding structures for 20 years now?
It makes me feel proud, of course. The companies in AG Capital have always attracted well-established professionals in their teams. The results they report are a real proof of this. I am happy to be part of this big family and appreciate the fact that I can communicate and work with colleagues who really inspire me. I always insist on introducing the new people in our team with the history, the values and the mission of the whole holding because they are a really good reason for feeling proud and motivated.
These 20 years at AG Capital have given me everything I need as a person and a professionalist. I was lucky to meet my big love in the structures of the holding and also gave birth to my second child, which makes this place a real family to me.
In my work I feel satisfaction from the fact that every day I achieve something, and the results are visible. I am delighted to be able to show what I am capable of and am always lead by the ambition to achieve more for the company I work for. I try to motivate the people around me by emphasizing their role in the mission we have, namely to be part of such a special experience as finding a home for our clients. I look at my position as a manager as the one of the movie director - the person who has the ability to direct, to help others show their best, developing their potential.
How have you changed over these 20 years spent in the holding?
I feel wiser, more patient and moderate in my reactions now. The contacts with our clients and the working proces with colleagues motivates me and gives me a lot. I learn daily and work on constantly improving both professionally and personally. Working in direct contact with Vesela Ilieva catalyses an unsteady striving for progress and development, in pursuit of the better for the team and the company as a whole. In the years I began to feel more confident in myself, in my qualities and possibilities. When the results prove that you are successful everyday, you can be sure that you are going in the right direction. This confidence is largely due to the support I receive from my family, for which I am really grateful.
What do you like about the profession and what motivates you?
I like the fact that I can help people show their best. These 20 years have taught me that I do not have to judge by the first impression and should allow new people to develop their potential. Unique Estates is a cohesive company. We are trying to make the people who work here feel cozy and well, as in a real home, in a real family. It is no wonder that a large part of the team are people who have been working for the company since its inception.
Basically, I stay behind the discovery, training and development of all new people in the team. I'm happy every time I see their high scores and success in the job. This is my mission, that makes me happy and motivated to do what I do.
What's next in 2019?
What has always kept me motivated in my work here is the unceasing enthusiasm and the pursuit of development that Vessela Ilieva has. She looks forward to the future and in the years has managed to bring the company to an international level. There are always new projects and plans ahead of the team, which is really exciting.
What we are planning in the short run is expanding the team and moving to a larger office where the big family of Unique Estates would be working together.
We hope the market will develop favorably and will open up new job opportunities. As members of Luxury Portfolio International, we have the chance to work effectively to ensure that the quality properties in Bulgaria are well presented throughout the world. At Unique Estates, we are introducing successful work practices that have proven effective in our partners’companies, by adapting them to the market we know and develop.
To make the holding grow, the companies in it must grow. And to do this, we need to invest in the people who work for them. Therefore, training and staff development are always among the priorities of AG Capital's policy. This is true for the following year as well.
What would you like to wish to the people who are part of AG Capital for the new year?
I wish my colleagues to be healthy, to take care of themselves, to seek for new opportunities to show their better self in 2019. Let us all be grateful for what we have.