Meet Desislava, the stereotype fighter and brand manager helping other business’s escape the mediocrity and how the use of storytelling through social media is the way forward.
Hi Desislava, welcome aboard, can you break down DDOBREVA.COM in 50 words?
All of us tell stories. We tell stories to ourselves, to our kids, to our friends. As business owners though, our stories carry a larger message. We have the potential of influencing thousands and even millions of people, so it’s important for us to not only know our message, but to convey it effectively. This is where I come into the picture.
How are you helping others escape mediocrity?
I help entrepreneurs escape mediocrity by allowing them to tell their story in the right way, whether it’s a large organisation or a promising startup. Social media, websites, blogs, press releases: they all have one thing in common. They’re all platforms that are just sitting there, waiting for us to take advantage of them. I make sure organizations find their voice and use all these channels to share their message with the world. Getting people and businesses on the path to reaching their full potential is a feeling that even I have trouble describing.
What is your idea of story telling?
I do storytelling through content creation. I come up with and create social media content, blog posts, website content. I started as a social media manager and then finished a Master degree in brand management and marketing. Right now I help my clients build up their brands with clear branding and marketing strategies that involve social media, blogging and website content.
Storytelling is an essential strategy in both marketing in branding: first of all, every company has a story, but not every company knows how to “put it down on paper” and share it with the world. They have trouble conveying their brand message. I use all the channels I mentioned above to do that in a clear and consistent way.
How do you accurately convey a brand message?
Storytelling is vital in any type of content creation nowadays: it’s a very profitable strategy for social media, for example. When you work hard to make your posts consistent and tell a story with them instead of promote your products, your customers engage and remember you. There is a much higher conversion rate when you tell a story instead of only trying to sell. This is what I do. I also teach entrepreneurs that everything starts with self-branding: something many of them ignore. You need to have a strong personal brand first and build your organisation second.
How did you build up your clientele portfolio if you are freelance?
I started as a freelancer on a platform called UpWork.com – this is where I found my first client. When I created my website and built a reputation on UpWork, I started receiving job offers on a daily basis, took on 5-6 clients, left my 9 to 5 job and dedicated myself to my freelancing. Afterwards, I registered my business (DDobreva) and now I’m going to expand from a one man (woman) business by adding more freelancers to my team. This is my next step.
Where can you see yourself within the next 2 years then further 5 years?
The first thing people notice about me (apart from my hair) is that I’m a very confident person. I’m talking Beyonce confident. This is because I’ve build my way up from nothing and I know that I’m just getting started. So far, I’ve managed to move to a new country, get a job, quit my job, leverage my skills to create a profitable online business and do only what I love for a living. I travel all the time, I speak, I write, I help businesses get kick-ass branding and I have a lot more planned for the future. 2 years from now, I’ll have multiple ebooks released and I’ll be working on my first printed book as an author. 5 years from now I’m planning to be an entrepreneur in the true sense of the word.
Because business owners are usually people whose businesses own them. Entrepreneurs are those who’ve been clever enough to create multiple sources of income, most of them passive, so that they can focus on changing lives.
I also want to launch my own NGO and help as many people as possible realize that giving back is more important than just taking. My desire to make a real impact is what drives me.
How important do you feel it is to inspire other women out there on a mission and how do you feel you do this?
I live to inspire. I never thought that my story could be inspirational to anyone, so I used to be a very closed-off person. Since then, thanks to the people in my life, and the amazing network that I’ve curated I’ve learned that all of us have the potential to inspire. All of us have the opportunity to inspire. We just need to take action. This is the difference between successful people and negative people. Inspiring women is a difficult task: I feel like we often search for reasons not to be inspired and for reasons not to believe in ourselves. I’ve been there. The thing is, I’m not that person anymore; I’ve learned how to escape from that prison of self-doubt and I want to help other women do the same. This is one of my missions in life and I won’t stop fighting for it by putting my message and my story out there and getting it to reach as many people as possible.
5 top tips for success?
1.Write your goals down
2.Learn to enjoy failing
3.Don’t let others define you
4.Kickass self-branding
5.Confidence, confidence, confidence
