Juggling Kids, a New Culture, and Starting a Business
When Silvia Stoyanova came to the United States from Bulgaria in 2001, she faced countless challenges in her daily life, from adjusting to a new language and culture to helping financially support her family. Her first priority at that time was to look after her 14-month old son while getting adjusted to life in a new country.
When her second child was born in 2003, Stoyanova knew she needed to find a stable income, yet one that would offer a flexible schedule to allow her to take care of her young children. Armed with an American business degree from a college in Bulgaria and a background in financial planning and analysis, Stoyanova looked to start her own business. One year later, she became a franchise owner with OpenWorks, an integrated facility cleaning provider.
Owning a home-based business provided Stoyanova the opportunity to have a successful career while giving her the freedom and independence to tend to her children’s schedules from the toddler to teenage years. As a franchise owner, she juggles many tasks from managing hours and payroll to meeting customers to overseeing cleaning crews. Her responsibilities take her around the Seattle area, checking in with her customers and employees, and ordering the proper cleaning supplies.
Stoyanova’s franchise services a wide range of buildings in Seattle, which include churches, residential and medical facilities. OpenWorks provides her with a team of sales people that bring in business, which allows her to do what she does best – managing the operations and employees while providing top service to her customers. Beyond the many major accounts she has successfully led over the years, Stoyanova feels her greatest accomplishment has been earning the trust of her employees through her steady and approachable leadership style.
As she looks ahead to the coming years when her children move away to attend college, Stoyanova would like to expand her home-based business into other OpenWorks markets. While she has enjoyed the benefits of working from home to spend time with her children, Stoyanova also looks forward to a time in which that scheduling flexibility can provide a way to grow her business. Visit http://openworksweb.com/. HBM
