The interview with Stoyan Simeonov is part of the "Stories with a Human Face" series of our monthly financial newsletter. In it, successful micro entrepreneurs answer 8 identical questions about their business concept and startup financing.
What was your first idea? How did you start? Our idea for professional cultivation of organic vegetables, spices and fruits appeared 7 years ago. Until then, we were engaged in this type of activity purely amateurly. We were supported by many of our friends and acquaintances, who were always very happy when they had the opportunity to touch part of our harvest. The path to the current appearance of our farm with an area of 120 decares and hundreds of regular customers was quite difficult. It was associated with a lot of new knowledge and experience that we had to acquire, during the years of working 12-14 hours without a single day off, with huge loans and many sleepless nights.
How did your model take shape – what is your business model currently?
After analyzing all our strengths and weaknesses, the conclusions were as follows: An aggravating factor in the budget of our farm was the proximity to the capital, which implied a very high price of land and very high labor costs. On the other hand, often where there are limitations, there are also opportunities. Thus, we realized that we have the opportunity to offer our customers a unique product - organically grown vegetables, picked on the day of delivery.
How did you secure the necessary funds and resources?
The necessary funds and resources have been provided to 100% with bank financing.
Was there anyone or anything that helped you in the beginning or while you were growing your business? Tell us more…
Certainly, our success is due, in addition to our tireless work, to the support of many people fighting for our cause, namely: clean land, clean food and healthy people. These were, if you allow me to be more specific, with special thanks to Maria from "Solidarity Agriculture" - "Together" Foundation, to many of our customers, to our colleagues from the Bulgarian Association of Organic Products, to our friends from the village of Lesnovo, where our farm is located, as well as to our conscientious workers.
What was and is the most successful in your practice?
The most successful thing in our practice is our firm decision to follow the difficult and long path of certified organic producers. We did not succumb to the temptation to take advantage of the huge interest of customers in organic products and try to offer them alternative labels such as "pure", "natural", "homemade", etc., which are in practice conventional products named after well-selling names. Our production is 100% subject to the strict requirements of EU regulations 834 and 889, the only ones that regulate organic production.
What cost you the most effort or was the most difficult to achieve?
Everything costs us a huge effort: to be able to produce seasonal produce year-round, which we can deliver to each of our clients without a gram of chemistry, to repay loans to banks, to meet the many requirements of the State Fund for Agriculture, the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, the Labor Inspectorate, our certifying body, to create normal working conditions and decent remuneration for our workers, and many, many other challenges.
Would you do anything differently?
I don't know if we would have the energy to start all over again, but looking back, I don't think anything could have happened differently and led to the current result. What are your plans for the future? To have our wonderful products reach more and more consumers, to bring them as much health as ever.
Biofarm Sofina Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biofarmsofina/ Phone: 0899 909 310