Transcript
00:00:01
Veronica: Hello, my name is Veronica. Thank you so much for agreeing to be interviewed for a blog. What is your name and what is your business?
00:00:09
Krassimir: Hi, my name is Krassimir and my business is a restaurant. I have a little restaurant in Villamoura.
00:00:18
Veronica: Um, what is your home country and your native language?
00:00:24
Krassimir: I am originally from Bulgaria and my native language is Bulgarian.
00:00:30
Veronica: What was your professional studies before you started your own business?
00:00:35
Krassimir: Uh, I was. I am still a professional violin player and I have two master’s degrees on classical music.
00:00:44
Veronica: So how does that work together with your business?
Krassimir: It combines really good because I combine nice food and very interesting entertainment, which is kind of the key of success for my little restaurant.
00:01:01
Veronica: So tell me about your product. How did you choose to offer this and your service?
00:01:08
Krassimir: Well, I just found it attractive for the people around. Obviously, we are in a very touristic place and while you’re on the holidays, you need something different apart from the golf and the Irish pubs around. So what we do, it’s a little restaurant where you can eat and you can listen to classical, to pop classical music. And also I invite other other entertainment entertainment people and makes a difference for the area.
00:01:42
Veronica: Why did you decide to start a business in this new country?
00:01:47
Krassimir: Well, honestly, I fed up with orchestras and classical world, so I decided to change as I was settled already in Portugal. So I left the orchestra and started a little business.
00:02:02
Veronica: And how is your business doing?
00:02:06
Krassimir: How is the business?
00:02:07
Veronica: How is the business doing?
00:02:09
Krassimir: The business is really good. And of course you have ups and downs, but mostly it’s it’s now after ten years, it’s kind of stable.
00:02:20
Veronica: I understand you have had some nice things from TripAdvisor, so you have been mentioned in the tripadvisors for a couple of years of several years.
00:02:35
Krassimir: Yes, we are. We are kind of the top ten top restaurants in Vilamoura. And basically, I believe it simply because of the environment, the entertainment and the good food.
00:02:48
Veronica: Top ten It’s not just vilamoura. It is actually the top ten in the world. You do realize that.
00:02:53
Krassimir: Yes, true.
00:02:56
Veronica: So describe the difference between working hours and free time comparing to when you first started your business and after it became profitable.
00:03:04
Krassimir: In the beginning, our restaurant could cover about 20 seats, which was really small. But through the years, throughout the years, we saw that we need more, more space and and we extended it. So the working hours are more than the beginning. The working is more than the beginning, and it seems we’re in the right direction. I mean, business grows, which of course takes your time more than before.
00:03:38
Veronica: And you are located right next to the Hilton Hotel. So that does give you a bit of a advantage, does it?
00:03:46
Krassimir: Yes. The location is very privileged location in a very residential, beautiful green area around. We are surrounded by villas. And of course, just on the back of Hotel Hilton, which in the summer and not only in the summer, but gives us a lot of clients.
00:04:07
Veronica: As this is a so-called summer holiday area. Can you tell me a bit how you managed to go through the winter? Because the winter months are very different.
00:04:18
Krassimir: Well, we first we cut the staff, obviously, but we I keep only the structure of people that are important. Important? Exactly. Sorry. And, um, yes, in the winter it’s a bit difficult, but not impossible. As I said, the restaurant inside is very small. It’s only 22 seats and it’s not difficult to fill it. And from my opinion about restaurants, if you already have two, three tables, they attract other people. But if it’s empty and it’s big, big restaurants in the in the winter, they are struggling simply because you have 200 seats and only two people dining. And this is not attractive where we are small. And it’s the opposite. The moment you’ve got two couples, it’s already feels like you’re not alone.
00:05:15
Veronica: So how did the idea of your business change from start to finish when you started capital art? What happened from the beginning until today? Uh.
00:05:27
KrassimirWell, I mentioned before about growing, about extending what happened in the beginning. I introduced myself to the clients, which later on they became a regular. As I said, the entertainment is the key of this place. I don’t know. Yeah, that’s it.
00:05:52
Veronica: Did you use an inspiration or knowledge from your home country to come up with your business idea.
00:05:58
Krassimir: About the business idea? To be honest, I started very like a blind person. I didn’t know, What am I doing and where should they go? But what I took from my country is the environment with the the summer terrace is covered by vine trees and gives us a very natural shade in the summer. And it’s very pretty to see the grapes growing on your on the top of your head. And um, yeah, that’s probably the most.
00:06:35
Veronica: And I have been to this restaurant several times so I can vouch for the beauty of this location and the music and the food. Now, what is the one lesson from your experience that a migrant entrepreneur can learn from?
00:06:53
Krassimir: Uh, treat Well, your staff, even if you have to pay a little bit more than usual, just do it. If you are happy with the person and keep the team. Together, working together, because this is a teamwork. And that’s my, my, my experience at the beginning, of course, as a new business, I couldn’t afford to pay a good salaries. But in the time I understood that if I get the right people, they might be a bit more expensive, but they will do the right job.
00:07:25
Veronica: You’re a very busy person. Thank you for your time. Do you have any last words for the people who will read this?
00:07:31
Krassimir: Well, greetings from me. Come to Vilamoura. Come to Portugal. Visit us and enjoy the Portuguese wine and food and my music.
00:07:41
Veronica: Thank you so much.