Twelve years ago, my family moved to London from Bulgaria in search of a promising future. My father, a college graduate from School Of Commerce, Bourgas had failed to gain any form of formal employment in Bulgaria after graduating. To make ends meet and to provide for our family, he had sought employment in the informal sector as a bus driver with a bus company in Sofia. He always woke up early in the morning to go to work and in the evening, he would come back home tired and beaten. He was a hard worker. So, when the bus company decided to establish their services in London, he was one of the drivers who was considered for the position due to his positive attitude at work. As such, he moved our family with him to London. Within two years of relocating, my father worked hard and saved enough money to enroll in Cass Business School for a part-time course in Business Management. This was a significant part of his long-term career goals. He successfully completed the course amid all the hustle and bustle that involved working and providing for our family.

Armed with his newly acquired credentials and a few thousand pounds that he had saved while working with the bus company, he moved back to Sofia with the intention of establishing his own company. Consequently, he established a company for supplying security products for the local market. He set up an office at the low-end of Sofia. According to him, he had studied the gap for this type of business for a long time while still working as a bus driver in Sofia. The company steadily expanded within three years of its establishment, and on the fourth year, it had gained two other departments i.e. Telecommunications and Water Treatment Facilities. Today, even though the company is still based in Sofia where it has successfully completed numerous projects, the company has gained the required standards of technical and management expertise. As a result, the company currently boasts of countless projects in Syria, Lebanon, and across Africa. The company is currently working on a comprehensive expansion plan that includes expanding to the unexplored markets in Europe and Asia.

After graduating from college, I joined my father in Sofia where I became intensely involved in the daily running of the company. I started in the reception, then moved to the sales department and later advanced to management. After completing my degree in Business Management, I intend to rejoin the company armed with essential knowledge and skill set, and ready to steer forward the proposed expansion plan. I have already identified several bottlenecks in some of our proposed projects that relate to the telecommunications department. With intensive investments, this department has the potential to grow rapidly in the Asian market by providing the Asian people with low marginal cost.

Even though I am fully aware that I have the required technical scope and the full blessing from the company’s board to steer the company towards the projected path, I am compelled to believe that I am in dire need of additional practical knowledge. This knowledge will be essential for the execution of the company’s vision. I have always believed that the University of UK, through its elaborate networking, brand name, unique locale, and program rankings could offer such trajectory. Nonetheless, after I enroll to the University of UK, attend classes, and integrate with the school community is when I will have a full scope of how the University will help me on my road to achieving my goals. My participation in various university’s clubs such the Telecommunications Club will build my exposure and offer me a fresh start of how I approach the projected vision of the company. In addition, I look forward to attending the various classes such as Communications, Private Equity and Entrepreneurship, Internet and Media, and Launching New Business Ventures all of which I consider essential in achieving my long-term vision. Moreover, during my previous visit to the University while I in college I was inspired by the potential to network with the student’s community that boasts of eclectic professionals with a rich and diverse cultural background.

My father has stated that very soon he is going to retire from his active role of running the daily activities of the company, as such, as the only child who has chosen the same career path as my father’s, he expects me to assume his active role of being the company’s CEO. As a CEO, I will be mandated to manage the entire company together with its growing workforce. Although our company has in the recent time experienced rapid growth, it still runs as a family business. As such, I will have an uphill task of maintaining this legacy as well as, ensure that the company maintains the projected path by overcoming the apparent challenges that are tied to running family businesses. I am optimistic that the University of UK Business School will offer me the essential skill set for overcoming these challenges. Furthermore, core classes such as managing the growing company and family business management address issues that I will encounter once I assume the daily management of the company. As such, the program offered by the Business School is increasingly significant in guiding the company to prosperity.

Additionally, with my current basic knowledge and skill set, besides the challenges of running the company on daily basis, I am short of conclusively countering some of the projected hurdles that are linked to managing larger projects involving large amounts of finances. After the proposed expansion, the Telecommunications department is expected to secure large infrastructural projects in the Asian market. As such, these project will involve significant financial funding from World Bank and IMF and therefore, will require an increased level of management. In this perspective, the knowledge I will gain from the Business School will be essential in overseeing projects of this nature. Additionally, there are numerous opportunities for the growth of private companies in the telecommunication sector in the Asian market. However, with my current level of know-how, it is increasingly difficult to effectively identify such opportunities without venturing into business activities that will lead the company in making unwarranted losses. I am positive that the knowledge in financial management that I stand to gain from the Business School will help in exposing me to opportunities that the company should invest in.

Lastly, when my father moved from Sofia to London, he had nothing in terms of material possession, rather, the only thing he had was a solid resolution to make it in life. 12 years down the line, and amid all the challenges he has had to overcome he owns a company that has the potential to venture globally. These accomplishments have come my father’s way through pure sweat since he did not have the opportunities that I have today. It is this resilience that keeps me on my toes every day together with the unbounded urge to outperform my father.