Hello, how do and good day to you. Hope all is well in expat land where ever you may be right now!
First off, for members who already know who I am but don't recognise the dog image. I removed the silly castle pic and put my youtube logo. It's more appropriate going forward. If we haven't spoken or engaged here previously, welcome, I'm Sean.
Earlier in 2025, I was here asking all kinds of questions and finding the best worldly advice from the amazing people here in the forums. That was a spring board towards buying a wrecked renovation property. What a journey it has been. I have learned so much, had some successes but also many minor failures along the way. That's okay. In fact, failures are great because they teach the best lessons. On this journey, my experiences have positioned me into a place where I can help others.
And THAT is what this post is about. Helping people.
I often receive messages and emails asking where people can find particular trades people, who can speak English. Perhaps this sounds familiar to you, because the answer I typically give goes something like this:
"What region are you in?"
"Most trades only speak Bulgarian, can you find a neighbour or friend who is bilingual?"
"Can you use translate app and speak to your local mayor, they will know the best people in your local area"
Now let's be clear, I highly advocate that we should try to employ skilled Bulgarian trades people and help the local economy where possible. There is something valuable, recognising that your project is helping to put food on the table for others. Much greater than simply getting a job done.
With that said, there is still a huge demand for trades from non Bulgarian speaking buyers and expats who really want to communicate in English. I guess they just want peace of mind to avoid miscommunication, which is fair too, right?
Let's tackle this problem here...
I am posting today to build a private network of people. Builders who can offer service. There are just 3 easy requirements:
- It's impossible to constantly provide info about trades region by region. If you want referrals and can travel nationally, you are an asset to yourself and to the expat community in Bulgaria.
- You guarantee your work to a professional standard. Taking pride in the fact that others will elevate you with word of mouth.
- Offering value with fair quotes at a fixed price for the job at hand. No unexpected additional fees or charges to your customers. Remember the referral is the best form of free advertising. Priceless.
If this describes you and your service, I would love to hear from you via private inbox.
(we cannot directly advertise in the forum, we can help people and network, which is great)
Brickies, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, kitchen and bathroom installers, Tilers, Rooves and gutters, Groundworks for landscaping, and even decorators. These are all the requests I get from others, and on occasion, some of the trades I might need myself.
My Promise to you...
This might sound cheesy. One of my mottos when trying to help people, under promise and over deliver! If you are the same mindset, we can have a great working partnership.
My promise to you is that I will NOT be sending clients your way constantly, every day, every week or even every month. Just being real. I am happy to help people in my network of course, but things come as they come. Usually, that's only when someone emails me or comments on one of my videos asking for advice.
So realistically, if you join my network/list of reliable trades people, just be aware that contact or requests will be sporadic. However, if I have a project management request from a client, I will indeed call you in for a job I'm paid to work on. These relationships will grow over time, and everyone can benefit.
Lastly, if you were awesome enough to read all this post so far, yet you are not in the building trade but you know someone English speaking in Bulgaria, who is and works nationally...
Feel free to drop into my inbox to share them in the network (with their permission of course) because your contacts can certainly help other expats.
Thanks for reading here...
That's all from me for now. HUGE THANK YOU to everyone in the community. Thanks in advance to people who engage with this thread.
Take care folks - Sean 馃檹
