When you hear the word advocacy, what comes to mind first? Perhaps you think of assertiveness, a persuasive pitch, or a high-stakes negotiation. These associations aren’t wrong, but they capture only part of the story.
Advocacy is not just what happens in the meeting room or on the stage.
It also includes the quieter, less visible work that shapes those moments: the preparation, the relationships cultivated over time, and the inner clarity that gives confidence and presence.
Most studies on advocacy in entrepreneurship have focused on visible, external tactics: how to network, how to speak persuasively, or how to secure funding. A quick internet search will yield countless tips on how to do these things more effectively. In such stories, success is often measured by deal closures, funding amounts, or the size of a professional network. These markers matter, but they tell only half the story. They overlook what happens inside the entrepreneur: how personal values guide decisions, how emotions influence tone and persistence, and how resilience carries someone through setbacks. These are invisible to the naked eye.
What the Research Tells Us and What’s Missing
Previous research has given us valuable insights: some scholars have mapped out effective strategies for making your case and gaining support (Boon, 1999; Dutton et al., 2001), while others have explored how people learn from experience and adjust their approach (Argyris et al., 1985). Yet these two streams rarely meet in the same study. We still lack a holistic roadmap that integrates the outer skills of advocacy with the inner skills of reflection, emotional awareness, and self-regulation.
This gap becomes even more pronounced when we look at the context of South-Eastern Europe. Research on female entrepreneurs in Bulgaria is scarce, and what we know is often imported from Western Europe or North America - regions with different cultural contexts, business environments, and support systems. As a result, the challenges, strategies, and successes of Bulgarian female entrepreneurs are often understudied and left out of the broader conversation. This article, based on recent research by Veronika Stoyanova, “How Do Bulgarian Female Entrepreneurs Advocate for Their Ideas?” (2025), seeks to bridge that gap. By connecting the visible and invisible sides of advocacy, it offers a fuller picture of what it truly takes to make your voice heard in business.
Hidden and Visible Dimensions
Advocacy is most powerful when external strategies and inner foundations work in harmony. It’s not only what you do or say, but also why and how you choose to act.
At its core, advocacy means standing up for an idea, cause, or belief, whether for yourself or on behalf of others. It can take many shapes: defending a point of view, persuading, influencing, negotiating, raising awareness, or simply giving visibility to something that matters. For female entrepreneurs, this shows that advocacy is not just about pitching to investors or speaking on a big stage. It also happens in smaller ways through everyday conversations, subtle negotiations, and the ongoing work of making a vision seen and respected.
Yet, much of the existing literature still frames advocacy as a set of outward-facing tactics: prepare your pitch, anticipate objections, refine delivery. Reflection, when mentioned, is usually limited to adjusting actions to improve results without questioning the assumptions behind them - what is known as single-loop learning.
Single-Loop vs. Double-Loop Learning
Argyris and colleagues (1985) introduced the distinction between single- and double-loop learning, a framework that is especially useful here.
- Single-loop learning is about tactical adjustments: rephrasing a message after a lukewarm investor meeting, or shifting tone in a meeting.
- Double-loop learning digs deeper: asking yourself why you are presenting your ideas this way, and whether the beliefs and assumptions behind your approach serve you.
Recent findings suggest that among Bulgarian female entrepreneurs, single-loop learning is far more common (Stoyanova, 2025). Many would focus on adjusting and preparing external levers, like modifying their communication approach by adding more evidence or asking clarifying questions, while fewer reflect on the deeper assumptions shaping their choices. A more holistic approach requires both tactical agility and the courage to re-examine the assumptions that underpin action.
Extrinsic Levers → Outer Tools and Networks
The visible strategies of advocacy sit in this category. They include support networks, tools, skills, and approaches- all essential because advocacy is never practiced in isolation.
In the current study, participants highlighted three dimensions of support. 1/ Family and close friends provided encouragement during stressful moments. 2/ Co-founders and colleagues supported preparation through activities like role-playing key conversations, as well as providing general mental and emotional support. 3/ Mentors, peer groups, and industry networks contributed expertise and credibility, in many cases opening critical doors. Beyond networks, entrepreneurs also drew on practical tools: AI research platforms, templates, professional forums, and expert consultations.
Intrinsic Levers → Inner Drivers and Mindsets
If extrinsic levers represent the how of advocacy, intrinsic levers represent the why. They include beliefs, biases, values, motivations, and emotions. Often-invisible drivers that shape behavior.
1. Beliefs and Biases
When looking at Bulgarian female entrepreneurs, the analysis revealed that internal experiences play a central role in advocacy. Participants frequently described moments where their self-beliefs directly influenced how they acted, especially perceptions of adequacy, competence, or worthiness, which emerged as one of the most prominent themes.
Biases, too, appeared in different forms: gender-related assumptions, cultural expectations, and business-related norms that shaped how participants viewed both themselves and their audience.
Some spoke about feminine empathy as a distinctive strength in contrast to men’s more ego-driven style. Others reflected on cultural patterns, such as the lower levels of trust in Bulgarian business contexts or the tendency for major decisions to be made emotionally rather than analytically. Together, these biases influenced not only how entrepreneurs presented themselves, but also how they interpreted and responded to the behavior of others.
What to do if: you notice yourself repeating negative or limiting beliefs about your own abilities.
Try this cognitive behavioural therapy-inspired three-step plan:
- Notice the thought. Name the limiting belief (“I’m not experienced enough”).
- Reframe it. Replace it with a more constructive version (“My perspective brings fresh insight”).
- Repeat the shift. Each time the negative thought reappears, reframe it again.
Over time, this simple practice builds a more supportive inner dialogue and strengthens advocacy from the inside out.
2. Values
Fewer than a quarter of interviewees mentioned their values, but those who did pointed to a diverse set of personal and professional principles - ranging from non-violence, honesty, and trust to career advancement, hard work, prudence, belief, and a commitment to delivering quality service.
3. Emotions and Feelings
Emotions and feelings ran through almost every story. Negative emotions like fear, sadness, self-doubt, and anxiety dominated the narratives, mentioned consistently and often intensely. In contrast, positive emotions such as fearlessness, curiosity, excitement, or pride appeared only rarely. Altogether, the stories suggest that for many entrepreneurs, advocacy is experienced more as an emotional challenge than as a source of uplift.
What to do if: negative emotions are getting over.
Try to:
- Map your emotions. Notice common patterns: when anxiety or self-doubt shows up, and what tends to trigger them.
- Do a 3-minute reset. Use a quick ritual such as box breathing (inhale–hold–exhale–hold, each for four counts) while repeating an anchor affirmation like: “I am confident”.
This small practice helps interrupt spirals of worry, calm the body, and bring focus back before an important conversation or pitch.
Taken together, these findings remind us that advocacy is not simply about tactical maneuvers. Inner drivers can either act as hidden barriers or as powerful levers when acknowledged and harnessed.
From Tactics to Mindset
In practice, we saw that many Bulgarian female entrepreneurs practice single-loop learning: adjusting their tactics in response to outcomes. They might spend more time in preparation or adapt their communication approaches by adding evidence or offering more detailed explanations. These changes can certainly help, but they remain at the surface. What’s often missing is the deeper reflection of double-loop learning.
A useful way to start is to pause before making a tactical adjustment and ask: What belief is shaping this choice? If the belief is “They won’t take me seriously unless I oversimplify,” then the real work lies not only in rethinking how to communicate, but in questioning whether that assumption is valid or unnecessarily limiting.
This is where Argyris’ ladder of inference (Arthur, 2014b) comes in as another useful lens. It invites us not only to slow down but to observe our thought process step by step.
- What conclusion am I jumping to?
- How am I interpreting it?
- What information am I paying attention to?
At the base of the ladder are the raw facts and experiences we notice. From there, we selectively pay attention to certain details, assign meaning, and develop assumptions, which then shape our beliefs and actions. The higher we climb, the harder it becomes to question the path that led us there. By tracing these steps carefully and separating observation from interpretation, entrepreneurs can better recognize hidden biases and prevent them from unconsciously shaping how they communicate and advocate for their ideas.
A Practical Tool for Reflection
Two-column journaling
One simple yet powerful method is two-column journaling (Argyris et al., 1985). In challenging conversations, the “right-hand column” captures what is actually said, while the “left-hand column” records unspoken thoughts and feelings. Comparing the two can reveal hidden assumptions and emotions that shape communication, often unconsciously. This exercise can be done individually, with pen and paper, but it is often more effective when guided by a coach, who can help surface blind spots and offer constructive ways to reframe patterns.
Right-hand column (what you said):
- What words did I actually use in this conversation?
- How did I structure my message or argument?
Left-hand column (what you felt and assumed):
- What was I really thinking or feeling in that moment?
- What assumptions, fears, or hopes shaped those unspoken thoughts?
Combined, practices like advocacy inquiry, the ladder of inference, and reflective learning (single- and double-loop, as well as left-hand column work) form a rich toolkit. By weaving these into daily practice, entrepreneurs can engage in more authentic dialogues, challenge entrenched assumptions, and advocate with greater clarity and confidence.
Over time, this reflective mindset strengthens not just individual strategies but also the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem, making it more inclusive, resilient, and adaptive. The real challenge is to ask yourself: which part of your advocacy is visible, and which part remains hidden, and how can you bring the two into alignment?
Resources:
Argyris, C., Putnam, R., & McLain Smith, D. (1985). Action Science - Concepts, Methods, and Skills for Research and Intervention. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Arthur, P. W. (2014b). Ladder of Inference. The SAGE Encyclopedia of Action Research, pp. 487–488. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446294406
Boon, A. (1999). Advocacy: Cavendish Legal Skills Series, 2nd Edition.
Dutton, J. E., Ashford, S. J., O’Neill, R. M., & Lawrence, K. A. (2001). Moves ThatMatter: Issue Selling and Organizational Change. The Academy of Management Journal, 44(4), 716–736. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3069412
