Meet Sabina Besjedica, Our Croatian Business Development Manager

Hi Sabina, thanks for taking some time out of your busy schedule. How are you today?

I’m great, thanks for asking! How are you?

Great, thanks! Super happy to talk with you today! First, I wanted to ask you how would you describe yourself in 3 sentences?

Ok, let’s try. I’m a very positive, outgoing person and love a good party. People close to me say that I can’t stay still so I can confirm I love to be active and always try to do things in a different way, monotony is not for me. I sing all the time and firmly believe that ‘Tko pjeva, zlo ne misli’ (‘Who sings, means no evil’ 😂).

You’re currently working as Native Teams’ Business Development Manager for the Croatian market. Before joining Native Teams, you had a career in tourism. How did come to where you are today, how did your career develop?

I enjoyed being a tourist and discovering new places all my life so it seemed like an interesting choice. However, working in the hotel industry is not as romantic as I envisioned it so I moved on to an online travel platform, where I really had the chance to progress and develop in every sense. I spent almost 7 years working on the partner side of the accommodations and as I mentioned before, monotony is not my thing so I felt the need to challenge myself further. I ended up in fintech but so many things overlap when you work with an online platform, it’s just a different sector.

Why did you decide to join Native Teams?

I was just about to start with some freelance activities and when I realized there is a product that enables people to get paid and do their job from anywhere they want, I was positively surprised. I related to the product and the position of business development manager seemed like a great choice as I am able to help many freelancers seeking for solutions to their problems.

How would you describe the purpose of your job to someone from another planet?

I help people have a better work-life balance. They can work from anywhere, focus on what they do best and get paid for it. If they manage to balance those things, they can live happily on our planet!

Why should Croatian freelancers, employees or companies use Native Teams to hire their employees in Croatia?

It’s simple, fast and efficient. They can focus on what they love to do and forget about the paperwork. Also, we are really open to feedback so any suggestions, improvements or ideas are welcome because we want to make the product as best as possible for them.

What would you recommend to anyone who wants to start working remotely?

Working remotely gives you so much freedom to organize your working environment as you prefer (in accordance with your possibilities of course), move around, especially if you have friends and family spread around the world. It’s awesome but I have to add that I miss having colleagues near me for a quick advice, joke or just eye-to-eye contact when it’s time for a coffee break.

You’re also a mom, you have a beautiful young daughter. How do you combine a full-time remote job with family life?

It’s a bit challenging, just imagine someone calling your name while you work a hundred times. Thank god we have daycare 😀. On the other hand, I can spend so much more time with her than I used to in my previous job, where I had to be on the road half of the time so I am very grateful for that. Also, my parents live in a different country and working remotely enables me to juggle between the two places and they get to spend more time with their granddaughter.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Long walks, swimming, singing, baking, hanging out with friends,… I like to explore new things so I’m always open to any kind of activity.

Because you like travelling so much – what’s your favourite country and why?

That’s a tough one, I connect favourite places with favourite people. I can see myself living in Croatia (where I am now) and Spain. The way of life really suits me and I cannot imagine being away from the sea for too long. Slovenia and all my people there have my heart forever as well.
Every other country I’ve been to has something special so I cannot decide on just one.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

Moved to Dubrovnik. After living in many different cities, I packed my bags and decided to give it a try. I’m still here so I guess it wasn’t that crazy after all.

If you could have any superhero power, what would it be and why?

I would love to fly so I can easily go and see the world!

Last but not least – if you could choose one song to play every time you walked into a room, what would you choose and why?

I love music so much I would have a different song for every ‘kafana’! But if I have to choose an international one, it would be Steve Angello & Laidback Luke feat. Robin S. “Show Me Love”. It gets me bouncing every time!