As an international marketing expert, working with clients in Denmark, Dubai, Poland, Hungary and the US, Piros (Pi-Rosh) Pazaurek has been cultivating relationships around the globe for years.

The founder of Marketing X-Rays in Port Orange says her love of marketing was sparked at a young age in Hungary while president of her college’s student government association.

There, she found a passion for marketing and planning events and expanded on an international level as a presidency member with the National Union of Students in Hungary, representing 400,000 students across the country.

For 20 years, she’s been sharing her creative skills globally as a “brandologist” starting businesses, including an Italian fashion brand still in operation and several investments in her native Hungary.

In 2015, after moving to the U.S. with her husband, Gabor T. Nagy, Divisional Operations Director for Kingspan Latin America, a global building materials company in DeLand, Pazaurek launched Marketing X-Rays. The company provides complete marketing solutions to start-ups and established businesses, including brand development, graphic design, content marketing, social media, website design and search engine optimization (SEO).

Pazaurek has worked with more than 40 festivals, businesses, and nonprofits. Her international portfolio includes the EFOTT Music Festival, which is the one of the largest in Hungary, and NewDoggy.com, whose clientele is worldwide. Locally, she has worked with several nonprofits and businesses, including the Early Learning Coalition of Flagler & Volusia, Family First Health Center and Blue Ocean Dermatology.

Pazaurek has also been actively working to connect Hungarian based businesses with Volusia County. We spoke to her about her efforts in this regard and what she sees as the benefits to facilitating this connection.

Evolve: You’ve been active in providing marketing services to local businesses as well as Hungarian and other international businesses. Why do you feel it’s important to connect Volusia County with Hungarian businesses?

Pazaurek: Opportunity! Volusia County shares many similarities to the European models that Hungarian businesses are used to. And the territorial size of both Florida and Hungary are almost the same, despite the fact that Florida has twice the population.

Hungary is a part of the European Union; and some of the startup incentives advanced by the EU are mirrored in Volusia County. Volusia County’s pro-business governments, ready-to-work workforce, reasonable tax structure and workable regulations add to its allure making it a favorable investment environment. Volusia County in particular offers distinct advantages for international businesses, not the least of which is that our community is friendly and welcoming to new businesses. We are situated at the heart of the I-4 and I-95 highways, with easy access to the international airport. Add to this our abundant higher education opportunities and our relatively low population density compared to places like South Florida, and you have an attractive hub for any operation wishing to do business in America.

Evolve: What are you doing to accommodate and support overseas companies who wish to do business here?

Pazaurek: We’ve had several Hungarian companies visit us in Daytona Beach from overseas. I love this because it’s a chance to really show what we can offer – not just Marketing X-Rays, but our community. When we have overseas visitors, I like to take them around and introduce them to the Rotary Club, the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, Team Volusia and the UCF Incubation Program, as well as other potential resources or partners.

Many of these visitors express their aim to start businesses here in America. For instance, I’ve been speaking with Marta Kassay, founder of SanoD’or, a Hungarian company specializing in environmentally-friendly probiotic cleaning products, who has expressed a desire to transfer manufacturing of her product to Volusia County. She likes our geographic location, our state’s tax structure, low labor costs and our exceptional climate.

We’ve also been working with Connie Garzon-Bernal, the Associate Director and Site Manager of the UCF Incubation Program about using their Soft Landing Program as a physical starting point for international businesses aiming to start businesses here in Central Florida. The Soft Landing Program was first rolled out to assist Colombian companies and favorable results indicate that this program can be easily adapted to work for European companies, too.

I would be remiss to not mention the upcoming Hungarian Summit which will be held here, in Volusia County. The goal of the event will be to facilitate networking opportunities between local and Hungarian start-ups, established businesses, educators, community leaders, and government decision-makers with aim to establish successful relationships among American and Hungarian professionals.

Evolve: As a marketing professional, what are the similarities and differences between businesses in Volusia County and Hungary?

Pazaurek: Hungarians are very smart and talented, but in my experience, Hungarian business owners are not always confident in commercializing. They are often hard-working with an impeccable work ethic, but oftentimes lack soft skills such as marketing and branding. In Volusia County, business owners are more accustomed to putting themselves out there and marketing their brands. They tend to have strong commercial prowess. This is why a relationship between our two cultures is so effective.

It is relatively easy to launch a business in Volusia County. Our regulations are friendly to small businesses and our environment is conducive to overall sustainability. However, I advise every professional interested in relocating their business anywhere to become well-versed in what these regulations actually are. You want to make sure you don’t fail to comply with regulations in Hungary or run into a problem with the IRS.

Above all, I truly think that Volusia County is an ideal place to do business. I have loved my experience as a business-owner here. What I’ve learned through outreach with both our local community and Hungarian businesses abroad has been truly invaluable.