AUTHOR
Colin Rooney
Co-founder of Wonder Works. Fifteen years in hospitality operations across three continents, from trainee chef to global operations director. Now based in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
Colin writes the English articles in the Worth Knowing library, and Neli Rooney writes the Bulgarian ones. He writes about marketing, AI search and running a business in plain English.
Credentials. Fifteen years operating F&B and hospitality businesses. Fractional operations director for hotels and restaurants. Co-founder of Wonder Works: he and Neli started it in early 2025 and registered the company in October 2025.
Head of F&B for Generator (11 properties, 9 countries), Head of Country for Selina Ecuador, Global F&B Manager for Mad Monkey, a $7M+ operation across 25+ properties with 300-500 staff. Entrepreneur, operator, and author of THE NO-BS F&B PLAYBOOK: Forge Your Business into a Local Legend. Speaks fluent P&L. The book is out on Kindle.
Colin, in his own words
I'm Colin. I'm 52, I'm a learning machine, and I started Wonder Works with Neli because we had too much to give and not enough reasons to hold it back.
I was born and raised in High Wycombe, England. I failed at school because it didn't stimulate me. I had undiagnosed ADHD in an era when that just meant you were separated from everyone else and left to figure things out on your own. So I found my own way of learning, and honestly, that's the best thing school ever did for me.
I spent 15 years in hospitality and customer experience across three continents and more than 20 countries, reporting directly to CEOs and founders. I understand what makes people tick, what they need before they know they need it, and how to build experiences that earn loyalty.
I went through a very dark period dealing with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder. It cost me marriages, relationships with my kids, and jobs. It controlled me then. It does not control me now. I'm proud of where I am and what I've built since.
Today I research, I learn, I understand and I implement. Every single day. I host a podcast where I talk openly about research-backed self-improvement. I love to cook. I write more than I read. And I'm obsessed with becoming a better human, a better partner and a better professional, in that order.
"I don't see my clients as my clients. I only care about what their clients think. Because their customers are the only ones that matter, for both of us."
Colin
Written by Colin
What Meta Verified costs a business in 2026, what you get, why some Facebook Pages face a two-links-a-month limit, and when the paid badge is worth it.
A website with Wonder Works costs €500, one price. What it includes, what it doesn't, what drives the cost of any site, and what to ask before you order.
Claim your Google Business Profile free in 5 steps: find it on Maps, pass verification first time, and what to do if someone else already owns it.
There's no honest week number. What to watch at each stage instead: views from strangers, sends, messages and covers, and when it's fair to change course.
Google changed its review solicitation rules in April 2026. What is actually banned, what is still allowed, and what venues should change this week.
Dual lev and euro prices ended on 8 August 2026. What must show euro now, how to show lev, the price rise rule that runs to August 2027, and your menus.
Google's citation share inside AI Mode rose 8.4 times by 30 June 2026, mostly through Business Profile cards. What to fix on yours, from Colin Rooney.
The Bulgarian hosts we checked don't say if they block GPTBot. How to check your own site, what to ask your host, and what Cloudflare changed on 15 September.
Bansko F&B is brutally seasonal. Why silence in May costs you December, and what a hospitality operator does off season instead. From Colin Rooney.
Google Search Console now shows which of your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, and every website has the report. What it shows and what to do next.
Generative Engine Optimization is how you get named inside ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI answers. A seven step GEO workflow, checked against 2026 evidence.
An honest founder story from Colin Rooney: how Wonder Works went from an idea in early 2025 to a registered company in October, and what we got wrong and right.
Social media still reaches people, but the average Facebook business post reaches about 1.25% of a page's followers, and links now cost. What changed in 2026.
Marketing amplifies whatever brand it points at, good or bad. The seven point brand audit you can run yourself in under an hour, before you spend another euro.
Brand managers expect 10 to 20% more growth from a consistent brand. The science behind the Frankenstein Effect, and why the fix is a joined-up brand.
What AI image and video tools can do for a small brand in 2026, which ones matter now after a year of fast change, and what they still cannot do without you.
Why raw, real posts often beat polished brand shoots on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok in 2026, what the platforms reward now, and how to shoot for it.
ChatGPT recommended 1.2% of the 350,000 business locations SOCi checked in 2026. Seven reasons your website is missing, and the free fixes you can make today.
WordPress starts cheap and cheerful, then plugins, security patches and upkeep eat the savings. What businesses learn after they build, with the numbers.