When he came of age, Bouligny joined the family import-export business, which traded textiles, spices, wines, and more from both around the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic.
He joined the Real Sociedad Económica Matritense de Amigos del País [es] commercial and scientific society, and he wrote four essays on the economy that were delivered to the Count of Floridablanca.
Bouligny sought an agreement based upon the treaty of trade and friendship the sultan signed with the Kingdom of Naples in 1740, but the negotiations were long and drawn out, as well as complicated by the need to rely on non-Spanish dragomans as interpreters and go-betweens.
[11] He also made careful notes about the mercantile activities of traders from across Europe in Constantinople, both to report back to Spain and to strengthen his business interests in the region.
[6][3] Elena and her daughters joined Bouligny in Constantinople for several years after his appointment, participating in the first diplomats' opera in the Ottoman Empire in 1786.