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The mistakes, according to the businessman, could not be avoided, but they helped to find the right solutions.
– You started your business from scratch. What was that zero after all, what was the beginning like?
– It was my mother’s inheritance – 1000 rubles, and I was still saving about a thousand on all kinds of work. So what two thousand rubles he had.
– What goals did you set for yourself then?
– Primitive. To live. Feed.
– Did you feel like this would all turn into a big retail chain?
– Even in 2000, I could not imagine the situation we are in now. Perhaps only in 2008. The image of where we come from really began to emerge.
– What stages of business creation did you find the most difficult: start-up, growth, development? Creating manufacturing companies? Or perhaps the challenges of today?
– I’d say it was all in waves. Of course, the beginning is not easy, when there must be a cleaner, a loader and a salesman – one person at all positions. It was difficult not only physically but also psychologically. At the moment, there may be no physical difficulty, but the psychological burden is incomparable. That is the difference.
1993 there was nothing behind him, nobody pushed. Now behind his back, a lot. Somewhere when something goes wrong, you have to deal with difficult situations.
One of the most difficult periods was in 1998, during the Russian crisis. The years 2008-2009 were really difficult. At the beginning of the second wave of COVID-19, when the virus began to spread unpredictably in our manufacturing facilities, two to three weeks were very difficult. I don’t know how I will remember it in 10 years, as a more difficult period or not, because only history ties it all together. But now that month of uncertainty seems really overwhelming.
If a contract is signed, payments are made in a clockwise direction. For me, personally, this is very important and I demand all this from others.
– When and what were the key turning points?
– The first 5 stores. Then a big step forward as we grew to 30 stores. Subsequently, the development has been consistent. We are currently opening 10 stores and we don’t even feel it. I don’t even call it development, it’s just a steady job when everyone knows what to do. I remember how we opened the second store, “Kometas” on Asanavičiūtės str. Then in 3 days we made repairs, obviously poor, today we don’t even think about doing it. But during those 3 days, the electricity was fixed, the equipment was fixed, the goods were assembled, and a store was opened. Of course, there were all kinds of ends that we completed when the store opened. But in reality, we practically did not leave the store during those three days, we were in a hurry to do everything, because we had to pay the rent for each day. We didn’t have the money, so we couldn’t keep the facilities empty.
We calculated very carefully, we collected the money and transported it to the bank 2-3 times a day so that we could buy the merchandise as soon as possible, because that way the money “turns” faster. Of course, there is no need to do this now, but it was very important in the beginning.
We try to buy directly from the manufacturers, and they don’t load the products until they learn. After a while, we gain confidence.
I strictly observed not to be late for a single day. In the eyes of our partners, we have earned trust as a company that cannot deceive. If a contract is signed, payments are made in a clockwise direction. For me, personally, this is very important and I demand all this from others.
Today we are smarter because we have tried and burned a lot.
– What 24 years helped and helps to handle difficulties?
– My basic principle is that in case of problem, it must be solved. There are current problems, so you should always choose what size they have. If everyone is bothered, decide immediately. Sometimes there are unsolved problems that only time can alleviate. But if it works out, you can’t hide.
– To err is human. What mistakes did you make? Would you do something different now?
– Most importantly, the success rate is higher than the error rate. And mistakes are also partly necessary for you to make the right decision.
What wouldn’t I have done? Some transactions. I would not start a business with partners because sooner or later those businesses would close.
When you are younger, you opt for riskier offers. Today, our situation is stable, so we take fewer risks. It is already an experience.
Mistakes are also needed to learn the correct solution from them.
Mistakes are also needed to learn the correct solution from them.
– Do you choose to learn from your own mistakes or those of others?
– I would like to say that I learn from others, but I don’t do it without my mistakes. He couldn’t boast of having learned so much from the mistakes of strangers. Many mistakes have been made, I would not repeat many things now.
– What is your schedule? When does your workday start and what is it like?
– Today I got up at 4.30 am because I was going to Šilalė. Standard day 7pm I am already in the store in the morning and before 7.30. – Offices. I get off work around 4 pm 1.5 hours for the last two years. after work I dedicate myself to sports. Then I have dinner, I read, I watch TV shows.
Before the quarantine, I dedicated a little more, at least a couple of days a week, to other objects in Lithuania: shops, production companies. During the non-pandemic, we built a lot of new equipment that needed maintenance. If the object continues, it must be raised for at least 5 hours. As a rule, I like to be there before 8pm in the morning, be it Klaipeda or Silale. I want to go home sooner because I am an eastern bird.
– It is said that if you have a business, you no longer have free time. How did you manage to maintain a work-life balance while growing a large company?
– During the first 10 years I really did not have vacations, I have accumulated them until now. But now I don’t really sit down or work at night.
I enjoyed going out to rest. He often attended various exhibitions because he was interested in innovation. If you don’t see what’s going on in the world, you won’t really do anything.
– A constant companion of an entrepreneur – stress. How do you deal with it?
– I was not an active athlete before. Now I quit stress at the gym after mentioning my bike. I acknowledge and confirm that sport helps to cope with stress.
My dad taught me business without even realizing it.
– And the vein of entrepreneurship – is it inherited or acquired? That business sentiment, the sentiment?
– I think there must be both factors. It is inherited and acquired. There are other cases. You have probably heard that parents are great entrepreneurs and that a child is not interested in business and that’s it. I think if a child sees business from a young age and is taught independence, they are more likely to have that streak in business. But not guaranteed.
– And did you receive entrepreneurship “gifts”?
– Today, I can safely say that my dad taught me that without even realizing it. In addition to the standard work we do, we grow vegetables and animals on the farm, which we then sell. Dad distributed the money to the whole family according to the work that everyone did.
From my father’s point of view, it was possible to sell what you created or raised yourself. And it cannot be resold. So when I started the business, he was against it and called it “speculation.” Such was the school of Soviet times.
– Making a million is the dream of many. Remember that first million feeling? How was he? What did you realize then?
– First of all, I honestly don’t know when that million was made. Sometimes people probably mistakenly imagine that a million take and enter an entrepreneur’s personal account. I have to say it doesn’t come in, you don’t even know when it is or not.
Everything is very slippery – one day you may be in disarray and the next day you may be bankrupt.
I had to see big companies bankrupt when there was nothing left. And that limit is very slippery. So I would like to say to entrepreneurs: always check the pulse of your business. As soon as it is lost, there is the risk of bankruptcy.
– What personal qualities would you highlight as the key to success?
– I always say that the two main things are work and an entrepreneurial mind. Without these two things, doing business would be difficult.
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