By Srdjan Janicijevic A market or country in transition is a playground for the consultant. It is an enviorment where almost everything needs to be done and, for a variety of different reasons, progress is often slowed by poor advice od ill-adviced action. According to Srdjan Janicijevic, to work within such a market requires a dose of common sense (hence his company's name, Komon Sens) and an endless suply of optimism. Mr. Janicijevic offers his view of the market and how his consulting business developed.
In transitional economies, consultants are asked to preform the "Mr. Fix it" role. As one client described: "We need a consultant to pass the envelope where needed." We advesed him to go to the Post Office.
I see huge human capital potential for the consulting industry in Serbia. From the top to the bottom of our society, there is an inflation of advice, opinions, and assumptions. We talk a lot. Most of those "intellectual treasures" are either ineffective or not operational. It is an ideal opportunity for Consulting.
Once we all agree and accept that the thing we lack the most is knowledge, better days await consultants. It seems that everyone thinks he knows it all. I do not remember meeting a client who openly admitted to having less experience than us and that was why he was willing to pay our fees. On the other hand, when they are in trouble, they expect consultants to turn into wizards.
The environment is changing. New laws are slowly but surely being passed. Taxation is improving. Most businesses are getting real owners. Normal commercial conditions are slowly being created. This is good for the consulting industry. We see opportunuity in virtualy every area of consulting as long as our Clients express the need. To mention a few: How o make and improve your business? How to create and improve brands? How to create an effective organization? How to motivate and organize teams? How to compete in the marketplace? Companies in Serbia are, as a rule, understaffed with highly educated and experienced professionals. Only few companies can afford to have their own business develpment department. How often does your management find time to think about strategies? Two, three times a year? In addition, it si good to have an outside second opinion. Who from your staff can afford to run special project on top of their daily jobs and routines? This is where we see our market.
International companies can also benefit from the local consulting firms, mostly to enhance the insights into the local market, industries, policies and practice. International companies have greater resources to weather the storm, greater buffers for mistakes and inefficiences; they realize the benefits of business development.
Local companies who are transitioning are facing a greater challenge. What seemed like a "good deal" during the privatization rush suddenly become a "dog" when running a business on daily bases. In many cases, the new, private owners do not have a clue how to develop and expand the business they have just acquired. Typical steps would be to eliminate the theft, deal with excess labor, and force people to work and cut "buddies contracts" with suppliers signed by the previous management. The great news is that in many cases these four steps are sufficient to cover company operating costs.
The biggest but least developed market for consulting is in the area of small businesses and start-ups. The easiest way to find employment is to self-employ. This market segment is less likely to be of interest to consulting companies since it requires a lot of work, many small clients, without fat hourly rates.
However, this area will eventually mark the greatest growth in the future. There are hundreds of thousands of potential small clients who need help the most.
It's no secret. I could have taken more clients this year if I had more project managers. The ideal project manager is someone who has international experience in organized and structured systems and knows how to get around in Serbia and get things done. Well, these guys are not easy to find. If you recruit somone who is entirely local, you need to invest a lot to bring him up to international standards. On the other hand, if you bring in someone who has no working skills in trazitional markets, it takes at least two years for him to find his way in the Serbian business world.
If you have knowledge, experience and drive, start a consulting business. The market is ripe. When Komon Sens was about to be astablished, I got a lot of great advice. First, there were the Optimists who thought it was a great idea. After all, the only thing we lack here in Serbia is common sense. Then, there were the Realists who advized sticking to international clients since they paid well and understood intellectual services. The Pessimists were the most "encouraging": you are not in politics, you do not have buddies at the Privatization Aagency, you are no taycoon, who cares about consulting services anyway...No, no chance.
We started in my basement on January 1st of this year. Who would have guess that twelve months later we would have close to 30 people on the payroll? Not to mentioan a number of very interesting projects.
We were "the new kid" of consulting industry where gross misperceptions rule. The thruth is there are not enough consulting companies, particlarly those who deal with operational aspect of business. If we put aside tax, accounting and financial advisory, there is no one to satisfy other business needs. KOMON SENS found its niche in that particular market segment: company strategy, product, pricing, distribution, operations, organizations, start-ups, and so on. Our penetration strategy was to start with somenthing totaly opposite from the expected "intellectual services." Something solid, concrete, and very much down to earth, something everyone could understand. Like fixing the toilette or changing the door lock. And Hauzmajstor was born. Now when we present our business to clients, they are most interested in the project: either they need something fixed or they have a question about people, organization, IT systems, or something else. Then we present our intellectual services.
This year we have done a lot: a star-up company, several projects and reports for leading multinationals, an NGO restructuring, business plans, restructuring of one of the largest national sales and distribution organization, brand development and supply chain improvements. All these different projects have one thing in common: KOMON SENS.
On the other hand, we did not win two bids organized by public or semi-public companies. Somehow, we did not succed in convincing the potential clients that we are the best at what we do. Next year we hope to improve in this area.
