Interview summary
Board plus hair extension company is owned by Zuzana Chardiet, it is located in the United States and the company provides high-quality hair extensions. Zuzana was a good friend of mine therefore it was easy to locate her for the interview. This company was targeted for the interview because the company had gone through a tough financial crisis that was being experienced in the United States hence her entrepreneurial abilities were recognized.
The entrepreneur was motivated to go into the hair business by various factors. These include the fact that she had grown up in a family where her parents worked in the fashion and design industry as well as having obtained professional training on beauty and hair products. She also possessed great skills in fashion and beauty.
She decided to explore this opportunity of hair extension assembly since she had got the technology and the raw material, and the only thing that was needed was to locate the business in the area that there was the need for this technology. In evaluating the opportunity she recognized there was a need for a superior product and the gap that existed required assembling the product. The option of franchising was not very profitable due to the costs involved. In deciding whether to pursue this opportunity she identified a need in the market that needed to be addressed and fulfilled. In setting up the business there were various risks involved such as management challenges, managing people, suppliers, and even distributors. Protecting the business idea was also critical for her success in the business.
Lacking a supplier for the hair products as well as the potential loss of invested capital were also major obstacles that needed to be overcome to achieve success in the business. To confirm the business ideas she conducted a thorough market survey and gathered enough courage to start the business. She began with two hair salons being the owner and the worker at the business. She also identified the market needs in an attempt to justify her business ideas. These were addressed by asking herself the questions such as; Who is my customer? What do they want to buy and how often?
What price is the customer willing to pay for the product?
Zuzana also did a market survey to analyze the activities of her competitors as well as learn about other people supplying to the same market, what they do for the customer, and the difference in their products. This enabled her to come up with a price range of her product and the necessary changes to be made to create a unique product from her competitors. A market analysis was done in July 2010 while competitor analysis was done in September 2010. In her analysis, Zuzana considered her suppliers and her distributor’s key success factors in the success of her business. While starting the business another major problem she encountered was finding a reliable supply of blond hair since the suppliers were not able to deliver a constant supply of hair leading to the loss of clients. To solve these problems she had to make several journeys to Eastern Europe to find suppliers and was able to get four steady suppliers rather than one who was not able to satisfy her order.
Factors that affected Zuzana’s success
Motivations
Zuzana Chardiet recognized the business opportunity while in Germany; she obtained trained and experienced personnel’s from India and Russia. She saved and introduced this idea in the US. Her major motivations were the wide experience and knowledge she had gained from the professional history of beauty and hair products. In addition, she was brought up in an environment of beauty and modeling hence highly experienced in this area and thus was able to penetrate the market.
She also had a unique technology that could be introduced in the US. By the use of the current technology such as special tubes that do not damage the client’s hair she was able to offer exceptional services thus attracting many clients and this enabled her to be competitive in the market.
The support she received from her family also motivated her, Zuzana Chardiet family members assisted her in obtaining quality and fashionable hair products from Europe and India. Most of her family members had extensive skills in beauty and thus they were also able to offer both moral and technical skills to her. Through their encouragement, she was able to face the various challenges in the business world.
She had qualified personnel’s from India and Russia thus able to offer a variety of quality able to offer services to her clients. This guaranteed high customer retention as the business was able to offer competitive and quality services.
Zuzana Chardiet had also some fund she had saved to start up the business, lack of capital is a major reason for failure in business, the fact that the company was able to survive during the US financial crisis is also a motivating factor since she was able to attract many customers despite the financial crisis.
Networking
Through networking, Zuzana Chardiet has been able to obtain valuable information, skills, expertise, and make good sales as well as coming up with good plans and preparation which have assisted in achieving her business objectives.
This has been achieved through her extensive traveling since she was able to connect with many suppliers and also hire trained personnel, i.e. she was able to acquire superior technology from Germany and also hire qualified personnel from Russia and India. She also maintained a good relationship with her key suppliers and distributors,
Zuzana Chardiet ensured that her products were distributed all over the US after the growth of her business; this enabled her to meet with many clients who had special needs and thus developed unique and quality products. In addition, she maintained a close relationship with her family members and thus they offered her special skills as they had a wide experience in beauty, they also assisted her in obtaining quality products outside the country.
Strategic decisions
Zuzana’s success in business as a result of good decision strategic decisions; she had saved enough money that could help her start up the business.
She also had a list of suppliers who ensured she had quality supplies at the right time, thus she never runs short of supplies.
Zuzana had the required experience and skills before she started the business thus she was able to penetrate the market. She also ensured that she had the current technology and information on beauty and hair products.
Competitors analysis also assisted her to remain competitive in the market, she analyzed other competitors and came up with unique products, offers, and prices. Competitors’ analysis is very crucial in every business in strategy formulation thus enabled the success of the business.
Entrepreneurial Trends
Technology
Technology is essential to the success of every business, the use of the appropriate technology results in quality, unique and competitive services /products. In the above interview, Zuzana used the current technology to beat her competitors by offering exceptional services to them i.e. by the use of the new special tube machine she ensured that her customer’s hair was not damaged. The use of technology-enabled entrepreneurs to provide better and cheaper services in the long run. Businesses that readily accept current technologies are always ahead of the others in terms of services and customer retention.
Funding
Most businesses fail as a result of poor funding or capital misappropriation, before the start of every business capital budgeting must be done. In the above case, Zuzana had accumulated the required capital to start a business, she managed the funds wisely and the business became profitable to an extent of surviving the financial crises in the US.
Networking
Networking is a key business activity in every business; it enables entrepreneurs’ access to quality information, partners, and also customers. Zuzana had done a lot of networking through traveling and attracted many customers and suppliers to her business all over the United States. Nowadays this can be done through social sites and this saves the cost of traveling and time, it is one of the most effective ways of reaching many customers and getting valuable information. She also has distributors who ensure that her products reach a large target population.
Experienced and Trained personnel
Every business requires trained and qualified personnel, in the interview above Zuzana is experienced in the area of the business she deals with; she also hired trained personnel from Russia and India to ensure that her clients get quality and unique services. This was essential to the business as people in the same organization have shared visions and values which cannot be achieved if the quality is not guaranteed. Regular staff training and in house discussions ensures that the staff is well equipped with the necessary skills and the current technology in order to offer quality services to the clients and also build the customer trust in the company’s services.
Optimism and Risk-taking
To get better returns every businessman must be willing to take a risk. In the case above Zuzana risked her capital and was optimistic that in the future she will get good returns. Most entrepreneurs succeed in business due to their persistence in goal persuasion in spite of the many risks and setbacks they face in their daily activities. In risk-taking, entrepreneurs do not shy away from trying something new that can add value and profit to their business. An entrepreneur should also be ready to resolve problems as they come and be flexible while facing varying business priorities.
Strategic Planning
Thinking strategically enables entrepreneurs to be always prepared to face eventualities that could arise in the business. Challenges are foreseen long before they occur and dealt with early enough. It enables businessmen to find solutions to the complex situations of trading, in her business, Zuzana made strategic decisions such as relying on more than one supplier, use of current technology, competitor analysis, and hiring personnel from different parts of the world to ensure quality services.