BIZLife „30 under 30“: Uros Rajicevic, entrepreneur, „Brend Plus“
Uros was born in Belgrade in 1990, where he finished elementary and grammar school. After that, he completed his studies at the Business Academy for Applied Studies, “Department of Banking and Accounting.” He is currently pursuing master studies in the same course. In 2008, he started working in family-owned company, founded by his father, and in 2016 he started his own company “Brend Plus”, which imports premium brands. His “ChocoMe“ chocolates are the most expensive in the country and probably the most luxurious as well. In addition, he is a representative of several other luxury brands, intended for the business world and companies that care for their reputation. Is there anything you had to renounce in order to get to where you are now? I gave up almost nothing. Perhaps I gave up spending more time traveling and being on vacation, because I am constantly working. For three years I had no real vacation, but shorter vacations of two or three days. If I can call that a sacrifice then that would be it. I love and do this job without giving up too much. Financially speaking, perhaps I am renouncing some of my desires, for example buying a better car instead of investing money in business, but I do not consider it a major sacrifice. Did success reach you, or was it the other way round? Success can never arrive by itself, that’s for sure. You can only succeed through working. One needs to be lucky as well, and that factor has served me so far, because I manage to reach certain places where I did not think I would be able to. However, without the effort and work you can’t expect a major success. In addition, in business I trust my instinct and belief and rarely do I listen to advices from other people. I usually go with the gut feeling. So far, it has proved to be correct. What is the most important lesson you have learned in your work so far? I learned that, during job negotiations, one should not accept it until everything is agreed upon. On several occasions I have experienced that a deal was 97 percent agreed, yet those three percent made a problem for either me or the client. When a deal is negotiated, every detail must be known in order for both parties to be satisfied and to avoid problems later. I learned that from personal experience. What is the ultimate goal? The ultimate goal is to have a larger company that will have a retail chain, where I will be able to distribute my imported product. To have 30 or 50 of my stores in our country and Montenegro. That’s the meaning of it all – to have a retail chain where one can buy goods I import and brands I represent in our country. Favourite subject at school? History has been my favourite subject at school. This is because I believe that all people should know the history of their people and their country, in order to know who and what they are. First job? I worked in a family-owned company and dealt with daily workload. Business role model? Bogoljub Karic, owner of the company BK. Motivational song? “Oci jedne zene“ by Predrag Zivkovic Tozovac.
Izvor: BIZLife magazin
