Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
On Thursday, November 3 in Čakovec, the first Business Café of North Croatia was held. The theme of the event was How do people of Međimurje do it? and guest speakers inspired the assembled entrepreneurs with their entrepreneurial stories. Since Međimurje is known for a lower rate of unemployment, higher exports and leads in terms of positive business of entrepreneurs (72.2% of businesses in Međimurje are profitable, according to FINA 2014) it was interesting to hear what’s their secret. The majority of them, 98%, are small businesses and, with the exception of one public administration, they are mainly engaged in processing activities.
Guests at the first Business Café in Čakovec were: Damir Šafarić from Media Soft, which is engaged in production of CRM systems for the pharmaceutical industry for 20 years now. They work for major pharmaceutical brands from 40 countries of the world and make their income primarily on foreign markets (approximately 90%), while all the work is done in Croatia. He talked about how he started his entrepreneurial story 20 years ago and how they conquered new markets. Although no one taught him how to do business with the Chinese, in business, he says, you learn things along the way and it is important to continuously develop further. Customer care and a good service are the advantages that make clients choose to work with Media Soft. As a specificity of people from Međimurje, he noted that they love to work, so sometimes it doesn’t matter how much they will profit – they just want to work. Ultimately, all that work pays off. He believes one has to continuously develop and look for new challenges, and his motto is a well-known saying by Steve Jobs: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” Media Soft still develops new programs, because they want to expand into other branches. Recently they developed the Story Pad platform for digital marketing and CLM.
Davor Zidarić, co-owner of the company Centrometal, talked about the development path of the company that has a history of more than 50 years. They produce boilers and furnaces for the use of renewable energy sources. When asked how they conquer foreign markets, he said: “We sit in the car and go.” Today the company exports to 35 countries and employs 250 workers. He pointed out that it’s easier to do business abroad, and if you succeed there, then you can certainly succeed in your own country. Because of the specific activity and products of the company, they invest a lot in employee education, but also their distributors, and considering that continuous development of new products is extremely important for them, they collaborate with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Zagreb. They do their best to deliver quality conditions to their employees and are proud of the fact that only few of their employees decided to leave the country. The development path of Centrometal went gradually and mainly with their own funds, which they consider to be a correct path in the long-term.
Patrik Pintarić made his first steps in entrepreneurship very early, through a family business for gasification. Today he is the owner of Patrix bar, and more recently the company that has taken over the management of the City Café in Čakovec. His wish is to offer Čakovec something different and to revive the city center. His tied to the City Café through good memories, and its history is an excellent basis for further development. In the last century it was the main gathering place of the locals, and the cafe was led by the couple Legenstein. In their honor, the cafe now offers a unique cake called Legenstein, created according to a special recipe, and in order to give the old cafe a new shine and to enrich the social lives for locals, they regularly organize literary evenings, different events and performances by various artists. Pintarić believes that success in business comes slowly, patiently, and through work with professionals. As for the fact that in Međimurje there are a lot of entrepreneurs and often generations of the same families in business, he believes that there’s something in the genes.
So we learned why people of Međimurje are specific, and the secret of their success. They love to work, they accept new challenges, they are willing to make an effort if they really want something, and they do not give up easily. This was also illustrated by the great interest of the audience for the event and a number of questions from the audience.
After licensing, the 4th Business Café North Croatia was led by Kristina Androlić, owner of the company for the preparation and implementation of EU projects, Androlić consulting.
Business Café was launched a little more than six years ago in Zagreb, by Kristina Ercegović, a serial entrepreneur, author of several books and owner of the company Zaokret. Today, Business Café is present in six countries of the region, in 18 cities, and was so far visited by over 10,000 guests.
Gifts for guest speakers were provided by the Winery Štampar from Štrigova. Participants had the chance to win many appropriate gifts, and the grand prize – a weekend holiday at St. Martin in Mura, donated by Hobby Hizica from Varaždin.
The event was covered by numerous media: BusinessIn, eMedjimurje, Lovely Medjimurje Međimurske Novine, Radio 1, samopozitivno.com, Varaždinski.hr, Women in Adria and many others.
Sponsor of the shooting of the event: VAJB production from Slovenia
Location sponsor: City Café (Gradska kavana) Čakovec