INTERVIEW: ENTREPRENEURSHIP


Quality control is a large part 4isp’s activities and regular trips to China are a common task for its employees g


it fully done and equipped in five days, whereas in the Czech Republic, it takes three weeks. But what we’ve found out is that standard machines are not appropriate for this kind of rapid customisation. As a result, we’re moving to a new leasing business model, whereby we’ve designed a fibre cutting laser and a press brake that customers can rent and pay, but only for the cutting minutes they use. The other thing we’re moving into is after sales and a repair service for customers importing equipment from China. In China, if a machine stops working, the customer will usually try to repair it himself and if he’s lucky, the supplier will replace a defective part. While this is completely normal in China, the expectation in Europe is completely different.


“When creating a business plan, it’s important to stay in the middle between reality and optimism... being over-optimistic will make it easier to fail”


34 Electro Optics April 2021


So, we are working with Chinese manufacturers to make them more aware of the need for a European approach to after- sale services and warranties.


What are some of the challenges working with China? The first is dealing with Chinese legal bureaucracy. If a contact does not have the correct stamp and signature, it’s completely invalid and it can take a long time to rectify. The second is to understand that the term ‘free’ in free shipping only refers to the cost of getting the parts to a European port. All the other costs, such as port expenses, any stocking fees and moving the parts from the port to the customer have to be paid by the customer. Another issue is the reliability of marketing information, which can be very different from reality. If you order a machine based on the data sheet in a marketing brochure, and the machine works 50 per cent slower and you complain, the answer you’ll get is: ‘What do you expect? It’s just marketing’.


On the positive side, the


people work pretty hard, retire at 50, and it’s not true that they have lower salaries than in Europe. But in general, the philosophy for people between the ages of 20 and 50 is to live to work and the time spent on leisure activities is much lower than in Europe.


What advice do you have for the next generation of entrepreneurs? If you do what you’re passionate about, you will naturally become more capable and studying becomes less important. In my case, for example, I believe that right now I’m a pretty good electronic engineer and I can do quite complicated things, for example, with microcomputers and sensors, not because I studied electronics but because I like it. It’s not a sign of weakness


to ask for and accept advice. Many young people think that older guys are not open to new ideas, but the reality is that they have the experience to know if something’s not feasible,


especially on the business side of things. When creating a business


plan, it’s important to stay in the middle between reality and optimism. Focusing too much on reality makes it difficult to sell your ideas to investors, while being over-optimistic will make it easier to fail. When thinking about a


technology, don’t look at what others are doing because you’ll always be second. To be first, you really need to find a product with future potential, which at first sight may not seem feasible. Don’t reduce your prices just


to keep up with competitors. If a customer tells me a competitor is selling a machine similar to mine at half the price, I generally ignore them. Firstly, because similar machines are not the same as ours and, secondly, because reducing margins means we won’t be able to provide the services that are essential for the technology. If the time comes when market pressures force you to cut margins too low, it’s better to stop selling the product and find an alternative. EO


@electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com


4ISP


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