INTERVIEW | Who is the founder of the company and what does he enjoy most about his work?

Question 1: Can you start by giving readers a few sentences about who you are and what you do when you are not making products?

A: My name is Marian, I am already at a very mature age and I have a lot of life experience, both in my professional and personal life. I have had ups and downs, but I try to keep the positive knowledge and experiences from my life. I am a trained carpenter and for almost 20 years my brother and I had a company with eighty employees, which was dedicated to the sale of car parts and car service in several branches across the country. My brother is still in the auto parts business and my life's journey has taken the direction of making creative products such as wall clocks and paintings for the wall and handmade is what fulfills me at the moment. As far as free time is concerned, I honestly don't have much of it outside of my work and it is very difficult for me to combine the two. However, when I do get a moment, I definitely look for relaxation in nature, which is like an open pharmacy for me, where I can always recharge myself with new energy and take a mental break from the normal working days. Apart from nature, I like to relax in a café with a good cup of coffee (it's really a moment full of love, peace and tranquility) and I try to meet friends and discuss various topics to gain new knowledge and insight into events.

Question 2: For many years, since 1995 to be precise, you and your brother have been selling and servicing car spare parts, why did you decide to change your line of business after almost twenty years and go into creative manufacturing?

A: Creative products are a unique field and as long as you offer your own products with your own design, you become almost unbeatable. So I guess it was that gradual pressure of competition in the automotive industry, where I was looking for an industry where fighting the competition wouldn't be so difficult.

Question 3: What do you think is the biggest difference between the two industries?

A: Their main difference is that auto parts are consumer goods, like food, and creative products are emotional goods. It is much easier and more motivated for me to produce and sell products that are like scarce goods and emotionally affect every person, which was not possible and the emotion was not present in selling auto parts. Customers buy on the basis of their feelings, not on the basis of the technical parameters they need.

Question 4: As you mentioned, you've also been through running a fairly large company, what do you see as the biggest benefit of running a family business with wall clocks and paintings versus such a large company?

Answer: I can't pinpoint if there is a major benefit, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. With running a business in the past, I have mainly gained knowledge and experience that I use in my current business and help me to overcome various obstacles that I encounter easier or I can already react better to different things, thanks to previous experience.

Question 5: Going back to 2012 to 2015, what were your beginnings as a business in this area?

A: Looking back in time, the beginning of the business and the idea of selling wall clocks and later wooden products was actually quite funny. I started the company in 2012 with no clear intention of doing business yet. At that time, my then 15-year-old daughter, who seemed to have inherited the entrepreneurial spirit from me, found some website on the internet selling various home accessories imported from China. Since she didn't feel like going to a part-time job after school, she was looking for another way to earn some money to buy a new mobile phone, which my wife and I didn't want to buy for her, saying that she should earn her own money. One day she borrowed 20,-€ from her wife with which she bought her first wall clock, which she sold among her classmates for 40,-€. She reinvested the money, bought two clocks for 40,-€ and sold them to a neighbour for 80,-€. Within a month she bought a new iPhone with her own money and I quickly understood that I had to grab this opportunity too. So basically, I stole the business idea from my 15-year-old daughter, for which I am still grateful to this day. To this day, she still tries to help me in the business and keeps improving, innovating and making it better. I'm in charge of most things regarding the company and the production itself, and she takes care of social media and graphics or customer communication alongside her studies, and we complement each other. I try to teach her a lot of things and at the same time she teaches me. I couldn't think of anything better than a job that I enjoy and feeds me at the same time.

Question 6: You also mentioned that you are a trained cabinetmaker, does that trade help you in your current production?

A: Of course, it's like playing an old record or getting on a bike after ten years. I use the information and knowledge from my school days in the manufacture of all wood products today, whether it is bending wood, cutting it, staining it or any other technical properties that wood has.

Question 7: The company has been in operation for almost 10 years, but you have only been manufacturing your own products for four years, why did the idea to manufacture your own products come so relatively late?

Answer: Nothing in life comes right away and everything takes time for things to settle and mature. Ideas in the company also come gradually and everything requires careful thought and consideration. We are constantly trying to innovate and expand the company's products and services, but as I said before - everything takes its time.

Question 8: Do you have any interesting experiences related to production?

Answer: Certainly one of the most powerful experiences is the moment when I was contacted by e-mail by the creators of the show Dámsky klub, which is a daily magazine mainly for women, broadcast by RTVS. A couple of months after the e-shop was founded, I received an invitation on their behalf to be on the show, on the basis that they had noticed interesting products (at that time we were still selling only 3D wall clocks) and they would be happy if we would come to Bratislava to present our sticker clocks live on air. I didn't hesitate a moment and accepted the offer. I was thrilled that someone liked the products we offered. Nowadays, I would be even more excited if we could show and present our original work and our own designs and designs of clocks or wall paintings to people in this way. So that door is still open as well, and maybe one day they'll get back to me and I would certainly humbly and happily accept the offer again.

The full interview can be found: HERE from the 23rd minute onwards.

Question 9: What makes you happiest in your own products business?

Answer: Definitely the positive feedback from customers. Some even call back, thank me, and even send pictures of the painting or the clock on the wall in an email. I've had a couple of times where I've even received a chocolate or other gift in the mail as a thank you and appreciation from customers. That's what makes me the happiest, the satisfaction of the customers and their happiness that they like the products and that they are happy. In the end, I feel that in the final analysis, I am happier than the customer who has a new painting in their living room which enriches me immensely and I thank them for that with respect and humility.

Question 10: Can customers also design their own personalised product design?

A: In the past, you had anchored production to a set pattern only, where customers could choose the size, material or colour. Currently, on the e-shop www.sentop.sk we are currently preparing a whole system where clients will be able to realize either on graphics or by inserting their own texts into the products. They will have the choice to create a personalized wood product in the form of a painting or a home accessory. For example, we currently offer this clock for the children's room with the possibility of inserting any name.

Question 11: Production, the e-shop, packaging the goods, arranging shipping, taking care of the accounting and invoices, social sites, suppliers, creating graphics and many other things associated with the business are more or less on your shoulders, how have you been managing all these years? Have you got your systems in place?

A: In the early days, I used to handle these things completely on my own. However, as the number of orders increased, my ability to keep up and manage it all decreased, so for some tasks I of course had to team up with external companies that take care of, for example, accounting or transport. A lot of times my kids or my wife try to help me with packing or production, but that's only when it's in season, like the Christmas season for example, when I would really struggle to manage without them. But for now I have a system in place, I'm dedicated to it from early morning until late evening and there's not much room for free time. Therefore, in the near future I plan to fill the positions and increase the company's premises, as the current capacities are no longer sufficient and suitable for the further development of the company.

Question 12: What do you enjoy most about your work?

Answer.

Question 13: What is your motto in life that guides you in your professional and private life?

A: A beautiful Slovak proverb: As you make your bed - so you will sleep. Or the equivalent, as you sow - so shall you reap.

Question 14: What do the walls of your house look like? Does your wife still buy wooden decorations and other home accessories or do you make them for her?

A: (Laughter.) My wife already begs me not to bring her anything because she has nowhere to hang it, so I'll leave it to your imagination what our walls look like at home. However, I often give wall clocks for the living room, bedroom or kitchen, as well as wooden paintings to close family, friends or neighbours. Working with laser firing requires 100% attention during production and sometimes a millimetre mistake happens due to inattention and then the product is no longer saleable and ends up on a neighbour's living room wall instead of a trash can.

Wife's answer: that's true, realistically we don't have anywhere to hang those paintings and clocks at home anymore, but somehow I always find a piece of free wall where the painting or clock fits perfectly.

Question 15: Finally, what would you say to anyone who wants to start a business but lacks determination or is afraid of failure?

A: Positive thinking. What you think about is what you create and eventually it will happen. If your mind wanders into negative thoughts, that's exactly the kind of thing that will happen in your life.

Thank you so much for the interview and for ending on a positive note with your last reply.

Monika Bočkajová | Sentop s.r.o