The list of our contented clients includes the Czech company Plackovna.cz.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Michal from Plackovna for a brief chat, where he shared his story and experiences from the early days of entrepreneurship.
He also shared some amusing anecdotes that have accompanied them since the very beginning.
Let's delve a bit deeper into Plackovna. Over time and amidst several economic fluctuations, they've experienced some dramatic turns, which they fondly reminisce about today. Plackovna has undergone multiple relocations and set-ups of new facilities and warehouses, so we believe it will serve as a great inspiration for many e-shops.
Michal, your Plackovna is an unconventional and original idea. What led you to it?
We stumbled upon the idea through our mom, who is an artist. She started an e-shop to sell her creations, ranging from paintings and picture reproductions to calendars and even violin painting. Coincidentally, she also sold badges, which she had made by a certain company. This prompted my brother to think that we could produce badges for her and perhaps offer them to other people too. At the time, we were both in college, and we started realizing this idea in our apartment. We bought some machines and dived right in.
How did you and your brother perceive the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey?
Since we initially weren't financially dependent on the business, we pursued it mainly for enjoyment and in our spare time. I had just finished college and was working at an advertising agency, while my brother was in Belgium. We started fully devoting ourselves to Plackovna only when I left my job and my brother returned to the Czech Republic. We didn't rush the production process unnecessarily, and things progressed smoothly.
Can you share some funny stories from your beginnings?
The beginnings were quite entertaining. We were making badges at home on the fifth floor of a building without an elevator, which was quite a challenge.
For example, when we initially purchased a nearly hundred-kilogram machine to kickstart production, it proved to be a rather amusing situation. We soon discovered that the machine was exceptionally loud, much to the dismay of our neighbors. Ultimately, this unexpected noise issue rendered the machine unusable.
Moreover, we found ourselves constantly running up and down to fulfill orders, sometimes as many as twenty times a day. Our warehouse was located in a basement seven floors below, requiring us to transport materials up and down. Despite the challenges, we approached the situation with humor and persevered for five years. Eventually, we relocated production to a smaller office space, where we operated for nearly two years. Presently, we have moved into premises custom-built for our needs. Reflecting on our journey, I can't imagine going back to conducting production from home on a simple table anymore! 😀
How does the production process go? Is manual work needed?
Yes, making badges can't do without manual work, despite having machines in production, the human factor is always necessary. We produce thousands to tens of thousands of badges daily.
Could you share some insights on effective customer engagement strategies? How did you initiate customer interactions during the initial stages of your business?
In the early stages, we heavily relied on email marketing and reached out to customers through this channel. We didn't use advertisements at all initially. Later on, under the auspices of a friend, we launched our first advertising campaigns. Overall, he took care of our website and the cash register system, which got us up and running. Revamping our website really helped us connect with customers.
Nowadays, we only have a few ads on Google and social media platforms. Most of our customers are repeat clients. Therefore, there's not much need for additional marketing tools. Our regular customers often include advertising agencies and non-profit organizations. For instance, this year, we handled orders during the presidential elections.
Was there anything during your business journey that surprised you, something you didn't anticipate?
In the beginning, we had no idea how much work printing entails. Selecting the right colors, especially if you want them to be of high quality and reliable, turned out to be quite complex.
We order most of our materials from abroad in quantities of entire containers, which brings significant one-time expenses. Flowpay operational financing has helped us with these large material purchases. The more material we buy, the cheaper it is in the end, but if our order doesn't arrive on time, we have to source materials locally, which can be more expensive. Currently, we have to prepare orders at least three months in advance to ensure certainty.
Do you plan to expand your product offer?
We don't plan to expand the range of products in the future because it's not profitable to produce various shapes of plaques. Few people order shapes other than the classic round ones. Apart from plaques, we also offer magnets, mirrors, and keychains.
The team at Plackovna is thrilled to bring your ideas to life, and we're excited to showcase a few examples of creations from Plackovna.cz
