That's the treasure when there is harmony everywhere

They say that people who are successful in business have a special gene – ‘business ingenuity’ (or ‘an entrepreneurship gene’). When it turns on, a person begins to develop business qualities: determination, practicality, the ability to take risks, to calculate in advance…

And my heroine is Tamara Dubovtsova. She is a director of LLC Lace. Tamara has her own theory about business people. She believes that real entrepreneurs grow out of technical people. At least she has not met any successful business people with humanities backgrounds. It is the technicians (whether men or women) who know how to count and think strategically.

Tamara Mikhailovna is a technician and has been running a business for many years. She could be an excellent business mentor as she has a lot to tell people who want to create (or have already created) a manufacturing business.

Hard work alone is not enough for business.

Tamara Mikhailovna was born in Orsha. Her father was a military man, and the family soon found themselves on the Kola Peninsula, in Severomorsk. Tamara finished four years of school there and returned to Belarus with her family. They lived in Minsk.

After graduating from school, she entered the Polytechnic Institute, Department of Economics of Motor Transport. She worked at MinAutoTrans, first at the research institute, then at the computing center and at the plant. Before becoming a free range woman, she held executive positions. In fact, she had to leave her job, which she liked, where they paid well. She left to help her husband. In the 1980s, cooperatives began to be actively created. Tamara Mikhailovna's husband also decided to open his own business. He tried himself in different directions: tourism, hairdressing, sewing... But constantly faced losses. ‘The family's money went to the business, but there was no return. One day my husband told me, ‘You have to help me.’ I agreed. And I did,’ Tamara smiled. ‘I insisted that you should not spread yourself in different directions. The business should be profitable. You need to do what you know well. You're a wonderful sewer.’ ‘My husband graduated from the Moscow Institute of Light Industry. Previously, he was the chief designer at the knitting factory Alesya. I've always worked hard, but it's not enough for business. You also need to be able to count and gain perspective.’

‘My husband had known Valeha Zinaida Vasilievna. She was the general director of Milavitsa at that time. We decided to offer her our services in sewing corset items. She accepted our offer.

It should be noted that corsetry is one of the most complex types of products produced by light industry enterprises. Modern high-speed equipment, competent organization of labor and highly qualified specialists are needed.

For two decades we have been sewing products under the Milavitsa brand. At first only in Minsk, then – also in Smorgon. Unfortunately, the owner of the company has changed, production volumes have decreased in Milavitsa, and the contract with us was terminated.’

Own brand Misstyle

In 2009 Tamara Mikhailovna opened a sewing factory in Smorgon. ‘ At that time there was a large percentage of female unemployment in the town (there were 350 women registered at the employment center). Mechislav Goy , the former chairman of the district executive committee, was very interested in creating new work places for women, so he was ready to support. I was also attracted to Smorgon because of its proximity to Minsk’ , says the director of Lace. ‘We needed 100 seamstresses. And we found them here. Of course, specialists had to be trained. But Milavitsa had a good school, excellent technologists. Smorgon women did their internships there.

For a year the company worked with losses. But during that time I managed to build a team. We have been working quite successfully for almost five years, until Milavitsa began to reduce its volumes...’.

The sword of Damocles hovered over Lace. Nevertheless, Tamara Mikhailovna showed courage. ‘Since we have learned how to run a sewing business, we chose to continue. There is a team. We will create our own brand. In 2015, in fact, we started everything from scratch,’ notes my interlocutor. ‘ Now we can boast of a collection of 35 models of corsetry. The Misstyle brand was registered in Belarus and the Russian Federation. Now the sewing production in Smorgon has 109 people, and we need about 10 more seamstresses.

The work of a seamstress is difficult, but I try to support my workers financially. The average wage at the company is over a thousand rubles, some get 1,300 or 1,500. They are those who can work very quickly and with high quality.’

‘Lace is a full-cycle enterprise. We create models, we buy raw materials, we cut, we sew, we sell finished products. Fabrics and accessories are brought from abroad (Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Italy, Hong Kong, Turkey). We sell our products mainly to Russia, since the underwear market in Belarus is quite saturated. We have a large wholesale. Another similar enterprise functions in Minsk. My daughter is in charge there now.’

A workable team can move mountains

‘I'm still interested in what I do. It's not a buy-and-sell business. There are many components here, one of the main ones is the human factor. Life doesn't stand still. What you have created must evolve. You have to get the new knowledge.’  Tamara Mikhailovna is sure that the manager has to be up-to-date, to feel the time. The main thing for a manager is to create a team that is interested in success. An efficient team can move mountains.

Tamara Dubovtsova has a secret to success, ‘You have to believe people. Even those who have a lot of negativity respond to kindness.’

Tamara is convinced that a woman is not only a mother and a housewife, she must be successful in her profession. She is proud of her daughter. ‘My daughter is a worthy businessman. She speaks foreign languages, is fluent in negotiations and business correspondence with partners and creates collections. She is perfectly able to apply her knowledge and skills in the right direction,’ says Tamara Mikhailovna. It goes without saying, a chip off the old block.

Silent Hunting is not about production, it's about process

Tamara Dubovtsova does not live her life by business alone. She reads a lot. She has a valuable library. The woman is sure, ‘People should read as books contain wisdom’.  She enjoys the ‘silent hunting’. She likes picking mushrooms in Smorgon. She doesn't cook mushrooms herself and gives everything away. The process is enjoyable, not the result, that matters in this business.

Tamara Mikhailovna loves to travel. ‘I have been to many places, but I am always drawn back home. I have never dreamed of living abroad. I realized that I can only live on this land. I love Minsk. I spent there most of my life. My daughter and her family live in Minsk. I love Smorgon, a quiet town. It is quiet here. Life here is measured. I built a house in Smorgon. My youngest granddaughter, a schoolgirl, likes to spend her vacations at my place.

I am happy to have relatives who take care of me. It is important for everyone to have a family where there is harmony. And I try to create harmony in the company. A person should live in harmony with nature, himself and people.’

Recently, Tamara Dubovtsova celebrated her anniversary. For a long time I could not decide: to write or not to write how old my heroine is (by the way, she does not hide him). Let everyone know how you can look, how you can think and build a business at the age of 75! A great indicator for many of us.

Galina ANTONOVA.

Photo by the author.