Jelena Usljebrka, owner of Novista agency – Creativity and inventiveness in digital services

(Jelena Usljebrka) I've always had many ideas and courage and readiness to take responsibility, and most importantly – I've had a good network of people as a support in accomplishing my goals, which is why I've naturally chosen entrepreneurship. Instead of running other people's companies, I decided to found my own, the kind that would provide me with options and freedom to create value when and how I want to. It's a real pleasure achieving all these goals in my professional and private life.

This is how Jelena Usljebrka, owner of the Belgrade-based Novista agency, explains her decision to become an entrepreneur. As she says in her interview for eKapija, with a master's degree in e-business and 20 years of experience, in 2005, she courageously took a risk of managing a business based on innovations and constant development.

– Novista helps organizations to grow, create value, earn money and establish high quality communication with their clients and potential buyers, with the help of brave strategies and top knowledge. Being a boutique agency enables us to be quick, flexible and competent in our areas, so that a client is always provided with customized goal-oriented service – eKapija's interviewee says.

The Novista team consists of seven highly educated and experiences professionals, which provide services in planning and programming, strategy, marketing, design, improving one's business and training and advising.

– In addition to standard services of creating websites, e-mail campaigns, website optimization, web domain sale and hosting, out agency provides marketing services, that is, advertising on social networks: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google and at media partners. Our creative team develops strategies for brands, products or a company as a whole. We also deal in market and company analysis and preparation of business plans – Jelena Usljebrka says.

Market becoming increasingly digitized

Since 2014, Novista has been organizing training in digital marketing, business development and information technologies, and it has also been selling interactive boards in partnership with the Belgrade-based Informbiro d.o.o. Our interviewee sees the market as becoming increasingly digitized, which means that there's an increasingly stronger global and local competition.

– Healthy competition stimulates our creativity, inventiveness and sets bigger challenges for us. We are consistent in providing dedicated service and top knowledge, which helps us stand out in the market. Unfortunately, there's not enough awareness in Serbia about what digital services are, about the difference between internal advertising or creating and maintaining a website and a professional approach.

Jelena is one of 26 candidates for this year's “Success Flower” award for best women entrepreneurs in Serbia, given by the Association of Business Women in Serbia. Talking about her career, she says that women entrepreneurs face numerous challenges in their work.

– It's necessary to make an estimate of the resources you have at your disposal, from finances to staff and technology, and its also important to make a balance between the professional and the private life. As a mother to a small child, I want to be involved intensively in its growing up. Furthermore, it's important to set aside time for friendships, sports, hobbies and personal development – eKapija's interviewee believes.

She says that Novista is planning to expand to the regional market in the next six months.

– We will launch a new website, including a learning platform. The number of our employees is growing, as is the number of our clients, and we are improving our services by introducing various levels and packages. We also wish to run 24 workshops a year. We are also planning to increase our profit by 100% – Jelena Usljebrka says ambitiously.

M.A.

Novista

UPŽ Srbije

Informbiro d.o.o. Beograd

Novista agency Belgrade

Jelena Usljebrka

entrepreneurship

Success Flower for best women entrepreneurs

Association of Business Women in Serbia

digital marketing

digital services

Informbiro Belgrade

interactive boards

Jelena Usljebrka CV

entrepreneur

master degree in e buisness

e business