Sanja Milosavljevic, Director of Impact Investments Group – Those Who Initiate Changes Are Influential
Entrepreneurship is not easy path at all. It is full of obstacles, and there are numerous challenges. However, all those who have ever dared to go on this adventure agree about one thing – it was worth it.
Waiting for the previous employers to recognize her as a business partner, Sanja Milosavljevic, a consultant for international affairs, public relations and marketing, started her entrepreneurial story. Today, she is a successful entrepreneur, the founder of the Impact Institute, Impact Coworking, Impact Investments Group. She has also launched the network “Women of Impact”, and an eponymous conference, dedicated to all business women from our region, will soon be held as well.
When she talks about herself, she first points out that she is mother to one-and-a-half-year-old Petar and a good colleague to her employees. She says that she loves the Balkans, that she doesn’t like bossing around, that she appreciates business risks, but also a good network of business associates.
– That is why I founded the Women of Impact network. My business activities have always been related to the businesses of investors and employers who invest in our region. I always tried to present them well through good personal PR, and to be honest, also solving the challenges in crisis communications for them. However, the time came to make a turn and put myself first, which I recommend to every woman.
You have launched numerous projects in Montenegro which aim to boost entrepreneurship, especially young entrepreneurs and women in business. As you are an entrepreneur yourself, can you tell us what motivated you to launch your own business, how the process went and how challenging your entrepreneurial path was?
– I wanted to be recognized by at least one of my previous “male” employers as a “partner” in business. As that didn’t happen, because they all saw me as a “woman”, and a woman has to be ten times better than a male colleague to potentially be a “business partner”, it took me five years to realize that my path is an individual one and I am building it with women who are in business, mentors who are a support to me and friends who have been with me for years.
Entrepreneurship is dynamic, it pushes your boundaries. I have always seen myself as a person who employs others, helps them develop professionally and respects her employees, so I myself apply the principle of “health and energy first” in my team.
What are the problems that entrepreneurs in Montenegro, and even in the entire region, face today, considering that the situation is quite similar in all countries? What could the state do for the situation to improve and for more people to gather the courage to start their own business?
– The lack of finances, credit lines, business angels and investors are the biggest problems in the countries of the Balkans. For a business, in addition to good mentoring advice, women need concrete financing. The state could consider a regional networking of entrepreneurs and tax exemptions. Tax free locations near the borders would solve the problem of attracting new investors. I have concrete ideas, but I am waiting for the right time for my lobbying talent to be tested at the end of the year.
In Montenegro, you founded the Impact Institute, within which you advise clients in various fields. Can you tell us something more about that project and what your guiding idea was when you were founding the company?
– The Impact Institute is my contribution to public relations and marketing, which moves the focal point from numerous analyses and numbers to the concrete impact that my agency can make. It is not those who have millions of followers who are the most influential, but those who can incite people to work on their goals, those who are creative and influence your sales, those who have awareness of business development. The Impact Institute is also an educational platform for talents and startups looking for investors.
Considering that you cooperate with young people whom you educate in the field of entrepreneurship, but also with clients who want to upgrade their businesses, can you tell us how ready people are today to make changes and accept innovations and how much has the pandemic accelerated that process?
– Working with small and medium enterprises is hard, especially if your client is a family company. They you have the responsibility to enact a change, while realizing results. And changes are never easy. We are digitizing, we are increasingly present on the network, we have new interests, and all this has to be accompanied by a change in the way people think and the readiness to invest in those same digital channels where our potential purchasers and clients are.
Waiting for the previous employers to recognize her as a business partner, Sanja Milosavljevic, a consultant for international affairs, public relations and marketing, started her entrepreneurial story. Today, she is a successful entrepreneur, the founder of the Impact Institute, Impact Coworking, Impact Investments Group. She has also launched the network “Women of Impact”, and an eponymous conference, dedicated to all business women from our region, will soon be held as well.
When she talks about herself, she first points out that she is mother to one-and-a-half-year-old Petar and a good colleague to her employees. She says that she loves the Balkans, that she doesn’t like bossing around, that she appreciates business risks, but also a good network of business associates.
– That is why I founded the Women of Impact network. My business activities have always been related to the businesses of investors and employers who invest in our region. I always tried to present them well through good personal PR, and to be honest, also solving the challenges in crisis communications for them. However, the time came to make a turn and put myself first, which I recommend to every woman.
You have launched numerous projects in Montenegro which aim to boost entrepreneurship, especially young entrepreneurs and women in business. As you are an entrepreneur yourself, can you tell us what motivated you to launch your own business, how the process went and how challenging your entrepreneurial path was?
– I wanted to be recognized by at least one of my previous “male” employers as a “partner” in business. As that didn’t happen, because they all saw me as a “woman”, and a woman has to be ten times better than a male colleague to potentially be a “business partner”, it took me five years to realize that my path is an individual one and I am building it with women who are in business, mentors who are a support to me and friends who have been with me for years.
Entrepreneurship is dynamic, it pushes your boundaries. I have always seen myself as a person who employs others, helps them develop professionally and respects her employees, so I myself apply the principle of “health and energy first” in my team.
What are the problems that entrepreneurs in Montenegro, and even in the entire region, face today, considering that the situation is quite similar in all countries? What could the state do for the situation to improve and for more people to gather the courage to start their own business?
– The lack of finances, credit lines, business angels and investors are the biggest problems in the countries of the Balkans. For a business, in addition to good mentoring advice, women need concrete financing. The state could consider a regional networking of entrepreneurs and tax exemptions. Tax free locations near the borders would solve the problem of attracting new investors. I have concrete ideas, but I am waiting for the right time for my lobbying talent to be tested at the end of the year.
In Montenegro, you founded the Impact Institute, within which you advise clients in various fields. Can you tell us something more about that project and what your guiding idea was when you were founding the company?
– The Impact Institute is my contribution to public relations and marketing, which moves the focal point from numerous analyses and numbers to the concrete impact that my agency can make. It is not those who have millions of followers who are the most influential, but those who can incite people to work on their goals, those who are creative and influence your sales, those who have awareness of business development. The Impact Institute is also an educational platform for talents and startups looking for investors.
Considering that you cooperate with young people whom you educate in the field of entrepreneurship, but also with clients who want to upgrade their businesses, can you tell us how ready people are today to make changes and accept innovations and how much has the pandemic accelerated that process?
– Working with small and medium enterprises is hard, especially if your client is a family company. They you have the responsibility to enact a change, while realizing results. And changes are never easy. We are digitizing, we are increasingly present on the network, we have new interests, and all this has to be accompanied by a change in the way people think and the readiness to invest in those same digital channels where our potential purchasers and clients are.
(Photo: Žene od uticaja/Andrijana Vešović - Zombijana )
You are very dedicated to strengthening women in business, so you have launched the network “Women of Impact”. Can you tell us something more about this project?
– I wanted to create a platform that would provide women from the Western Balkans with new business opportunities and opportunities for networking, personal development and travel. That’s how the network “Women of Impact” was created. It gathers members from business, public sector, healthcare, women experts from all fields, as well as prominent women in culture, art and diplomacy.
Establishing a business cooperation in the regional market and a joint influence through educational programs, gatherings and campaigns is the result that we have. Through out business network, we provide free information and advice about specific questions about business, finance and operations. We also provide support to women whose human rights have been violated, connecting them with adequate institutional support.
Looking to transfer the impact that we want to make from the online world into the real world, we went a step further, so in April we have a conference dedicated to all successful women from the Western Balkans.
With my long-standing business associates, but also all the new members, I am sure that this will be a new successful story.
What is the position of female entrepreneurs in Montenegro and the region today? If you look back a few years, are you noticing any improvements? What is it that we could do as a system to facilitate the entrepreneurial path for women, which is challenging as it is?
– Women are powerful and strong, but men still get higher salaries and have better positions. The weaknesses of our system are also evident in the fact that, in Montenegro, 4% of women own real estate, 9.6% of women own companies, and their presence in managerial positions in companies is only at 5.88%. However, there are improvements. Everybody is talking about female entrepreneurship, which, “I guess”, is an introduction to concrete efforts toward it. A woman can be a good client to another woman, so that is one of the items in the selection about which we decide for ourselves.
You mentioned the conference “Women of Impact: It’s Time for a Change”, which will be held in April in Herceg Novi. Can you tell us something more about the event and what the participants can expect during the three days of the conference?
– By organizing this conference, we want to animate the most successful women of the region to get to know Montenegro and invest in our companies or position their brands here. It is truly a time for a change, which this conference will certainly make, at least when it comes to women. Although according to the statistics women invest less than men, they certainly do it more successfully.
Women are more aware in making better decisions, whether business of political decisions and it is time for them to stand out in Montenegro. For this reason, we are inviting entrepreneurial women from Montenegro to join us, hear advice and learn about concrete ways of getting their business financed. Just like I was motivated by women who believed in what I did, we want to show them that we would be a support to them, that we are there for them.
What our business future will look like and what we can do to adapt to the new post-pandemic era are just some of the questions that we will provide answers to together in April in Montenegro, in our live meeting at the “Women of Impact” conference.
Finally, what would you say to female entrepreneurs, but also all those who plan to step into the adventure called launching your own business?
– If you want to test your capabilities and your abilities, see who your friends are and who your business partners are, who really supports you and who falsely encourages you and how much you can earn by yourself, then step into entrepreneurship with courage!