An interview with Hans-Jörg Bley and Mario Burić, Steinbeis Entrepreneurs at the Steinbeis Transfer Center TOP.
Businesses, and especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), currently face a multitude of complex challenges that include rising costs, precarious supply chains and the skills shortage, to name but a few. How can they maintain and even grow their competitiveness in spite of these difficulties? TRANSFER discussed this question with Steinbeis experts Hans-Jörg Bley and Mario Burić. They specialize in growth strategies and financing solutions that help businesses to thrive and expand.
Mr. Bley, Mr. Burić, what areas do you focus on in your Steinbeis Enterprise?
Mario Burić: The main focus of our work is providing support and advice to small and medium-sized enterprises. The advice we offer primarily relates to growth and financing, two areas that complement each other extremely well. You can’t implement a growth strategy without finance, and the reverse is of course also true.
Hans-Jörg Bley: We help SMEs to formulate the right growth strategy for their particular business. But the key is to make sure the strategy is properly implemented. To do this, I use Objectives and Key Results, or OKR. For instance, if our customers are interested in vertical growth, i.e. new business areas, markets and target groups, our approach is to highlight all the potential within the business and harness employees’ “hidden” knowledge. We have been successfully using the Steinbeis Enterprise Competence Check (ECC) to do this for several years.
The challenge – and the opportunity – is to reimagine growth and explore new avenues. After all, as the world changes, new technologies and new target groups emerge. This doesn’t mean you have to ditch the tried-and-tested ways of doing things. It just means using your core competencies to implement new strategies with an agile, dynamic, constructive approach. But it’s also about the growth of every individual member of the organization. Factors such as employee satisfaction and team motivation are crucial. The passion of each and every employee is key to a company’s success, especially in the context of the skills shortage.
However, where there is change, there is also potential for conflict, so we also specialize in business mediation as a means of supporting change processes.
What consulting services do you offer your customers and what sets you apart from the competition?
Mario Burić: First things first: rather than merely offering a consulting service, our seasoned practitioners with years of experience as entrepreneurs, founders and managers provide concrete support with implementing growth and financing measures. Our main target group is SMEs in Baden-Württemberg with between 20 and 500 employees who want to grow profitably with us. Many SME owners and managers are so busy with the day-to-day running of the business that they don’t have time to properly consider their financing strategy. This can lead to missed opportunities. It can also give rise to risks, or the entrepreneur can end up going down a strategic blind alley that can damage the value of the business. I’ve also found that many entrepreneurs wait too long before seeking help. Repositioning a business calls for a lot of preparation, not to mention financial perseverance.
To achieve our customers’ goals, we often draw on our networks, which comprise a range of different multipliers. My extensive experience with various aspects of financing – from the different perspectives of a consultant, founder and entrepreneur – and my entrepreneurial approach help us to develop successful, creative solutions for our customers.
We want to help put SMEs in Baden-Württemberg on a sound financial footing and support them in leveraging as many growth opportunities as possible. We also draw on our contacts in the Steinbeis Network and the startup scene, where I myself am involved as an investor, founder, consultant and mentor. This opens up inorganic growth opportunities and offers SMEs new options, for instance through corporate startups. Succession is another area where the involvement of potential founders can lead to better solutions.
How do you divide the responsibilities in your Steinbeis Enterprise between the two of you?
Hans-Jörg Bley: My main role is to operationalize the growth strategies that we formulate through the use of OKR. According to a study in the Harvard Business Review, just one fifth of all businesses achieve 80% or more of their strategic objectives. OKR can help to significantly improve this figure and enable the targeted involvement of employees in the process. My focus is on the operationalization of market strategies for (manufacturing) SMEs. This is where I can make best use of my strengths and support our customers most effectively. For me, my role as an operational management consultant means acting as a mentor, motor and motivator. I can also draw on more than 30 years’ experience, including over ten years’ management experience in business development and change management. In the end, what really matters is the company’s growth and development.
Mario Burić: I specialize in raising capital. I start by analyzing the current situation based on the company’s business objectives and the partners’ vision. I then propose potential sources of capital and draw up a tailor-made finance strategy. I ensure that the necessary documents are updated, since different investors have different requirements.
In addition, different financial backers may be more or less risk-averse, which makes it important to find the right partner for every situation. Many SMEs are currently feeling the pinch due to rising costs, so it’s vital to start by bringing their finance and liquidity planning up to date. Thereafter, it’s a matter of securing enough liquidity – and that means enough to grow, too – and widening the range of finance providers so the business isn’t over-reliant on any single source. The main areas requiring attention are the company’s banks, its financial reach, strengthening its equity and diversifying its finance sources. My experience as a finance expert, founder and investor means I can analyze a company’s financial situation from different perspectives. This allows us to work constructively towards improving its financial reach and achieving profitable growth.
What projects are you currently working on? And what are your plans for the future of your Steinbeis Enterprise?
Mario Burić: We’re currently working very closely with several businesses, including both SMEs and startups, with some equity holdings, especially in the green tech sector, where there are some synergies. Many of our current projects have their roots in our extensive past experience and the history of our Steinbeis Enterprise. Looking ahead, we’d like to further optimize our interfaces and integrate our networks even more closely with what Steinbeis offers.
This will undoubtedly mean recruiting more staff and strengthening cooperation within the Steinbeis Network. Our contacts with various investors and finance providers mean we can provide SMEs with active support. We want to connect our networks so that SMEs and startups can come together faster – be it through post-merger integration, venture clienting or corporate startups. And we’re looking forward to further initiatives in the Steinbeis Network and to continuing our active support for SMEs.
Contact
Hans-Jörg Bley (interviewee)
Steinbeis Entrepreneur
Steinbeis Transfer Center TOP (Balingen)
www.stz-top.com
Mario Burić (interviewee)
Steinbeis-Unternehmer
Steinbeis Transfer Center TOP (Balingen)
www.stz-top.com