The FINANCIAL — Evgeni Pichkhaia, General Director of Populi, was born in 1972 in Tbilisi. He graduated from the medical institute in 1996. In 1993-1999 he was working at Aieti TV. He later studied in America for a year.
Evgeni Pichkhaia has been General Director of the popular chain of shops in Georgia Populi since 2001 and at the same time is the author of the project Entre, the premium chain of bakeries in Tbilisi.
Q. You are one of the most successful businessmen in Georgia. Was it your goal from the beginning to become a millionaire?
A. I first wanted to become a successful businessman and then to be a rich person. In my opinion it is a personal choice. The goal of my life is to be exceptional in everything I do. If I am not successful I would prefer not to do it. In order to reach great success you must have a concrete aim. I think that every successful person is similar in that way.
Q. What were you doing before you started your business?
A. I had graduated from medical institute. When I was studying the third course, I began working in an America-Georgian enterprise which was founded by my uncle. At first I was working in the department of marketing and as for my first wage, it was from 80 to 150 USD.
Q. What inspired you to start your business?
A. I entered the medical institute because my parents were doctors. During that period children usually chose to follow the same professions as their parents, but when I was studying the second course, I realised that it wasn’t the thing I wanted to do. There also appeared to me to be good perspectives in business. At the same time I knew that a businessman would earn money easier than a doctor. I had the ambition to have more and accordingly I decided to begin my own business.
Q. How about when you first got started?
A. I have already underlined that at first I was a sales agent, then director of marketing, and later became General Director of Aieti TV. I worked at this post for two years, while Georgia had shares in the business. Later I went to America in order to further my education. After coming back to Georgia, I knew that I wanted to begin business in retail trade, or in the field of communications. From my working experience I knew districts and the population in Tbilisi well. At last I decided to open a chain of shops for middle class, which will be successful in spite of the difficult economical situation in Georgia. For two years I have been studying everything related to the field and in September we opened our first shop in Digomi, It cost 66,000 USD. It must be underlined that this business was very successful from its beginning; in November we were able to open our second shop.
I want to say that I am still learning from the business. I am actively going to forums, exhibitions and am constantly trying to learn more and more.
My goal today is for Populi to become the leader retailer of the region and I want to have 100 shops and to occupy 20% of the market. I want Populi to be an international operator and its shops to be functioning not only in Georgia, but in our neighbour countries too.
I like my shops, I like my clients and I think that that is the guarantee of success.
Q. How long did it take for you to win your first 1,000 USD from business?
A. I earned my first 1,000 USD very quickly, several months after the start of my business.
Q. And how long did it take for you to win your first 1,000,000 USD from business?
A. I am involved in a live business and my property is defined by the value of shares for a certain period. As for my first million, I am happy that the value of the Georgian company created by me has already exceeded a million.
Q. How important is it to plan the future?
A. I always plan the future in advance. Planning is very important for business. In order to know where and how you are going and when you will get there, you must plan everything.
Q. How important is it to take risks?
A. It’s very important to take risks in business. I have also taken many risks and in my opinion it’s impossible to achieve success without it.
Q. What does your typical workday look like?
A. I begin my working day at 9 o’clock in the morning. At this time we always have a management meeting, which lasts an hour. Later my working day continues according to my schedule. At 6 o’clock I have a rest, I have my supper and after half an hour I continue working. My working day at the office finishes at 9 o’clock, then I visit my shops. I check about 4-5 shops in a day, I familiarise myself with the problems and situation there. That all continues for about an hour and a half.
I want to underline that I get the greatest pleasure from visiting my shops.
Q. What have your greatest challenges been and how have you overcome them?
A. We had the greatest challenge after the war in August in Georgia. At that time we had a period of active development. We had taken out many loans from banks, from both international and local givers as well. During the crisis we found ourselves in a difficult financial situation. It was one of the most difficult periods but we were able to overcome it. We accomplished new projects very fast, we also closed the shops which had no profit and at the same time had to reduce operating expenses. We worked under such a regime for 8 months. Later additional money and investments were put in by the shareholders.
Q. Can you tell us about a company or project you have started that failed?
A. We had such an occasion in the third year after opening Populi. I had an idea to make the shops like a format of a discounter, where the products are sold at low prices. We were able to open two such shops. One of them was situated in Ponichala and the second one on 5 December Street. But, unfortunately, this format wasn’t successful and as a result we had to close one of them and remade the second one as an ordinary shop.
Q. What's the worst mistake you've made in your business life?
A. I have made many mistakes which is inevitable, but now I can’t remember the most serious one. I am always joking that I didn’t have to start this business in Georgia, because it demands great energy and hard work. There are bigger markets in other countries relative to Georgia and accordingly there I would have more success! Actually that was a joke!
Q. How has your success changed your life?
A. Success has changed my life significantly. I am so involved in business that I have no free time. As for the personal life, I have learned many things, my values and views have changed, accordingly my taste has developed, but I think that I haven’t changed in my relationships with people.
Q. What do you attribute your success to?
A. The first factor is that I know exactly what I want and the second – I work very hard to reach my aim. I always strive forward.
Q. Who is your business idol?
A. My business idol is Sam Walton, who created Wal-Mart, one of the largest and most successful companies in the world. This person created an epoch in retail business.
Q. What advice would you give to people who are intending to become millionaires?
A. People who want to become millionaires must have a concrete goal and must work hard to reach their aims.
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