Then she asked a simple question: "How many businesses do you have?""

May 22, 2014   

No government or municipal body keeps data on the scope of businesses in the Haredi sector. Amazing? No. But, if it weren't sad - I would laugh. For three years now I have been the proud owner of a small business. A.M. in professional language. A business whose nature is endless contact with... other businesses. The guys call it 'business consultant'. The truth is, I love my job very much. The intensity and personal challenge, which change and renew every time with each client, the different way to a solution, and of course the pleasure and tremendous feeling of achievement - when you see the cash register ringing for the client. Contrary to expectations, I do not have an academic degree. I do not have a degree at all. But decades in sales and management positions in a very wide variety of different (and strange) companies, and a real love for solving problems and independent research, and lots (lots, lots, lots) of divine help led me to retire from a very respected position, jump into the water and try to help others. Each of them - alone In the three years I've been a consultant, I've seen a lot. Brilliant entrepreneurs who thought that because they were brilliant entrepreneurs they understood business; silkworms who invested all their money (and their family's money) in an idea without testing it first; people who were convinced that the business would take off and cover the start-up costs overnight; and also successful business owners who want to be even more successful. The common denominator for all of them is that each of them is alone. Completely alone in this cruel industry that the government calls 'small and medium-sized businesses', alone in front of suppliers and alone in front of banks. Alone in front of tax authorities. Alone in front of advertising agents. Alone in front of customers and in front of strange words like 'cash flow', 'working capital', 'owner loan repayment' and the like. Except for a lucky few who enter a family business or start a business similar to that of a relative (and they really are a single percentage in statistics), 99% jump into the water alone. And stay alone. It's time to change. In one of my activities for businesses, together with a respected municipality, I had the opportunity to speak with a spokeswoman for a large commercial body, who wanted to do a comprehensive article on the industry in the sector, and to my surprise I had no answer to a simple question: "How many businesses do you have?" There are hypotheses. Me too. But there are no data. I turned to every possible source, dug into the data from the Central Bureau of Statistics and polling companies, and I gave politicians and heads of departments a beating. I came back from all of them with the surprising answer: No one has the slightest idea. And that's not surprising. Because there are trends in studies for academic degrees. There are plenty of frameworks for certificate studies. There is a well-oiled and massive system of subsidies (up to 120%) for vocational and degree studies. But there is no Haredi body that coordinates the activities of business owners in the sector. It's clear to me that some of the readers of my column (there are more than three. Check it out!) will jump with the argument that there are a lot of businesses in the 'black' (Schwertze, Belaz), but I have to tell you: Over the years, I have accompanied dozens of completely 'white' businesses, and I have met hundreds more in the courses and workshops that I teach. And I think it's time to change that. We will learn proper conduct. Haredim10 have taken up the gauntlet, and by God's grace, from this week onwards, every Thursday, under the 'Business' section, I will endeavor, with God's help, to publish a column on a professional matter that concerns tens of thousands of my friends. The owners of small and medium-sized businesses in the sector. For the glory of the State of Israel. We will learn proper conduct with banks, business management, the art of sales, customer service, media, advertising, and more and more. Together with the wonderful system of the site, we will also post one question from the surfers every week and answer it specifically (free business advice), while sharing and analyzing it for the benefit of other interested parties. I urge you to send questions to my email box: [email protected] and next week we will publish the question and the answer here. Good luck to all of us! • The writer is the CEO of the consulting firm M&S, which specializes in business consulting, raising credit for businesses, building and improving sales departments, valuations and recovery plans. And he is the founder of the 'School of Business Management - Startup'.