None of Us Believed Our Luck

NATALYA PRAVILO

interviewed by Natalya Golovanova

Visnyk Kupyanshchyny (Herald of Kupyansk District), Saturday, February 17, 2001

            I noticed this woman at once, two summers ago, during management and marketing training sessions, conducted for Kupyansk and adjacent districts by specialists from the Kharkiv Business Assistance Center and the Kupyansk Business Center. When the moderators asked those present to speak on pretty complicated issues, very intelligent and professional responses were given by the regular attendees: Natalya Pravilo, an economist with the Kupyansk Food Plant, and Oleksandr Fedotov, general manager of the Metiz [Hardware] Factory. Thanks to them we were hearing all the time: nails and gingerbread, nails and gingerbread.

            But the smart Natalya Pravilo never hoped that she would go on a study tour to the United States of America, of all places.

- None of us believed in our luck. With the general manager of our plant, Sergiy Bizin, we completed a business plan for manufacturing deodorized sunflower oil and brands of soft margarine. We were going to start looking for investors. Then we submitted this business plan to the Kupyansk Business Center, fine-tuned it with the specialists from this Center - and were included in the study tour group.

            More than 100 individuals took part in the seminars in Kharkiv. When we were notified that we had won the competition for the trip, we could not believe it for a long time. Sergiy Vitalyovych [Bizin] said that I should go.

            Boryspil [airport outside Kiev] impressed me on my way there with its fashionable and contemporary look. On my way back, it looked pitiful.

            It was outshined by the gigantic terminal in Frankfurt-am-Main where we had a layover. Its one building is a combination of a train station, a bus terminal, an air terminal, hotels, restaurants, restrooms with showers and dry cleaners. The Frankfurt terminal reminded me of a city. Everything was spotlessly clean. The passengers were sitting on the floor. The trash cans were covered with plastic.

            We were flying below the clouds over Germany and were able to see it very well. It felt like looking at a topographic map: little streets, straight and smooth arrow-like roads, red tile roofs. Kiev from above looked somewhat “crooked” and eclectic.

            Over there, in the Frankfurt terminal, was the beginning of America for me. The plane went all the way to the terminal. They unrolled a “tube” - no need for a vehicle to get us to the ladder, or to walk across the airfield. You get into the plane directly from the terminal.

            Our Boeing was like a two-storied flying house. There were 10 chairs and two aisles in one row. The second floor was for business-class passengers, with 30 seats and a bar. The flight was smooth, without air pockets and engine buzz. In front of every passenger was a TV installed into the seat back. Twelve channels were available - in German or English, your choice. There was a big screen for the whole cabin. There was a restroom with a shower. Twelve flight attendants were servicing the passengers. They were constantly bringing beverages - juices, yogurts, milk, brandy, wine, or snacks, or lunch. You could take whatever you wanted. Also, there was no end of little packages with dressings, salt and mustard. It was not that easy to open packages with food, but we were observing some blacks [fellow passengers] doing that. Among other packages, a package with ice was invariably provided - for washing hands. And lemon-scented towelettes. We were too busy to sleep during that nine-hour flight.

Natalya Pravilo is a woman. And as a listener, I was grateful to her for this purely “feminine” host of details, for everything that might seem secondary, not “business-related,” but still so interesting! Of the same interest level was her story about the study tour proper and the Americans.

- You do not see that many people on Cincinnati streets. In the more outlying neighborhoods there are even no sidewalks. Everybody drives. Cars in Cincinnati move in a continuous flow. There are almost no children outside to be seen. They are all busy at their schools, clubs and childcare facilities. Children in general are never left unsupervised.

            Their downtown is clearly defined - it is the business center for the city. There are hotels, bars and restaurants there. Wealthy people do not live there. A similar situation is true for other American cities.

            Americans do not wash their hands before meals, do not take off their shoes when coming to visit. But they take showers several times a day! There is no dust, mud or smoke in their cities. There are no smokestacks either.

            During our study tour, Belal Siddique, who incidentally is a son of the Bangladeshi Secretary of State, almost daily invited our group to his place. It was considered an indispensable hospitality rule - to invite a group to one’s home. Thanks to Belal, I saw how well-to-do Americans live. Belal’s house was located next to 46 or 48 similar homes. A bi-level, with the same floor space as our 16-apartment two-storied buildings (next to the Kupyansk Forestry). The floor was carpeted at construction time. That is why it gets cleaned with a carpet cleaner and is never removed. There was a tennis court in his yard. In Belal’s private woods, pretty large by the way, deer roamed and squirrels scurried.

            I saw a lot of things there. Even an edible picture cake. I do not think we have anything like that here. This is an image on a cake, can you imagine? But toward the end of the trip I realized that I began to miss Kupyansk and my home. For there is some imperceptible difference between Ukrainians and Americans. More emotional, more individual, closer to me in spirit are still Ukrainians.

            As to our study tour, it was very intense. We visited 30 companies, three plants a day, including some very big ones. These companies were in six states, including those in Chicago. Each of our workdays lasted from 7:30 a.m. till 9 p.m. Every day we wrote our reports. What is typical is that we were treated to coffee and lunch only if we were hosted by the company owners. Because they are in charge of the finances. If a manager hosted us, we were not treated.

            Among other bread-making companies, it was interesting to see little bakeries producing small amounts of bread for elite neighborhoods. For everybody else, bread is baked by large plants.

            And at that point Natalya Pravilo approached the core of her story - the goal of the study tour. In these issues she was very strong as a specialist and very inquisitive.

- The main objective for this study tour was to understand their marketing system. Only there, where this system works, can you understand it. For example, here products are sold only if prepaid. Over there, you can pay within 10-30 days. Without redundant agreements and other papers. They treat each other like gentlemen, trust each other’s word and always pay. For all kinds of “unforeseen circumstances,” they have a black book (our ex-Soviet term) - that is a record of overdue payments. You will be charged a penalty for each missed day.

            You can believe it or not, here in Ukraine nobody understands me when I start talking about marketing. This is still a very outlandish concept for us. As to our Food Plant, we cannot do anything because our small company, with only 30 employees, lacks funds to develop and modernize our business. For example, I would like to introduce the concept of a “plant store/cafe.” That would result in savings and flexibility in operations. But to make this project happen, we need at least 100,000 hryvnas.

            Our Ukrainian food is better and tastier than American. That was recognized even by the American experts when they came here to visit and sampled our products. But nice packaging - plastic bags with logos, hot packaging, small packages with 2 or 3 gingerbreads - would increase sales. We cannot master the bar codes. But without them, we won’t be able to penetrate larger markets, for example, Kharkiv. The George Center in Kharkiv would be willing to purchase our gingerbread in bulk.

            Only those businesses can survive today that manufacture staples. We, the Kupyansk Food Plant, survived because of sunflower oil. We do not have funds for further development.

            Two weeks ago, those who took part in business programs in the U.S. in 1998-2000 (in Kupyansk these are Oleksandr Radchenko, Valery Lyubota, Oleg Sverzhyn and myself) were invited by the American partner organization- the Center for Economic Initiatives from Cincinnati. We talked about many things, shared memories and made plans. A book summarizing the experience of these study tours was published. We got it as a gift. All that is nice. The Americans are keeping their word and bring their projects to completion. They will be taking care of us for another year. One thing concerns me: Will we be able to introduce in Ukraine at least a part of the positive U.S. experience? Or will we stay behind, with our most delicious gingerbread and bread, but without marketing strategies and financial resources, which means, no customers and no profit? I would hate such an option.