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Author: Salome Kushashvili
For 25 years in Georgia, the company Dio has walked a long road throughout its history. A company with zero capital that has become a reliable base for many people and organizations, whose products are equipped in their living or working environment. The number of projects implemented during this period is 8900, the number of employees is 200, the range of diverse products is 70 types, and the number of customers is almost 40 000. These figures are firmly entrenched in the company's portfolio and continue to grow at a rapid pace as demands increases and consequently the need for human resources to provide the company's products and services properly.
Irma Daushvili’s business in 1994 were soon joined by family members and they decided to start a company through family team efforts. On March 13, 1996, the company Dio was officially registered and the responsibilities were distributed among its founders: Irma Daushvili - holds the position of General Director of the company. Tamaz Daushvili holds the position of the executive director, and Tamar holds the position of the financial director. The Daushvili team has talked to the Entrepreneur about the path the company has taken, how it went through its first steps and how Dio will evolve.
"Our history begins in the 90s of the last century, when the country was transformed into a new market system after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was quite a difficult period. At that time, the people were not ready for the establishment of business, nor was there an environment for it, as private business was an unfamiliar field to the Soviet establishment and mentality. In the 1990s, a lot of people had to struggle to live and find different ways to survive. We are from a scientific family and we did not have contact with business before, but at that time we had to take care of our family. I also changed several jobs during this period: I worked at a school, at the Health Ministry Computing Center, as a programming engineer at a savings bank, and at the airline ticket office. However, the income is so meager that I started thinking about private business. The first thing I could do was bake cakes. I also had experience in teaching students. So earning an income from my own labor was no stranger to me. This period coincided with my friend going abroad, who offered me to be interested in blinds and I also started finding first clients.
This was during the year 1995, a period in which construction and repairs where slowly starting in the country. Embassies and international organizations were already actively coming in so our first clients were embassies. At that time, mobile communication was virtually non-existent, along with virtually no electricity, so we had to walk to the city to find customers. I even remember that after 8 o'clock we started communicating with our partners, because there was no light before” - Irma Daushvili recalled.
"During this period, new elections were held in the country, a new constitution was adopted and the first signs of stability appeared. The economy began to recover slightly. The new tax code, financial system and economic structure were gaining ground. New opportunities gradually emerged for people to be able to do something. Our first steps also coincide with this period. I was a student at the time and was actively involved in the company development process. Initially, we had to combine many functions ourselves. Irma has always been a very active and sociable person. This feature of his helped us a lot in the case. Irma's friend actually became our supplier. At that time, production in Georgia was incredible and we only sold blinds sent here, but in just one year we opened the first local curtain-blind factory." – As retold by Tamaz Daushvili.
The main principle of action was to establish good faith for oneself and the team during those difficult years, which remains the main value of the company to this day. Providing a constantly responsible service to the customer is what guaranteed Dio's stability in the Georgian market over the years. When selecting new team members, special attention is paid to this feature - the employee must be constantly focused on honest work, quality products and service to customers.
"The main reason for continuous business is gaining high consumer trust. We have been holding this firmly for 25 years. Our team members are adorned with these characteristics. We can proudly say that we have team members with 23-24 years of experience who are carriers of these values. We have really thought many times about what it was that made us still trusted in those years. To this day, the main principle by which we started working is still unchanged, "- Tamar Daushvili.
"I would like to add that our values consist of three more points: customer care, caring for colleagues and caring for the company's image. You have to be completely honest with the customer and never, even in case of mistakes, lie to yourself. Mutual respect and trust are paramount. This has always been our case from day one, otherwise we could not have come this far. We have been accustomed to a high sense of responsibility towards each other, not only as family members but also as employees, in the family since childhood. There can always be differences of opinion on certain issues, but we agree on the main principles of teamwork, "- Tamaz Daushvili.
It is according to this team principle that the business started in 1995, which was officially registered under the brand name "Dio" and has continued operating throughout Georgia since then. The company has branches in Kutaisi, Batumi and Telavi, and representative offices are located throughout Georgia. Along with the development of the regions, the demand for the company's products is growing, especially fast dynamics is observed in Bakuriani and Batumi. The company pays great attention and resources to local production. The first locally produced product - vertical blinds were created in 1997.
Today enterprises are owned in Kutaisi and Tbilisi. Further development of local production is a special priority of the company, which means creating much more value for the country as a whole and strengthening the economy. They do not spare any effort for that. It is not uncommon for Dios to deal with constant challenges. By itself, the company had to give birth to a challenging period and develop a kind of organizational immunity over the years.
For us Challenges are nothing new, because we started this business at such in an era where starting your own business was virtually unthinkable. We were robbed many times, we overcame a lot of difficulties. Finishing every new task is a challenge in itself. At the same time, overcoming each difficulty gave us new opportunities and openened up better ways to act. The same was true of starting local production. Difficulties accompanied all the stages, however we look at and use them as a new opportunity. Covid 19 is one such challenge, ”said Irma Daushvili.
"For every problem and challenge, it is important to understand that it will not last long and immediately start thinking about the next steps. For this, constant psychological readiness is very important, in order to prevent inactivity and being overwhelmed. Crisis’ constantly repeat throughout a certain number of periods. The recent history of the world and Georgia proves it well. Which is why it is very difficult for a business to develop a long-term plan,” said Tamaz Daushvili.
"During the time of crisis team work and team thought are very important. Our team was already ready for this crisis. The first week of the pandemic turned out to be the hardest for us. It was a period of great confusion. We did not know what instructions to follow. We have a labor safety service and that too has helped us a lot to mobilize key people in the shortest time possible. We set up a headquarters where everyone shared their functions. We promptly began to obtain defenses and provide our staff with detailed instructions on how to behave, how to approach customers, or how to get them to the office. We managed to adapt to the new norms quite quickly,” Tamar Daushvili recalling the first wave of the pandemic.
Along with quick adaptation to changes, the company was aiming to maintain operation until March 31. Regardless of the significant decline of customer activity, Dio has managed to meet all of its financial obligations to its employees. It has managed maintain efficiency even when working with limited resources and continued to stand by the customer. With daily synchronous work and a sense of high individual responsibility, the team tried to do its best.
"During this period, we all saw once again how each employee loves their job, which provided additional motivation for all of us. The pandemic also created a need and demand for new types of products - so-called COVID-products or different types of barriers, protectors, which had to be created for maintaining safety and hygiene. We also quickly adapted to creating them and added new necessary products to our list,“ as stated by Irma Daushvili.
The company’s future plans are to expand, grow and develop production in Georgia. Dio’s Kutaisi plant already produces the first pergolas in the country. The company's enterprise is also expanding in Tbilisi, which will be the epicenter of many new products and promises many innovations to the market. For rapid dissemination of news in professional circles, Dio has established a club of architects. Architects here are the first to be informed about the innovations in the field and try to integrate new products into their projects. The company and the club members actively exchange information, experience, news and support each other.
Dio pays great attention to the safety of materials and products in order to protect the health of consumers as much as possible. As respondents tell us, there is no product in their production that they would not use in their own homes. "What we do not use ourselves, it will not reach the customer," - this is the criterion that must be met by each product and its composition. And if any flaws have been leaked, there is a fairly well-maintained accounting and customer feedback system here that ensures the efficiency of processes and product improvements.
The company believes that the most important precondition for the development of the construction sector and their industry in the country is the level of proper education in the country, which is especially needed in engineering fields. In this case, Dio is actively trying to lay its own brick. Together with the Ministry of Education and the Employers' Association, it is involved in a dual education program and promotes the development of professionals in the field of engineering and infrastructure.
"We allow students to pass the practical component of dual learning on the basis of their own enterprises. We are well aware that one of the strongest foundations of economics is the smooth running of vocational schools. They need attention, resources and their appreciation. Studying only in higher education should not be considered prestigious. "The key is to be able to use your skills in a timely manner and achieve economic independence," said the company's CEO.
In addition to being active in vocational education, Dio is also a participant in the Women's Empowerment Program. In addition, it constantly carries out various CSR-activities aimed at increasing the level of education and economic empowerment. The mission of the company is to author a number of positive changes in the country. We believe that business efforts should not be directed only at the development and growth of their own business. It should serve much, much larger goals. Ultimately, all this will be able to have a positive impact on the economic and social processes of the country as a whole. "Dio" continues to move towards these goals.
Source: Entrepreneur Georgia
