Plan to tap clients having multi-city businesses: Barreto

HERALD: What was your motivation to start this business? 

RINA BARRETO: When I was setting out as an entrepreneur, I spent a lot of time on several elements that had to be put in place before I was ready to go-to-market – company formation, developing designs for the brand, social media, recruitment and training, customer communication, etc. If there was a single entity that would handle all these essentials, in the quickest most cost-efficient manner, it would have helped save time. Even at later stages of a business, entrepreneurs do have challenge areas that need to be handled efficiently. An established business may need help identifying new customer segments, create new marketing material, revamp brand look, organise customer workshops, tie up with vendors/partners, develop content - in fact any specific requirement a business may currently have. We decided to create an entity that would cater to these requirements.

HERALD:  What is your business about? 

RBS: Whether you are purchasing consumer-goods or ordering groceries, aggregators (like Amazon or BigBasket) give you the best deals because they garner the power of being on a common platform. This immediately makes it convenient for the customer and offers him a wide-range of products. Cheree Tree Concepts does the same for entrepreneurs and businesses – it gives them value, convenience and cost-efficiency by aggregating business services. We have created a network of ‘cherry-picked’ experts, and consultants so that we can handle a client’s business requirement in the most effective and efficient manner possible. 

I believe in garnering the power of platforms and communities to offer the benefits to clients. Of course, the power lies in understanding the client’s brief clearly and then translating not only the brief but also the client’s vision and brand values to your team, so that they create an end product in line with the client’s vision and brand values. 

HERALD:  What is the competitive advantage you have? 

RBS: There are several business consultants and highly specialised service providers offering similar services. What sets us apart is the way we have structured the business as an aggregator - where one entity seamlessly delivers your business requirement through alliances that provide greater value to clients. But to me, the real competitive advantage we offer is the way we interact, understand and handle a client. Clients appreciate trust and transparency, comfort, rapport and a clear understanding of their business. A competitive edge is something that you earn as a result of your service delivery. It is your client who creates an advantage for you over your competition by choosing to refer, recommend and endorse your business because of their experience with your service.

HERALD:  Who can your clients be?

RBS:Anyone with an existing business that needs to grow/restructure/revise business strategy/expand service offerings or product lines, or an entrepreneur facing start-up challenges, is a prospective client. 

HERALD:  What issues did you face while starting out? 

RBS:I went through the initial hiccups of registering the business; most importantly getting sound advice on what kind of business entity should you register your business under. The other challenge was in creating a trusted set of alliances which would provide cost efficient services to us. Finding a co-working space with a vibrant work environment and sufficient networking opportunities, handled the where, when and how of the setup phase for me. 

Every entrepreneur has an ‘unproductive’ phase where they need to give services, or ideas for free, work on a pitch that may never materialise, compromise on the true value of their product or service. That can be tough. But that is what earns you your first set of clients. 

HERALD:  How do you see business growing in future?

RBS: We will grow through offering industry-specific services. Goa is a great event destination and that creates huge potential for the event and hospitality industries. Focusing on pitching Goa as the best choice to conduct an event to corporate clients in the metros when you have partnered with a trusted set of event execution agencies in the State becomes a win-win situation for both. While creating alliances, we need to know “What can they offer that I can put in my basket (of services) so that it adds value to my clients? And, what can I offer from my basket so that it adds value to their clients.” 

The second growth factor comes from making sure that a client approaches us several times at different stages of his business, because the value we offer cannot be supplanted by anyone else. This takes a high level of service delivery and we are building a team to ensure that. Going forward, we plan to provide services to clients who have multi-city businesses.