Biznesa pamatu nometne Neretā

Svētdien (2010.07.04) biju Neretā. Uz pārrobežas sadarbības biznesa nometni tur mani uzaicināja Meierovica biedrības biedrene Eva Birzniece no Pro Futuro, kura mani “skaļi” pieteica kā uzņēmēju. Protams, man ir daudzas tēzes un arī sava pieredze, kuru nodot tālāk. Man vislabāk patiktu runāt par to, kā sakārtot lietas politiskajā līmenī, tā lai biznesam dotu motivāciju attīstīties, taču nometnes dalībnieki (daļa latviešu un daļa lietuviešu skolnieki) ar saviem jautājumiem, mani novirzīja uz diskusiju par augstu pievienoto vērtību un to kā ir iespējams pelnīt bez milzīgām investīcijām. Par to, ka mūsdienās ir jāprot sevi “pārdot” un ka milzīga nozīme ir kontaktiem un zīmolam. Tādā veidā ir iespējams nonākt pie tā pamata, kas ir nepieciešams tāda biznesa izveidei, kuram piesaista investīcijas vai ņem kredītus. Šiem jauniešiem patika ideja par mājas lapu veidošanu, jo tas ir kaut kas ar ko tie saskaras ikdienā un tīri tehnoloģiski spēj iztēloties, kas un kā notiek.

Aptuveni šāda bija mana uzruna:

Hello. My Name is Mārtiņš Štāls I’m a software developer. I’m a Microsoft certified specialist although I also work with opensorce software as well. My main job is at Latvijas Finieris as senior software developer. Latvijas Finieris is one of top taxpayers in Latvia. The firm’s history starts in 1873. when the first plant Latvijas Bērzs was founded. Latvijas Finieris produces birch plywood. To produce plywood, the main component necessary is veneer. Veneer is thin layer of wood, which is peeled off logs. When multiple veneer layers are glued together, the plywood is produced. There are different products of plywood for different uses, for example: in cars, trucks, boats, ships, furniture, for construction and more. Latvijas Finieris has branch Likmere in Lithuania, in Ukmerģe it produces veneer from Lithuanian birch.

That’s about it. I mean there aren’t many natural resources available in Baltic States. So how can we be competitive if we need to import resources and our taxes are not low? What should we do – reduce taxes? Maybe. But how come other states in the European Union have high taxes, yet they are successfully competitive? It’s because knowledge, technologies, culture and history are also of value. Healthy and happy people can produce more. These are the services that are paid for by the government. This means that we need to pay more taxes, to increase the total government budget. I for one, would like to live in a country, that has high social standards, a high education level and developed infrastructure. This isn’t how the future of Latvia is seen though. Why? Because some people are old and can’t wait, some are lazy and don’t want to study and some just don’t think about it. All of them want fast results, like reducing taxes, building homes and selling government property.

If there is such demand, there is also supply – political parties that promise fast results. Usually this is populism, to seize the power in the country. Such politicians may have conflict of interests by representing a business, which may lead to corruption. Of course, there are NGOs that are against this short-term thinking and corruption. The Meierovics Society which I’am member of is one of these organizations. The goal of the Society is to provide and encourage ways in which a political process would be made based on purely democratic values. Corruption distorts competition, so it’s against the free market.  If the competition is distorted, the development of business is hindered. This means that most of the people suffer due to these politicians and businessman. One thing that citizens can do, is to participate in elections. Citizens have to choose politicians, that respect democratic values, the ones which are less populist and have long-term thinking (that may even include raising taxes). Of course to discover populism you have to be knowledgeable enough. Knowledge and education is another important resource. It’s hard to gain but it’s very valuable. So it’s worth to pay high taxes if it’s spent for education. Some of you will soon end school and have to make a choice on what to do further. The formula is simple: do what you like the most, do what you are most successful at. Yes. There are highly paid jobs out there, but you will get tired of doing something that you don’t like. Money won’t make you happy forever. Any questions? If you like to read more of my views, you may visit stals.lv.