ENTREPRENEURS: DINKA
In a single consultancy, all the specialists necessary to advise entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized companies. Sandra Felsenstein created it in view of the evidence that they accompany those who do not benefit from external advice.

Sandra Felsenstein called her company DINKA because it is the acronym – slightly modified – for Argentine Contemporary Designs.. His sign, born in 2005, began by advising local designers to market their products abroad. But soon, entrepreneurs and SMEs seeking advice from this industrial engineer began to come from multiple activity sectors.. and in parallel, Clear, the reasons for consultation were also diversified.

There are currently six groups into which the firm divides the projects for which it works. Among them are: project startup and new business; commercial management; restructuring and organization of family businesses and sales management, which is the most recently incorporated specialty. The other two consulting areas of DINKA are "transversal", because they cross all areas of any type of project: professionalization of SMEs and optimization of resources. Namely, answers for all questions.

“Everything was born from the observation that SMEs cannot hire specialists for every need”, cuenta Felsenstein. “Very punctual works for very large companies, but the small and medium ones need something more comprehensive”.

In time, was incorporating consulting areas on demand and, in consecuense, summoning consultants with different profiles, in order to cover the entire spectrum of customer needs.

The work modality is by projects.. “I always have the first meeting with the client. There I interpret what your need is”, narrates the entrepreneur. "That allows me to detect which of the consultants in our team is the most suitable for him". Once the problem on which to start is defined, a plan is agreed with the client to work by modules, each of which can be conducted by a different specialist.

Then, a working time is established with the consultant to reach a specific objective, which can be a module. “Five months is a good time to achieve a goal. The first month is always diagnosis: get to know the company and the people who make it up; put on the shirt", desgrana Felsenstein.

“In the next three or four months the module is completed. But sometimes projects have several modules - and therefore, several specialists – so they can last a year, a year and a half or more, indicates, and highlights: “After three months they already see results and, when that happens to them, they always want to continue.”

 

strategic partner

A differential of DINKA's modus operandi is that the firm forms work teams with the client. “It is not like consulting firms in specific areas – for example, HR – who tell you what shortcomings they detected and indicate the steps to follow but do not accompany you to solve those problems”, compare the entrepreneur. “We meet with the client weekly at their facilities. In these meetings we analyze and establish a strategy and the steps to achieve it”, Explain. "So it's also important how much he gets involved with what I call 'homework': the duration of the project is greatly influenced by the amount of time and resources that the consultant allocates to it.” In parallel there are internal supervisory meetings at DINKA, with Felsenstein and each consultant.

The firm also incorporated specific training, such as those on technical issues or the use of certain tools.

In the team of consultants there are economists, graduates in Administration, accountants, specialists in sales and commercial communication, and so on. “But more are assigned to each project based on the comprehensive profile of each, not so much for the profession”, concludes the entrepreneur.

 

CONTEXT

Questions

Some constants of the reasons for consulting DINKA are:

“I feel that time is not enough for me and it is difficult for me to delegate; no one in my company does things like me”. "I sell and at the end of the month I don't see the results." I'm not sure what my real profit is." “I feel alone in making decisions.” “I have almost no competition: I should sell more.” Startups sometimes have the good sense to consult before becoming such. They come with an idea, for example an application, and they do not find how to make it profitable”, dice Felsenstein. “So we put together a business model and if I don't see it as viable, I dis-recommend it, I am very frank.”