Bears on the Road

July, Year of Corona 2020. Text sent to eminent yellow press as a task during application for the eminent job of yellow journalist of yellow press. Task objective: Write a pile of fabrications and trash some Serbian businessman, preferably a successful one. Conditions: Important that it sounds shocking, that it mentions shaking the state order, sabotaging youth, the phrase “BLACK SERBIA”, that it be a text format that will provoke tears and disbelief, as well as that it must have at the end PHOTO! VIDEO! And that everything fits in one paragraph.

So it goes:

Bojan Leković is a liar! His book with the pretentiously-mystical title “Bears on the Road” aims to shake the stability of this country and discourage anyone who wants to wholeheartedly embark on brilliant, rich and successful entrepreneurial adventures. Bojan Leković will shamefully shower you with alleged “problems” that his company (with an unoriginal name) “KupujemProdajem” (without spaces, which says enough about education in the company) experienced during its development, although we have verified information that his company is financed by a pro-Western American/pro-Russian Chinese Eastern Masonic Catholic organization branch of Islamic Illuminati fundamentalists, with the goal of discouraging the development of small and medium enterprises!!!

Why would anyone believe Bojan Leković and his pathetic story about how there are many challenges in entrepreneurial waters and that it’s a long process to success, when esteemed and successful entrepreneurs like, for example, the successful Instagram marketing funnel CFD investment mogul @john_easyinvest_millionaire365 clearly show that you only need $100 to start your business! And that same mogul wants to enable everyone the same success, so he’s offering us his success blueprint at an incredible 97% discount! Yes, you read that right! You’re given the opportunity to get for only $10 a ready-made system for how to earn as much as $1000 in less than 10 days from an invested $100!!! You can’t convince us, Mr. Leković, that all 124 followers of successful @john_easyinvest_millionaire365 are stupid! Shame on you, Mr. Leković (because you don’t deserve a capital Y in “Your”), for your attempt to discourage young entrepreneurial hopes. THIS NATION ISN’T STUPID, OF COURSE YOU CAN QUICKLY AND WITH LITTLE MONEY ACHIEVE SUCCESS! BLACK SERBIA, WILL YOU ALLOW THEM TO LIE TO YOU, SEE WHAT BOJAN LEKOVIĆ STATED IN AN INFORMAL CONVERSATION HE DIDN’T KNOW WAS SECRETLY RECORDED!!! (PHOTO! VIDEO! AUDIO! KINESTHETIC!)

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The previous two paragraphs, namely, have nothing to do with Mr. Bojan Leković and his book “Bears on the Road”… I’ve already heard that if you’re hungry, you can sell your honor and pride for half a loaf of white bread, heartburn and a liter of yogurt and work in yellow press. The only prerequisite is that you be maximally unobjective and invent something disgusting about some successful person and trash them as best you can. Unfortunately, I’ve already received feedback on the previous paragraph and was told I’m not competent to write for yellow press… namely my text about Mr. Leković is, according to them, too mild and not very shocking… and it has two paragraphs (when it should be one)… so for now I’ll stick only to book reviews and writing stories, texts on HR and coaching topics. Obviously I haven’t evolved to a more advanced level of writing… yellow press.

And now I’m supposed to write a review with some enthusiasm… sigh… I’ll slap something together… maybe I can copy something from Wikipedia…

I believe that in Serbia (and beyond) there isn’t a person who hasn’t heard of the website www.kupujemprodajem.com. By my free estimate, the number of registered users makes up 97.24% of Serbia (the remaining 2.76% most likely haven’t introduced internet yet). You have the opportunity to sell everything you no longer need (or poverty forced you to) at a price you set yourself. New, old, (un)used, imported, etc… from needle to locomotive… literally. At the moment I visited the site, next to the “Things” category stands the number 2,894,824, next to “Services” 5,686, and next to “kp showcases” 710. The number of new ads posted yesterday was 49,347. Even if you don’t understand what we’re talking about here, the numbers alone speak volumes. However, we won’t be reviewing the site (first, no one paid me to advertise them… and second, I’m still a bit hurt by the criticism that I’m not cut out for yellow press).

Today’s topic is the book “Bears on the Road” by Bojan Leković, founder of the site kupujemprodajem.com (hereinafter “KP”).

If someone asked me how to summarize this book, it would be like this:

“You’ve heard how it’s a good opportunity to get advice from successful people by showing persistence and insisting that you take them to lunch at your expense, and that, through a friendly conversation with them, you learn some secrets and tricks of their success. Now, if you asked Bojan Leković to reveal his business development path over lunch, he’d probably tell you: ‘Well son, then you have to spring for the complete meal, with appetizer, cold starter and hot soup (never the other way around), main course with salad and an extra portion of fries, dessert, and then round it off with coffee, nuts and sour cherry liqueur.’ If you did all this, you’d probably get all the guidelines by the end of that day on how to make www.kupujemprodajem2.com.”

This humorous paragraph pretty much defines what awaits you in this book. Through eighty-five short stories (some would use, given the writing style, the expression “zen conciseness,” but I would rather, taking into account Bojan Leković’s profile, use the expression “engineering precision and simplicity”), Bojan will tell us how the journey and development of the business now known as “KP” went, but also the development of Bojan himself, both as a person and as a businessman.

The book is divided into six chapters:

Looking to the Future From Startup to Business Hardening Maturity Signs Along the Road Instead of a Conclusion

Through these chapters, with Bojan we’ll relive his journey from ’99 when he set off for the Netherlands to the present day. From the University of Delft, through the Royal Dutch Telecom (KPN) and life as an independent expert-consultant, long was Bojan’s road to becoming the person who is now CEO and founder of “KP.” Moving with his family to the Netherlands, adapting to a new environment, learning a new language, job uncertainty, culture shock (which apparently everyone from ex-Yu territory experiences when they go to ANY other country… “WHO THE HELL DO I PAY 40 EUROS FOR A CIGARETTE BUTT THROWN ON THE PLATFORM, I DIDN’T THROW A GRENADE! AND HERE YOU GIVE ME A JOINT WITH MY FRAPPUCCINO, SO WHO’S NORMAL HERE!?”), financial challenges, nostalgia, the idea to start a business in Serbia… all of this has been going through Bojan’s head and heart for the past 20 years.

The book “Bears on the Road” has plenty of trump cards with which it will “win you over at first sight.” I already mentioned the simple (engineering) writing style. And no, you don’t need to be an engineer to understand what Bojan is talking about when he discusses the (online) development of “KP.” Moreover, some of the processes are so simplified (and simply defined) that you’ll often catch yourself stroking your beard and muttering “yes, yes, hm, hm, logical, I’d do it that way too” (although you probably have no idea what it is you should be doing :D).

There’s also an interestingly described way of developing “KP.” Namely, the subtitle of the book is “Intimate Stories from Entrepreneurial Life.” Instead, the subtitle could easily have been “Murphy’s Law and How Every Problem and Trouble the Universe Could Think of Managed to Catch Us or How My Brother and I Had to Start with Bromazepam Much Earlier Than We Should Have.” 😀 If you’ve ever had an idea for some online business that would involve development processes similar to “KP,” this book is a real little treasure trove of all the challenges and problems you might encounter, as well as ways how to (potentially) solve them.

However, this isn’t a typical professional business book. This is, above all, a book about people and interpersonal relationships. Bojan doesn’t glorify himself here, he himself pointed out in several places in the book his ignorance and lack of empathy and how he had to learn a lot about himself and change some of his habits to be a better director to his employees (“which isn’t easy for people from Niš… they’re temperamental, ambitious, stubborn, crazy, just give them burek, apricot brandy, baked beans and stuffed peppers…” – note from subconscious). But this isn’t just a book about Bojan. A good part of the book is also devoted to his brother and business partner Ratomir, his wife, “KP” employees and associates, their effort and sacrifice to develop this business.

Now, one part I particularly liked. I recently mentioned to you the excellent book “Originals” by Adam Grant. I quote (myself):

“You know how they (often) tell us that if we have a brilliant idea (and we want to be entrepreneurs), we must put all our eggs in one basket and fight to the end? Victory or defeat! Take risks! However, what if you change your approach and take moderate risks? What if you’re ready to do everything to achieve your dream, but not sacrifice everything? You’re not ready to quit your job to pursue your dream? People would probably tell you that you don’t believe in yourself and your original idea, right? But is having a backup plan a sign of insecurity… or of possessing tactics and a cool head? Do you think Bill Gates, John Legend, or Warby Parker became what they are by sacrificing everything? Think again.

…

‘Originals’ shows that there’s no template for success, as many Insta(gram) entrepreneurs convince us. Everything is individual and you shouldn’t do everything the way others convince you. This is one of the (scientific) books that encourages you to follow your own path, your own assessment of situations, as well as the moments when you should act.

You’ve always been of a cautious nature and liked to first explore all options, and it worked well for you? Now you want to start some side hustle and slowly develop it, and someone’s convincing you that you must go aggressively, ‘all or nothing’ if you want to succeed, because that’s what they did? Unless you’re of similar (life) qualities, mentality, or in a similar type of business, you’re really not obliged to listen to that person or think they know best, especially since things are currently going well for them. Polaroid and Nokia were masters of the world in their industries at one point, living in the belief they were the smartest and best. And where are they now?”

I got the impression that “KP” had a gradual development process and that the Leković brothers didn’t immediately sacrifice everything for “KP.” No, “KP” was first an idea to own some business and for the brothers to work on it together. Then the idea slowly took shape, then form, then the first version came to life, then it started to show signs that there was an opportunity to earn and that you could live off it, and during that whole period they devoted their free time to it (because bills still had to be paid)… and then, at one (right?) moment, they devoted themselves to it 100% (full-time). “KP” is another example of how creating a profitable business takes effort, patience and time.

“Bears on the Road” will also reveal a lot about how business is viewed differently in the Netherlands compared to Serbia (instructive and educational), as well as where we currently (technologically) are on the map of Europe and what our potential is.

And so, there’s nothing missing here. Behind every story is a briefly addressed business (and private) aspect from the life of an entrepreneur. Business plan, brand, bookkeeper, KPI, users, work processes, lean startup, Adizes, team, evaluation, HR model, interviewing, layoffs, delegation, expansion and diversification, loneliness, failed investments… all told from Bojan’s perspective, as well as public relations…

…oh yes, I know I wanted to mention something else, and it concerns public relations. I couldn’t help but laugh at the (painful) fact that success isn’t easily forgiven, and that the media (unfortunately) are almost never interested in (positive) stories about successful people and successful businesses (unless you pay them to do a story about you), but they’re ready to “bury” you and exaggerate every failure and dramatize it so much that you feel not unsuccessful, but humiliated. I think that’s a chronic condition of people in these parts. We all talk about how we want to be optimists and think positively, but, again, it seems we enjoy it most when we “feed” on others’ misfortunes and failures (because then our “suffering” becomes a little easier). It’s a brick wonder (“Ooooh… subtle sarcasm and cynicism, I like it…” – note from subconscious).

The writing style is simple, and engineering precise, and in combination with short chapters and diverse topics, it contributes to the book being readable quite quickly and in a short time, without any effort. The book is “operated on” to remove any pathos and excessive bragging (and, although it’s an intimate story, it gives off pretty strong “vibes” of objectivity and neutrality… for a more emotional and gentler approach to entrepreneurship, you have this title), which allows the book to successfully balance between an inspirational success story and a business book about entrepreneurship and the development of an online platform.

All in all, an excellent title and recommendation for reading, both for those interested in entrepreneurship and for those interested in what can go wrong in a business (and life).

And you dear reader… um, you wouldn’t happen to be selling a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10″ and a set of eight Allen keys… AND CAN IT BE A BIT CHEAPER YOUR POOR MOTHER, THE CHINESE EMPEROR HIMSELF DIDN’T MAKE THEM!??

(Doesn’t answer the phone… what a crook… and he said “just praise me and the book a little, there’ll be an envelope with some cash, you know me, I wouldn’t screw you over, my brother…” and now he’s not answering… I can already see him in Amsterdam sipping a double espresso robusta with Tibetan wild goat milk and a joint, and you, poor thing, 3-in-1 instant coffee on sale at the supermarket and store-brand milk… damn him… wait, hello, hello, Bojan, is that you, hey listen I wrot… what Koviljka… what the hell Koviljka, I need Bojan from “KupujemProdajem”… no lady I’m not selling anything… I don’t want a lawn mower, I live in the city… damn it, he gave me a fake number… I’m gonna take that brick and hit him with it…)

KupujemProdajem website

Book price: medvedinaputu.com | Laguna