- Livio Mangiatordi
Challenging market conditions force entrepreneurs to seek new ideas for survival. Even a small family enterprise can serve as an example of a system that evolves in several directions simultaneously and achieves success.
Veronika Shulha managed stores, cafes, and food production facilities during periods of strict restrictions. Today, her experience serves as the foundation for her work on the juries of international awards, such as the ECDMA and the Formula of Success.
Today, we discuss how she evaluates the strategies of others through the lens of her personal practice in crisis management.
Strategy During the Period of Restrictions
Veronika, your journey began with a family business founded back in 1998. How did you transform a local store into a diversified business system?
I took over the management of the business at a difficult time. My goal was not just to preserve the legacy, but to modernize it. To achieve this, I integrated retail, catering, and in-house production. This way, when one channel dipped, others compensated for it. This allowed us to remain independent of demand fluctuations in any single niche.
Many businesses closed after the pandemic began in 2020. You, however, maintained profitability. Which decisions proved decisive?
The market changed instantly. We were operating at 40% capacity, but we didn’t stop. I shifted the focus to the delivery of ready-made meals and expanded the grocery store’s assortment.
While some chose to exit the market and many waited for the lockdown to end, we created a product people needed at that exact moment: high-quality food delivered to homes and organizations.
Integrating Retail, Catering, and Consulting
You implemented vertical integration: from purchasing vegetables to producing semi-finished goods. Why such complexity?
It is a matter of cost control. Our own production of dumplings (pelmeni and vareniki) provided high margins, and direct sales of vegetables at city markets ensured a steady cash flow. We controlled the entire chain: from raw material procurement to the guest's plate. This eliminated unnecessary intermediaries and extra costs.
In 2023 and this year, the expert commissions of the "Znak Yakosti" (Quality Mark) and the Eurasian Entrepreneurship Award audited your activities and honored you for your success. What exactly did they evaluate?
The commission studied the operational stability and viability of my model. They analyzed how the business copes with external market factors. The audit confirmed that our management methods meet national standards. For me, this was an important milestone in transitioning from a regional entrepreneur to a recognized industry expert.
How did you come to the idea of entering consulting? What "pain points" do other business owners typically bring to you?
I want to pass on the knowledge I accumulated during the crisis period. Most often, business problems lie in accounting and procurement — for example, when operational losses occur due to messy documentation or unfavorable contracts. In such cases, I would conduct an internal audit, identify these gaps, and help restructure the logistics.
Judging Awards as the Next Stage of Expertise
In 2025, you joined the jury of the ECDMA. Does your "operator" experience help when evaluating others?
Absolutely. I am used to seeing business from the inside, not just through quarterly and annual reports. Beautiful presentations cannot hide a lack of logic in processes. When I was evaluating nominees for an international award, I reviewed their business plans, looking for growth opportunities and interesting logistics solutions. Judging requires objectivity and an understanding of how every "cog" in the system works.
In 2025, you also evaluated the nominees for the Formula of Success award. What trends have you noticed among modern managers?
I would have called flexibility the main trend of 2025 and that year as well. No one built five-year plans back then without accounting for risks, and I saw the best results from those who could quickly diversify their income. There were many strong projects on the market that bet on local communities and high-tech service.
What Matters Most in Business
What qualities distinguish a competent businessperson?
Responsibility for the result when everything goes off-plan. That’s what experience teaches you. You make mistakes, correct them, and move forward. I see every challenge as a lesson. It’s important to assess the risks in advance, but not to be afraid of starting something new.
What is your main criterion for a successful business today?
A business should run like clockwork, even without the owner's minute-by-minute involvement. If a system requires manual management for every problem, it is inefficient. My goal is to build exactly these kinds of autonomous mechanisms.
Expert Verdict
Veronika Shulha has developed a methodology where retail and catering reinforce one another. Her participation in expert commissions confirms that the industry needs practitioners with a rigorous systemic approach rather than theorists.
The experience of transforming small enterprises into resilient networks is becoming a benchmark for the modern market.
