My interview at Crikos
Do you wake up every day and say to yourself “I am the luckiest person in the world”? Do you know many people who can say that? Let me answer for you… with a big NO!
Today, however, I met a young, successful and charming businessman who started his story by saying “I am very lucky” and his name is Dionysis Ammolochitis! Do not confuse me though as luck has absolutely nothing to do with his success. The result is due to hard work, self-confidence, zeal, perseverance, patience and all the positive “essentials” that you can find in the dictionary! A man who punches “It’s not possible” and turns it into ” Do you want to bet it “?
[featured_img]
But why does he think he is lucky? Well, she happens to have a mom who brought him to life in her teens, believed in him from the first moment and supported him in every way possible. In short, what most of us take for granted, he praises and is grateful for! Raising a child alone and taking care of their survival by doing any work was a very difficult and wonderful task… I guess he is lucky in the end.
It all started when, having already worked for a few years, Dionysis at 26 asked his mother to stop working and start their own business. She of course accepted it without a second thought! They sold a small asset, raised € 9000 and in 2003, Dionysis and his mother founded Manifest, a facility management company that they did not know at the time would be a leader in the Greek market in the coming years!
A few months after the founding of Manifest, working 24 hours a day and doing all the work on their own, Dionysis was informed about a large retail company looking for facility management services. He immediately closed a meeting with them and appeared with his team (his mother and her friend) having a very professional presence. He made a very competitive offer, but what secured him the deal was the imposing and proud attitude of a winner! As he told me: “I told them … look gentlemen, this price we have given you is very good and you have until the end of the week to answer us as after that, this agreement ceases to be valid! If you do not close the deal now, in a few years you will not be able to afford us “!!! Even if you say confident or let me say… “many guts”! And of course, they got the deal the same day!
They flew to the clouds of joy and at the same time cried because they had neither the experience, nor the human resources, nor the assets to serve 60 stores all over Greece! Of course, they successfully completed the project and still have their clients to this day. At present it is by far the leading company in their field in Greece, providing facilities management services, such as cleaning, technical maintenance of buildings, renovations, relocation, security and catering services.
Believe me, I have left many painful details and all the challenges he has faced so far! One would expect to be a tough-inaccessible businessman with everything he has achieved and gone through, but instead, Dionysis Ammolochitis is a true gentleman… polite, generous, open-hearted, approachable and willing to contribute to society! He has delivered many speeches and seminars helping young entrepreneurs, giving them his valuable knowledge, as well as know-how and tools to make their ideas and dreams come true easier and faster without going through everything he has gone through.
