Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2012. The company figures are as of early 2012: 50 employees, 7 million euros turnover “last year” (2011), export markets, the Mercadona deal and payment delays caused by public-sector cuts.
Jalsosa is a company based in a village in Granada. It currently has 50 employees, and last year its turnover was 7 million euros. José Manuel López, its manager, gave an interview to the newspaper Ideal.es in which he describes how it all began, a story I hope will motivate other entrepreneurs.
The company’s first product was the single-use sponge. How did they come up with this business idea? How did they get started? How did they achieve the sales success they enjoy today? They answer all these questions for us.
How did they come up with this business idea?
José Manuel’s father worked as a nurse and saw a need every day: he noticed that the way patients were washed was neither very hygienic nor very economical for the hospital. Patients were usually washed with reusable sponges or gauze that were cleaned after use so they could be used again. That’s when this entrepreneur spotted the business idea: a product that was both cheap and hygienic. The single-use sponge, “Esponjas Begobaño”.
How did they start the business?
At first, he says, the whole family started making the sponges by hand at home. As sales grew, they expanded their facilities, but always gradually, in step with rising sales. They started out with the advantage of having a product that was environmentally friendly, very cheap to make (the raw material is very inexpensive) and that saved hospitals a considerable amount of water and soap.
Who were their first customers?
The company’s first customer was a maternity hospital in the province. It must have been a tough negotiation to prove that their product would end up cutting the hospital’s costs. The day they closed their first sale with a potential customer was cause for celebration. Today they supply the vast majority of public and private hospitals, and their products are in practically every pharmacy.
They now export, with a solid distribution network in countries across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, and they’re closing trade deals in other countries. The company’s plans for the future are ambitious.
The secret of their success?
Bearing in mind that the company is located in a small village in Granada, José Manuel says its success is down to its people: a workforce committed to the company with the same enthusiasm as on day one, in good times and bad.
It’s also a company that has never stopped innovating. It used the momentum from its star product’s success to develop personal hygiene products for the end consumer, and it has closed a deal with Mercadona (Spain’s largest supermarket chain) to sell its products in every Mercadona store in Spain. It also keeps working on new ideas to shape other lines of business.
How are they coping with the crisis?
They say the crisis hasn’t affected their orders, as they’re still selling the same amount. However, because they sell to the public sector and the autonomous communities (Spain’s regional governments), the spending cuts are causing them some problems getting paid, although for now they’re absorbing them without their solvency being at risk.
What advice does this businessman give future entrepreneurs?
I’ll sum up the positive message José Manuel gives us:
“These are hard times, times when an entrepreneur should see difficulties as a challenge. If you have a good idea and you keep at it, everything will work out in the end. Keep a cool head when things get difficult and want to get better every day.”
That’s the secret of this businessman’s success.
Further reading
Featured image: Old Photo Profile, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
