27 April 2021|Latest Posts, Meet the Successful Founder
Lazar Vukovic is a UK born entrepreneur with a business portfolio including retail, distribution, real estate and entertainment. He is involved in various non-profit and charity organisations including Lifeline Humanitarian Organisation, Serbian Council of Great Britain and is the UK & IRE diaspora delegate to the assembly of Serbia. His first book ‘Make It Happen!’ aims to uncover how you can turn your idea, passion or opportunity into a reality.
Can you tell us a little about your background and the company?
I was born in the UK to Yugoslav parents and was always the type of person that would be ‘making things happen’ whether it was on the playground selling personalised cassette tapes or sweets or later in life creating never-before-seen editions of Monopoly around the world – I was always interested in creating something new, something different.
Throughout my years of entrepreneurship, I’ve had a lot of ventures from selling & developing luxury international property to running a chain of high street toy stores.
I’m also involved in a few non-profit organisations.
My company is LV Group (lvgroup.me) which is active in Marketing, Entertainment and Distribution.
How did the idea come to you for the company?
I always wanted to build an ‘empire’ of sort, the idea mainly coming from playing too much Monopoly! I quickly become to understand that I have a talent for creating new ways to communicate and market brands/products and a Marketing agency was born ‘ilovedigital.co.uk’ a full stack marketing agency offering a range of services including web design/development, SEO, branding, campaigns and more.
My production company ‘Wolf Entertainment’ has recently completed its first feature film documentary which had a theatrical release in Europe last year for ‘Boycie in Belgrade’ with more productions in the pipeline.
Inshortsupply a surplus stock trading and distribution company came about almost by accident when an old client of mine enquired about selling stock for a lower price due to coronavirus – using my network of traders around the world I started to trade stock internationally.
How did you achieve awareness?
My awareness came by the most important thing you need to do in business ‘deliver’. For me this is the most important part of any business conversation, as you could spend hours on end in discussions if a party cannot deliver what they’re set out to do.
Results always speak for themselves.
How have you been able to gain funding and grow?
Every business has been self-sufficient. The most beautiful thing in this day and age is that you no longer need to shell out such a large capital investment to trade or grow. I’m a big believer in starting small and snowballing as you go.
What are the key successes?
Discipline, Vision and Motivation. If you have these pillars in place you won’t go off track!
What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?
I’ve faced so many challenges in business that it’s difficult to pick out just one. The one that I think is most important is learning when to walk away, as sometimes your emotions can get attached to business which can result in a downward spiral. I’m fortunate that I learnt to cut-off emotion in business quite early, it doesn’t mean I’m ruthless, but it does allow me to filter through a lot of noise and get to the root of any issue.
What are your plans now/for the future?
I plan to grow the companies that I have running, there are a lot of exciting new opportunities on the horizon too. My debut book ‘Make It Happen!’ will be launching on 29th March and I’m very excited about that. The book is split into 3 parts (How I Made It Happen, The Make It Happen Mindset & You). It’s designed to give the reader an insight into the life of an entrepreneur and to follow that idea, passion or opportunity and Make It Happen!
What would you like to share with others to encourage them to start their own entrepreneurship journey?
To follow their passion or idea, there is nothing more satisfying than meeting people who love what they’re doing for a living. I believe that is such a gift, some people spend a lifetime looking for it, some never find it, but self-fulfilment shouldn’t be penalising. Apart from buying my book I suggest they ‘run with it’ whatever their passion, idea or opportunity may be!
Can you share you top tips for entrepreneurial success?
Thought Process – Visualise your success
Planning – Create a roadmap of how you will achieve this
Obsession – Live, breathe and dream about your business
Ownership – Take charge and control it’s down to you
Delivery – Most important, deliver on what you set out to do, otherwise, it’s just all hot air!
Who are the 5 people who inspire you the most?
@BeingBoycie – A legend who I’ve had the pleasure to work with. The tour that John Challis does around the UK is intense, but alongside that he’s doing so much more, a master juggler of business and a great man..
@Lord_Sugar – straight talking and to the point – clear and concise !
@JamesCollierMT – co-founder of Huel, someone who loves what they do!
@TheoPaphitis – A great entrepreneur, trader and all round nice guy!
@SueHolderness – Without her ‘Marlene’ just wouldn’t sound the same
What are your favourite inspirational /motivational quotes?
Do sharks complain about Monday? No. They’re up early, biting stuff, chasing shit, being scary – reminding everyone they’re a f*cking shark.
What are your social handles and website links so our readers can connect with you?
@VukovicLazar (twitter)
