The personal touch

Mohsin Jawaheri, of former Designlab fame, has launched MJ & Co to provide clients with highly personalised project management services. MJ & Co Project Management & Engineering Services will offer the full gamut of advisory services, Jawaheri explained.

“Once we have been given the mandate to be the client’s consultant, we will help them with evaluating location. We will then help them to appoint the right designers, and we will advise them on approval processes.

“We will then move on to finding the right contractors and procurement channels. We will review contracts, design drawings and material samples and, if required, advise on value engineering. We will also be involved in the certifying of invoices,” he explained.

“At all times, we will be making sure that the project is completed within the stipulated time period, within the budget, and according to the client’s expectations and quality requirements.”

Having worked in the industry, Jawaheri is well placed to understand how to protect interior designers, while still acting in the best interests of the client. “There has to be a formula that will help everybody – and I will be working on finding that formula,” he said.

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MJ & Co will differentiate itself by offering a hands-on, highly-personalised service. With over 13 years of industry experience, Jawaheri’s business proposition rests on developing strong, trusting relationships with his clients.

He will be looking to partner with a select group of reliable, capable companies, he noted. “I’d like top use a handful of people in each sector. I don’t want a database of thousands of designers. I am looking for people that we are comfortable working with and that we can trust to deliver; people that are creative and co-operative when it comes to working with the various entities involved in a project.”

When it comes to suppliers, companies such as Erco Lighting and Vitra fit the bill perfectly, Jawaheri explained. “I have chosen some of the best.

“I’m not saying no to anyone that wants to send their portfolio to me, but obviously I have an idea of the kind of people that I would like to work with, and build a relationship with.”

MJ & Co is resigned to growing slowly, which Jawaheri views as an inevitable consequence of his focus on quality rather than quantity. And while the timing might not seem ideal to some, Jawaheri remains confident. “We are no longer living in a time where you start a company today and make millions the month after.

“I think this is healthier; you can build organically and have more stability. The companies that can sustain themselves in these situations are the ones that deserve to stay around, and who will help the economy in the long term.”