The reason? "I believe that Thai agencies are more competent to solve business problems faced by Thai firms," said Janjaree.

Thailand's Bt25-billion consulting market is divided into many categories, such as engineering and environmental consulting, business and marketing consulting, and accounting and taxation. She said that almost 80 per cent of the consulting work in Thailand was dominated by foreign agencies due to their good marketing tools and international approach.

But the trend is fast changing. Foreign consultants are strong in understanding and preparing important tools for their foreign counterparts, while a full-time professor aims to develop and teach breakthrough theories. Both, however, lack in-depth understanding of business challenges faced by regional companies. Janjaree, 43, started her career in 1987 by working as a full-time lecturer, teaching marketing courses at Assumption University in Bangkok. She joined Proctor & Gamble (Thailand) in 1989 as brand and marketing manager. She then became vice-president for sales and marketing at Sansiri Plc in 1993, and was appointed regional marketing director of Frito-Lay Thailand two years later.

Janjaree moved to New Zealand Milk (Thailand) in 1999 as managing director for Thailand, Vietnam and the Indo-China region. She also worked for Unilever Best Foods Thailand and Frito Lay International, Asia Pacific Region, respectively in 2001 and 2003 before founding her own training and consulting agency in July 2005.

"Setting up my own agency was a personal ambition. I discovered that I liked to teach and develop businesses on my own time," said Janjaree. But it was a long-term process. For instance, she had been appointed as a certified trainer at Proctor & Gamble for written communications and she also taught executives how to write a business plan at Sansiri Co Ltd, a real estate firm.

"I had been working and learning at multinational

 firms for a long time and wanted to impart my knowledge and valuable experience to the Thais," said Janjaree.

She also said that her training and consulting agency was not just a "school of thought or a place that theorises about business", but a place that focuses on practical teaching methods and solving real problems faced by its many clients. "She agency will not offer ready-made programmes but create tailor-made solutions to fit individual clients. We interview our clients and address their business problems before designing a training and consulting programme to fit their specific needs," she said.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation