Dear Gerard,

It is clear that the West now faces a difficult period when it comes to the situation with Russia. To solve these problems will not be easy. It is admirable that your business, which operates in several countries in Eastern Europe and even in Ukraine, is performing well. The recent political turmoil caused by Russia will affect various branches of your company.

(more…)

Dear Jan

Top athletes always fascinate me. I admire their dedication, perseverance and the ability to forgo to achieve their goal. If we, as entrepreneurs and employees, display the same dedication, our company or career cannot fail. (more…)

Dear Gerard

It’s good to see that you have made big steps in recent years. Realizing that you always have to anticipate is really important. During the phase of growth and increasing profits, you will be in a euphoric mood. You feel invincible, you get lots of compliments and make lots of “friends”, after all, you are successful. It is more difficult to look ahead and to consider the next phase. (more…)

Dear Jan,

I sometimes feel like we are in all 4 phases at the same time and throughout my entrepreneurial career I never paid much attention to this. And now that I think about it, I never knew what I should do with this information. For example, we now have a new temporary staffing service: international staffing and A1 Payrolling. We are one of the few providers in the Netherlands. Other companies are not yet active in this area, but this is only a matter of time. We are clearly in the growth stage. We are trying to capture market share as quickly as possible and to create customer loyalty by providing top service at competitive prices to reduce the chances of competitors entering the market. (more…)

Dear Gerard,

I think that in your business you do everything to keep the company up-to-date and dynamic. Listening to customers and trying to respond to new needs and innovate wherever possible. It is essential to understand and to be aware of what stage of development a company and the industry as a whole is in. (more…)

Dear Jan,

I know that company. These are entrepreneurs par excellence. I have worked with them. (Thanks to your introduction!). You can hardly imagine a better partner. These are people who put 100% into their business. They are innovative, but they still have both feet on the ground. As an entrepreneur, you obviously need to put a lot of effort into securing the future of your business. Sometimes I notice CEOs of big companies have other interests, i.e. how they can earn as much money as quickly as possible, even at the expense of the company of which they are CEO. With regard to the continuity of my company, I focus on three (for me) fundamental aspects. (more…)