Johan, to start it off with you.
Entrepreneurs, when they start in general and have just kicked off their business
what in general should they be mindful of?
I think there are a lot of things that you need to be mindful of.
Once you actually start the business
there's all kinds of processes that you need to work with.
You need to know where you're going.
You need to keep your eye on the direction you want to go in with your business
but you need to set everything in place and in motion.
I think that's the most important step.
Get your clients, get your paperwork up and running
and start going in the direction you want to go in.
And what type of aspects come with that:
setting up your business and getting the legal work done?
Well, I think the most important one is setting up your taxes.
So at that point, get your money streams in order.
I think for most start-up companies, that's the most important part.
But once that's taken care of, then it's going to be doing the actual business
getting out there, get your name known, get your clients
and start doing what it is that you're good at doing.
Great. So these are all aspects that we will zoom in on later on in this webinar.
But first, let's meet our entrepreneurs. Welcome to both of you.
Geta, to start off with you, you have founded a really special company
around a special baby product.
Special baby carriers for especially small babies, if I remember correctly.
Could you elaborate? -It is a pretty niche business.
We're looking at really
changing the care approach to new-borns
to children actually in their first thousand days of life.
It's all evidence-based. And yeah, it started around a baby carrier
but it's actually a much larger angle towards what we're doing.
Maybe to explain it a bit more, we can watch this video you made.
Yeah, I think that would be easier for people to understand.
Hi, I am Geta. I am the founder of Babymoon Care
and we are working to change infant care to an attachment model all over the world.
I started as an entrepreneur overall in baby carriers.
It was 2006, I had my first son, so I started wearing my son.
I was in love with the concept of that.
And step by step, I would figure out all the benefits that brought to me.
2006 until 2010, I was just making baby carriers.
I wanted to not do the business, but then
the world told me like: No, we need you to do this.
That's when I started working with the maternity hospitals in Moldova
and working more on a system of care rather than just a device.
Babymoon is actually a much more complex system than just a carrier company.
I come from Moldova, I am in the Netherlands since 2016.
Since then there was a lot of groundwork covered.
And now we're working in the Scandinavian region and Benelux
and we have a big, important project coming up
with Tanzania and Kenya
and that's done together with the United Nations.
So we have a lot of stuff going on.
Back in the time when I came up with the concept, for me this was just fiction.
And here I am in the Netherlands
and here I am, connected by the Dutch entrepreneurial environment
to the United Nations.
And here I am making that fiction that I came up with
four years ago, a reality.
So that's mind-blowing to myself even. But aside from connections like this
you get really huge opportunities
and there are so many more doorways opened to build a global business.
So that's valuable.
Geta, how would you characterise the current state that your company is in
and in a nutshell, how did you get there?
In a nutshell, it took a lot of effort
and a lot of research and adapting to the environment where I ended up.
But the current state would be like
we're right about to take off. So that's pretty exciting.
That's super exciting. Congratulations.
And Karim, to introduce you, you have, if I remember correctly
an online platform for expats in the Netherlands
so they can connect to each other.
How would you describe your rise to the stage that your company is at right now?
Actually, it started off as a hobby just doing events and meetups for expats
because it's hard to move to a new country with no friends and no network.
It started to grow as a hobby and we started to do bigger and more events.
And then we became also more online, with the pandemic
and we have articles and webinars.
That's how we grew and we got a lot of attention and people started contacting us.
Amazing. Let's also watch your video.
I'm Karim Sabri, I'm from Canada and the name of my company is Expat Republic.
We are an English media company based in the Netherlands
and we provide content and events and knowledge for expats
to make their life fruitful and enjoyable
while they're in the Netherlands, to help them also grow their network.
In fact, it was a hobby.
I noticed that a lot of expats didn't have many friends, they didn't have a network.
So I stepped in and I enjoyed organising events
so I just started doing loads of events and meetups
to kind of help them not be lonely, essentially.
We try and cover all walks of life for expatriates and internationals.
So, for instance, we will have a Basics of Investing webinar.
We will have a seminar about buying your own home.
We will just do drinks, like super easy, just so people can meet and connect
and grow their personal and social network.
So you want to kind of give them that feeling of being at home.
The way we make money is very simple. It's a media company
the same way a magazine makes money: with advertising.
But the idea is it's a sort of smart advertising.
It's helpful, it's knowledgeable.
It's not inconvenient or intrusive.
We really like to transfer knowledge to our audience or transfer something nice
so they have a good feeling, right?
And so as a partner that will like to do that
to provide that to an international audience, we're the perfect vehicle.
So for me, the Netherlands is an incredible place to be an entrepreneur.
Loads of opportunities, easy to do business in
very direct, very honest, very straightforward.
Lots of opportunities, access to capital, access to labour force
a good system in place that makes doing business very easy.
And you can also do it in English.
Karim, are you also planning on professionalising your business further?
Of course, we're always looking to grow. We're already quite professional.
We're of course looking to grow and to expand to other European countries as well.
And are you also looking then to maybe turn it into a different legal structure?
Yeah, of course. That's probably something we should have done already
but everything has its time.
I just want to make sure that things are done in a structured way that works for us
and that we can continue to grow with a good foundation properly.
So you are indeed looking to see maybe if you can change that.
Because when starting a business, also growing a business
that legal structure can change.
So that's a really important aspect that we will also dive into later on in this webinar.
Thank you so much. But maybe before we dive into that deeper
Johan, could you explain to us
what different legal structures there are in the Netherlands?
There are quite a few legal structures that you can choose from.
I think the most well-known are the sole proprietorship
in Dutch called the 'eenmanszaak'
which is the legal form most start-up businesses choose when they register.
But there are legal structures for partnerships, that's also possible.
And you have the possibility to register a legal entity
the most common being the liability company, the BV.
What is the main difference then between a sole proprietorship and a BV?
I think there are two. They're different when it comes to liability.
As a one-man business, you're personally liable.
As a legal entity, you're not. So that's a huge difference.
On the other hand, when it comes to taxes
and you're a start-up business, you might benefit just a little more
from the sole proprietorship than you would as a legal entity.
So, when should you review your legal structure in that case?
I'd say that once you start growing
the business starts increasing, there's more money going around
your liability becomes a bigger issue
and you might want to start working with staff
all elements that increase your liability
that could be a point at which you make the change into a legal entity.
And I would also say, look at taxes.
Once you start paying too much taxes as a sole proprietor
I think that's going to be the cue from your accountant or your bookkeeper
to make the change into a legal entity.
So that, of course, would be a huge advantage to change.
Are there any other main advantages to switching to a BV?
Depends. If you go international, there could be an argument.
Being a director of a legal entity in foreign countries
is easier to explain than having a sole proprietorship.
That could be one. And I'd say if you start working with investors
then also a BV becomes more interesting
because you can have investors who can have shares.
And that's not possible if you have a sole proprietorship or a general partnership.
How should an entrepreneur know when their business would actually qualify as a BV
if it wants to take advantage of all of this?
I'd say that you'd normally have your accountant
who's going to look at your bookkeeping. They're going to give you a cue.
I'd say that if you want to work with investors and scenarios like that
you'll find out that that's the only possibility.
But keep in mind that it's not always necessary to change.
You can start off as a one-man business or general partnership
and change into a legal entity.
But there are also a lot of people who don't and who stay sole proprietors
or partnerships their entire business career.
Geta, you actually started as a BV.
Did you see that as an advantage? And why did you choose for that?
In my case, when I came to the Netherlands in 2016
I came as part of a business acceleration programme
and this was the structure that they advised us from the very start.
We actually have a holding company
owning the shares inside the BV
and then the investors come along and there's the whole stock.
So it's a bit more sophisticated structure.
Was it a good or a bad choice?
I'm not sure. It worked for me so far, so I can't complain.
So for you, it probably was a good choice. -Yeah, in some ways, yes.
And Johan, would you say that a transition to BV
is always a logical next step for sole proprietorship?
No. As I mentioned earlier, for some it is.
And I'd say based on the growing of your business and your liability increasing
and profit increasing, that could be a reason to change.
Having the investor on board could help making that transition.
But for some, it goes from a sole proprietorship to a legal entity
and for a lot of others it doesn't.
And they're going to stay the exact same way as they start now.
It's not mandatory. You don't need to go to a legal entity at some point.
There's a choice and the choice will depend on your specific situation
and your needs. -Exactly.
We will come to talk about the situation of a sole proprietorship and a BV
in the next chapter, for there's much more to this.
But first, let's continue with a bird's eye view
on the growing and expanding of your business.
Business is going well for Mike. He wants to expand. What are his options?
Should he expand his product range, hire staff, start trading internationally?
How about opening a branch office?
Expansion comes with risks and Mike needs to know what they are.
Is there a market for his new products?
Does he need extra insurance for international business or permits?
Mike needs a growth plan to help him focus.
He visits business.gov.nl, the point of single contact website
that offers entrepreneurs complete and up-to-date government information.
Here, he finds all he needs to know.
The market research he's done is the input for his marketing plan.
He knows which products show the most promise.
Research into the national and international market
has shown him where to focus his efforts.
Next, he has to think about promotion.
He needs to consider his target market to find the right mix
of traditional and online marketing tools.
Financing is an essential part of growing.
Now that Mike knows what he wants to do
he needs to decide how to finance the expansion.
Go for one source of funding or for a mixture.
Market research, marketing and finance.
Those are the ingredients for a growth plan that will work.
Mike knows how to move forward.
And so can you, with a little help from business.gov.nl.
Do you have general recommendations for businesses when they think of growing?
I think that it's... You'll be looking at
what your plans were right from the beginning.
I think that's a nice starting point.
Once you started your business, you had a plan, you had a vision
you had somewhere you wanted to go
and where you wanted to end up with your business.
I think it's always good to keep an eye on what your plans were.
Are you still on track? Are you still going in the direction where you want to go?
So for those who wrote a business plan
keep working with that specific plan.
Look at what you estimated on doing.
And on top of that, you'll be looking into possibilities of growth.
You might want to start writing a growing plan
saying: I'm here now. I'm still in line with what I intentionally planned.
But how am I going to go to the next step?
You'll be thinking about expanding product, expanding market.
You might want to look into hiring personnel
relocating, all that kind of stuff.
It's the next step and that's the thing that you'll be thinking of.
Exactly. So this growth plan actually is sort of key to first taking that next step.
What aspects would you deem most important to be named in this growth plan?
I'd say look at financing, look at staff, maybe
look at your location, your legal structure, maybe.
I'd say that those elements are the things that you need to look into.
Sounds logical. Karim, growth plan, does that ring a bell?
Did you put anything on paper? -Of course I did.
But you always have to refine things.
That's about moving your business one per cent per day. That's my motto.
Any remarks to the growth plan that Johan just sketched?
Essentially, you do look at your growth plan. We do put things on paper.
We do take a look at: OK, what's the next logical step for us?
I'm not a fan of keeping things super rigid, right?
Because things always change on a day-to-day basis.
As long as the general direction doesn't change, I think you're good.
That sounds very logical. How do you make sure that everyone and of course you
are able to keep focus in that case?
It's very simple. You focus on your clients and in our case, focus on our audience.
So if you keep those two happy...
Keeping the focus is about keeping your customers
and your stakeholders happy, essentially.
And if you can do that, you're usually going to end up in the right way.
That sounds good. And in that case
are there also any special remarks for non-Dutch entrepreneurs?
Definitely. Well, the Netherlands is a really great place to do business.
I would say just know the regulations, get to know
what sort of company you want to start.
And basically... Because at the end of the day, a business is about
having customers. So find your first customers.
And it's quite easy to do in the Netherlands
just because of the business-friendly environment.
It's quite good, actually.
That's good to hear. -I hope that answers your question.
Yeah, definitely.
And now I would like to see what your strategy base is.
So I have a statement for you. -Sure.
In the running of your business, you should always go after opportunities.
Geta, to maybe start with you.
You should definitely seek opportunities, but you don't take all of them.
You take the ones that work for you
and are in line with your planning and your business directions.
Because otherwise you just waste effort and you're all over the place.
So who needs that when you want to build something specific, right?
Do you agree with that, Karim? -Absolutely.
Opportunities. It's always going for the right opportunities.
But I don't agree with being opportunistic.
You see what I mean? It has to match with your overall vision, absolutely.
And you, Johan, as a business consultant
do you agree with the statement? -Yeah, they're both right.
It has to work for your situation.
It needs to be you, your business, your planning.
You need to keep an eye open for possibilities
but in the end it needs to suit your business.
And they both make that happen. So, yeah, I totally agree.
They certainly do. So, Geta, looking at opportunities
what is your next step with Babymoon? -Well, right now
we have a lot of work on our plate
because we're literally in the middle of launching
in both our business directions
because we have a direction for the consumer market and one for the health.
So first of all, we have two parallel lines of work.
And the team is small enough at this point
so we can't afford looking for opportunities
that are not on our radar.
They may be great and amazing and fantastic
but right on this point of where our business is
we have to put value to all the prework that has been done
launch, get the goals that we were looking at.
And then after that, we can maybe take a phase of
searching for other opportunities
at a stage when we're kind of transitioning to another step.
Exactly, and I can imagine, especially with the team you're describing
financing and launching is really important in this.
But we can dive deeper into that later on. Great to hear that.
Karim, maybe a question for you again. What is at the top of your list
the first thing you do once you actually are a BV?
That's a good question.
It really doesn't change much, to be honest.
Because I'm going to do the exact same thing I do every morning.
I'm going to wake up and think about my customers
and the people I need to help.
So the legal structure is kind of a transparent thing.
And you probably want to just hand over all that accounting and tax stuff
to someone who knows what they're doing.
And of course, you can visit our website for those companies.
Good to mention. Thank you.
Let's summarise what we've discussed.
The big picture of running a business
and reviewing the legal structure because of the changes.
You should write a growth plan and try to keep the focus on where you're going.
You can find all the information you need on business.gov.nl.