'When I started my business, it was important for me to help people work who are struggling to find a regular job. From home I am a social worker. My team consists of people with mental or physical disability, who do want and can work.' Hidde Blom, founder and owner of the Theezaakje, a tea house and webshop in Nijmegen, is speaking. When he started the organization about four years ago, he didn't know much about entrepreneurship. He decided to follow the Social Entrepreneurship course at Nyenrode Business University last year.
During the course, Blom realized how much influence your personality has on your business and how you run your business. 'I tend to have some reserve, but now I dare to stand better for what I want. Also in contact with, for example, the municipality or commercial cooperation partners. I can now make it clearer what my interests are and why they are important to me. And make no more compromises in that regard.' He is also more direct in the field of communication within his company and sees the importance of open communication more. Blom: 'If something rubs, you have to ring the bell and pay attention to it. Now I pay more attention to that.'
Enjoy your work
Personal leadership was one of Blom's most inspiring parts of the course. 'For example, I gained insight into where I stand in the organization. I also learned to shape my personal goals and values and to see how they can be expressed in my company.' Blom gives as an example of how he formulated four values: fun, creativity, connection/open communication and development. He explains how these four values work in everything. 'If you enjoy your work, are nice and creative and pleasant to interact with colleagues, personal development actually comes naturally. But even if we now develop a new tea flavor, it should radiate pleasure and it should look creative, be unique. It is important that the person who makes it and invents it expresses himself.'
“If you enjoy your work, are nice and creative and pleasant to interact with colleagues, personal development actually comes naturally.”
From sole proprietorship to cooperative
During the training course, Blom was also able to work on an issue that was very relevant to him. 'I started the Theezaakje as a sole proprietorship, but had wanted a different legal form for a long time. During the course, I talked a lot about and researched the advantages and disadvantages of the different legal forms.' The result: the Theezaakje becomes a cooperative of and for people with distance to the labor market. 'I believe that successful job participation starts with the idea that everyone is equal. That everyone can make a valuable contribution to a company, community or collective with his or her qualities and possibilities. For that reason, Het Theezaakje is becoming a cooperative in which everyone gets a voice that must be taken seriously. An employee cooperative in which the limitation of the individual is compensated by the possibilities of the majority.'
“I believe that successful job participation starts with the idea that everyone is equal.”
Largest tea brand
'I definitely recommend the Social Entrepreneurship course to other social entrepreneurs. Together with the other participants, you explore the problems that everyone encounters and look for solutions. It helps you to look at your business from a distance.' And to the future. 'For the 'scale-up strategies' component, I came up with the BHAG to be the largest tea brand in the Netherlands in 2025. During the course, we worked out that goal in a group: how do we approach it, how do we shape it, how does it affect the social impact we have?' Blom adds with a laugh: 'If we become the largest tea brand in the Netherlands, it is partly thanks to Nyenrode.'
“It helps you to look at your business from a distance.”
During the Social Entrepreneurship course, you will delve into the theoretical, practical and personal depths to find the right balance between ideals and making a profit. You will learn how to take your business to the next stage. After following the course, you will have a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge focused on both your personal and business growth.
Hidde followed the intrapreneurship course in 2025 for his new initiative Tosss, a network cooperation for social return.