Year of Program: 2018
University: Nyenrode Business University
For years, Inge Hoogesteger worked in management positions at Randstad. After a trip through Nepal, she decided to radically change course. She founded Scarf with Story to help local entrepreneurs and now sells hip, handmade scarves and other products from Nepal and Thailand. She had many questions about social entrepreneurship. That is why she started the Social Entrepreneurship course at Nyenrode Business University in March 2018. 'Without the course, I wouldn't have achieved so much now.'
'The questions I had were mainly in the field of legal forms and the financing of my company,' says Hoogesteger. 'But I also wanted to know more about things related to growth such as positioning, marketing and branding and how to approach this.' Hoogesteger deliberately chose this course because she felt that she was seen everywhere as a strange duck in the bite. For example, she was rejected several times for financing at banks, because they felt that Sjaal with story did not fit into the calibrated company picture. 'Social entrepreneurship is often seen as drowsy and dusty, too 'charity-like'. I just don't want that. It is a commercial company and we convert the profit into the inventory and with that we can grow. In addition, we support projects in Asia with it.'
Puzzle pieces
'The workshop with the Rabobank Foundation on funds proved to be very valuable to me. I later made an appointment with them and was finally able to arrange solid financing for my company. This did mean that I had to switch from a sole proprietorship to a BV in a very short time. Fortunately, I was already working on this during the course on the advice of other participants and teachers. This was the last push I needed and the puzzle pieces fell together. Because my company is now a BV, I am no longer liable as a private person. That gives a lot of peace. As a result, I am calmer, also towards my team. I can put mistakes into perspective.”
“This was the last push I needed and the puzzle pieces fell together.”
Other role
Hoogesteger also had a lot of use for the leadership training. There she realized that she now has to deal with the same topics in a completely different role. 'When I now have a performance interview with someone, I am not only the manager, but also the final boss, which makes me feel more responsible.' She also saw that different stages of a company include different employees. 'Other participants said I wouldn't make it with the team I had,' she explains. 'Thanks to the apprenticeship, I dared to make the decision to hire an interim financial advisor. We are also going to investigate the German market, because we want to expand in Germany. This would never have happened without the course.'
“Thanks to the apprenticeship, I dared to make the decision to hire an interim financial advisor.”
Setting out strategy
'I definitely recommend the course to other social entrepreneurs. However, it is good to formulate a number of questions for yourself in advance, to which you are looking for an answer. Then it will benefit you much more and you will be more focused on strategy. I myself was not interested in strategy at all in the beginning. Now it is. I realized that as captain I have to set the course. My company and my team need that.”
“I realized that as captain I have to set the course. My company and my team need that.”
During the Social Entrepreneurship course, you will delve into theory, practice and your own leadership to find the right balance between ideals and making a profit. You will learn how to take your business to the next phase. After following the course, you will have a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge focused on both your personal and business growth.