Running a business can be a big leap in the dark. Various parties in Emmen have started a new process in order to help starting entrepreneurs on their way and to offer tailor-made solutions. The semi-annual Flying Start must literally give new entrepreneurs a flying start.
Menso, UWV, IBDO (provincial entrepreneurial programme), NHL Stenden and entrepreneurial incubator Growing Emmen joined forces. “We noticed that there was a need for it,” says Dènis Assen of Growing Emmen. “We have a lot of entrepreneurs walking around here. And if they are members, they can already use our network. But there was no process from head to tail. And we now offer that with the parties we already have here.”
Together with a group of entrepreneurs, the parties gauged what exactly is needed. That was mainly custom work, says Liesbeth Omvlee of Menso. Menso implements the Participation Act for the municipality of Emmen. “There was quite a lot on offer for entrepreneurs, but it was quite fragmented. We now offer a tailor-made total package.”
An entrepreneur who has registered is 47-year-old Evelien van Roon. She started working for herself as a virtual assistant in January after decades of self-employment. She too sometimes lost sight of the wood for the trees. “Attracting customers, up to determining your hourly rate. Then you don’t really have someone to discuss with. And what can you offer? And how do you do with tax returns?”, she says.