Interview with coaches

2009 stories

Interview with coaches Aart Jan van Ginkel and Charles Janssen
CJ - Charles Janssen
AG - Aart Jan van Ginkel

How did you become interested in coaching for BiD Network?

CJ:
I knew about BiD Network via somebody from the media world. I was first involved in the BiD Network as a screener of business plans. Then BID was asking for coaches. Coaching is a very positive, stimulating experience. The introduction programme offered useful preparation. The most important lesson to learn was that you have to keep a certain distance from an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur has to write his/her business plan himself. You should not take over. Sometimes that’s difficult, when suggestions are not understood or put into practice.

AG:
I got to know BiD Network through PUM. I was working for PUM before BiD Network got the attention of PUM. Our sponsors suggested organizations to work together where possible. Since PUM and BiD Network had a lot of things in common they started working together. I started with BiD Network as a screener of business plans. The advantage of coaching is that it requires more in-depth analysis of business plans than while screening them.
Is the coaching programme interesting enough since it’s an online model?

CJ:
It’s a different concept, but still interesting. Being in contact with entrepreneurs, it keeps you sharp and involved supporting them in their work. Personal contact remains important, so inviting entrepreneurs to Holland is a very good way of doing that.

AG:
People working for PUM have travelled a lot in their lives. When you retire this doesn’t happen anymore. That’s why it great to keep contact with entrepreneurs all over the world. It’s important for assessors and coaches to be in personal contact with each other and the BiD Network employees once in a while.

CJ: The most effective is coaching entrepreneurs from countries where I have been. If you haven’t been there it stays a bit abstract. It would be nice to be kept informed about countries or regions online.

Do you have examples of cultural differences while you were coaching an entrepreneur?

AG: The world is more interconnected nowadays. There is more communication between people all over the world. I haven’t experienced shocking cultural differences or misunderstandings.

CJ: I didn’t experience any differences either. But they do exist. For instance, the Bolivian entrepreneur supported by me, who was in the Netherlands during the BiD event. He hesitated to make any decision without the consent of his mother, who built the business. This is typical for the local cultural setting.

AG: In some countries respect for parents is very important. People are more dependent on the opinion of their parents in making decisions.

CJ: in some countries it’s not appropriate to interfere too much, as an outsider.
AG: It’s the way you communicate with the entrepreneur that is very important. ‘C’est le ton qui fait la musique’.

How do you start the first contact with the entrepreneur?

AG:
The curriculum vitae is known. Then you start by contacting the entrepreneur and asking him/her about his/her life, like family, business history etc. It’s important to have the right tone in the beginning. I always try to stimulate openness and honesty.

CJ:
Good personal contact is very important from the beginning. Especially with people from Latin America, you first have to get to know each other. You not hesitate tell them that Dutch people are very direct.
The start is easy, but finalizing the coaching activities is more difficult. It’s not always clear if they have done something concrete and lasting with your suggestions.

AG:
They are not always capable of having all financials done the way it is requested. It is a very difficult task. Sometimes it is difficult for entrepreneurs to admit that they have difficulties with it. Coaches cannot always give the solution. Development aid is not used because entrepreneurs do not know how to use the formats that you have to comply with.

CJ:
One entrepreneur I know applied for a loan from Oikocredit. He was a talented entrepreneur, but did not have a comprehensive financial plan. Sometimes people with capacity miss the boat because of that. They have to deal with too many rules and red tape to get the funds out.

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