Podcast episode #10 – How to start any venture and be successful with business owner, startup mentor and a coach, Femke Kroes.

Femke is an entrepreneur of Dutch origin, currently residing in Switzerland. Femke’s two companies focus on positioning and strategy in the field of communication – Kroes Communication; and on how to start your business and be successful – yourbusinessmentor.ch.
Femke gathered her experiences for over 20 years before she became a startup mentor for Basel startup academy and now coaches brands and entrepreneurs in UK, Holland and Switzerland.

What sets Femke apart

What sets Femke apart is her brutal honesty and challenging approach towards her clients. Femke is not all knowing, but she is honest about what she can do for her clients, which builds a relationship of trust and authenticity. Besides, if external knowledge is needed, Femke has a network of experts from various fields such as media, website building, photography and many more.
Furthermore, Femke is a strong believer that anyone can be an entrepreneur, even a successful one, if you have the determination and follow her advice.

How to start any venture and be successful

Femke’s advice is: “Share your thoughts, take time, be critical, but also celebrate your achievements”.
Often, in the idea phase of their venture, starting entrepreneurs are afraid to share their idea, but you need to be challenged. Also, you need to be able to answer critical questions. Therefore, share your thoughts and get feedback outside of your friends and family as well.
Taking time and be aware of how long things can take is of great importance. Not only is it important to evaluate your idea thoroughly, which takes time. But also, misplaced expectation of rapid progress and images of tomorrows success can lead to a great frustration, which not everyone can handle.
Moreover, some skills you may learn and some must be in you, so being critical at what is missing is as important, as being ready to change and adapt. Listen to feedback, understand the situation and question your venture with “WHY”.
At last, take time to celebrate the achievements. It is about being mindful and acknowledging people who helped you get to where you are now. Also, it is a great source of motivation and energy for the entrepreneur to keep going forward, sometimes against strong currents.

Next steps

Femke has so much more to share that it is impossible to pack it all in a small post, therefore listen to Femke’s podcast episode on how to start any venture and be successful. It is motivating, inspiring, but also an honest view on entrepreneurship. Also, head over to Femke’s websites or connect with Femke via e-mail or her LinkedIn profile below.

Website: yourbusinessmentor.ch
E-Mail: info@kroescommunication.ch

…And if you are curious as what is Help’n’Trade, read our blog post, where we introduced Help’n’Trade.

If you want to stay in touch or appear on the podcast, contact us via our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/helpandtrade or drop us an e-mail on: contact@helpandtrade.com.
Also, don’t forget to check our platform: https://helpntrade.com

00:00 – Introduction
00:23 – Who is Femke Kroes
02:53 – What is communication consulting about
04:30 – How to get customers core trouble out in the open
06:30 – How does one acquire customers in face-to-face business
09:00 – State of the startup mentoring business
10:50 – How does startup coaching work
13:00 – Challenge with WHY questions
14:30 – The difference between “Wantepreneurs” and Entrepreneurs
16:10 – Reality of a entrepreneurial lifestyle
19:20 – What skills are necessary to succeed as an entrepreneur
20:20 – Everyone can be an entrepreneur, if…
22:00 – Best advice for people who want to start any venture
25:00 – You also need to celebrate achievements
26:16 – Departing message