End of an era

The end of an era. It’s coming to an end. I realized that recently. I was sitting in our new office, which is still under renovation, and there were 24–25 of us there. Eight of them were taking the Level 3 exam: the Hypno-Path-Finder. And I suddenly realized: this will never happen again. We went downstairs to eat together at the little restaurant. That, too, will simply never happen again. I’d actually been realizing that all weekend, because it was the last block of 3.0.

A new beginning

We were all sitting around a table and then I said this to the group, "What we have done now is not going to happen again. What did I mean by that? That we are doing level 3 so live in a small group. Because the next level 3 is in September. That will all be livestreamed. The results are also top notch. Only this was still an 'old' group, meeting in the office. And now we were sitting like this in a new office - hypnotically initiated, you could say - and then I thought, Wow, that's a new beginning again. Because where one stops, another begins.

I remember well when I started at 70 Zaanweg, I'll never forget that either. That was a small space. At least, small... I thought it was hearty, because there were 2 offices. 1 that my father-in-law worked in, and in the other I sat. We had a small space, where we could fit a group of up to 15 people. I've had a group of 15, which was packed to the brim.

At some point in 2012, I thought, I really need to move to another space because I want bigger and it can't get bigger this way. I remember well that the last block of training, I think the master's program, was taught in the new space.

A new space, new motivation

That was really strange because there were 10 people, and they walked into that new space, and they just disappeared into it. I thought, “This place is huge! How am I going to fill this?” I really did lie awake all night thinking about it. I slept really badly—let’s put it that way. And in no time at all, it was full. That’s fascinating, too—so you do something, you start expanding. Which is scary, because how is it going to work out? But I always think: in the worst-case scenario, I’m locked into a five-year contract, it’ll cost me this much, and then I’ll just lose that money. Oh well, that’s just the way it is. But that’s never happened. At some point, we added the attic, and the location where I’m still based today. Suddenly we had three spaces, all of which were filled.

Then COVID-19 hit, and we lost all our locations except the one in Krommenie. And yes, the team has grown so rapidly that we’ve added 8 people since the pandemic began. And I’m not even counting all the people who join us on a freelance basis. That’s another 20 to 30 or so. If you add them all up, you’re at 50. That’s extreme growth. I looked at our new office and thought: This place could easily accommodate 25 people. In the beginning, whenever I walked in, I’d think: Wow, this place is huge. But then again, it’ll fill up eventually. That’s interesting—if you have that ambition at all, of course. It’s like you ’re constantly keeping yourself in a certain state of hypnosis about what’s possible. What’s possible? Every step outward—out of your comfort zone, out of your own safe little bubble—is exciting.

But the interesting thing is: it just fills up again. Of course actions have to be taken, you understand that yourself. As I saw with that small space from Zaanweg to Weverstraat. Weverstraat was really 2.5 times bigger by then. That was actually within a few months just always - that group size - was like that. So those properties, you could say, were also in my head. I thought, OK, that's how big the group can be. It can't be any bigger. I can't put more than 24 people in that space. Well, okay how can we grow bigger? By adding another building. Then we can add another 24.

From buildings to online

Now we do it via livestream. That basically allows 1,000 people in a session. But I want to work with break-out rooms, which are the bottleneck. So we have 50 breakout rooms and 3 people per breakout room. So 150 per group, which is the same now. The funny thing is, we're already over 150 in some groups now. That's what I mean by your own hypnosis. See, there's a chance that every group will also go to that max again. And then it's full again. It's funny how that works. Somehow it just fills up. I also understand that it doesn't apply to everyone. Maybe you think: I don't have that at all.

Make no mistake, my business has been around for 16 years now. I started out as a self-employed contractor in the construction industry, but I soon began coaching and teaching courses. That was in 2009. So I’ve been doing this for about 13 years now. However, the first courses I taught had only 4 participants. In the second one, there were 5, and I think 6 after that, 2 of whom weren’t paying. I figured I’d just include them because I didn’t like having only 4. Or rather, not that I didn’t like it—it was just hard work. You’ve just started as a trainer, and suddenly someone in the group says, “I don’t want to practice with that person anymore.” Then that same pair has to work together the whole time. It wasn’t easy, but it was very educational. Especially in the beginning, I often thought: Okay, why did I get into this? Why didn’t I just stay in construction? Just bill by the hour. Still, I’m glad I stuck with it.

Slow growth is also growth

So therein as well: Look, I really do see some companies on Instagram, which have a giant following within 3 years, and have a giant business in 5 years. Sometimes in one or two years. That was totally not the case with me. With me, the business only took off from 2016-2017. The last 5 years. From 2017 it was just going well. And now it's just going really well. But that really took a run-up until it was going well. It was hard work. That's not an effort at all, to work hard. Certainly not. But anyway, at one point I was doing 120 training days a year. Every weekend I was training and the other days I was doing sessions. At one point I was working 7 days a week. Not just giving trainings, but also production work, marketing, people had to go into training, the emails, this, that. I was doing all that on my own. Administration. It was really hard work though and never being home. That was intense.

I work a lot less now and things are going a lot better. It's because now, of course, I have all these people around me working hard. So that's great. If you can gather that around you. But anyway, then you have to have budget again. I won't tire you further. But it's interesting to notice how that goes. Looking at myself, I see that every step I take out of my hypnosis - my comfort zone - means growth for me. Now I'm at such a point again. I feel that in everything. I feel I'm going to take another step. You'll hear about that naturally. What I want to give you in any case: it's not all gold that shines. Let me put it this way. Look, I also see people on Instagram who then celebrate a 3, or 5-year anniversary and say that things are going super well. At least, that's what it looks like on the outside, I don't know, of course. I want to contrast that with a slightly different story. After 5 years in my business, things were not going so well at all.

Figures of Entrepreneurship

If you look at the numbers, 30% of businesses that start don't make it through the first year. After which they quit. Those don't go bankrupt. The bankruptcy rate is low, but that's because most companies quit before they go bankrupt. That's a distorted picture. 'Hey, fewer companies are going out of business.' True, but more companies are also quitting than before the pandemic. That's not being reported. When I looked up the figures the other day, I thought that was interesting. After 5 years, 61% quit, and after 9/10 years, almost 90% quit. My company has been around for 16 years, so I should consider myself fortunate that we still exist. I just mean to say: don't let other things drive you crazy, even on Instagram. Really, I love it when someone really gets things right after 3 or 5 years. I wish I had that back then. But I also know the back side, that which you don't see.

If you’re reading this and you’ve started your own business and sometimes have doubts: Rest assured, everyone feels that way. I’m part of a mastermind group with people who generate millions in revenue—truly astronomical amounts. I catch myself thinking: Oh, my god. That’s a huge success. But everyone faces the same struggles. So that’s okay, too. Don’t let it drive you crazy. Quick summary: Step out of your comfort zone more often—break free from your own self-imposed limitations. If you want growth, set yourself up for growth. In other words: buy a bigger office, a larger building—think bigger. The funny thing is: it will naturally fill up to match your scale.

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