Take your hat off to John de Mol

What luck, to have experienced an enervating evening during “Business Boost Live” in Ahoy together with 7000 others.

John de Mol is the king of entrepreneurship. In my opinion he is also the best podium speaker. The vulnerability he dares to show, his openness and above all, his clarity of vision, touches me. The great interviewer Twan Huys, who understands the art of sincerely connecting, while at the same time making the interviewee, him or herself, feel completely comfortable, enhanced the whole experience.

John gave three tips to the entrepreneurs, to which I have given my own interpretation.

1) Follow your heart - costs less energy.

I would like to share the following: I did a project years ago which made my bank account very happy, but not me. After coming home so many times with a miserable face, and in spite of not having a new assignment at hand, I made the decision to stop doing the project. By doing this, I gave myself the time to calmly put on paper where my business heart lay. In order to optimize my own strategy, I go through life as an energetic business woman; and that is not only in one area. My work as “Sparing Partner” gives me a big smile every day. In addition, my heart skips a beat because I am also working as a Business Partner with drs. Kelly Weekers. A third direction, and something that similarly gives me an enormous boost, is thinking up new concepts/strategies together with talented ladies.

2) Don’t spend recently earned money on a new car but reinvest it in building up your company.

During the first three years of Business in Person I drove a Volkswagen Up - nothing wrong with that! Yes, it’s true in my first year I made a profit of “multiple zeros” but I also made the decision to reinvest a large percentage back into my business.

3) Dare to make a difference.

John de Mol is totally not busy with his image. “I’m not Michael Jackson am I?” Of course he does a lot for the world and helping people gives him pleasure, but that happens out of camera shot. He clearly does his own thing. John is a “content” maker. In this way he stays innovative, no matter which media platform. Clever, because he retains ownership of everything he makes. When selling a concept, he determines the price and nobody else.

John lives to work and any spare time he has, he preferably spends with his family and loved ones. By the way, did you know that his father was seen as the Frank Sinatra of The Netherlands, alias “The Voice”? The name of this program is a beautiful reference to him. In spite of not liking being a “podium speaker”, I hope John will do it more often. Because, yes John, I’ll again be sitting in the front, open mouthed, listening.

Thanks,

Moniek van Rheenen