Vincent Vanden Borre, CEO of Emaillerie Belge, can speak to that. Since 2016, he has been at the helm of the last enamelerie in Benelux. He managed to turn a traditional company with equally traditional processes into an oiled machine. Currently, he is also the face of Teamleader's video campaign, "Make time for what really counts," in which 3 entrepreneurs with an inexhaustible drive share their passion for entrepreneurship. How he keeps his focus and manages time efficiently today? Bloovi writer Magali De Reu put him through the paces and was presented with 4 handy tips.
1. Swear in a long-term vision with short-term goals
Emaillerie Belge was founded in 1923 and has been crafting enameled advertising and signage signs ever since. In 2016, Tanguy Van Quickenborne took over the business, and Vanden Borre joined the company as managing director. The duo quickly knew where they wanted to go with the company. A long-term vision was necessary anyway to ensure focused and efficient operations, or so Vanden Borre says.
"Those who want to achieve their goals must be able to say 'no' from time to time."
"As an entrepreneur, you have to have a clear vision and be resolutely guided by it," sounds ambitious. "I immediately believed enormously strongly in our people, the market and the product. Critics sometimes dared to claim that the world of enamels was almost dead. But almost immediately I saw 6 or 7 things that were unseen in the industry. When we bet on something new - from production to processes - we always know what we're doing. Because we swear by that long-term vision and also communicate that transparently to the team."
Based on Emaillerie Belges sustainable vision, short-term objectives are set every six months. "Currently, a substantial growth movement is our highest priority," Vanden Borre states. "To this end, we had the company shrink in production some time ago - your quality must not suffer, of course. To achieve our goals, we have to say 'no' from time to time - that's part of it, too. If a sponsorship request comes in that doesn't fit within our financial calculations or our vision, we have to stand firm. That is simply a necessity."
2. Surround yourself with the right people
Everyone knows that you can only pursue a clear vision with a solid team. "Part of the art of a successful business is to surround yourself with the right people - I realize that all too well," Vanden Borre believes. "Especially people who are better than you in certain areas of expertise. Because as an entrepreneur, it's tempting to think that you do everything you do yourself better - but that's not true. Of course, as a CEO, you have to have some basic knowledge of things. And if I find that I don't possess it, I educate myself. Still, there are limits: fundamental knowledge doesn't mean I have to be able to implement it all myself. But in the beginning, I do want to be able to manage my employees and get them on track. In the end, someone trained in finance will usually know better than I do. That's a matter of letting go."
"Part of the art of a successful business is to surround yourself with the right people - I realize that all too well."
Relinquishing control is not simple, although Vanden Borre saw it as a rational choice. "When the pressure gets too high, you have to be able to take knots," he explained. "Yet it's not a black-and-white story either: I still follow up, just sometimes from further afield. But either way, you can only build a business as long as you trust your staff 100 percent."
3. Continue to optimize your efficient operation
When Vanden Borre joined the company, there was a pressing need for streamlined processes. "The former management was stuck in old working methods - from administration to sales," he says. "That could be better, we felt. Since I started at the company, efficiency has been a key word here. And above all: constantly evaluating how we can do even better."
"If something goes wrong, I want to know why. Not to punish people, but to see how we can do better next time.
So efficiency is one thing, constantly working on that is another. Vanden Borre so believes that as an entrepreneur, you have to get up every day with the idea of doing things even better than before. "When I just came on board, I was amazed that there was no cost accounting in this company," he indicates. "I set it up from scratch then, but in the meantime it has been modified 4 or 5 times. I keep looking for methods to do it better, which will benefit the optimal operation of the company.
Needless to say, this tip requires considerable follow-up. Vanden Borre doesn't micromanage, but if something goes wrong, he wants to find out what's causing it. "To me, good follow-ups are pretty much the equivalent of quality control. For example, when the delivery deadline is unlikely to be met, I want to know where it went wrong. Not to punish people, but to see how we can do better in the future. Positive and constructive, that's the way it should be in a growing company."
4. Enlist the right tools
In an age of digitization, the necessary tools also play an undeniable role in smooth business operations. At Emaillerie Belge, there was already a lot of work to do. "The jumble of administration was almost prehistoric," Vanden Borre looks back. "We were given two usb-sticks: one with quotations and one with invoices. I was already aware of the possibilities around CRM, invoicing and project management software, but as an SME we don't care about big software giants like Salesforce or SAP. Through my wife, I discovered Teamleader, which we used to automate our invoicing and customer management with Emaillerie Belge. We also use the centralized CRM module to ensure better customer follow-up. Meanwhile, we have reached the next step: using project planning to link our administration and production planning. The time we save by doing this is phenomenal."
"The jumble of administration was almost prehistoric. We were given two usb-sticks: one with quotations and one with invoices."
Entrepreneurship involves a lot of things. Being able to focus on your priorities - what really matters - is imperative. Discover Teamleader' s full video campaign and get inspired by the story and passion of other entrepreneurs!
Original article: Bloovi Studio & Teamleader
