He grew up with it, grew up with it and participated in it. Entrepreneurship is the most natural thing in the world for the 'Frisian Groninger' Daniël Bies. His move to NOM is a logical turn in his career.
NOM is also developing itself. In two years the club will exist half a century from now; in that time the world has changed considerably. NOM is changing with it. Its mission is to be closer to entrepreneurs, to be much more than a financier. NOM wants to help, support, assist entrepreneurs, listen to them, advise them. And yes, funding, loans or participation can be part of the solution. With the emphasis on can. But there is more.
''Yes, that's why someone like me also came into the picture at NOM,'' Daniël Bies says. He has been working there as Business Developer for five months. ,,Precisely because of my experience on the entrepreneurial side. You could say that I have seen it all. Shrinkage and growth, buying and selling, everything that entrepreneurs come up against. That helps tremendously when you want to support and advise entrepreneurs, of course.''
Growing up
Bies sees that NOM is on the move. ,,We are growing into an organization that is more than a funding organization. We really want to develop again. This is going better and better and I also hear that from the entrepreneurs. That's how I want to work: first see what is needed, how an entrepreneur can be helped best. Whether money is needed, that is only question two.''
Bies was brought up on entrepreneurship. When he was still in his cradle, his father started his own metalworking company in Marum. The first employees sat at our kitchen table almost every day. Then you learn everything. Even what he encountered during his growth. He was very good at his job and often knew how to come up with a technical solution, but he also had to deal with personnel issues, accountants, banks, customers, automation; all things he didn't really know very well or didn't understand very well. That's just very stressful. So I saw and now recognize that in several entrepreneurs. You can't be good at everything.''
That is only part of the experience he now always carries in his backpack when he sits down with entrepreneurs. Daniel Bies has entrepreneurial blood himself. He had his own factory, has been an interim director at several organizations in recent years, and has been in the entrepreneurial world for years as an organizational consultant. It yielded a valuable network that he now deploys for NOM. ,,Actually, it's the other way around. I use my network to help entrepreneurs and have gained NOM's entire network to do so.''
Making entrepreneurs happier
Being customer-oriented, business-oriented. That is what is asked of Bies and that is exactly what he wants to be. ,,For example, over the past few months I have been working on linking entrepreneurs in the Northern Netherlands who are getting better from each other. Regularly that is a better way of helping than coming up with funding, although of course that can also be a good solution. That's how I want to work: see what's best, by thinking from the entrepreneur's point of view. And with all the contacts NOM has in education, government and business, I can now support and advise better than ever.''
Daniel Bies is not a "tie man," preferring to think with entrepreneurs rather than about them. ,,I also enjoy my work as a youth coach in soccer more than a position on the youth board. Shall I put it in a trite way? I want to make entrepreneurs happier. I understand how difficult growth can be and understand that staying small also has disadvantages. By sitting at the table with an open mind, I am able to ask the right questions and offer support. Practical above all.''
Bies has a clear mission, nicely delineated. He wants to help entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs in the Northern Netherlands. ,,That makes sense to me. I love the North. I was born in Friesland, I grew up in Marum and now I live in Groningen. With my wife from Drenthe. I always fight for the North. If an entrepreneur is looking for an accountant, an advertising agency or whatever, I always and only point to northern companies. That is ultimately what it is all about for me - and the whole NOM -: developing the economy in the Northern Netherlands. It feels very good that I can contribute more to that from my new role.''