International entrepreneurship is becoming increasingly important for the Northern Netherlands. For that reason, the possibilities for advice and support for entrepreneurs who want to cross the border have been expanded. And that is necessary, because import and export present quite a few bumps.
Exports are essential for business. Thirty percent of sales are made abroad. International business provides nearly a third of the FTEs. For manufacturing, the figures are even more telling. Some sixty percent of income comes from abroad.
And yet, it's no A-B-C't that entrepreneurs turn their gaze across borders. After all, there's quite a bit involved, when it comes to exporting and importing. Think different tax laws, different regulations, as well as cultural differences, subsidy opportunities and more. You have to know what you're doing.
''That's what we are there for, for the right advice,'' says Wessel de Vries of YnBusiness. ''We are the Frisian 'counter' for entrepreneurs, including those who want to cross the border. The front-line teams are multidisciplinary and that is precisely what makes it so effective. Exporting also means having your production, funding, management et cetera in order.''
Together with Ik Ben Drents Ondernemer (IBDO) for Drenthe and GroBusiness for Groningen, the entire Northern Netherlands is covered. ,,It's all about the question behind the question," continues De Vries. ''We want to know exactly what an entrepreneur is planning and can get to the heart of the need.''
The front-line teams in the three provinces have tons of knowledge, contacts and specialists. These are almost always people from the business world who know the ropes themselves," says Han Smidt (IBDO). ,,Sometimes it's all in the little things. An example? You are not allowed to round off the VAT return in Germany to whole euros. If you do, you can get a problem. But also VAT numbers, the union regulation, all kinds of paperwork that comes your way in other countries. We understand what needs to be done and can help in a targeted way.''
That was already the case, but those opportunities have been further expanded now that the front-line teams hang under the umbrella of the Trade and Innovate NL (TINL) network. NOM is the executor of the program around it on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. And that has big advantages for Northern entrepreneurs, says Wibo van Wier of the NOM.
,,With it, we are connected to an international network. You have to see it this way: we fill the backpacks of the front-line teams optimally with national and international instruments. We know the funding possibilities here, but also in other countries, we have a lot of knowledge, also based on cases, and we have an enormous network. This includes numerous embassies. Do you want to do business in Thailand? We have the 06 number of the business specialist there.''
And the great thing: for a sizeable group of entrepreneurs, these advisory talks are free. They are paid for by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, because the importance of export and international trade is great for the whole of the Netherlands. Approximately 90 customized consultations can thus be done annually in the northern Netherlands.
Wessel de Vries advises entrepreneurs to contact us quickly. ''We are your sparring partner. Have you thought of everything? Do you need additional research into the possibilities? Should we help with the laws and regulations? We do it all.''
But it goes further. The teams also know a lot about the best way to sell across borders. Han Smidt: ,,International Marketing, the search for local partners, we can do that too. Moreover, we know whether there are any subsidy pots somewhere, for example for participating in trade fairs or trade missions. We have specialists per sector or theme that we can fall back on. And if we don't know something ourselves, we know who to call. We always come out of it, and that is to the advantage of entrepreneurs in the Northern Netherlands.''