Applying for debt counseling: How does it work and what does that mean for the entrepreneur?
When Jacqueline asked me to give a presentation about the customer journey of our entrepreneurs during our regional meetings last month, I found that a difficult question.
I thought back to all the entrepreneurs I had assisted in my time as an advisor at Zuidweg and realized that not one project was the same. And the experience of it is not.
The entrepreneur does not exist. The diversity in professions and in people is too great for that.
Not everyone realizes that the number of professions that now falls under the term “entrepreneur” is enormous. The carpenter who is forced to start his own business, because in this industry there is hardly any salaried employment, but a general practitioner can also be an entrepreneur, for example. If you start a business from your attic as a housewife, you are also classified as an entrepreneur. That housewife then suddenly has to do the accounting, marketing and sales herself.
If you are an entrepreneur and you get into debt, the municipality can refer you to Zuidweg & Partners. At our customer contact department, the entrepreneur comes with the first questions and we immediately see the first differences become clear. While one entrepreneur wants to understand the entire process during the first informative phone call, the other entrepreneur only wants to hear when he is out of debt.
We are happy to explain in general terms what a debt restructuring process looks like and answer the first pressing questions. Every day we explain to entrepreneurs, for example, that filing for bankruptcy very often does not solve any problems. In fact; this often entails enormous costs and the bankruptcy will be lifted due to lack of income. The entrepreneur is often still liable for the debts after that.
The customer contact department requests the entrepreneur to fill in our application form so that we have the correct (contact) information. When completing this form, it becomes clear again how different the entrepreneurs deal with this. One entrepreneur is not able to fill in the form at all due to all worries and another entrepreneur only writes “HELP!” to the request to provide an explanation of how the debts have arisen. We also see entrepreneurs who immediately seize the opportunity to reveal their entire life story.
All information is welcome, but also asking the help question is sufficient for us to take action.
Next week the follow-up to this: the intake interview.
Manon Luitjens-Bakker, team leader insolvency at Zuidweg & Partners Hilversum