How do debts arise?
Interview with Arie Hovestad, operational manager at Zuidweg & Partners
Our guest in this podcast is Arie Hovestad, business operations manager at Zuidweg & Partners. He explains how debts arise and what to do if there are problematic debts. We speak of problematic debts when the entrepreneur cannot get out of this financial situation without help.
Entrepreneurs often have to incur debt to be able to do business. This is the entrepreneurial risk. When the entrepreneurs can pay off debts, there is no problem. If they are unable to pay off the debts, it is important to ask for help immediately. You can request the help from the municipality or from a debt counselor. Zuidweg & Partners is a debt counselor. Every year we help thousands of entrepreneurs throughout the Netherlands.
Entrepreneurs applying for debt assistance come from many different industries. This can be self-employed workers in the construction industry, the baker on the corner or a pilot. The entrepreneurs who come into contact with Zuidweg & Partners have an average debt of € 130.000. Most debts come from the tax authorities or the bank.
When there is a problematic debt, it is important to immediately seek help for debt counseling. When you enter this process you will be helped to gain insight into the finances. We look at how high the debts are and what debts there are. But the most important step is to create a solution that allows the entrepreneur to get rid of his or her debts as quickly as possible.
When all debts are clear, a choice can be made to restart the company. To finance this restart, a BBZ loan can be requested from the municipality. BBZ means Self-employed Assistance Decree.
When the debts are too high and there is no future for the entrepreneur's company, the debt counselor can terminate the company. In this case, the entrepreneur enters the debt counseling process as an ex-entrepreneur.