Marousha Verburg

"Only by cleaning my ship has my company got a serious chance"

Marouscha Verburg, entrepreneur with restart in 2012

“I divorced in 2010. As a single mother of two daughters, aged 5 months and 9 years old, it was no longer feasible for me to have a permanent job in combination with my muscle disease. That's why I quit my job and decided to start my own company.

In June 2010 I started my own childminder agency. I was inspired by this idea because my children were taken in by a childminder while I was still in paid employment. At that time I noticed that the childminder was hardly supported by the childminder agency. That was my motivation to set up an agency that supports and is closely involved with the childminder and his activities.

At the start of my company I immediately experienced a number of setbacks. Most had to do with formalities, but the biggest nuisance I had from the fact that my ex-husband did not want to participate in the divorce. Then the debts from my marriage surfaced. In order to give my company a serious chance and to clean it up, I was advised to request a clean-up that would allow me to start again (also privately).

Zuidweg & Partners then came into play. They have lumped all debts and handled the application. After two years, the restructuring has been pronounced on a debt of € 60.000. I have been able to buy these off with a credit on my company. The divorce was also settled and I started again with my children. It took a tremendous amount of persistence to get where I am today. But I am out of debt and my business is viable at € 10.000. I was able to make a good and healthy start and now I am running a company that is strong and radiates something beautiful. We work with our heart and quality is a plus!

Because of my muscle disease, I receive a Wajong benefit. So it has never been important to me to get rich from this company or to grow enormously. For these reasons, I have chosen to donate part of the profit to charity. For example, I started a project in Ghana, where many of my children's relatives live. I finance the textbooks at a primary school. For example, I not only offer the children here in the Netherlands a good and safe care, but together we also give the children in Ghana a chance to go to school.

I am a grateful young woman who has two feet on the ground and I am extremely proud of what I have achieved. Without my faith and all the people in my life who helped me through this, I could never have achieved this. I am also very grateful to Zuidweg & Partners. They have always believed in me and have stood by me at all times. I was given another opportunity that I took with both hands. I can now enjoy life again and make sure that my children remain happy. ”