EFR-Eclaire Volume 33 Number 2 'Entrepreneurship'

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Blijkt de universiteit ineens een vooropleiding.

Diederik van de Scheur Consultant TAS

Piet-Hein Touw Staff FSO

Een succesvolle carrièrestart is meer dan een goede cijferlijst. Het begint met karakter en inzicht in jezelf. Ontdekken wie je bent, weten waar je naartoe wilt groeien Ên hoe je dat voor elkaar krijgt staat altijd aan de basis. Ernst & Young coacht jou actief op weg naar jouw succes. We bieden je volop kansen in de wereld van assurance, tax, transaction en advisory. Ontdek ze op ey.nl/carriere

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world Foreword

WORD OF PRESIDENT

05 09

WORD OF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

DEAR READERS, Last edition we introduced the renewed EFR-Eclaire to you. First of all, I would like to thank you for all the positive feedback we received.

This edition, we will present to you the theme ‘Entrepreneurship’. At the EFR this is a very current topic, since we just organised ‘Get in the Ring: The investment battle’ where eight international starting entrepreneurs pitched their business idea to four international investors. Through this event the starters got the opportunity to obtain an investment up to 1.000.000 euro.

As study association fostering development besides studying, we intensively encourage entrepreneurship among students. This is the time of your life in which you are least risk averse, most open-minded and you have some spare time, at least most of us. This is not the ‘it’s now or never’ inspirational talk, but a more founded approach to entrepreneurship. So if you have a creative idea you have been carrying around for a while, grab the opportunity to bring it in practice.

Because: ‘The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.’

For now I wish you a lot of inspiration reading this Eclaire, and happy holidays.

Kind Regards, Nienke Benders President of the 49th EFR-Board

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In this Eclaire we want to familiarise you with the concept of entrepreneurship. There are many inventive and creative students, however just a few of them have the courage to start their own enterprise. In the article Eight golden rules for entrepeneurs, experienced entrepreneurs give valuable tips for students who want to start an enterprise themselves.

These tips might reduce the barriers of starting a business and may help new entrepreneurs to avoid the pitfalls a lot of starters deal with. Hopefully the tips will encourage many potential entrepreneurs to just do it.

One of the biggest difficulties starting entrepreneurs face is acquiring enough money to start their enterprise. There are various ways to raise funds for your enterprise and you can learn everything about these ways in the article How to raise funds for your enterprise. Obviously not all start-ups are realised in the Netherlands. Some of them seem to think that the Netherlands is too small and too limited for their enterprises. Are they right? We tried to find out by evaluating the Dutch business climate. Do you want to know what we found out? Read the article Evaluating the Dutch Business Climate.

Enjoy reading this Eclaire!

Floris van Prooyen Schuurman Chairman of EFR-Reporters

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06 08

EFR world

ACTIVITIES OVERVIEW DECEMBER 24-04

HOLIDAYS

JANUARY 07-11 10

EFR-NEW YEAR’S PARTY

11-20 24

EFR-BOOKSALE BLOCK 3

EFR-SKI TRIP

ENTREPENEURSHIP DAY

30-13

ERASMUS RECRUITMENT DAYS

FEBRUARY 07

EFR-DRINK

15-18

LONDEN INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS

25-01

EXAMS BLOCK 3

MARCH 04-08

EFR-BOOKSALE BLOCK 4

07

EFR-DRINK

13

MARKETING DAY

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ESE world

07 09

BACHELOR GRADUATION DAY

Every year proud Bachelor graduates, all dressed up in caps and gowns, walk through the main aisle of the Aula, surrounded by cheering and applauding family members and friends. This year it is not different. The Bachelor Graduation Day took place on 1st and 2nd of November! The Erasmus School of Economics takes pride in organising a festive ceremony to commemorate the impressive accomplishment of obtaining one’s bachelor’s degree.

Besides the handing-out of diplomas, the programme features interesting keynote speeches from university and business life, the announcement of winners of the Lecturers of the Year election and much more!

Lecturer of the Year Unlike most elections, this initiative, albeit financed by the ESE, is organised for and by students. The students have full liberty in rewarding outstanding lecturing performance by voting on the lecturer they perceived to have lectured best throughout past academic year. After having thoroughly analysed the course evaluations given to each lecturer during the academic year 2011-2012, a shortlist has been created with the best performing professors of each of our ESE’s Bachelor programmes. As with all contests, only one can actually win. Students can decide per programme which lecturers they found the best. All students of the ESE can vote and the winner will be announced during the graduation ceremony.

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The official website with more information, pictures and programme is www.graduationday.nl.

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Entrepreneurship world

WAYS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR YOUR ENTERPRISE Text: Floris van Prooyen Schuurman

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Entrepreneurship world

09

Around the world there are many successful entrepreneurs, but perhaps even more potential moguls are still to be found. One of the most beautiful things in life is to develop your own ideas to build a successful company. If this is your dream, you no doubt face one big problem: how do you get the money to start your own enterprise? There is a variety of different ways to approach this problem.

Close relationships

Crowdfunding

Asking close relations, such as family, friends or colleagues, to invest in your ideas is possibly the easiest way to obtain funds. Of course they will not invest in your company without information about where their money will go. Therefore it is wise to always be armed with a detailed business plan.

Obviously getting funds in this way has one major disadvantage, namely the strain it may put on your relationships should your business fail. If this possibility appears to be too much of a gamble there are other options to procure the money needed.

Considering how challenging obtaining a large loan is, it is no wonder that entrepreneurs have discovered other ways to obtain capital. One of the newest ways is crowd funding. The essence of this method is that many people donate a relatively small amount to the entrepreneur, usually in exchange for a simple ‘thank you’. The difficulty lies in finding people who are willing to donate their money. Fortunately it is becoming easier to reach people through the world-wide-web. As an entrepreneur you can launch a website where people from all around the world can donate to support you. In essence, crowd funding is a variant of peer-to-peer financing.

We speak of peer-to-peer financing if an entrepreneur in a special business helps a new entrepreneur within the same sector by borrowing him some money to start his company.

The bank Contracting a loan at the bank is another way entrepreneurs try to get funding. However, banks provide less loans due to the economic crisis. Here the importance of a solid business plan is stressed once again. Should you be fortunate enough to obtain a loan, you have two options: a home equity loan or a business loan.

A home equity loan is smaller, and the bank does not really care about the goal the money is used for as you will ultimately be financing your business yourself.

If you require a larger fund for your enterprise, a business loan is your way to go. The bank wants to know exactly where the money will go. This review is based on competitiveness, originality,the quality and future prospects of your business plan.

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It is very hard to say how much money the Tweede Maasvlakte is going to make. The costs however are already very clear: three billion Euros.

Government sponsored investment companies Nowadays, there is another interesting opportunity for entrepreneurs to obtain their funds, namely government sponsored investment companies.

These companies are established to support entrepreneurs financially. In most Western countries at least one company of this kind exists. Some of these companies make no high demands to entrepreneurs to obtain their funds, whilst others want a detailed business plan first before granting a fund. The funds these companies grant entrepreneurs are not a gift. These funds are a loan with a low interest percentage to stimulate entrepreneurships.

As an entrepreneur there are many ways to get funds for starting your business. Examples of the most commonly used methods are: asking family and acquaintances, contracting a loan at the bank, crowd funding, and using government investing funds; each having their pros and cons. The best method to obtain a fund depends on the situation of the entrepreneur and the kind of business, but it is reassuring to know that there are different routes to financing your dream (business).

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world EFR

THE ACTIVE MEMBERS WEEKEND! This year’s Active Members Weekend has been memorable. There are some events of the EFR you definitely cannot miss. Well, this weekend is one of them! Friday the 28th of September we travelled to Lievelde with more than 100 active members. It was a weekend full of socializing, partying, chilling and more. With the inspiring theme ‘Flirty Fairytales’ the weekend had a great kick-off on Friday evening. All the committees dressed up and organized an act in their theme, which varied from Snow White to Cinderella or even Shrek.

Afterwards, there was a nice party until early in the morning!

On Saturday we went swimming in a tropical swimming pool. It was great to have such a relaxing activity after the party of the night before. Within a few hours everyone was re-energised and it was time to return to Lievelde for a nice dinner. To get to know each other better, speeddating was the optimal chance to chit-chat with people you had not had spoken to yet. Followed by another amazing party!

Time flies when you are having fun…

On Sunday we had to pack our bags and clean the accommodation after a late breakfast. It was the end of the weekend but also the beginning of a great year with an enthusiastic group of ActiveMembers. We hope that this weekend has made every member feel at home at our fantastic study association!

Text: Jeroen Huisman

0475.

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Mazars is ontstaan uit een fusie tussen Mazars en Paardekooper&Hoffman

world

09

W. we k n bij m zars .

Ga verder met Mazars.

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world EFR

EFR/EENVANDAAG

LIJSTREKKERSDEBAT

On the 6th of September 2012, the EFR organised one of the biggest events in Dutch politics, the EFR/EenVandaag Lijsttrekkersdebat.

In the heat of the then ongoing elections, the top candidates of the six biggest Dutch political parties debated with each other in the aula of the Erasmus University. The debate was broadcasted live on Dutch national television, which led to the candidates trying to win as much viewers as possible for their cause. Joining where the left-wing candidates Emile Roemer (SP) and Diederik Samsom (PvdA), primeminister Mark Rutte (VVD), the right-wing candidate Geert Wilders (PVV), and the more moderate Alexander Pechtold (D66) and Sybrand van Haersma Buma (CDA). They debated

for over an hour, discussing about the European Union, the current economic crisis and the increasing costs of Dutch healthcare, which made for some fierce onstage competition.

After the debate, students had the opportunity to ask critical questions to the candidate of their choice. This made for a lively interaction between the politicians and the audience.

Without doubt, the Lijsttrekkersdebat was one of the highlights of the current academic year.

Text: Max Eleveld

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world EFR

19 09

U.S. Election Debate Besides the Dutch general elections, the United States presidential election also took place in 2012. On November 6th, the U.S. citizens had the opportunity to vote for a new president.

On the 10th of October the EFR, in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in The Hague, organised a debate between Gary Nordlinger, member of the Democratic Party, and Shane Jett from the Republican Party.

First off, Mr. Nordlinger gave the audience a great assessment of the U.S. electoral system, explaining both its history and general layout.

Afterwards, both representatives discussed several statements concerning the U.S. Elections from an economic and international relations’ viewpoint. Although this one-hour session was anything but a heated debate, it did give students an excellent insight into the current political climate

in the States, and the chance to state their own questions. The most radical difference between the mindsets of the two parties pressed upon by the debaters was that the Republicans are more individualised, whereas the Democrats favour society as a whole.

This influences their standpoints on almost any topic, for example taxation, where Democrats agree on progressive taxes, and Republicans believe less taxes will boost the economy enough to pull the U.S. out of their debt crisis.

Mr. Nordlinger and Mr. Jett, despite being rather moderate politicians, managed to express their views incredibly well. To conclude, the Debate lent a general perspective rather than a contrast in the opinions of two opposing parties, but succeeded in being both interesting and informative.

Text: Nina Zimberlin

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20 08

world Entrepreneurship

EVALUATING THE DUTCH BUSINESS CLIMATE The economic growth of a country relies heavily on its business sector. A government can create favourable conditions for prosperity only up to a point. In the end, it is the business sector that is the primary source of economic growth. New enterprises are more innovative than their predecessors, consequently creating new products and organisational strategies, forcing older enterprises to keep evolving. Thus economic growth within a country is stimulated by entrepreneurs. But with the current crisis in mind, we can ask ourselves the question: how is the Dutch business climate?

To evaluate our business climate, we consider a few business factors and compare them between the Netherlands and a group of reference countries. A research done by CBS in 2011 compared nineteen countries with no substantial differences in business environment. These countries are Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Sweden and the United States. The first factor we consider is the amount of people who work for themselves, that is, the number of self-run businesses. This number has increased within the last few years, resulting in the international position of the Netherlands on this point to have improved and be just above the reference group’s average.

The next factor is young entrepreneurship. ‘Young entrepreneurship’ includes enterprises that have been established shorter than three and a half years ago. It was found, thanks largely to an increase in the number of young entrepreneurs that the Netherlands has also raised to the top on this point.

This could be because many Dutch people see entrepreneurship as a favorable alternative to a regular job in these times of rising unemployment and economic downfall.

earlier. But what is the average size of the enterprises when they are established? (With ‘size’ we refer to the amount of people working for a starting enterprise.) Research showed that for the Netherlands the average size is above two people within each newly founded enterprise. When compared with the reference countries, this can be considered as big.

Similarly, the number of enterprises started per year as a percentage of the total number of enterprises plays a significant role in evaluating the Dutch business climate. This percentage has climbed over the past years, which is consistent with the development of the number of starters we observed

Text: Jasper de Ruijsscher

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world EFR

REPORT

PARENTS’ DAY 2012 On Saturday the 6th of October the EFR organised the yearly Parents’ Day for economic students. Around 500 parents and students came to the Erasmus University and were informed about the economic study of their children.

This is the third time a Parents’ Day is organized to inform parents about the student life of their children. The Economic School of Economics is the only faculty at Erasmus who organises a Parents’ Day. The program started at 1pm, when the parents gathered in the Aula.

The program was opened by Prof. Dr. Arnold, who welcomed the students and their parents and wished them an informative afternoon. Thereafter the audience was informed about the study in general. The information that obtaining all 60 credits in your first year is required from this year got the attention from parents.

Secondly, Marc Hendrickx, the VicePresident of the EFR, informed the audience about the EFR , about the various committees and all the events EFR is organizing. After the break, Dr. Kamphorst informed the audience about the subject Micro-Economics, the difficulty of the subject and gave examples what micro-economics means. He mentioned that many students are struggling with the subject.

In the end, Marijn Compagner and Iris Kooiker, two EFR Active Members told about their own experiences as a student.

Finally, after the presentations there was a drink together with some snacks.

For the parents who were interested, a campustour was organised by EFR students. We would like to thank all students and parents involved, for the great day we had.

Text: Floris van Prooyen Schuurman

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world EFR

23 09

THREE QUESTIONS

FOR BERND DAMME What motivates you as an entrepreneur, what satisfies you?

What is the worst business advice you have ever received?

How far are you prepared to go to achieve success as an entrepreneur?

First of all, I get satisfied by the fact that being an entrepreneur is so diverse. I give speeches, bring ideas into practice, and work with a lot of different people.

Proving new ideas work in reality really appeals to me. I do not like to accept things for what they are. I am always on the lookout for innovation. Besides that, it’s never boring being an entrepreneur.

I am busy all day long realizing my dreams, which I enjoy very much.

Some time ago, while I was giving a speech in Utrecht a man raised his hand and asked me about emancipation.

He told me we should hire a lot more women, just for the sake of them being female. I however believe in selecting people for their qualities, and not for their gender, race or sexual preference.

Something on which the women present in Utrecht totally agreed with me. It just does not work that way.

To start with, I simply do not accept being unsuccessful. I am definitely not interested in just running and maintaining a business. I always try to achieve new and better things. Success works as an addiction for me, as you always aim for more and better. So that is why I am prepared to go far to achieve success. In the past I have given up on sleep, neglected my social life and more. I am even prepared to go bankrupt privately, if I can help my business that way; however I do not prefer that of course. I definitely go very deep to achieve success.

Bernd Damme (22) is founder of Eye-wear.com, Dutch market leader in the online sales of sunglasses, and co-founder of Dutch-Italian fashion label Pelliano (which sells in around 120 stores in 11 countries).

Proclaimed ‘Best young entrepreneur of 2012’, he is an example of Dutch entrepreneurial talent, a much wanted speaker and also an Erasmus University college drop-out.

Text: Max Eleveld

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24 08

world ERD

ERASMUS RECRUITMENT DAYS Your career might be one of the most unpredictable paths in life. You may have wondered where to apply for a job after finishing your studies. Sometimes, keeping a clear overview can be hard because there are so many firms around, and getting into contact with these firms might not be as easy as you think.

Your link to the future The Erasmus Recruitment Days is the largest on-campus recruitment event of Europe. From the 30th of January till the 13th of February, over 2000 students participate to get into contact with around 100 participating companies. For each student, the motivation for participation can be different. Are you a third-year bachelor or master student looking for a job?

Then you can apply for one of the many

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one-on-one interviews or workshops.

Are you a first or second year bachelor student? Join one of the many company presentations, visit Google, Nike or Vodafone during the Off-campus Day or prepare yourself on the future by joining trainings to develop your CV or network skills. Besides these activities lunches will be provided daily, and we will close every day with a drink at our stand in the C-Building.

Each year, the largest recruitment event of the Erasmus University brings students and companies closer together. The aim is to give students from all fields of study the opportunity to show their potential towards the participating firms in an informal atmosphere. Meanwhile, companies get the chance to meet students that could potentially be a new employee at their firm. The Erasmus Recruitment Days is, as this years’ slogan says: ‘Your link to the future!’

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Van scriptant tot trainee

W W W.G A A A N . N U

“IK HEB EEN

een groep studenten in de afstudeerfase bij elkaar zit,

GEWELDIGE

kun je met elkaar sparren en informatie uitwisselen.

Ook kreeg ik een coach toegewezen die mij wegwijs

WERKGEVER

heeft gemaakt in de organisatie en waarbij ik met al mijn vragen terechtkon.

LEREN KENNEN.”

Je krijgt de tijd en mogelijkheden om het bedrijf, de werkzaamheden en de collega’s te leren kennen.

KPMG organiseert bijvoorbeeld diverse activiteiten voor scriptanten, zoals de Landelijke ScriptantenStijn van der Heijden (27) heeft zijn scriptie bij KPMG

dagen, etentjes, borrels, etc. Daarnaast heb ik via

geschreven en is onlangs gestart als trainee in

KPMG kunnen deelnemen aan golflessen en kon ik

Rotterdam. We vroegen Stijn naar zijn stage-ervaring

binnen een paar maanden mijn GVB halen.”

en start bij KPMG. En nu aan de slag als trainee?

Waarom heb je ervoor gekozen om je scriptie bij

“Ik kijk terug op een geslaagde scriptiestage bij KPMG.

een bedrijf te schrijven?

Mijn Master is met succes afgerond en ik heb een

“Ik heb na mijn Bachelor Economie de Master

geweldige werkgever leren kennen. Sinds september

Accounting, Auditing and Control gedaan. Tijdens een

werk ik fulltime als trainee; ik ben sindsdien al veel

inhousedag ontdekte ik de mogelijkheden om je scriptie

leuke ervaringen rijker. Ik werk in wekelijks wisselende

bij een groot accountancykantoor te schrijven.

teams aan opdrachten voor verschillende bedrijven.

Naast de theoretische kennis die ik in ruim vijf jaar

Hierdoor leer je snel veel collega’s kennen en is het

had opgedaan, wilde ik graag praktijkervaring op-

werk erg divers. Mijn scriptie is dus een mooie eerste

doen. Ik ben daarom alvast op zoek gegaan naar een

carrièrestap geweest en ik kan iedereen dan ook

potentiële werkgever om daar mijn scriptie te schrijven.”

aanraden om met KPMG kennis te maken en te gaan voor je scriptie!”

Waarom KPMG? “Tijdens mijn studententijd was ik erg actief als

Wil jij ook je scriptie bij KPMG schrijven? Neem dan

wedstrijdroeier bij ARSR Skadi. Ik zocht een werkgever

contact op met het KPMG Recruitment Centre via

waar je mensen vindt met dezelfde drive en passie.

recruitment@kpmg.nl of schrijf je in op www.gaaan.nu.

Tijdens mijn kennismaking met KPMG vielen de

Kijk voor tips op facebook.com/kpmgscriptiecoach.

gedrevenheid en no-nonsensementaliteit mij op.

Niet alleen mooie verhalen, maar vooral daden.

Ook de Talentpool van KPMG vind ik erg aansprekend.

Dit houdt in dat je eerst een heel divers klantenpakket hebt en dat je daarna een keuze maakt voor de sector

KPMG Recruitment Centre

waarin je je gaat specialiseren. Voor mij voldoende redenen om mijn scriptie bij KPMG te schrijven.”

Laan van Langerhuize 1 1186 DS Amstelveen

Hoe heb je de scriptiestage ervaren?

(020) 656 7162

“Ik kreeg alle ruimte om mijn eigen plan te trekken.

recruitment@kpmg.nl

Zo kon ik het schrijven aan mijn scriptie afwisselen

www.gaaan.nu

met het opdoen van praktijkervaring. Doordat je met

© 2011 KPMG N.V., alle rechten voorbehouden.

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0185.10

At NIBC, entrepreneurial bankers start at the deep end As a trainee banker at NIBC, you also have a daily job. Your assignments and responsibilities start from day one. And you’ll have the chance to specialise, in for example mergers and acquisitions. You and your fellow analysts will follow our incompany training programme at the Amsterdam Institute of Finance, led by professors from international business schools.

A flying start at the bank that thinks and acts like entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.careeratnibc.com.

14:44:29

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Maak je geen zorgen met de AV-Student

Zorgverzekering al vanaf

€ 79,50 per maand bij €500,- vrijwillig eigen risico

eid en je s en nog wat bezig. Je gezondh alle van t me je je u ho die stu Tijdens je naar hebt. waar je het liefst geen omkijken zorgverzekering zijn dan zaken W. Een aanvullende kies voor de AV-Student van DS Maak het jezelf gemakkelijk en studenten hebben afgestemd. verzekering die we speciaal op

   

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Geen aparte tandartsverzekering nodig.

Online declareren mogelijk.

Declaraties gemiddeld binnen 5 dagen uitbetaald.

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