Entrepreneurial Troelas | Column by Nicole Hoefsmit

Amsterdam, June 2016: Blood, sweat, and NO tears! I personally heard this catchy and kick-ass slogan come straight from the mouth of none other than Neelie Kroes. Neelie brought the house down with this statement. Where? I’ll tell you.

You may already know that, with my company PLEIN PUBLIQUE, I’m fully immersed in the world of self-employment. I’m putting my heart, soul, and everything I have into building and growing my own beautiful brand. Besides that, I’m of course also just a person, a mother, and—not entirely unimportant in this context—a woman. And these days, you suddenly find yourself part of a super-trendy subculture: that of the Female Entrepreneur/Businesswoman. And all kinds of networking events are organized on a regular basis for these enterprising ladies. (Forgive me for this pigeonholing, but what I say is who I am.) Now it may seem like I’m just making light of it, but alas, those events are a dire necessity. You know that popular media cliché called the “glass ceiling”? That. Still. Exists.

'The glass ceiling is nothing more than a thick layer of men'

— Annemarie Jorritsma

We all know that women still hold top positions in the business world to a lesser extent than men. And even if they do land one of those coveted top jobs, their pay is significantly lower than that of a man in the same position. But if she also has the nerve to go public with her hard-earned status, she’ll have to endure scornful and disparaging public opinion.

“Yes, that’s how it was ‘in the beginning,’ I hear you thinking, but surely not anymore?” Well, it still is. Sure, there are exceptions, but more often than not, a woman’s self-earned success is resented. Or—worse yet—credited as having been achieved thanks to help from others. When a man achieves success in his career by using his connections, they’re called “business relationships.” In the case of a woman, the word “wheelbarrow” quickly comes to mind. A subtle difference, but one that pinpoints exactly where the problem lies.

“If the knowledge economy were a car, a woman would be behind the wheel.”

- HRH Maxima

And you know what’s really so frustrating? Women are often the worst offenders here. Yeah, ladies, we’re certainly not all BFFs when it comes to mutual appreciation. Ever heard of penis envy? Meet Venus envy. You probably remember the book *A Web Shop Is Not a Career*. It was meant to be funny in a misplaced way and was a real hit back then. Written by a woman. I rest my case.

Just the other day, I personally received a rather disparaging comment about my own entrepreneurship. Also from a woman. I was at a party where I struck up a conversation with a couple who both hold high-level positions in the banking industry. After some small talk, the woman asked how I knew the party’s host. So I said, “He’s a business contact.” The woman reacted with such surprise that her partner even told her she should tone down her disparaging remarks about her own gender. Things did calm down a bit afterward, but the damage had already been done.

Why do we do this to our “sisters in crime”? What’s wrong with a little mutual support, generosity, and celebrating when someone else is doing well in life? Together we’re strong, and we can achieve so much more. With this hot topic as its theme, THE NEXT WOMEN 100 recently took place. A seminar where the online magazine The Next Women presented its annual list of 100 top female entrepreneurs, accompanied by an inspiring lineup of female speakers. Inspiration, innovation, participation—hell, what a treat! (That rhymes )

“Women who don’t help each other deserve a place in hell”

— Neelie Kroes

All joking aside; it certainly resonated enough with my vision and interests to pique my curiosity, so off I went—to Amsterdam. And boy, what a wonderful day it was. Speakers to be proud of, every single one of whom spoke their minds. You can check out the full list on The Next Women’s website, but I’ll name a few: Gillian Tans/Booking.com, Tina Welss/Buzz Marketing Group, Ida Tin/Clue. And Annemarie Jorritsma from Topvrouwen.nl, who also made such a great statement: “The glass ceiling is nothing more than a thick layer of men.”

And Neelie Kroes, mentioned earlier, came out with a few feisty gems: “Women who don’t help each other deserve a spot in hell” and “Blood, sweat, and NO tears.” True words. What a woman. A role model, self-made businesswoman, and top-notch source of inspiration. And I almost forgot the highlight of the day: the presentation by our very own Queen Maxima. The radiant center of attention, and well-deserved, with her entirely unique take on women’s entrepreneurship: “If the knowledge economy were a car, a woman would be behind the wheel.”

'Blood, sweat, and NO tears!'

- Neelie Kroes

Funny when you consider that she herself knows a thing or two about carriages—and has a husband who, by his own admission, is sometimes “a little dumb.” I think she had some making up to do that evening. It was a motivating, inspiring, and electrifying day, with passionate and enthusiastic speakers. So much camaraderie, so much love for one another, so many powerful women—my belief in a fair approach to women as entrepreneurs has been greatly strengthened. Girls. Dudes. Come on. We can do it. We deserve it. We’re worth it. At the end of the day, the 2016 TNW100 (http://thenextwomen100.nl/thenextwomen100-2016/) were announced—the top 100 women generating the most revenue with their own businesses……and no, I’m not on that list yet. But hope springs eternal.

And even though what matters most to me right now is fulfillment, perseverance, personal growth, and self-worth—a full wallet is pretty nice, too, after all. False modesty? Nonsense. Hooray for the Entrepreneurial Troela!

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Yours, Troelie,
Nicole

*Update: A year later, we went to the summit again. We wrote a new column about it: “Ambitious Troelas”