Despite the economic recession, relatively few companies have gone bankrupt since the Corona crisis. But entrepreneurs have problems: Various charities are increasingly seeing entrepreneurs knocking on their doors.
Like Over Rood, where troubled entrepreneurs are connected to one of 200 volunteers. These are former entrepreneurs and some are experienced experts. Tax offices, administrations and 122 municipalities are turning to Over Rood. 607 aid programs were launched in 2020. This year the counter is already at 1465.
Jeroen Berends is a volunteer at Over Rood in Apeldoorn. Until a few years ago, he was working as an entrepreneur in the flower business. “It went well at first, but it diminished rapidly. Then you just have to mix things up.
Currently working. He accompanies entrepreneurs who are in a difficult situation one day a week. “For example, what you often see is entrepreneurs canceling the rent. “They don’t realize they could be laid off later.”
Too stressful
Berends says the number of requests for help in Apeldoorn has quadrupled in the last year. Rhode Bouter also knocked on the door. Shortly before Corona, she opened a women’s fashion store: “Despite the Corona crisis, sales increased sharply in the first two years. So I bought more, but things went wrong.”
According to Bouter, the Corona crisis lasted too long and energy bills were high. “Everything was so stressful. This job has been a dream of mine for a long time. “You don’t want to stop, but I didn’t want to bury my head in the sand either.”
According to Berends, it’s typical for entrepreneurs to want to solve problems themselves: “When I sit down with clients every week, I think: I wish I could be helped. “Giving up is also a decision that requires courage.”
hotlines
In addition, dozens of entrepreneurs register with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KvK) every day. Gé Gijssen, business consultant at the Chamber of Commerce: “Often it is not the entrepreneur himself who is worried about tax debts or unpaid rent, but his partner or his mother. Sometimes a listening ear is enough.”
The Chamber of Commerce will refer you to Over Rood or the Entrepreneurial Drilling Board for more intensive support. 300 consultants, most of whom are retired entrepreneurs, lawyers or accountants, work here voluntarily. They provide online or in-house assistance to 3,000 entrepreneurs each year. Gijssen believes that the available aid has contributed to the reduction in the number of bankruptcies.
Geldfit Zakelijk is also seeing an increase in the number of requests for help. This initiative was launched during the energy crisis. Municipalities, debt relief, creditors, banks and insurance companies turn to Geldfit Zakelijk. Founder Ralph van Dam sees a lot of traffic on his website and frequent calls to his helpline. He says the number of cases where entrepreneurs receive financial assistance is increasing rapidly.
Banks say their attitude has changed since the credit crisis. They are more likely to ask how the entrepreneur is doing when they see their debt. Banks say that a new regulation called the WHOA procedure also played a role in reducing the number of bankruptcies. The judge then decides that creditors must meet with the business owner to come up with a repayment plan and avoid bankruptcy.
Agreement with creditor
The SME helpline established by the Institute of SME Economics (IMK) receives approximately 200 calls a week. Additionally, 500 entrepreneurs conduct an online scan every week to learn about their company’s financial health.
According to IMK director Michiel Hordijk, aid is now more abundant and the type of aid has also changed. After the credit crisis that started in 2008, the number of entrepreneurs entering into debt restructuring increased rapidly. The peak occurred in 2011, when more than 9,000 entrepreneurs went through debt restructuring.
Since then, everything has been handled differently, says Hordijk: “We generally focus on making a liquidity agreement with creditors such as UWV and the tax office. This allows us to avoid high bankruptcy costs.” Since 2020, the number of companies in debt restructuring has fallen below 1,000.
plug
Entrepreneurship professor Joris Knoben (Tilburg University) sees that a wave of bankruptcies has been predicted for years but still has not materialized. “There seems to be a greater social awareness of the status of entrepreneurs. “Consideration of debts and benefits also plays a role.”
However, according to him, this does not change the fact that many companies have been struggling with the crisis for a long time. An indicator of this is that the number of bankruptcies remained limited during the Corona period, but the number of those who gave up was high.
Knoben emphasizes that preventing bankruptcies is not an end in itself: “Companies that disappear are part of a healthy economy. They enable innovation and worker flow. But a company does not necessarily have to go bankrupt.”
Knoben also warns against excessive optimism. “There are signs that bankruptcies will increase in some sectors. “This also includes over-representation in the food and beverage industry.”
Source: NOS
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
