Learn, do, succeed. Are you a MASTER in entrepreneurship?

Posted on April 9, 2023November 7, 2025 by webit

Learn, do, succeed. Are you a MASTER in entrepreneurship?

Successful overnight...

Wouldn't it be great if we learned something and were immediately good at it? Take one piano lesson and you could play Mozart or Beethoven. Take one drawing lesson and you would be able to design a high-end building. Kick a ball once and become a professional footballer.

If it were that easy, everyone would learn something new every day. The truth is that learning requires practice, and practice requires both refinement and repetition. Mastering a skill is often a lifelong journey, even for the most talented among us.

The human brain consists of two hemispheres. These independent but interconnected parts of the brain help control the human body.

Think of them as your 'hard drives'. They collect information and store our experiences and images as we learn and grow. This intricate network prompts voluntary and involuntary actions and reactions as we learn.

Interestingly, people can still function when one side of the brain is damaged, but they will never be as effective again. We have to use both sides of the brain to master any skill.

Both sides of the brain

You have probably taken an online quiz to determine which part is more dominant. Those who call themselves "RIGHT BRAIN" are generally more logical and methodical.

Those who identify as "LEFT BRAIN" are more creative and instinctive. Science continues to evolve on this topic. This concept is called neuroplasticity.

People with a left-brain orientation would be more:

Analytical
Logical
Detail- and fact-oriented
Numeric
Probably thinking in words

People with a right-brain orientation would be more:

Creative
Freethinking
Able to see the big picture
Intuitive
Probably visualising more than thinking in words

Regardless of how you identify, your brain involves both sides when we learn. It has to process information, manage visual input and interpret audio at the same time. Engaging both hemispheres of the brain is crucial for understanding.

Learning a new skill

When you first start learning a new concept or skill, the two hemispheres of your brain compete for 'power'. Within seconds, your brain starts receiving and deciphering the new information.

This encryption does not always go well and people often experience confusion when learning something new. This is when the right and left sides of your brain conflict over the information because it does not match what you already know. This confusion can shift to anxiety or disruption, which is both unsettling and beneficial to the learning process.

Disruption

Disruption and confusion force both hemispheres of the brain to work together. This merging of new inputs increases interest.

This interest or curiosity, if nurtured properly, can translate into deep learning and ultimately lead to mastery.

But we will not be able to master any new skill unless we practise and act on what we have just learnt. To perpetuate learning, repetition is crucial. Repetition not only helps form connections in memory, it also allows us to make the skill easily accessible.

You see this in immersive language teaching. Exposure to a language in the classroom is never as effective as using language in a living environment.

In a living environment, you are forced to communicate by trial and error, and if you are successful, you remember the information more easily. The satisfaction you get from learning naturally gives us an incentive to 'repeat' the behaviour.

In business, we are often rewarded for mastering, or being proficient in, skills. Regardless of how easy or difficult it was to achieve a level of mastery, we strive to duplicate the feeling and rewards as we continue to learn to progress. Learning also has side effects, as can also be read in this article at Inc.com

Learning makes you happier

Several studies have shown that the more ambitious the goals we set, the happier we are. And when we set our own goals, our happiness does not depend on others.

We choose how many hours we practise, and we take responsibility for what we achieve. Personal development is a way of ensuring our inner peace.

You remain humble

If we want to learn as much as we can, we are less likely to appear arrogant. Real charmers make sure they don't seem the smartest themselves; they make others seem smart. And when people see that you are trying to learn from them, it becomes much easier to be liked.

You become a coach

As the leader of your organisation, you need to make learning a part of your corporate culture. One way to start doing this is by teaching others what you have learned over time. You want to become such a great teacher that your company can run itself without you. When you have achieved that, you have truly reached the state of MASTERY.

How much are YOU learning as an entrepreneur?

As a business owner, you learn at lightning speed because you need to master all aspects of your business. Some skills you learn easily, others you learn through costly mistakes.

To minimise failure costs, you need consistent and continuous learning. The more you learn, the more you will want to put into practice. Action is the result of learning and without action, information tends to disappear and fade away.

This is why top athletes practise individual skills, surgeons receive continuing education to learn new techniques and, as entrepreneurs, we need to keep learning to really master entrepreneurship!

Kurt Vervloet

Kurt Vervloet is a business coach, blogger and speaker. Since 2017, he has been coaching businesses around the world, ranging from solo entrepreneurs, SME companies to executive management teams at large organisations. His clients choose to work with him because of my proven, no-nonsense approach to optimising and scaling businesses. By achieving great results with his clients, he has already been rewarded with several Awards.

Who is the best Business Coach in Flanders?

Posted on April 9, 2023November 7, 2025 by stagiaire

Who is the best Business Coach in Flanders?

Every year, we at ActionCOACH meet hundreds of entrepreneurs in Flanders regarding business growth and business coaching of enterprises.

And because so many business owners know our thoughts and feelings (from this website) about all things 'business coaching', they often ask us who some of the other coaches and competitors we have in the area are.

We never shy away from being blatantly honest with regard to 'competition' and we want our customers to be as informed as possible.

Here is a list of some of the companies with a solid history of business coaching in Flanders.

1. Kurt Vervloet

Kurt Vervloet is a leading business coach in Flanders, specialising in entrepreneurial coaching, executive coaching and as a CEO mentor. With his proven CEO framework, he helps entrepreneurs, managers and business leaders achieve sustainable growth and structure. His no-nonsense approach has already earned him several awards. More information: www.takeaction.be

2. Jarno De Smet

Jarno De Smet guides you in transforming your business. Focusing on companies with up to 20 employees, he teaches you what to do to optimise and maximise your business.

3. Businesslab

Businesslab deliberately targets small businesses (0 to 5 employees). They learn how to double business profits several times over. They learn about how to create more income and more free time.

4. Carl Van de Velde

Carl Van de Velde has been a business and entrepreneur mentor since 1996. The courses are for entrepreneurs who want to make a business breakthrough. His company specialises in organising business seminars.

5. Nicolas De Bruyn

Nicolas De Bruyn is a business coach who has been an entrepreneur for almost 20 years. He addresses self-employed entrepreneurs, business owners, sole traders, directors and company directors who want to grow.

Conclusion

So there are at least 4 companies to consider if you want to engage a business coach in Flanders. All with a different focus and expertise. Inform yourself well and choose what suits you.

Finally, we thought you would like to know more about our Business Coaching capabilities with a no-obligation strategy session so you can experience the benefits for yourself rather than basing this huge decision on a piece of paper or a computer screen.

It is only a 1-hour investment and almost everyone finds it worth the trip.

Let's schedule a moment to help realise your goals!

Kurt Vervloet

How marketable is your business?

Posted on April 9, 2023November 7, 2025 by webit

How marketable is your business?

The main reason to start a business might be to sell it one day. It is the way to become really wealthy; buy (or build) businesses, make them further big and then sell them.

In general, you won't really accumulate much wealth if you only have one business. You will have to buy, build and sell a business several times to become truly wealthy.

Ideally, the only time you would want to keep a business should be if you wanted to turn it into a franchise or licensing model. However, this is a completely different situation, with different considerations, processes and requirements.

A good strategy is to hold on to your first business for the passive income it generates while you buy and build your next business. At this point, your first business should be at such a level that it runs successfully without your presence.

This then generates passive income and eases the pressure when selling, allowing you to take your time to find the right buyer and negotiate the best possible deal.

It is important to understand that you need to be a good negotiator if you are going to sell the business yourself. You are aiming for the best possible price and to achieve this, the business needs to be at a point where it is fully 'up and running'. In fact, the buyer can just move in and start earning right away.

Five key factors

There are a number of factors that affect the ability to sell your business and the price buyers will be willing to pay for your business.

These factors are as follows:

Strong consistent cash flow

One of the most important factors influencing the company's sales is its ability to generate a high percentage of repeat purchases. A regular customer base that buys from you with regularity is very valuable.

Owned assets

Here, a potential buyer will look at what assets the company owns. Be it products, registered trademarks, investments, stakes in other companies that are also part of the sale and the physical assets (movable and immovable).

People, processes and systems

Every business needs systems and good people to make sure you have a commercial, profitable business that works without the business owner.

Scalability of the business

The buyer will always want to ensure that the business is scalable so that it can get more value out of the business after the business is bought. If there is no scalability built in, the buyer has bought additional revenue but no future 'leverage' with the acquisition.

Culture of the organisation

This is often an area that is overlooked. Research shows that around 80% of acquisitions fail due to the inability to fully integrate the respective teams into one cohesive operational unit.

Start from the beginning

The key to making sure your business is marketable is to work on the above five areas from the start and develop them over time.

Too many entrepreneurs wait until the moment they want to sell and only then start analysing how 'marketable' their business is.

The reality is that many acquisitions happen when you least expect them. Or when the entrepreneur wants to transfer or sell the business because he or she wants to 'retire' and has never consciously worked towards this.

It is therefore important to work towards a sale with your business from the start. Then you will be much better prepared when a buyer presents itself and you will be able to maximise the sales price.

How we help

The ActionCOACH approach focuses on helping you build a business that can work without the business owner. Our '6 Steps to a Successful Business' model is all about this. In all our coaching programmes - both individual and group - we work with you towards this.

Kurt Vervloet

The 5 ways: a formula for exponential growth

Posted on April 9, 2023November 7, 2025 by webit

The 5 ways: a formula for exponential growth

Entrepreneurship can be learned! At ActionCOACH, we introduce you to the key formula for entrepreneurship.

We work with "The 5 Ways" formula to exponentially multiply profits in your business.

5 Ways

ActionCOACH shows that there are just five components that can grow a business exponentially:

Leads
Conversion rate
Repeat purchases
Average order size
Margins

Leads (1)

Leads multiplied by conversion equals the number of customers. Who or what are your leads? These are potential customers, those who have contacted you.

Conversion (2)

Conversion is the percentage of leads you turn into customers. These are the ones who have actually bought from you.

Repeat purchases (3) & Average Order Size (4)

When you then multiply the number of customers by the number of transactions - which are repeat purchases - and the average amount per order or sale, that gives you your total sales, total revenue.

Margin (5)

If you multiply your total sales by the margins you use, you arrive at your total profit.

Many recruitment agencies also operate as employment agencies. This way, you can also test an employee to see if they ultimately meet your expectations.

So what about Customers, Profit and Turnover?

People usually ask about customers, turnover and profit. But above, we don't mention them and they are in red in the image below. Why? They are the least important!

Instead, it is the results of the other five key metrics. The key factors you can work on are the number of leads, your conversion rate, your repeat purchases or number of transactions, your average order size and your margins.

Let's enter a few numbers for clarification (or watch the video at the very bottom of this page for the maths):

Suppose you had 4,000 leads in your business year last year and you sold to one of the four, or 25%. Then that means you had 1,000 customers in your business. Now suppose they came back twice a year on average to buy something from you.

Some came 100 times, some once and some never again, but the average was twice. We multiply that by the average sales amount. For this example, let's take €100 as the average sales amount.

Doing this sum gives €200,000 in sales in this SME - 1000 (customers) x 2 (repeat purchases) x €100 (average expense) is €200,000 in sales. If we then use a profit margin of 25%, for example, you take home €50,000 profit.

Now we are going to work on the five factors. We are not going to try to double them, nor are we going to do any hocus pocus. We are going to improve them each by 10% and then by 30%. See the numbers in the image below? Those are rising tremendously.

Now for you, you may be increasing 10% in one area and in another area 20% or 30% or even more... Real results for growing your business are achieved by working on these '5 ways'.

Let us help you make the 5 Ways work for your business and grow your profits!

Kurt Vervloet

The power of gratitude

Posted on April 9, 2023November 7, 2025 by stagiaire

The power of gratitude

We all clearly remember our parents or a grandparent saying to us, "What is the magic word? Usually it meant "please". But there is another transnational magic word, namely, "Thank you". Who would have expected simple words to have so much power? Showing appreciation and acknowledging gratitude in others can be purifying.

Since ancient times, philosophers have praised the benefits of living a life of gratitude. But you don't have to be Socrates to understand that being grateful and showing appreciation contributes to overall well-being.

Harvard Medical School states "Gratitude is a grateful appreciation of what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible" (Health.harvard.edu, 2020).

Whether thanking you for something a particular individual has done or showing gratitude spontaneously, it is about that ability to live a more positive existence. Further validation in the articles explains: "Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, enjoy good experiences, improve their health. tackle adversity and build strong relationships."

Being grateful without intention, however, can come across as insincere and empty. So it is important that gratitude and expressions of thanks become natural and natural to your personality.

This does not mean thanking people for expected behaviour; it means being aware of critical moments that call you to send and receive the benefits of gratitude. Ask yourself a few check-in questions ...

Do you send a handwritten thank-you note to a colleague, supplier or employee?
Do you keep a gratitude journal in which you commemorate your gratitude?
Do you mediate or find time to be calm and help centre your thoughts and feelings?
Do you actively and mentally show gratitude for accomplishments or goals achieved?
Do you celebrate the small victories and small steps forward in your life and business?

Different people need recognition in different ways. Find unique and different ways to show appreciation. Customers, employees and family members all need different levels and forms so that gratitude is received for optimal results.

In times of crisis and as life returns to a new normal, gratitude will be a useful skill and mindset to help us move forward. The fear and uncertainty of the pandemic have led many to forget to be grateful for what they have and instead long for what we have lost.

This becomes the fiction circle. The less satisfaction or appreciation for the new state, the less positive results you will attract.

Finding something to be grateful for when your business is closed, when bills are rising and when the future is uncertain may seem insurmountable. You may have to dig deeper to find little things you are grateful for.

Suspension of bankruptcies and government support for wage costs are both things companies can be thankful for, but like most habits that stick, you have put it into words.

Say it out loud: "I am grateful for the resources available during the pandemic to get my business reopened and restarted".

Becoming more grateful or allowing more grace into your life can have the following results:

Improves well-being, better physical and mental health
Deeper relationships
Improves optimism
Increases happiness
Stronger self-control
Greater physical fitness

Happierhuman.com also outlines the benefits of gratitude beyond your personal life. Companies and careers can see tangible improvements by being more grateful. Here are a few benefits:

Become a more effective manager
Helps you network
Helps you achieve and maintain your goals
Improves your decision-making ability
Increasing productivity

Find ways to bring more gratitude into your life. Celebrate the smallest achievements and share that gratitude with those in your circle. Spread gratitude, add a thank you and remember to appreciate life's opportunities to bring you more abundance in return.

Brad Sugars, the founder and CEO of ActionCOACH, also explored the power of gratitude in a recent Drive Time video:

Kurt Vervloet

Leverage in entrepreneurship

Posted on April 9, 2023November 7, 2025 by webit

Leverage in entrepreneurship

What is leverage in entrepreneurship? It comes down to getting the best out of your people, systems and processes!

Let's break down leverage into 4 facets.

Part 1: People & education

Are you getting the best out of your team? Are they getting regular training or updates so that they can grow professionally, thus helping your business grow too? Are you delegating? If not, why not?

Doing it right not only frees up time, but it also gives your employees the chance to take on more responsibility and their motivation increases as well.

Regular reviews/assessments help, especially if there is the opportunity for 360-degree feedback. It is also important to look at your team's productivity - perhaps you have found that productivity has increased because people are working from home - if so, how/why?

Part 2: Delivery & distribution

This has everything to do with the delivery of your service/product to customers/clients. Do you consistently deliver excellent service worth 5 stars?

Whether it is or not; regularly review your systems/processes and make sure they are fit for purpose, now and in the future. Any necessary changes will work better if you involve your team.

Anything that is not automated when it could be, thus becomes worthwhile and covers 80% of situations, leaving only 20% requiring human intervention. Then this is where your staff handbook and training programme comes in.

Without such a manual, you will have to constantly tell your team what to do. A business manual and regular training also ensure that your standards are consistent. This means you spend less time resolving issues with clients or customers and you and your team can focus on making money.

Part 3: Accounting & financial processes

As an entrepreneur, you need to know your numbers. We cannot stress enough how important this is. Measuring = knowing.

How can you know how you are doing if you have no information about your starting point, or your current position! I don't just mean the typical € numbers, but also numbers like number of products/services sold, number of leads, number of customers, number of webinar attendees and conversion rates,... Know ALL the numbers!

Know your sales figures, costs, profit margins and make sure you set Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for all areas of your business. This will help you visualise how successful (or not) each area of your business is. It will also allow you to see where valuations or improvements are needed.

Making sure each member of the team knows their individual KPIs means they are able to see the value they bring and also helps keep them motivated to do their best. There might even be room for a little friendly competition.

Part 4: Systems & technology

Having the right systems and technology in place will help streamline your operations. For example, a CRM (customer relationship management) system will allow you to manage your dealings with your customers.

This system not only records who your customers are, it can also track sales, profitability, feedback on what they bought and what marketing material you sent them.

With this information, you can better target customers with your products and services. Start with a flowchart for each area of your business, this will help you identify any bottlenecks

Automate routine tasks or outsource them as this will free up your time. This could be payroll, administrative tasks such as billing clients and managing social media.

Used properly, accounting software can also be a huge benefit. It allows you to create regular reports that clearly show the profitability or lack thereof of each part of your business, saving you time and effort.

All this will help you shift from working IN to working ON your business.

Don't forget the practical manuals that everyone can use - keep them. If you apply these techniques, you will grow your business.

Kurt Vervloet

Stop blaming time

Posted on April 6, 2023November 7, 2025 by webit

Stop blaming time

How often have you heard people say, "I don't have enough time to do it ..." or "If only I could find the time to do X ..." Or "I'm too busy to do Y ..." Maybe the person you hear saying these - or similar - things is the same person who stares at you in the bathroom mirror every morning.

Now, it's time to stop blaming time!

Time is absolute - there are 24 hours (1440 minutes, 86,400 seconds) in a day and that will never change. We cannot 'manage' time.

What we can manage, however, is what we do in the next 60 minutes. How we use time is one of the big determinants of how successful we are. As business owners and as individuals.

Everyone from Bill Gates to the SME gets 24 hours, the same amount of time every day. Think of it as the car races where they make all drivers drive identically built and tuned race cars.

The winner is not determined by who has the fastest car, but who can drive the identical car the best. Similarly, the 'winners' in life are those who learn how best to spend their time.

So how do you get a grip on your time?

1. Accept that there is no such thing as too much or too little time

There is enough time available for you to be successful. Others have been successful and they did not have access to more time than you.

Take ownership of your situation. Take responsibility for your results and be accountable for your actions.

2. Define what you want to achieve

What do you want to be 'successful' at?

For some this might mean a million euros in the bank, for others it might mean being healthier.

Others may be looking for better relationships with their family and friends. This is your goal. You should also be clear on why you want to achieve this goal and what it will mean to you - what feeling will it give you when you achieve it?

Both the goal and your "why" should be noted with a timeframe.

3. Define activities

Having defined the goal and your "why", you then need to determine the activities needed to achieve that goal.

What should I do? How much time do I reserve for it? What do I need to adjust/sacrifice/reduce/delegate to find the time to do what it takes? Remember, if everyone else found it easy, you too would have already done it.

What distinguishes successful time users from unsuccessful ones is the discipline and determination to achieve their goals, no matter what. Winners never give up and they never lose faith in themselves.

4. Understand that life and business are about making choices

You choose how you spend your time - what activities you undertake and how much time you spend on them. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Being successful in many different areas takes effort and time. Success comes from razor-sharp focus on one or two goals. Once they are completed, move on to the next set of goals and focus on them.

5. Agreements with yourself

Prepare your calendar weekly by making "appointments" for the activities you have identified. By default, these are placed first in your calendar before everything else.

Treat this as if it were an appointment with your most important client. Would you change that appointment with your most important client on Monday from 2pm to 3pm just because someone asked for that time?

No, you would negotiate ... 'I'm booked at that time. I'll see you at 1pm or after 3pm, which suits you best?'

6. Be militant about your schedule

If you don't care how your time is spent, why should anyone else care?

Learn to say 'no'. In Stephen Covey's book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", activities are divided into 4 categories: not important/not urgent, urgent/not important, urgent/important and not urgent/important.

The danger for most people is the urgent/not important category. This is when we respond to other people's urgencies, but that activity does not get us to OUR goal. By definition, it is not important.

Beware of the time and effort you spend on these tasks. Conduct your own time-use study. Every minute you can convert from the non-important categories to the important ones will bring you closer to your goal.

7. Analyse your successes/challenges in sticking to your schedule weekly and adjust where necessary

Be honest with yourself and constantly reinforce your "Why". What are you trying to achieve and how important is it to you.

8. Find an 'accountability' partner or coach to keep you on track

We can all use this help - admitting this is a strength, not a weakness.

In short, stop blaming time, take ownership of your time and commit to the necessary discipline to win the race by being the best "driver" of time you can be. And get a coach to keep you on track.