No two days are the same
Hi, my name is Stef Kolen. I work as an Advisor Corporate Finance at Florijnz. I would like to give you an insight into my daily life. Every morning I drive to the office in 's-Hertogenbosch by car. At home I quickly read the news. I like to stay up to date with the latest news, so that when I have an interview that day I can show that I am informed. After a short walk to the office, I walk up the stairs and say hello to my colleagues. First, time for a cup of coffee!
Just having a chat with the others. How was your day?' I like to take a quarter of an hour to have a chat with my colleagues. But then I really get into my office chair; what is on the agenda for today?
Oh; straight into a meeting at 10am - that gives me half an hour to prepare. The meeting is a kick-off for a sales mandate. Together with Marieke we map out what we need in order to make the process successful together with the entrepreneur. What are the needs of the entrepreneur? Does he want to partially sell or completely stop the company? What is important to him or her during the sales process? I want to know as much as possible so that we can deliver tailor-made solutions. I want to have an image of the perfect buyer, but also have a clear idea of what makes the business the way it is - because an Albert Heijn is not a Lidl. This must also be made clear in the information memorandum that I will draw up later. At 1 pm the meeting is over. I shake hands with the client and tell him that I will be in touch again soon with a report on the meeting.
Time for lunch! We all eat delicious homemade salads. Good kick-off, right?" says Marieke. Hans wants to know more about the company, so during lunch we discuss how the kick-off went. I know another company that might be interested," shouts Hans. I'll call him right away.
"I want to know as much as I can so we can do custom work."
Stef Kolen - Corporate Finance advisor @ Florijnz
After lunch I have a phone appointment with Hans and a customer who is in the final phase of the project. A bit of pressure on the kettle. It's important to be quick and sharp; make progress... The LOI (Letter of Intent) must be signed tomorrow. It's important to dot the i's and cross the t's. Going through everything by phone with the client and the potential buyer. We mediate but with the interests of the buyer in mind, since we received the purchase mandate from him. Hans and I try to keep a realistic view of the process so that everyone can ultimately look back on a sustainable transaction. Fierce discussions ensue but after 1.5 hours we are in agreement and know that an LOI will be signed tomorrow. I am always so happy when a process takes a lot of time and effort, but in the end a successful twist can be given. All frogs back in the same basket!
In an hour I have to call some parties as a possible buyer for a sales mandate. Until then, I'm going to sit down with Nick for a few minutes on the valuation. I received the financials from the client and we are going to put them into our financial model. What do we notice? Based on the model we will ask the client for some clarification. Hopefully she will respond soon, so we can dot the i's and cross the t's.
"How nice to have the enthusiasm transfer to the potential buyer!"
Stef Kolen - Corporate Finance advisor @ Florijnz
Then it's time to start approaching parties. Today I will call several care companies. I've already approached several parties; there is some demand, but we still need to get those parties excited so they want to come and talk to our client. I do want to know whether the potential buyer is the best fit for our client. In the telephone conversations I ask a lot of questions: 'What do you think is important in a takeover? Why is the company interesting to you? There are a few companies that were not interested, but fortunately I have found 3 enthusiastic parties. How nice to let the enthusiasm spread to the potential buyer! I really do feel a bit part of the client organisation. When I hang up, it's a great feeling when the potential buyer indicates that he will also follow up on it.
Time flies! It is already 16.45h. Finally time for my mail. What can I get rid of right away and what will I have to do tomorrow? After answering a few mails I see that it is closing time for most companies. Now the owner really has time for me! Just a quarter of an hour on the phone to update him on how things are going. It's always nice to have personal contact instead of playing ping-pong via e-mail.
It's 5:30 - time to go home! I put on a Netflix series at home so I can relax.
Tomorrow is another day!
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