Maarten van der Weijden. A name that you are most likely familiar with. The swimmer who won the Olympic gold and established his own foundation. In 2018, he swam the Elfstedenzwemtocht for the first time. Maarten has his own company, Beter.nu. With his company, he gives presentations at various organisations within the business sector, but also within the healthcare sector and other institutions. His goal is to motivate others to achieve their best.
“Emma Handson creates space for us to invest time in the things that make us happy.”
It became too much
Daisy van der Weijden, Maarten’s wife and support within the organisation explains: “Maarten swam the Elfstedenzwemtocht twice. The first time was in 2018. At that time, we were still able to run the company with just the two of us. Maarten gave presentations and I did all the organisation and facilitation. In addition, we were working on a major event, the Elfstedenzwemtocht, which required a lot of physical commitment from Maarten. This, in combination with our marriage and family, we noticed that we were way over our heads after the event in 2018. It was too much.”
Business support
Extra hands were welcome, says Daisy: “We thought it would be useful if someone helped us with the business side of our company. We did not expect the Elfstedenzwemtocht swim in 2018 to be such a big success. When we returned from Friesland, we were completely overwhelmed. That is when we asked Emma Handson for help.”
Getting to know one another gave confidence
How did Beter.nu end up at Emma Handson? Daisy explains: “Maarten is very thorough, so he searched the internet for the term ‘secretarial support’. He soon found Emma Handson. As we are not physically far away from each other (Vught and Waspik), he thought it would be handy to meet first. The introduction was very positive and it gave us great confidence that Emma Handson could help us. That is why we stopped investigating other parties and started working with you immediately.”
PAs as the first point of contact
The personal assistants are responsible for managing the agenda and financial administration. Daisy adds: “They also maintain contact with the various agencies we work with and handle the requests via our website. Essentially, they are the first point of contact for external parties who want to work with Maarten. Whether it is for Maarten the Speaker, Maarten the Volunteer or media partners.”
Space through secretarial support
Since the PAs take over tasks, there is more time for other things, says Daisy: “Emma Handson ensures that you have more time to do your own thing. As partners, we no longer have to worry about getting on each other’s nerves when things do not go our way. The PAs take care of things for us. That is very nice. It allows us to focus more on the Elfstedenzwemtocht and the foundation at home. The support from Emma Handson creates space for us to invest time in the things that make us really happy together.”
Convenient, easy and fast
Daisy is very positive about the service. “Maarten is very critical. If he is not happy with something, I am the first to know about it. But, he has never shown any concerns about Emma Handson. In any case, that is very positive. It is very convenient, easy and fast to connect with you. Questions are always dealt with on the same day. I would definitely recommend Emma Handson.
Enthusiastic PA
Eelke, PA for Maarten and Daisy, is enthusiastic about the collaboration: “Lieke and I do everything from administration to planning the seminars that Maarten gives and from planning the agenda to preparing and sending billing information. We are the link between Maarten and external parties, which gives us an important role within the business. We actively try to spot opportunities and think along with them. I really enjoy that the work consists of many different aspects and that many new contacts are made.”
Are you looking for a convenient, easy and fast partner to take your secretarial services to a higher level? Our PAs are happy to help! Contact us via info@emmahandson.nl, (073) 747 00 54 or click here for more information.