Who is ….?

“My name is Thea, I am the mother of 3 children and Hans's partner for 34 years. As a person I am curious, eager to learn and always looking for: 'can it be done differently?'. 'What can help us further?', 'How can I help someone else?'.

As a surprise to my parents, I was born as one of a set of twins. My parents had expected one baby, but that turned out to be two. We were both far too small and vulnerable, the doctors told my parents that I probably wouldn't make it. Fortunately that turned out differently, perhaps that is where my strong survival mentality started. My upbringing taught me that if you want to achieve something, you have to do something for it yourself. I played handball for years in my youth, which always had to be at the highest level. I was already fanatical then: I am still going for the win and want to perform well. That characterizes me as a person.

My parents didn't think it was necessary for me to go to college. After completing my HAVO I started working straight away, but not knowing what I wanted, I entered the banking sector through-via. I loved the combination of working and studying. I had every opportunity to do this within the financial world. Partly because of this, I was appointed office director at the age of 23. I worked in the financial world as an advisor and director for more than 30 years. In those roles I have always been concerned with talent management, sales, and guiding people and teams. I have also supervised many reorganization processes and formed new teams. After years of experiencing a new reorganization every two years, it no longer made me happy. In 2016 I made the choice to continue studying. With the help of an EVC process, I obtained a bachelor's degree in management in one year, specializing in coaching. I did one of my studies into the role of the agile manager. A fascinating subject that I was able to work on practically because I was asked for a position at ING. During my time at ING, I was approached for a management position at a large landscaping company (family business). I chose that because it was my wish to work outside the financial world. This was a fascinating period during which I quickly discovered that the dynamics at this company are completely different from those at a commercial bank. After a year, Kenneth Smit came my way through a tip in my network and after several inspiring conversations I had complete confidence that this was the right next step for me.”

My move to Kenneth Smit began…

“In 2020 I started talking to Kenneth Smit and there was an immediate click, it felt good. Although I had not immediately thought about becoming a trainer, I came to the conclusion that everything came together in this next step: my practical experience, experience as a consultant and managing (sales) teams combined with my drive for results and people. Entrepreneurship has always been a dream, but I also found the uncertainty exciting. Despite this uncertainty and the corona pandemic that was going on, I believed that it would succeed and if it did not succeed, I could only blame myself. The home front gave me the confidence, so I went for it!
After I started I immediately found out: to be able to do this you have to be a self-starter, no one is at your bedside to get you out of it. That means: setting goals for yourself and taking action. By using my network, I came to the table with companies through-via. If that works, that's cool. I get a lot of pleasure from talking to people and asking with genuine interest what is going on. Sometimes it is also quite tough, so you need a strong mindset to keep going, to keep believing. Once five have said 'no', the step towards a “yes” is closer!

The transition to independent entrepreneurship took some getting used to, setting up a structure independently and constantly working from your own plan and taking the initiative yourself. That is very different compared to a management role, in which a lot is determined centrally.

Kenneth Smit helps me in my personal growth and development, but ultimately you have to do it yourself. Without Kenneth Smit's label I would not have made it, the training and techniques are very good and for larger customers it helps to have a strong brand behind you. This combined with the opportunity to spar with fellow trainers is great fun. I also benefit from Kenneth Smit on a practical level, such as joint marketing, tools for invoicing and customer management. That is very valuable, because it gives me all the energy to develop myself as a trainer.”

My average work week

“On average I train two days a week. In the evening I often prepare and evaluate the training. The other days I am busy with acquisition (via LinkedIn, calling, networking, etc.), following up with customers and maintenance conversations. I also regularly coach individuals and teams. I use Insights a lot in my work (I am an accredited Insights Practitioner), which allows you to get in depth with people more quickly, it is a great tool and often the starting point of my training. It inspires people and it provides awareness and insight.

I currently work in various industries, and many of the same challenges arise within organizations, regardless of the industry. I do enjoy working within SMEs, so you often sit at the owner's table and the lines of communication are short. That's nice work.”

What Kenneth Smit brings me

“Kenneth Smit brings me a challenge and helps ensure that I can develop further personally. I couldn't have imagined in advance what was asked of you. On the one hand, this is confrontational, but on the other hand, it offers so much satisfaction when your efforts are rewarded. In addition, I can express my passion by doing work that I enjoy most. Of course it is sometimes difficult, but it gives a lot of energy!
Kenneth Smit's motto: 'Success through action' suits me. I like that Kenneth Smit's training courses are focused on action and confrontation, so you see people grow.”

My most beautiful Kenneth Smit moment

“I am currently providing sales training at a corporate insurance company. Several participants indicate that my name is regularly mentioned during meetings, in the workplace, etc. How nice it is that people get to work with what they have learned and explain and demonstrate to colleagues what can be improved. That's what I do it for! That makes me happy!"

When are you a real Kenneth Smitter?

“As a person you must have perseverance, entrepreneurship, focus and energy. Experience as a manager and advisor is important to be a good discussion partner. In addition, a solid foundation at home is important. If you have a combination of these things, I am convinced that you can become successful as a franchise entrepreneur within Kenneth Smit.”