by Katharina Andrés
A few months ago I started my own business. I had always imagined that if one day I was going to be an entrepreneur, I would plan every last detail beforehand. In my imaginary world I walked into the chamber of commerce the day of the festive inscription of my new business with all sorts of plans in my head and on my laptop. I knew exactly who my potential clients were and what I was going to offer them.
Well, reality happened to be slightly different. I was lucky and found my first client, Saint Basics, before even founding the business. So instead of planning everything meticulously, I rather rushed into things. I hardly made it to my appointment at the chamber of commerce just before picking up my kids from school. I had a nice chat with the person doing my inscription there and we agreed to leave things a bit open, as I was not 100% sure about the nature of my services. Since 4 March 2016 I am the proud owner of Katharina Andrés inscribed at the chamber of commerce of The Hague with the following activities: 70221 Organisation and Consultancy, 7021 Public Relations and 7430 Translation.
Just business 😉
Then I started working happily for Saint Basics, the most awesome brand for sustainable underwear on the planet. I help them to become more popular in Germany and Austria and I provide their German speaking customers and retailers with excellent service. I learned all about a good time sheet and how to do my tax declaration. Then during a lovely holiday in May, I started to feel the excitement of being an entrepreneur. All these plans I hadn’t made beforehand were now in my head and I could hardly think of anything else.
What does it take to be my dream client?
Luckily I already know quite something about myself, my passion and my qualities. So I could directly focus on my target group. My ideal client. And then I made an interesting discovery: I didn’t have to describe my ideal client in theory, I was already working for them.
So here comes my list of criteria. I want to work for companies and organisations that …
- respect the environment,
- make responsible use of natural resources including energy,
- guarantee fair labour conditions,
- care about health,
- offer an awesome product or service,
- and do have a mission beyond just selling their product!
Saint Basics has all of it. Their boxer shorts, slips and T-Shirts are not only very beautiful and comfortable; they are also produced according to the highest environmental and social standards. No child labour, sweatshops or dangerous chemicals. When I represented them at the Ethical Fashion Show in Berlin earlier this year, I was amazed how easy it was for me (not being a very commercial person) to sell the products I truly believe in. So far so good, I want to work for a cool and sustainable company. I kind of knew that all the time.
Taking triple P seriously
But I realised there is something else that makes Saint Basics be my ideal client. It is the people. Saint Basics takes the three P’s of sustainability seriously. People. Planet. Profit. Our first association with the P for people are the people far away in poor countries: cocoa farmers, textile workers or children assembling our consumer electronics. And this is of course an extremely important issue. But to me the P for people is about more. It is also about the people here in our own offices and factories. It is about believing in your people, trusting them and giving them room to grow.
Saint Basics offers me all that. It is extremely rewarding to work for and with the people at Saint Basics. Their trust and belief that I can do wonderful things, empowers me to do a great job, dare new things and achieve new goals every single day! Thank you Saint Basics!
If you felt like I was describing your company or organisation and you are interested in my services, please get in touch! LinkedIn or katha.andres@gmail.com
Published on LinkedIn and Facebook 29 May 2016
About the author:
Katharina Andrés is a passionate, quickly understanding and empathic person with high motivation to support social entrepreneurs and initiatives in the context of sustainable and healthy lifestyle. Her services include strategic advice, interim management and research as well as customer service and marketing for sustainable brands.