Simen Brunia is a true tree enthusiast. “For ten years now, I’ve been involved in setting up, managing, and expanding a knowledge encyclopedia about trees (Bomenbieb),” he explains. “But there’s never really been a revenue model behind it, and that wasn’t really a wish either.” That is, until the ‘production work’ he was doing – such as research on and near trees and advising governments and tree owners – started to bother him. “The desire to share knowledge about trees began to grow more and more.”
“The government offered the opportunity to support start-up entrepreneurs with a coaching programme. That’s how I ended up with Brilliant Work and coach Marco Gorselink,” says Simen. ”I now wanted to choose myself, my own path, and start working as a freelancer. Together with Marco, I began to explore and gain more insight into the business side of things. I also had many questions like, ‘What choices do you make when it comes to clients, projects, customers, and hourly rates? How do you actually run a business? What are the dos and don’ts?”
‘I also want to tell the emotion and history of a tree’
Even though Simen enjoyed his work, he really wanted to tell the tree’s story. “It was increasingly about the business side of trees,” he explains. “The ‘story’ mainly had to be short and concise, and only data was collected, which I then had to translate into reports. The emotion, history, and unique characteristics of trees are almost as important to many tree owners as just concerns or fears about them,” he shares.
“For the past 15 years, the tree was always central, but suddenly the people connected to the tree became just as important, or perhaps even more important. When I handed in my resignation and decided to become self-employed, I very consciously chose to be active as a knowledge sharer and not to be hired full-time as a tree specialist. Because then, fundamentally, little would have changed in my work.”
“I had already thought about quite a few things.”
“Initially, coaching for me was an opportunity to gain insight into the practical side of entrepreneurship.” “Who are your clients, what are your assignments, what does your ideal work week look like, how do you balance hard work with administration, acquisition, marketing, and all the other things that come your way as an entrepreneur? Questions about company growth, potential staff, gaining insight into business processes, and making your own strengths and weaknesses clear were also discussed during the sessions with Marco,” Simen explains.
“Marco had a step-by-step plan in mind, but he soon noticed that I’d already thought about quite a few things,” Simen explains. “As a result, many sessions became a bit more informal. It was more of a good conversation, a sounding board, and a source of information for issues that came up. One of the solutions to a problem I was struggling with at the time was: Keep it simple,” Simen says.
“Keep it simple.”
“Sometimes, as an entrepreneur, you have the tendency to constantly invent something new, always with a new name, a different website, or target group. But Marco helped me realise that the solution very often lies in keeping processes simple in your mind; and therefore choosing one name and website where everything comes together. That was more effective than having all sorts of small puzzle pieces in the business that might then all ‘just miss’ being what they need to be.”
“The conversations with Marco were always good, and the way we handled issues was very effective for me,” says Simen. “Ultimately, we didn’t even completely finish the step-by-step plan we’d thought of beforehand. The goal of coaching in the start-up phase of entrepreneurship has been very good and helpful.”
‘The result was having a goal in mind.”
“The result of the coaching is that I was able to discuss and sharpen all facets of being a freelancer with Marco. I’ve learnt to have a goal in mind and not let myself be tempted into making concessions on it. I’ve learnt to think better about why you make certain decisions, why you engage with certain clients or not, which assignments are good for your goal, but also that sometimes it’s good to have a more financially oriented goal.”
Simen is very satisfied with his coaching programme and hopes to work on his position within the small ‘tree world’ over the next five years. “I hope to be able to take steps to gain national recognition as a tree specialist. And in five years, there should certainly be a book with Simen Brunia on the cover in my own Bomenbieb,” he says proudly.
Do you also have a great goal in mind, or are you looking for support to turn your passion into a dream job? Then contact us for advice!
