The Union des Classes Moyennes (UCM) announced that 1,000 bankruptcies took place during the month of May. Companies that have suffered a lot over the past two years due to covid in particular. Current inflation is not helping.
We interviewed three entrepreneurs who have struggled but reinvented themselves to avoid bankruptcy, even though the fear of experiencing this scenario is never far away.
In La Louvière, Sophie launched her tea business ten years ago. A human adventure that still fascinates her, but the pressure of the job and the responsibilities bother her on a daily basis. “It’s very complicated, it’s a lot of sacrifices. These are financial sacrifices, sacrifices in terms of time, in terms of conviviality. It’s evenings spent working, nights not sleeping because we worry about tomorrow, she confides.
Responsibilities towards her customers, employees and suppliers, but Sophie sees them more as challenges. “I want in a very humble way to be able to show my children that, when you believe in something, you can achieve it. That’s why every day, you get up as an entrepreneur, it’s not just to go do the job, it’s to meet the challenges and be proud of having met them”adds Sophie.
Alphonsa is also a business manager. She sells her own jams. Before that, she made jewelry. A first experience that helps him to move forward today. “This failure that I experienced previously served me to learn from these mistakes, correct them and do better”, she declares. “The fear of failure obviously exists, but I apprehend it differently because I have already known it and I know how to circumvent this fear and make it a driving force.”
The entrepreneur is not afraid of the word bankruptcy, but she is aware of the risk. “The word bankruptcy is obviously always present. As soon as you start a self-employed activity or as soon as you create your company, before generating a profit, you try to avoid bankruptcy and then after you reach the break-even point .”
Tom is a keeper in the hotel and catering industry. His friend Alexis transforms caravans for events. The duo teamed up to avoid bankruptcy. They launched in a mobile bar in the middle of covid.
“Thanks to this budding activity of the covid, we avoided going out of business and avoided bankruptcy”this Tom
Alexis also rebounded by modifying his concept and his ideas still work today. “It took courage and perseverance to be able to develop new things and we are slowly seeing the end of the tunnel with the resumption of events and the resumption of catering as well.”
After the pandemic, these three business leaders must once again face a difficult economic context, but none of them regret their professional choice.