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For the longest, we’ve wanted to start a business together but we didn’t quite know what. It was after a coaching program that we did together and the profound transformation that it had on us, that something sparked inside the both of us. We wanted to help other women feel better about themselves and experience more joy in their lives too, but didn’t yet know how. We were committed to this idea and during a regular ‘sister-get-together’ everything fell into place: let’s create a company where we combine personal growth with adventure because we believe working on yourself is truly an adventure of a lifetime.
Since sailing (in both The Netherlands and Greece) has been a big part of our family and lives, we wanted to combine our passion for personal growth and helping others with the adventure & serenity of sailing. Nature and especially blue spaces like the sea have a huge positive impact on our wellbeing and that was when our first idea was born: organize women-only sailing retreats in Greece. That was the fundamental idea around which Novigate was built. We stand for women empowerment, adventure and joy: because we believe we all deserve to live a life full of those elements. Novigate is a well-being and travel platform for women. Novigate literally means: “new way” and of course, it’s a big wink towards navigation. A new way of fostering growth in which we invite women to take themselves on a new path through adventures (sailing, coaching & group challenges) with Novigate and experience more joy and empowerment in their lives.
We decided to both get certified as coaches and build a unique program that we can provide while sailing in Greece. Along the way other ideas came to life and we’ve been coaching many women now (1:1 and in groups) and are committed to making a continuous impact, one adventure at a time.
What drives us? Initially, the transformation we saw in ourselves after working with coaches and seeing what is possible when you take responsibility for your own well-being. Now, it’s also the transformation that we see for our clients, the revelations and insights that they get while we guide them are so rewarding. We are thankful for it every day.
We are all for making personal growth a fun adventure. We want to change the narrative that personal growth is heavy, vague and difficult to personal growth is light, to the point, and fun!
Asking for help, prioritizing rest, and being flexible with the plan.
There were so many things we did in the wrong order because we didn’t ask for help – or because we didn’t ask the right questions. Honestly, it makes us laugh most of the time when we think about it. Especially in terms of marketing and getting clear on our target audience we had A LOT to learn if we wanted to get the right clients.
What changed our way of doing business came when we applied for Fempreneurhulp, we got assigned a Mentor, Gervaise Coebergh and she faced us with the facts, we had to start practically all over as we did not have a clear vision, target audience and solution statement. Every day we are learning and taking steps to realize our business vision. But we don’t take huge leaps of faith or too big of a step anymore. We know now that building a brand is a very exciting journey and patience is of utmost importance.
We are now going through a phase of changing our brand from English to Dutch. We want to focus on the Dutch market as most of our clients are Dutch speakers who found us through our warm network (don’t underestimate your warm network, especially in the beginning). We are building our authority through Instagram mostly. We have just taken the path of mainly presenting ourselves through video, as video is a great way of reaching your clients and for them to get to know you better. It transfers energy in your messages, which we think is a really big advantage.
Wanting to go too fast (out of enthusiasm), without having a proper plan or structure to work from and therefore investing in the wrong things like a fancy website instead of investing in help for building a proper business strategy first.
What we learned? Growing patience and small steps every day gets you further than taking big steps in the beginning. Your small actions will compound towards your greater goal and pay off later! The inspiring quote from Confucius: “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop” sums this all up. It is okay that good things take time and building a strong business foundation first is very important and will pay off along the way.
Working on our mindset and self-image, and this might sound cliché: “You got to believe in your vision,” but it is SO true. If you can’t see yourself building a business it is very unlikely you will take the first necessary steps towards it. By changing your perspective and the way you see yourself bit by bit, the belief in it working out – one way or another – will grow and when your belief grows you are more likely to take the necessary action.
Organizing our first sailing retreat: Sail to Empowerment in Greece this year and it was a great success. So many things were related to us accomplishing this but the biggest one was: “Change the plan, never the goal.” It was our persistence and dedication to make it happen that got our creative minds more and more activated, leading to intentional action-taking, which brought us closer to our goal.
Keep going, that’s the great thing about having a co-founder. You can pull each other off the ground when you’re down and keep going. Persistence is very important when building a business.
Take action before you’ve figured everything out and before you feel 100% ready. Because then you will probably never start. The irony is that you will figure everything out and build self-esteem and self-trust along the way. Also, ask for help, although it might feel scary, there are other women who have walked your path. Together we can help each other because we all have valuable knowledge and experiences to share.
Creating several offerings for our clients, we have a challenge planned to kick off at the end of November this year. It’s about decision-making. Also, we’re planning our sailing retreats in Greece for next year, we will launch the dates of 2025 in Q4 this year.
We want to continuously spread our message that working on your personal growth is fun and an adventure of a lifetime. We aim to inspire more women to experience more joy in their lives and in our opinion that all starts with being happier with yourself first. No more seeking external validation, but building it from the inside out.
FEM-START is ready to support you on your entrepreneurial journey. We provide educational courses on funding, pitching, and finding investors, nurture a growing community of female entrepreneurs, and organize events all year long.
Based in The Hague, the Netherlands
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