Avance Breda

16 years in an office at Business Centre: Aad of Avance Breda now opts for more flexibility. Sixteen years ago, Aad van Endhoven set up on his own in recruitment and selection and started Avance Breda. From the start he chose an office at Business Centre. Not because he was simply looking for a desk and four walls, but because he needed a professional place where he could receive candidates in a pleasant way.

These days his working week looks very different. Aad explains how his way of working changed, while the value of Business Centre stayed the same.

Why did you choose Business Centre Breda back then?

Aad prefers to visit clients himself, so he gets a good picture of the organisation, the working environment and the culture. For conversations with candidates, on the other hand, he wanted a quiet and private place.

"I want to sit privately with the candidate. They need to feel free to say what they want to say. That is why I do not want to receive candidates in a roadside restaurant, which many of my competitors do."

The look of the location mattered too. "It has to be tidy. Not a little back-street office, but a place with a professional image."

Aad found that professional environment at Business Centre. Practical matters such as accessibility counted as well. "There is plenty of parking. And it is free, even though the location is close to the centre of Breda. That is nice."

Why did you not go for a fully independent office?

For Aad, the added value was not just in the office space. It was everything arranged around that workplace that made Business Centre attractive when he started out as an independent entrepreneur.

"When you have just set up on your own, you cannot afford your own secretary or telephonist yet. So Business Centre was a very deliberate choice for me, because those kinds of things are arranged centrally there."

He also appreciates the way things are handled. "The lines are short. Things do not go through one big organisation where everything is very formal. If there is anything, I send a WhatsApp to Daniël (Kandel, owner of Business Centre) and it gets sorted. I have always had excellent support."

Did working among other entrepreneurs bring you anything?

"Yes, that was actually one of the reasons why I wanted to be in the Business Centre."

As a recruitment and selection specialist, he saw business opportunities in an environment with other companies. "I always said: if I make one placement a year in the Business Centre, my rent is covered."

And it did not stay just an idea. Over the years, contacts within Business Centre actually led to assignments. "That is the advantage of Business Centre. You get to know other companies."

How do you use Business Centre now that you no longer rent your own office?

Aad no longer has his own office at Business Centre, but Avance Breda is still based there. "Conversations with candidates take place online much more often these days. On top of that, I am slowly winding down my work towards retirement. That is why I have been working from home since October. I have set up a proper workplace at home. The advantage of Business Centre is that I can choose to keep certain services."

Aad is keeping his business address, and his landline number still runs through Business Centre's telephone service. That way he does not have to change his contact details everywhere, and existing clients hardly notice the change. Mail can still arrive at the business address too.

The location also remains available for face-to-face meetings. "When I really need to receive candidates, I can still use Business Centre. I simply rent a room where I can receive a candidate."

How do you look back on sixteen years at Business Centre?

Looking back, Aad is above all satisfied. The combination of a professional workplace of his own and the support around it meant that Aad never felt the need to move to another location. "I always enjoyed working at Business Centre. Over the past sixteen years I was in the office four out of five days on average. It really did feel like my office. I would not have wanted it any other way."

Would you also like a working environment that moves with the way you work? At Business Centre you choose the space and facilities that suit what you need at that moment. See the options in Breda