Since the beginning of 2019, Elyse and her sister Elianne are the owners of the family business Bestfix in Deventer. The sisters took over the company that specializes in sliding door systems from their parents.
Together they are taking major steps in the field of digitization.
Elyse proudly tells me about her family business: 'We know how many advantages sliding doors have over traditional hinged doors. By reaching out to contractors and architects, we want to improve the living and working enjoyment of their customers. Our strength lies in the knowledge of our products, our wide range, the stock we have and the service that we work hard for every day.” The passion for the business has been transferred from the parents to both sisters. The company takeover took place in 2019.” The family bond has only become stronger since the takeovers, which makes communication with each other even easier. the way I work and communicate has changed, it has become a lot more digital.'', says Elyse
Risks
Elyse :'' our website was outdated and the software was about 10 years old, so we could no longer perform certain updates. This had a negative impact on our business. An additional risk is that with outdated software you have a greater chance of cyber attacks. the outdated website was not moblie friendly and we were starred in its styling. Enough reasons to renew our website and the software.” Elyse went through the Family Next program. With the voucher of € 2,000, bestFix received an extra helping hand to take the digitization step.
Getting started with digitizing
''We hired an external partner, who looked with us at the requirements and wishes for a new website. Based on that, we are looking for a web builder. We took on the design of the website internally to save costs. The rest of the website is custom built and built in WordPress. Since we sell products with many product variations, it quickly became a complicated project. As a result, the launch has been postponed to the end of this year, but we can already say that the end result is certainly there!'', Elyse says enthusiastically.
Help from an experience expert
Coach Jolanda Boogaard of family business Apollo Print guided the owners of BestFix in the digitization process from the Family Next program. Jolanda is an expert by experience. She also went through a company takeover herself and happened to be working on renewing her website herself. Elyse: ''We were able to give each other tips and advice about experiences with the digitization process. We also shared our experiences about the company takeover, which was very valuable!"
Future plans
Elyse sees even more opportunities in the field of digitization. For example, a link between the accounting software and the webshop on the website is a great wish. The sisters look positively to the future: ''We want to play an even more important role in the construction world. We aim for stable growth. The value of our family business 'quality' and 'service' remain paramount. We also hope to be able to provide more employment opportunities in the province of Overijssel in the future. We also want to take further steps in the field of sustainability.”
About Family Next
The Family Next program supports Overijssele entrepreneurs with a family business with at least 5 employees. Do you want to get started with digitization or sustainability? or is the next generation about to take over the company? Then Family Next is a support in your back. For more information, visit www.overijssel.nl/familynext.
