At 37 years old, Lindsey Janse is a young woman who already has two decades of work experience under her belt, most of which she gained at the Naaldwijk auction. Here, she worked with a whole range of traders, packers, and logistics parties.
"At a certain point, you know how things work, and if you have it in you, you start working for yourself."
Lindsey Janse and Juliëtte Sibbald
"My previous employer wanted to move to another box at one point. I said, can't I stay here and start working for myself? That resulted in me getting laughed at. I knew I could work hard, but that job mostly involved a lot of waiting around. The idea that I would want to start working for myself was not taken seriously at all. But I was serious, and then they said: well, let's see how you do it. That's how I got started."
"Four years ago, on September 1, I went to the Chamber of Commerce, which, at the time, felt like the most exciting thing I had ever done." Since then, Lindsey Logistics has become a well-known name at the auction. The company prepares orders for transport and provides the logistics for the handling of carts and kegs for customers in and around the auction. "Customers buy remotely and choose to have it delivered to us. We check it, put things together, and arrange for it to be ready when the transporter comes. All transport goes via Van de Helm Transport in Maasdijk, with whom we have worked very well from the start. They make sure that all trade is delivered to our clients on time. Clients can also pick the trade up themselves if they want to. In the end, it's about taking work out of our hands. It saves labor, it saves hassle, and it saves a box."
A bumpy start
But four years ago, 2019, wasn't that the year Covid started? "Yes, or at least almost, because in March 2020, we went into lockdown, and the flower and plant industry was in shock. We had just started, and for a while, we thought this would already be the end. But that was only for a moment. After that, we have never been as busy as we were in that spring. When that was over, we entered the energy crisis, which caused quite a bit of turmoil and losses left and right. But we got through that too and have since found our footing."
Lindsey with her boyfriend Aja, who also works in the auction at WBE
Juliëtte Sibbald, a close friend of Lindsey's, is her most loyal employee. "When I wanted to start out on my own, Juliëtte was working at Van Dijk, and she said, 'If you do, I'll come and work with you straight away.' I hadn't even started, and she already quit her job, which was amazing, of course, but also quite scary, as I now really had to make it happen. But I'm glad she did. Without her, it just wouldn't have worked out."
Lots of support
Lindsey had no shortage of help and support when starting out. "When Covid was still at its peak, my father came over from abroad to help out. My boyfriend jumps in regularly, and Erik and Jack are almost like a part of the business and are always there for me when needed. And then there is my former boss, Jan-Willem van der Velden, and his wife Patricia, who help me with the bookkeeping every now and then and are always there to provide good advice. All of these people supported me a lot and did so without ever wanting anything in return. That's quite unique, isn't it?"
Frans Kokkeler, a customer of Lindsey-Logistics (Kokkeler Bloemen)
Looking ahead
Clients now know how to find Lindsey, so she is not short on work. "Of course, I still want to grow a bit, but it needs to fit in with everything else. I really don't need to get much bigger because I don't think that's for me. What I do know is that I am in a good place here. Some years ago, I did think, 'Is this really my world? What am I doing here? I should do something else.' I ended up at a wholesale business for nail stylists and had to work with only women. I thought I was going crazy. And before I knew it, I was back at the auction."
"I have no idea what the company will be like in five years time. We will see when that time comes. But I do hope we'll still be here by that time and that I won't have to work for a boss anymore. I can't really imagine that. Not that I wouldn't if I had to, because then I'd have to. But it really is a different thing. Working for yourself is more fun and exciting. If it's up to me, I'll keep doing that for the time being," Lindsey concludes.
For more information:
Lindsey-Logistics
[email protected]