“Everything in life can be so straightforward, sometimes you just have to take some risks. Even if you are failing, you at least learn something”, says Janine Huizeling. The 20 years old Media and Entertainment Management Student from Stenden started her own business in December 2016 and has successfully grown it since then.
By: Lena Lötzer – photo: BusinessMatch, Groningen
Loved by Pets
Janine got her business idea when searching on the Internet to find a puppy for herself: ”To be honest, I did not know where to buy a puppy on the Internet as there were only out-dated and shady websites. That’s how I got the idea for Loved by Pets”. Loved by Pets is a platform and community for pet lovers, where they can safely buy a pet without being concerned about acquiring it from a dubious pet seller. Therefore, Loved by Pets connects future pet owners with trustworthy pet sellers.
Current and Future Plans
Even though Loved by Pets is just in its launching phase, Huizeling has numerous ambitious plans for her business in the near future. Currently, she works on the launch of the website, which will be online in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, Janine promotes the Facebook page and Instagram of Loved by Pets, where pet lovers can receive their daily doses of ‘pet-cuteness’. However, once the website is operative, she aims at expanding the business to become a platform where pet owners can find various service providers within their area.
Entrepreneurship
Janine loves being a young entrepreneur and building the company from the ground up: “Not many 20 year olds can say that they have their own business. I love being an entrepreneur because everyday I accomplish something for myself”. In February, Janine started her minor, De Noorderlingen, a cooperation between four northern universities of applied sciences, incubators & others, including e.g. NHL-Stenden, at Hanzehogeschool in Groningen. De Noorderlingen is an entrepreneurship program for ten ambitious and enterprising students from the north of the Netherlands, who are selected on the basis of their outstanding business ideas. During the program they are coached and advised by successful entrepreneurs and experts through workshops, trainings, inspirational company visits and access to a large network. Next to that, Janine won the Anner Award for best student entrepreneur of the North of the Netherlands.
Investors
With the coaching during De Noorderlingen, the financial support of winning the Anner Award, and her own ambition, Janine strives for extending the business and attracting angel investors: “I would like to attract investors with a lot of experience to grow the business further”. Once the website is online and the business is operative, she plans on continuously improving the platform with the data she has collected to make Loved by Pets even greater and better!
To find out more about Loved by Pets visit https://lovedbypets.nl or check out Facebook and Instagram!