Entrepreneurship with impact? Or just doing your job!

Written by: Nick Ursem

The year 2025 is already drawing to a close and the always hectic month of December has begun
. A period of deadlines, holidays and full agendas, but also thetime to reflect on what we have achieved this year. For us at Sophista, 2025 was extra special: we celebrated our 25th anniversary and again assisteda number of beautiful transactions in which entrepreneurs transferred their life’s workto a next owner. This is also a
period of reflection for many entrepreneurs: what contribution have we made to our people, our
clients and the environment?

An increasingly common theme is impact. This plays a role not only at large
corporates or investors, but also within SMEs.
Sustainability, social commitment and responsible employment are gaining
weight. And we also see this reflected in acquisition processes. Buyers today
no longer look exclusively at the figures, but also at the question: what makes
this company of value to its environment?

From my West Frisian roots, I see that entrepreneurs here take a very down-to-earth approach to this
.Training employees, sponsoring the local sports club, investing in a future-proof building and taking good care of your people, hereit is not called ‘doing business with impact’. “We’re just doing our job,” is thensaid. But that very work ensures that companies are strongly rootedin their region. It builds trust and makes businesses resilient and
therefore attractive to buyers.

In addition, leaving the business well behind plays an important role in
choosing a new owner. Of course, a good sale proceedsare often at the top of the list. After years of entrepreneurship, an appropriatevaluation is allowed in return. But at least as decisive is what happens to the team, customers and culture after the transfer
.

And perhaps that is the purest form of impact: creating value that
continues to exist, even when the entrepreneur himself takes a step back.
December is of course also the month in which we look ahead to 2026.
And in that, too, “we just keep doing our job” in order to make a difference again next year
. For now, I wish you happy holidays!

This article appeared in the winter edition of INTO business Haarlemmermeer Schiphol.