The young whippersnapper who changed course

1937: A little shop in Bovenkerk

My grandfather Arie started an electronics shop in 1937. In Bovenkerk, a village just outside Amsterdam, part of Amstelveen.

What counted as "electronics" back then? Repairing a radio. An iron. A washing machine of that era. He kept it fairly modest.

Later the rental of equipment was added. For the local street fair. Which later became the funfair. And that kept expanding.

1961: Father Piet takes the helm

Homan really only started to grow seriously when my father Piet took the helm in 1961. He drove the company to great heights.

1991-1999: Alongside my father

I joined the business in 1991. From 1991 to 1999 I worked alongside my father. When my father left the company in 1999 for health reasons, I ran it alone for a number of years.

In 2004 we started talking about the takeover. Eventually, on 23 December 2005, his 65th birthday, I was able to buy my father's wonderful company.

"At that moment I never realised what I was taking on."

A beautiful company. But also an enormous responsibility.

The burden of history

And by that I do not so much mean the history going back to 1937. Not the story of my grandfather Arie. No, I inherited people who had worked with my father for 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 years.

In fact, some had even worked with my grandfather.

And now they suddenly had to take orders from some young whippersnapper.

"I had never realised what friction, resentment and irritation this would bring with it. With all the consequences that entailed."

Frogs in a wheelbarrow

Having to manage all those people meant I never got round to what I love doing most: being an entrepreneur.

All day long I was busy with:

• Talking to people
• Job interviews, performance reviews, appraisals
• Keeping people happy
• Keeping apart people who did not want to work together

Jantje didn't like Pietje. Keesje didn't like Klaasje. And you had to take that into account in the planning.

"I spent the whole day keeping all those frogs that wanted to jump out of the wheelbarrow inside it."

All of that distracted from Homan's core value. From what I wanted to be doing. Namely: renting out generators.

Almost went under

In the end it led to me almost going under myself. I lost the joy of being an entrepreneur.

I have always said: if that moment ever comes, if I no longer go to work with pleasure, then either the course has to change drastically, or I have to stop. The bottom of the well was in sight.

Quitting is not in my nature. I am not one to give up. I am one to push on.

So I decided to change course drastically.

March 2020: Corona

I had been away for a while for health reasons. When I came back in 2020, I had to come back. Because, as everyone knows, corona had arrived in the country.

In March 2020 everything shut down. I remember we had the Rijswijk funfair running. It had opened. And we could take it straight down again. Because people were no longer allowed to gather.

In March no money came in. In April no money came in. And in May everyone still had to be paid. Do not forget: in May there is holiday pay on top of that. The bottom of the well was in sight. It was sink or swim.

Something had to happen. Otherwise we were not going to make it.

The idea: solar panels

I sat down with a number of people. Brainstorming about what could help us survive this period.

Then I came up with the idea of installing solar panels.

But sitting around the table with a number of people, I saw once again how people who have worked for you for a long time keep holding on to the old. Without realising that sometimes you have no alternative.

"Come on, we have never done that before. So we can't do it."

To which I shouted the opposite:

"Come on, we have never done it before, so I reckon we can!"

The famous Pippi Longstocking line.

June 2020: Homan Solar

From that moment, in June 2020, we went through an enormous turnaround.

We had never done it before. So we went to the employees who fancied having solar panels and installed solar panels on their roofs. One had a flat roof, the other a pitched roof.

We fitted free solar panels at our fitters' homes. And in return we gained experience. A fantastic exchange, if you ask me! We used that as teaching material.

From that moment on we started installing solar panels. Homan Solar. Power is in our DNA, so it actually fitted in perfectly.

In the first year we had over 200 projects. Between June 2020 and... that did us no harm at all. It went fantastically!

In 2021 and 2022 it grew at a bizarre rate. We received 50 enquiries a week. From those we picked the ten finest, nicest, easiest projects. And those we carried out.

2023: Pulling the plug

We did that until suddenly, in 2023, the net metering scheme was scrapped. Feeding power back to the grid was no longer attractive. Which immediately knocked the bottom out of the solar panel trade.

At that point we stopped too. Once again shifting gear at the right moment. Pulling the plug. Back from sixth gear to third. And carrying on.

The big events

We were a leading name in the events industry. The big events. Name them and we have done them: Sail Amsterdam, Parkpop, Libelle Zomerweek, Dance Valley. All the major events held in the Netherlands, we have played a part in them.

Business and personal

On the business side we achieved a great deal. But I also achieved a great deal on the personal side.

By then, through all of it, I had grown into a hefty lad of 156 kilos. Not healthy. But that also had to do with the fact that I walked around with nothing but stress in my body.

So I started tackling that. Living healthier. Moving more. Losing weight. No more going to bed stressed. That cost me a lot of energy. I was helped in that by therapists.

"I am not ashamed of that. Nor of making great progress because of it."

The result? From 156 kilos to 104 kilos. Fifty-two kilos gone. And I want to lose a few more. Because for once I want to see two digits on the scales.

It just goes to show: if you want something between your ears, you will achieve it. And you will get there.

"Don't tell me something is not allowed. Because then I will find a way around it. And I will achieve what I have set my sights on."

2021: Farewell

A great deal happened in that period. In business. In private.

Quite unexpectedly, my father passed away in 2021. Eighty years old. In the prime of his life. But he died quite suddenly.

Shortly afterwards, a few weeks later, my mother had a stroke. And became almost completely paralysed. Only her left hand still worked. And her mind still worked.

On his deathbed I had promised my father to take good care of my mother. And that is what I did.

Alongside my busy work, that was a full-time job. The dearest woman. I took her everywhere. Bought a wheelchair-accessible car so that I could take her out several times a week. Dependent on nobody. Complete freedom for us.

My mother was cared for wonderfully by a fantastic team of people. But on top of that came a great deal of care. Informal care. For my wife and me. I dare say it was a complete full-time job. But until the very last day, with all our love.

"The lovely thing is that my mother was sharp as a tack. Until the last second she was up to date with developments at the company. In fact, she gave me advice on whether or not to do things."

The weight that fell from my shoulders

My therapists made me aware that what I was doing was living up to my father's expectations.

And with the loss of my father, however terribly hard it was, a certain weight also fell from my shoulders.

"I no longer had to answer to anyone."

Even though I had owned the business for almost twenty years. And had worked there for far longer still. Yet the yoke fell from my shoulders.

My mother's blessing

At that moment, in consultation with my mother, I was able to change course.

And I am very glad that I had that approval, or blessing, whatever you want to call it. She said:

"Peter, it does not matter how you earn your living. Your father would not hold that against you for a second. All your father wants is for you to be happy. And to earn your living in a way you believe in and that makes you happy. Going to work reluctantly, that cannot be the point. Not even if you are the third or fourth generation of the company. That does not justify it. So if you feel this is right now, Peter, then you must do it."

I was very happy with that blessing from my mother.

And I was able to change course.

Coincidence or luck?

Fortunately a few coincidences came my way. Through the ageing workforce. People leaving. And that sort of thing.

"Yes, it could hardly have been better."

Natural selection

And then, of course, natural selection began to emerge: people who could cope with the changes and shifted gear with us, and the people who could no longer keep up.

Back to the core

Who are we? What are we? We are the best generator rental company. The quietest. Stabilised. Clean. Green. Sustainable. And now also: fast.

A quote arranged in the blink of an eye. You know where you stand.

Enormously proud that my sons are working alongside me to make all this happen. We are a very small group. A group that can be deployed day and night if need be. But with the right planning we try to arrange it so that it simply fits within normal working hours. As befits this day and age.

The result

We are a very small group. And we still get essentially the same result.

In fact, we get a better result. Small team, same output, better result.

That is something we can be enormously proud of.

"Shifting down to move forward."