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The BOFfertjes Factory
I’ve always looked at children with great admiration. They do so many things naturally and effortlessly. I truly believe we can learn a lot from them. Recently, my own children showed me what the role of a leader should be — and also what the role of a team can look like.
One of my sons is incredibly entrepreneurial. He’s especially fascinated by how money is made. He wasn’t even eight years old when he flawlessly explained the purpose of advertising to me: “Dad. Advertising. That’s one of those things, right? It costs money, sure. But you have to do it. Otherwise, how will they know you exist?!”
We’re now two years further, and he’s gained some solid sales experience during King’s Day — selling items without blinking an eye. Sometimes at such high prices that I had to step in. He built a ball-throwing game, placed it out on the street, and lured passersby — for a fee, of course — to knock down the targets. Until just a week ago, he did this kind of thing at most with one friend.
But last week, he reached the next phase in his journey as a young entrepreneur. Looking for ways to boost his allowance, he and a friend came up with the idea of making and selling poffertjes (mini Dutch pancakes). They quickly realized they were short on hands. Preparing batter, baking poffertjes, serving, restocking, and — not unimportant — advertising. Because the neighborhood had to be informed of their new business. That meant someone had to design the ads, print them, and then distribute them as well.
I knew nothing about any of this — until I went to pick up my kids from school and suddenly found myself facing a group of eight children. My son quickly explained why they were all there. “Is that okay?” he asked. “Sure,” I said. “Can I have the house key?” “Of course,” I replied, no problem. The kids ran ahead. Fifteen minutes later, I got home too.
What I saw: eight children in full swing. Three at the kitchen counter. One prepping ingredients, another mixing, the third already heating up the poffertjes pan. Two more working on the flyer design. Another sending the first marketing messages in various WhatsApp groups to recruit customers.
My son moved between the teams, checking if everything was running smoothly. Then — a shout: “We’ve got a customer! We’ve got a customer!” Children jumping up and down, celebrating their first success. The pace in the kitchen picked up. Containers were set out in advance. Soon, the first poffertjes were on their way out the door. The first money was earned — and promptly reinvested in new supplies.
Meanwhile, the flyers were ready. A team hit the streets, slipping them into mailboxes. Neighbors came out of their houses and placed orders. New customers followed.
A well-oiled machine. Everyone engaged. If something felt nerve-racking — like delivering flyers — they asked another kid to go with them. And they did. Why not? A quick helping hand, a new experience.
If someone noticed that their assigned task didn’t really suit them, they brought it up, and someone else took over. All of it happened organically.
Meanwhile, my son lay back in the Le Corbusier chair, casually reading a Donald Duck magazine. And at that moment, I thought: This is exactly how it should be. Organizing your business in such a way that everyone can carry out their task independently. Intervene when necessary — not just because you can. And take time to relax in between.
Fantastic, right? Children just do it. In the poffertjes factory, each child naturally took on a role. If they didn’t enjoy it anymore, they asked to reshuffle the tasks. If something felt challenging, they simply asked for help. It can be that simple.
If everyone led themselves — and others — wouldn’t we all be boffertjes (Dutch for ‘lucky ones’, ‘fortune cookies’)? I really believe we should take this much more seriously. Some readers might now be thinking: “But they’re just kids — they don’t know what working really means.” That’s true. But isn’t it precisely their openness, their lack of preconceptions, that reflects back to us how work could be?
Curious about a self-managing program that helps you build your own BOFfertjes Factory in six weeks? You’ll find more information here. Prefer to discover it for yourself? Read the book of the same name. And of course, you can always get in touch for more information.
BOFfertjes
factory
.now
Lanz Organisatie & Advies BV
Van Pallandtstraat 45
NL • 6814 GN Arnhem
+31 (0)6 2096 3032
alex@lanz.org
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