About I Make Business Better
I Make Business Better is the consultancy of Richard van Herk, for owners in hospitality, leisure, tourism and services who want more return from their business. One goal: a business that performs better today and stands stronger in the long run.
Hi, I'm Richard
Running a business means making choices. Where are the biggest opportunities? What really pays off? And how do you keep your business growing? As a business owner, I know those questions well. Since 2018 I have been building my own hospitality and events business, on top of more than twenty years in services and commercial roles. I know what it is like to be responsible for revenue, costs, staff and happy customers.
With I Make Business Better I help owners spot opportunities and turn them into concrete improvements in their business. I focus on businesses where customers and guests come first: that is where customer experience, staff, commercial performance and returns meet.
We look at the numbers, the competition and the customer. Then we decide which improvements can happen straight away and which choices the future calls for. That way we work towards a business that performs better today and is stronger in the long run.
Richard van HerkFounder, I Make Business Better
See my LinkedInWhere my experience comes from
Over 20 years in services
Seventeen of them in commercial roles in sales, account management and business development, always at companies where the guest or customer comes first.
Business owner since 2018
Building my own events business taught me the owner's side: staff, purchasing, seasons and margin.
International events
Co-organiser of corporate events in the Netherlands and abroad, including an evening for about 1,700 guests at The National Gallery in London.
Tourism and leisure
Business development for BusTravel Iceland in the cruise market, adviser to the leadership team of Eating Europe during its recovery after Covid, and work for Amsterdam Boat Trips (canal cruises).
Sales and account management
Trained in Sales & Account Management at ISAM, linked to Erasmus University Rotterdam.
What we stand for
More profit as the goal
We judge every improvement on what it is expected to add to your profit.
Customer and guest first
We link what customers and guests value to commercial opportunities and returns.
A broad view
We combine your financial performance with insight into competitors and customer behaviour.
An expert for each discipline
Specialists in operations, marketing, sales, AI and exit preparation, working towards the same goal.
Clear priorities
A clear split between quick wins and the strategy for the medium and long term.
Personal support
Advice and support that fit your business and you as an owner.
The team of experts
For every question I work with specialists who know their trade. For each action we decide who is needed, so you only pay for the work that moves your business forward.
Operations & finance
Numbers, cost prices and processes that could work better.
Marketing
Positioning, visibility and the right guests.
Sales
A commercial approach that grows profitably.
AI implementation
Choosing the tools and bringing your team along.
Exit preparation
Value, structure and a smooth sale or succession.
Meet Richard?
Thirty minutes, no obligation. Afterwards you know where your business can earn more.
Making your business better. That's what I stand for.