Empty shopping districts with abandoned buildings? Leave that to Frank van der Steen. The Utrecht-based entrepreneur runs FanWork, a marketing agency whose mission is to breathe new life into home furnishing districts and shopping centers. His team works strategically with property owners to develop customized marketing plans. “We’ve also recently started working with a number of major educational institutions,” says Frank. “For example, they want to project a certain identity and attract more visitors to their open houses. That aligns perfectly with what we do.”
Frank started the company in 2009 with his business partner Wouter Blijleven. Their revenue grew steadily each year, and they built a solid team of twelve people. After the pandemic, the partners wanted to take bigger steps.
“We’d weathered that turbulent period well,” Frank says. “So by the end of 2022, we thought we were ready to really take off. We’d been growing between 20 and 30 percent every year, but that year we aimed for 70 percent. We hired a sales manager and two new employees. I thought: this can’t go wrong.”
The Vicious Cycle of Anxious Entrepreneurship
Things turned out differently, though. Their new sales manager didn’t bring in a single extra euro all of 2022. Frank himself was no longer able to bring in new customers either. “We had quite a few sales meetings, ”Frank says. “But no new business came in, and we didn’t know why. Meanwhile, our new team members were twiddling their thumbs. Because of COVID, we didn’t have much of a cushion, but we were still stuck with those extra personnel costs. Then things went downhill fast.”
Frank was determined to turn FanWork around and still achieve his goals. That’s why he joined the Straight-Line Leadership program in October 2023. He hoped that leadership coaching would help him get a handle on his business. One of the most important insights Frank gained during his membership was that he had to start with his own mindset.
“I was caught in a spiral of anxiety-driven entrepreneurship,” Frank explains. “The moment you start operating at a loss, everything hits you harder. Whereas before it didn’t bother me if a client canceled, suddenly it really got to me. I thought: Oh my God, what if more clients cancel? We’re already operating at a loss. In short: my worries about the business were running the show. I unconsciously carried those thoughts with me when I sat down with a potential new client, which meant I didn’t communicate effectively, and people didn’t want to do business with me.”
"If you want to attract new customers, it can be hard not to come across as desperate during sales conversations."
Customers in line
Frank first became aware of his inner dialogue: the conversations he had with himself in his mind. He also saw the impact those inner conversations had on his behavior. That’s why he set out to transform his thoughts and the way he spoke to himself.
“If you want to attract new customers, it can be hard not to come across as desperate during sales conversations,” Frank begins. “But thanks to what I’ve learned over the past year, I can always come across as confident. I don’t use any tricks; instead, I’ve adopted a different way of ‘being.’ I have a lot of confidence in myself, in what my company has to offer, and in the fact that customers are lining up for us. People can sense that.”
Frank also started asking better questions, which allowed him to provide customers with a higher quality of service. “Since I’m no longer attached to the idea of whether someone will work with us, I ask different questions and dig deeper. I want to find out what the customer really wants, rather than pushing our own product on them.”
By letting go of the outcome, he was much more successful in his sales calls. Frank: “A year ago, about 20 percent of my calls resulted in new business. Now my success rate is over 80 percent. It’s hard to say exactly why that is, of course, but I think it has everything to do with how I come across.”
"I used to just say whatever came to mind, but at the start of 2024, I really thought about what I wanted to achieve."
Becoming More Critical in Leadership
The new sales manager was then asked to pack up his things, though that wasn’t an easy decision for Frank. “I wanted to wait until his one-year contract expired before letting him go. But I realized I was just putting it off. When you know someone has to go, you just have to make the call and accept the loss so you can move forward.”
In hindsight, Frank realized he hadn’t been critical enough. That has changed now. “I used to be quick to think: it’ll work out. If an employee wasn’t performing well during their probationary period, I’d assume they just needed time to adjust. Recently, I hired two new team members, and thanks to my leadership development, I handled it completely differently. If something isn’t working, I have a conversation right away. What can be improved? And how can we make that happen? I don’t let things muddle through anymore. If we ever hire another sales manager, I’ll first give them a three-month contract during which they have to prove themselves. Now, if I catch myself thinking ‘it’ll work out,’ that’s a trigger to actually pause and reflect on it.”
Thanks to his business coaching, Frank also began to think more critically about his revenue goals. “Before, I would just pick a number, but at the start of 2024, I really thought about what I wanted to achieve. Then I committed to that goal and stated it out loud. I focused on it all year long. With everything I did, I asked myself: will this contribute to revenue growth? If not, I didn’t do it.”
Seizing the moment
Frank also decided to reach his goal earlier than planned: before he went on vacation with his family. That’s because FanWork’s projects have long lead times, meaning the bulk of the work is done at the beginning of the year. “Last year I had a terrible vacation because I hadn’t met my revenue goal by summer. It was constantly on my mind, so this year I wanted to do things differently.” He succeeded, but Frank also realized that it wasn’t really necessary anymore. He felt at peace, regardless of how his business was doing.
FanWork also got off to a strong start in 2025. In the first quarter, revenue rose by 61% compared to the first quarter of 2024. This is clear proof of what’s possible when your personal leadership is on point. “The funny thing is, before I started with Straight-Line Leadership, a friend who happened to be a member already said this could happen. I told her at the time what was going on in my business and what was going through my mind. She said, ‘I’m sure that if this happens again in a year, you’ll handle it very differently.’ During my vacation, I was once again confronted with a number of issues that would normally ruin my day. But this time I decided: I’m here with my family now, and I’m going to enjoy it. My wife noticed that too.”
Thanks to leadership coaching, Frank is a fun father and husband at home, rather than a stressed-out entrepreneur. “That’s also because I recognize my inner dialogue and know how to deal with it. When my kids were younger, I’d push them on the swing at the playground while I was calculating profits in my head. Those moments happen much less often now, because I’m truly present in the moment. That means the world to me.”
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