When Rodney Vandemoortele graduated with a degree in engineering, he set himself a few goals. By the time he retired, he wanted to be married, have two children, excel in martial arts, and build a company with twenty employees. By his 40th birthday, he had achieved all of that. “I had the family I’d always wanted,” Rodney begins. “That same year, I was named the world’s best amateur karateka by the World Karate Federation, and my business had exactly twenty employees.”

Rodney had everything he’d ever wanted, but something was still missing. He missed a challenge. “I thought, ‘What am I going to do now?’” he says. “To be honest, I really struggled with that. I talked to a few coaches about it, but their approach didn’t resonate with me. When I told a friend who’s an entrepreneur about my situation, he put me in touch with Straight-Line Leadership. Before I knew it, I had a clear vision of my goals again.”

A resounding ‘no’
Rodney founded Comfort Home in 2008 with his former classmate Jan Meheus. The company, based in Tielt, specializes in ventilation systems and smoke exhaust. They offer solutions for both private individuals and contractors working on large construction projects, as well as architects and owners of apartment complexes.

When Rodney joined Straight-Line Leadership in 2023, he saw how he could further grow Comfort Home. Business wasn’t bad, but there was still much more he could achieve. Rodney then decided to increase his market share and double the company’s size between 2024 and 2029, with 15 percent annual EBITDA growth. To achieve those goals, he had to start spending his time more selectively.

“I was getting pulled in all directions,” says Rodney. “For example, I was often invited to networking events for entrepreneurs. At one point, I was out every night, busy with all sorts of things that didn’t really matter. Thanks to Straight-Line Leadership, I have a very clear sense of what’s important to me, and I now know what to do with everything else: say a firm ‘no.’”

A Quarter-Million-Dollar Request
He started turning down invitations to networking events. “Suddenly I realized that those evenings had never resulted in a single extra euro in revenue or a new employee,” says Rodney. “How do I get them? By making targeted requests. Just pick up the phone and call someone who can help you. It’s child’s play, but I let myself be held back by the thought: what would that person think of me if I suddenly called them?”

Rodney learned to put those stories aside. Once he got past that uncomfortable feeling and started reaching out to the right people, it quickly paid off. For example, in 2024, he managed to buy four new machines at a bargain price.

Rodney: “A fellow entrepreneur in a similar industry was retiring. I called him and told him I’d heard he was stepping down. I asked if I could come by to introduce myself in person to see if there was anything we could do for each other.”

Rodney discovered that the business owner had some surplus materials that would be perfect for Comfort Home. “In the end, I bought four machines from him—normally worth 15,000 euros each—for just 1,500 euros. Because my competitors didn’t go to that trouble, they just left that equipment sitting there. The machines have now been running at our facility for two months. That single phone call and one-hour conversation have already brought me an extra quarter of a million in revenue.”

: Building a Team from the Ground Up Rodney needed not only more revenue but also a larger team. Despite the tight labor market, he managed to attract and retain talented people. Comfort Home now has 28 employees, and the team continues to grow every year. This is quite an achievement in a highly competitive market.

Part of this growth was due to their in-house academy, where people are trained to become technicians in the ventilation sector. This means that anyone with a technical background can get a job at Comfort Home. Even skilled individuals without a degree are welcome to join the training program.

“Our in-house training program helped us partially address the labor shortage,” Rodney explains. “We trained our own staff. Existing employees also benefited, as they could advance through training to become, for example, a shift supervisor or project manager.”

Strong Leaders
In addition, Comfort Home built a stable core team. “It’s easier to grow when you have a stable foundation,” Rodney explains. “To achieve that, I first had to let a few people go. The danger of a tight labor market is that you end up keeping the bad apples around because you can’t afford to lose anyone. In the past, we used to delay letting an employee go, while in the meantime that person was creating a lot of passive hostility within the team.”

Straight-Line Leadership helped Rodney realize the impact of keeping a poorly performing employee on the team. That insight led to a meeting with his business partner Jan to decide on a different approach going forward.

“Of course, someone like that deserves a chance to improve,” Rodney explains. “But if performance reviews don’t have an effect, we part ways. The last few times we did that, we felt a sigh of relief go through the team. I saw employees perk up right before my eyes. On top of that, Jan and I are now seen as stronger leaders. Before, employees thought we were a bit weak, because everyone could see that person didn’t fit in with us, but we still didn’t do anything about it.”

In-Depth Conversations
Rodney has rediscovered his passion for business. That’s exactly what he hoped to achieve when he started working with Straight-Line Leadership. What he didn’t expect was that he would also undergo a transformation in his personal life. “A consultant came over for dinner once. He asked my wife if she’d noticed anything different about me since I started. Her eyes lit up, and she said, ‘I’ve been having much deeper conversations with Rodney.’”

Rodney learned to set aside his judgments and thoughts so he could listen more attentively—not only to Jan and his colleagues, but also to his children and wife. “I no longer focus on what I need to say or on slyly slipping my opinion into the conversation; instead, I actually listen to the other person and ask questions. That sounds logical and obvious, but I used to forget to do that.”

As a result, his conversations with his family have become much more meaningful, something Rodney values greatly. He explains: “My family always comes first. Only then do my business and my sport come into play. That wasn’t the case in my own upbringing, so I want to do things differently. That doesn’t mean everything has to be perfect at home, but it does mean we go through life together. I want us to get to know each other better every year and for me to be able to pass on my values to my children in a way that allows them to reflect on them for themselves. Now I’ve found the tools to do that.”