A few minutes into the interview, he points to the back of his shoes. On the left one it says ALL, on the right one IN. “That’s my nickname from school. That is how I approach life and how I lead Miniflat: all-in. Always giving it my all.” And that is exactly what managing director Bert Dierick does when he talks about the ‘good news show’ of other entrepreneurs, chatting with colleagues, and the work-life balance.
“If I do something, I do it one hundred percent. If someone challenges me to take part in the ‘Dodentocht’ (Death March)? I can’t say no. I’d rather walk all the skin off my feet than give up,” Bert Dierick asserts. “Are colleagues participating in the Ten Miles? Then I want to be there too. And even if my fitness is poor at that moment: if I start, I finish. That’s the fanatic in me.”
That fanaticism is squared when it comes to Miniflat. “That is my father’s baby. I throw myself into it completely; I find it impossible to do things halfway. It’s something I’m involved with day in, day out. Our showrooms are open every day: Miniflat never stops,” Bert says. “But I don’t find it a chore. On the contrary: I really don’t mind. (Looks at his phone). It’s Friday evening now and I still have many emails that need an answer. I have no problem doing that over the weekend.”
“They call me the ‘Bert-it-all’”
“The fact that I can dedicate myself so much to the business is thanks to my wife. This only works because I know that my commitment to Miniflat doesn’t cause stress at home. She has everything under control there. My wife is a self-reliant person who gives me and our family the stability we need. She gives me the freedom to do what I do. In return, I have to listen to her carefully (laughs). At Miniflat I’m the boss, at home she’s the chef. Bert, this is how we’re going to do this, and this is how we’re going to tackle that. At the company, I constantly have to pull the weight, so I love that she takes the lead at home. I have that on holiday too. There, I also let myself be guided by the group. You guys sort it all out, it’s all fine by me.”
“Something else that makes working a lot sustainable for me: the freedom to organize my day as I want,” Bert Dierick emphasizes. “Some evenings I work late, but then I might only have started at, say, ten o’clock. Because I wanted to take my son to football, for example. If I had to sit behind my desk here from this hour to that hour every day? I couldn’t do it. I don’t like structure. Give me lines, and I’ll color outside them. That’s also why I became an entrepreneur, because I like doing my own thing (laughs). And because I like being right. My sisters call me The Bert-it-all, that says enough.”
“That freedom exists because I am dispensable at Miniflat. If I’m not there for a day, I’m sure things will keep running. I’m not essential here. And I think that’s fantastic; it gives me peace of mind.”
“I can take a hit”
Financial markets going up and down. Changes to housing taxation. Increasingly strict regulations regarding building and renovation. How does someone who is ‘all-in’ deal with factors they cannot control? “Our verandas and outbuildings are luxury products. So we do indeed ride the waves of the economy. If things go badly, our customers postpone their investment. If things go well, we can’t keep up. Those waves toss us as a company back and forth between too quiet and too busy. Sometimes our annual production is full in three months, other times there’s no work for three months. If that were a stable line, I’d have the best job in the world.”
“So I don’t have control over everything, no,” Bert Dierick realizes. “Fortunately, I don’t panic easily. As a managing director, I can’t afford to lose myself in those waves. Yes, I’m very involved, but I also grew up in this business. And it’s simply one with ups and downs. I’m lucky that I can take a hit. You could tell me news here now with dramatic consequences for my business, and an hour later I’ll already see opportunities again. Often they say here: But Bert, didn’t you hear what they just said? If I didn’t have that resilience, I wouldn’t be doing my job anymore. Entrepreneurship means taking a knock every now and then. But always scrambling back up.”
“That’s why I don’t believe them, those entrepreneurs and companies where everything is always going well. At every networking event, it’s the same fantastic stories. I say so too: It’s impossible that you never have a setback, right? When I dig a little deeper, it always turns out to be a bit more nuanced. And that’s what I want to hear. Success stories don’t interest me much; I want the misery. The difficult moments, that’s where you learn as an entrepreneur. How did he or she tackle those challenges? What mistakes were made? That’s why I also talk freely about the challenges at Miniflat. I have no trouble sharing them: I can talk about my company easily. In those conversations, I go all-in too,” Bert Dierick concludes. “And then it’s great when you get an honest and authentic story in return.”
How open-hearted are you with your staff?
“I am very accessible and available almost 24/7. I’m in all the WhatsApp groups of the colleagues.”
As managing director, you are directly responsible for the (financial) happiness of many employees and their families. How do you deal with that?
“I choose not to dwell on that too much. We work on two sites, so we are spread out. That’s less confronting. I only become aware of how many people work here when I walk around at lunchtime and see all those cars parked there… Or at staff parties: so many people together! That really gets to me.”
In 2014, there was a change of power: you took over the company from your father. How do you look back on that?
“I have an incredible amount of admiration for my father. He is still my ultimate lifeline. But the handover… that was tense for a while. My sister once summarized it beautifully: in a pride of lions, power isn’t handed over with a high five. The young challenger drives away the old leader. After that, he and he alone is the leader. My father and I also had many discussions. But after that, the pressure was off.”
What about stress? How do you relax after a hectic workday?
“I think and hope that I don’t take my stress home with me. I work in Limburg, but live in Antwerp. During that drive, I unwind. By the time I’m home, the switch has been flipped. I also don’t talk much about my work. My wife knows almost nothing about Miniflat. She tells me all sorts of things about her job, but I have less of a need for that myself.”