Your best business development ideas in the Netherlands

Hi everyone,

As a foreign entrepreneur, launching a business in the Netherlands is a fantastic project and an exciting challenge. Some ideas are likely to succeed. Some others are promising but may not work as well as intended.

In your opinion, what kind of business or industry is likely to succeed in the Netherlands? What kind of industry or service currently unavailable or underdeveloped in the country would meet local needs?

On the other hand, what are the most common business types foreign entrepreneurs would be eager to launch in the country but with very little chance of success?

Thank you for your insights.
Priscilla

I know nothing about setting up a business in Holland; however, I've noticed that many towns in Holland have there own market places, where people can rent a stall and sell "stuff".  Many are selling the normal foodstuffs, flowers and end-of-line items from the bigger stores on the main street, but more and more, you see people selling the product of their own skills; paintings, wood carvings and ceramic work are examples of things I've seen when Mrs C is dragging me around these places.

When you speak to the people selling these items, many are expats who have used the skills learnt at home, to earn a living in Holland.

Hello again,

Business opportunities are initially ideas or thoughts that come to mind when you are looking for a product or service in a new environment and you face difficulties finding exactly what you need.
This is what prompted me to create an online marketplace *** . Having relocated to  Netherlands, it was initially a tough job to find basic, everyday items needed for Indian cooking, like spices, lentils etc. When we started exploring and asking friends and colleagues for help, it amazed us to see that Asian/Oriental shops and even big supermarkets had stocks of items we needed. But, the main reason we were unaware about them was their lack of interest in advertising or trying to associate personally with their customers or even new expats like us who were desperately seeking them out.
In solving our own problem, we came up with this idea of creating our online website in English to connect existing Businesses to their prospective Customers ***.

We started out with groceries not easily available in shops like Albert Heijn and Lidl; but with customers giving us feedback that they would be interested to explore purchasing services like tour packages, cheap flight options, bus tours around Europe and vacation houses to rent for their holidays we decided to expand our list of connected service providers. We also met locals who had visited India or had Indian associates/friends and wanted to know where they could purchase stuff like Indian tea, spices used in Oriental cooking, handicrafts and jewelry/ traditional dresses made in India and much much more. ***

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