Hannah Huber
We spoke with Hannah Huber, founder of Spark, a movement for entrepreneurs and business owners in The Netherlands and beyond. Born in America, but continuously pulled back to Amsterdam, Hannah has made this her home (personally and professionally). Read on to learn more about Hannah, her business, and how she’s dealing with these uncertain times.
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Hustle Amsterdam (HA): Where are you from? And what brings you to Amsterdam?
Hannah Huber (HH): I’m originally from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a college and tourist town an hour and a half north of Washington, DC. I was a Rotary exchange student to The Netherlands in high school which is when I picked up the language and fell in love with the culture.
Fast forward several years when I landed my first job out of college at the Dutch Embassy in Washington, DC where I met my Dutch husband. After two years of living together in DC we moved to Amsterdam in 2004 for my master’s degree at the University of Amsterdam. 16 years, 3 kids, and 2 dogs later I’m still here and call The Netherlands home just as much as I do the United States.
HA: Tell me about your business? What is your mission?
HH: I founded Spark, a development platform for international (-ly minded) female entrepreneurs in The Netherlands back in 2014. What started as an annual conference turned into a movement with a carefully curated network of female entrepreneurs and business owners.
We now have a membership platform and offer programming throughout the year to help business owners connect with one another and grow their businesses. We do this through networking events, masterclasses, webinars, and our annual conference.
Our mission is to connect these business owners and help them grow their business through knowledge sharing and skillset building. Spark is intergenerational and international — both contributing greatly to our knowledge base.
HA: How are you handling our new “normal” due to the coronavirus outbreak? What impact has it had on your business? How has the transition to working remotely been for you? Are you being strict with a routine or taking it day-by-day?
HH: As I’m sure the case is with a lot of people out there — I have good days and bad days. I’m taking this new “normal” one day at a time and I try to keep in mind the fact that we have a choice how we respond to a situation. We can be frustrated or take it in stride. I strive to do the latter although it’s difficult, especially when homeschooling three young children. I’m grateful for my outdoor space and the beautiful spring weather which has been extremely helpful in getting through these weeks. I’ve also read more books than ever before and am part of a writing feedback group which meets online once a month. This allows me to focus on something I normally don’t have a lot of time to do.
The coronavirus outbreak has had quite an impact on my business as I’ve had to reschedule Spark’s annual conference. We were all set to put on our big event on March 20th, but then it became apparent that it wasn't going to fly. Luckily a majority of our speakers and attendees are able to make our new date of September 18th and our venue, THNK School of Creative Leadership in Amsterdam, was quick to help us book a new date. We’ve moved all our workshops to the fall and are currently running a couple of webinars that we already had on our annual calendar.
I find myself taking a more quiet approach to the Corona crisis. Personally I get stressed out and frustrated when bombarded with too many newsletters and additional online initiatives that scream “we’re still here!”. These messages don’t make me feel better, they make me feel worse. I’ve therefore chosen not to add to the noise out there. I know the Spark community appreciates an honest and down to earth approach. The Spark community is composed of women who are serious about their business and know this is something we have to get through with patience, endurance, and grace. It’s ok to be vulnerable and they know we’re still here.
HA: Why Spark? What brought you to the female entrepreneurship business?
HH: Spark is an initiative of Amsterdam Academy, which is a knowledge sharing platform for the international community of Amsterdam. I’m a firm believer in the power of face-to-face contact, in life-long learning, and knowledge sharing as the best way to grow.
I spent eight years as the director of a study abroad program in Amsterdam for US college juniors, helping them connect to local culture through guided site visits, arranging guest speakers, and designing their curriculum and program as a whole. I saw firsthand how important it is to hear about others’ experiences and learn from their knowledge.
Nothing is more inspirational than seeing how others operate and getting a different perspective. This leads to a deeper understanding about how we conduct ourselves and therefore allows us to grow. I wanted to apply this to the international population of Amsterdam, not just the students.
I founded Amsterdam Academy in 2014 to connect internationals who call Amsterdam their home to the local population through knowledge-sharing. During the time I spent building Amsterdam Academy, i.e. building a website, marketing, community building I realized how challenging it was to set up shop. I saw other international female business owners around me struggling with the same things and therefore decided to organize a conference with sessions to help us set-up and grow our businesses — Spark was born. We had 50 women attend our first conference and the following year we had 100, we kept growing. There are loads of female entrepreneur organizations out there but what sets Spark apart is the international and intergenerational make-up of our community.
Photo by: Genevieve Chasse
HA: What is the current state of Spark? Do you have six and 12-month goals for your business?
HH: We launched our membership platform in spring 2019. Our goal is to double our memberships by the end of 2020 so that we can continue to offer high quality programming throughout the year.
HA: What kind of obstacles do you face in your company? How do you handle them?
HH: Finding the motivation to carry on and keep all balls in the air as a solopreneur can be difficult at times. I therefore established an advisory board plus three team leads to help with all the tasks of keeping up with and managing the network and events. It helps to be able to consult the advisory board for advice. The team helps with community outreach, social media, and partnerships.
HA: What has been your most successful moment so far? And how do you celebrate your wins?
HH: The fun thing is we have a successful moment each year with our annual conference. Each year brings an incredible line up where people walk away feeling more connected to each other and their business. We usually celebrate these wins with a get together in June with the advisory board where we evaluate the conference and brainstorm themes for the next year’s conference, all whilst enjoying good food, drink, and conversation.
HA: How have you accomplished what you have? Did you go to business school? Did you wing it? Fake it till you make it? Get really lucky?
HH: Tenacity — which is perhaps a nicer way of saying relentlessness. I’m not afraid to reach out to people, to put myself out there, and to just simply try things. I’d much rather launch a website when it’s 96% ready instead of waiting until it’s 100% ready. Of course there are downsides to this approach, but it’s who I am (impatient in a good way 😉) and this fuels my drive to get out there and try, even if it means failing and learning from failure only to come back and make it better.
HA: Did you fundraise for your business? If so, tell me about your experience.
HH: We actively seek out sponsorships for our conference to help with costs. We have a designated team member for sponsor outreach and have created several sponsorship packages. This also allows these businesses who sponsor us more visibility so it’s a win-win.
HA: How big is your team? And where are your team members located?
HH: We currently have one full time employee (me), six advisory board members, and three team members that rotate each year to help out with the conference. Usually the three team members are young (in their twenties) and feel passionate about female entrepreneurship so it’s a valuable experience for them to contribute their skills for the cause.
Most of the advisory board members have been with Spark from the beginning so they know the community well and can therefore make good judgement calls. Each advisory board member brings their own networks and expertise with them, whether that be from an academic background, as a solopreneur, the millennial generation, coaching practitioners, fundraising or community strategists. All team members are either in Amsterdam or within 30 km of the city.
Meet the Spark team here.
HA: Do you have a favorite motivational quote?
HH: “Don’t tell people your problems because half of the people are glad you have them and the other half don’t care.” Sounds harsh and thus not very motivational but it’s a good reminder that all things are relative and I feel fortunate to be able to even have my own business so on days when I feel like complaining — there’s really no point. Being positive is a better choice and leads to better business.
“Give yourself at least five years before you start seeing the (financial) benefits. It takes time! Stick with it.”
HA: What 3 tips would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs? What do you wish you had known before you started?
HH:
1) Make sure you make clear agreements between you and any additional team members, whether that be volunteers, new employees, or partners so that you can refer to these in the future and fall back on them if need be.
2) Come up with solid terms and conditions for your business so that clients know what to expect.
3) Give yourself at least five years before you start seeing the (financial) benefits. It takes time! Stick with it.
HA: How would you describe your working style?
HH: I’m most productive in the morning. I’m a stickler for good communication. I find the tone of a message very important and therefore will spend a good amount of time getting the tone of an email just right. I like to think anything is possible and thus my working style reflects this.
HA: When you’re not working on Spark — where can we find you?
HH: I’m either jogging, in my kayak on the Vecht river, hanging out with my family in the yard dancing to Sonos playlists on outdoor speakers, reading The Week, Volkskrant, or a good book, or watching Better Call Saul, Handmaid’s Tale, or Homeland.
HA: How do you find work-life balance while being an entrepreneur?
HH: After many years of looking for the right balance I feel like I finally have it. I work from 8:30-14:15 while the kids are in school and then am with them for a majority of the time they’re home or I switch off with my Dutch husband who is also an entrepreneur. I’m lucky that we’re both able to work from home and have a 50/50 split — backing up each other when needed. Bonus — he does all the cooking! 😉
HA: What is your passion?
HH: People are my passion. I love connecting people and learning from people.
HA: What inspires you most about Amsterdam? Do you have any favorite spots to work or hangout?
HH: I’m inspired by the architecture on the grachten (canals), the wideness of Amstel River, the storefronts in the 9 straatjes, and the ferry ride between Centraal Station and Noord.
Amsterdam is a comfort city for me. I’ve experienced the city at pretty much all stages of my life, it feels so familiar — from my first exposure at the young age of 16, then as a grad student at 24 years old, then as a newlywed, then during my first job, as a homeowner, and as a mother.
I’ve spent 13 years in the Plantagebuurt and am therefore a big fan — I feel like I know it like the back of my hand. My favorite spot to hang out is on the chest right in the middle of the Magere Brug by the Amstel River — I even breathed away my contractions out there!
HA: Anything else you’d like to tell our readers?
HH: If you’re an international (-ly minded) female entrepreneur or business owner looking for connection and to grow your business — check out Spark! Our annual conference is coming up on September 18th and I’m very proud of our line-up. You can join us for a full day of open plenaries, panel discussions, workshops, networking, live music, and above all else — connection.
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