“Keep it small, keep it simple, be personal and then you can do what you love most.”

In this interview, Dave van der Aar, the owner and head barista of a mobile espresso catering business in the Netherlands, Coffee on Wheels, talks about how the lockdown affected a company that depends on the events industry. As soon as the lockdown was announced, all orders, events and appointments were cancelled. But there was an advantage in being a small company of two partners, as it was easy to cut costs immediately and take decisions on what to do next. A positive side of the lockdown was the free time that he could spend with the family, which was the original idea behind starting his own business, along with the passion for coffee.   

#LockdownEconomy #SustainableDevelopementGoals #AlterContacts #SDGaction35868 

About the Guest  

Dave van der Aar is the owner and head barista of Coffee on wheels Amsterdam. 

“Since November 2015 I've been running my own coffee catering business Coffee on Wheels Amsterdam. Coffee on Wheels Amsterdam is a mobile espresso bar coffee catering business and we facilitate our barista services mainly in and around Amsterdam and furthermore in the rest of the Netherlands. We are the number one specialists in the coffee catering business. We bring joy, hospitality and the best coffee to any location with our mobile espresso bar units and Italian coffee Piaggio's. We are dedicated to the craftsmanship of serving the best cup of espresso to our customers in order for them to experience a true moment of happiness.  

From 2004 until 2015 I've been working in the hospitality industry for NH Hotels in multiple 4 & 5-star hotels in South Africa & The Netherlands. The last five years of my career at NH Hotels I've been working in the position of Food & Beverage Director at NH Collection Barbizon Palace Hotel & Restaurant Vermeer (one Michelin star).” 

https://www.coffee-on-wheels.nl/amsterdam/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davevanderaar/

About the Host

Julia Skupchenko is a co-founder of Think Tank for Sustainable Development, AlterContacts.org, a co-founder and lead mentor of the global online community of entrepreneurs, BusinessGreenHouse.org. She is a published writer for a leading international online magazine for small business with millions of readers, Entrepreneur.com. She is also a business mentor on the Artificial Intelligence program at Rockstart Startup Accelerator (Amsterdam) and at the Higher School of Economics (Moscow). In her personal practice as a Business Developer and Advisor, Julia has consulted 100+ entrepreneurs, experts, small and medium businesses across the globe. She is nominated for Entrepreneur Award 2020.

https://julia.altercontacts.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliaskupchenko/