Working for yourself: a dream that many people secretly have in the back of their minds. But where do you start, and where can you go if you run into something? We take you into the success story of Melissa Riem Vis from The Hague, director of APK-oké.
Melissa is at the head of APK-okay Netherlands. “Our company only performs APK inspections, no maintenance. In the regions where we are active, including The Hague, we are the only ones who do this. The idea is that we can inspect cars independently and the customer goes home with an honest opinion. So you don’t pay for repairs that were not necessarily necessary. In The Hague alone we now inspect about eight to nine percent of all cars that are MOT worthy. In comparison: a large undisclosed company approves about four percent. I am proud that we have built that up in ten years!”
With the spoon
The inspectors inspect the cars and Melissa is in charge of the day-to-day management of the company. It involves everything from marketing to customer service. “Everything that doesn’t have to do with the cars themselves”, Melissa laughs. From day one, Melissa was involved with the company, albeit in a completely different role. “I started as a receptionist. Over the years I have grown. I never expected that myself, but my previous employer already thought so, I heard! My father has always worked in the car industry, so that world was no stranger to me.”
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