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Wijnhandel Vandenbossche: passionate wine merchant with vision and an accountant who brings calm

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Wijnhandel Vandenbossche: passionate wine merchant with vision and an accountant who brings calm

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When his father unexpectedly passed away, Steven had to take over the management of Wijnhandel Van Den Bossche in Maldegem at an early age. With the right vision and a clear direction, he succeeded in further developing his business. With every step he takes, he can also count on Titeca pro accountants & experts. "They look way beyond mere invoices, they bring peace of mind. With Titeca I have real conversations about the future."

June 1995: Steven Herteleer graduates as an accountant

He will now settle down in Wijnhandel Van Den Bossche, run by his parents. Life decides otherwise when, only a few months later, his father dies and Steven has to start working full time. "Of course I had my financial knowledge, although I was glad that I could always fall back on a good bookkeeper. He taught me to always keep an overview, even when you're faced with more than one challenge at the same time."

"It's nice to have a sounding board with someone who knows your business inside and out. That brings peace of mind and confidence in the future. My main problem, however, was that I had no background in the wines. Of course, I knew all the domains and houses that were mentioned at the kitchen table, but that was still something completely different from being able to taste and judge flavors myself."

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"With Titeca, I can have real conversations about the future."

Steven therefore went to take a wine course and quickly fell under the spell of the divine drink. More than that, he gradually set a new course for the business that he now wanted to build on as a tribute to his father. #realizing dreams
 
"From the very beginning, we distributed only French wines. When the so-called New World wines from countries such as Chile and South Africa came on the scene at the end of the 1990s, we also experimented with them for a while. It was not a match, it was not our thing and we have been consistent enough to leave the world wines aside and continue to focus on Europe."
 

Unique & personal

The choice of French, Italian and later Spanish, Austrian or other European wines, by the way, has not only to do with taste, but also with the direction Steven and his wife want to take the house. "We know our position. We are simply too small to import a full container of wine from South America. If we want to offer world wines, we have to pass through a wholesaler. But the consequence is that you no longer offer unique wines, and that is something we are wary of. In addition, I also hold on to that personal connection with the winemaker."

"This clear positioning is partly the result of several good discussions with our accountant who can assess, purely on the basis of figures, what are safe choices and what is risky. Not that you can't take risks, just that it's good if that risk is based on factual data and not purely on emotion." #growing together

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"Offering unique wines is what we stand for. In addition, I also hold on to that personal connection with the winemaker."

Strong partnership

The new course has certainly not done Wijnhandel Van den Bossche any harm. Since Steven and his wife finally took over the business in 2003, it has experienced steady growth. In 2010, the business moved from the center of Maldegem to a brand new building at a AAA location along the Koning Leopoldlaan. In 2017, a new accountant/bookkeeper joined the team.

"Our accountant for years then retired and Geert Standaert's office was taken over by Titeca pro accountants & experts. We have always been very satisfied with Geert's services and it was reassuring for us to find ourselves in a group that shares the same vision: sustainable and proActing actively in the service of the client and often taking the initiative in this as a firm. #enthousiasmeeling

In Coronation times, for example, we always received an excellent overview of the support options provided by the government. We fortunately did not need them, but it is nice to note that your financial partner himself takes the initiative in such times and proactively communicates."

Partner Marc De Moor and office managers Kristof Staelens & Bram Cornelis

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"It is nice to note that your financial partner himself takes the initiative in difficult times and communicates proactively."

Far beyond mere information, it's also about engagement

"Because I am an accountant by training, I enter the invoices myself during the year. Titeca has no problem with that at all. They have a very down-to-earth attitude about this: it saves the client money and is just easier for Titeca. And then when we sit down together, it's, for example, to optimize things fiscally at the close of the fiscal year. People always say that a good accountant should pay for himself. Well, by having an optimal knowledge of the tax system, I really have that impression. And there is more, with them I can also have real discussions about the future so that you can consciously distance yourself from the delusion of every day. And that brings peace of mind." 1TP4Making an impact

 

Continue to grow steadily

"Where I see myself standing in about five years? Oh well, if I can continue to grow quietly and steadily and do my thing in a small way, then I'll be very satisfied. And maybe by then one of the children will be interested in joining the business and the succession will be assured. That's not a must, but it would be nice.

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