From pizza delivery driver to 21 stores
I'm Hassan al Morabit, born and raised in Breda. I started as a delivery driver at the very first Domino's in the Netherlands and built my own group from 2002 onwards, store by store. Now I help entrepreneurs do the same.
Why I do this
As a boy I played football in the youth academy of NAC Breda and at seventeen I was about to step up to the first team, until a hernia ended that road. All that energy went into a new goal: entrepreneurship.
I know what it's like to start at the bottom. My first store was a bankrupt business, and there were days I closed with three hundred euros in revenue. What I've learned since about service, people and growth, I now use to help other entrepreneurs move forward.
Book an introduction with HassanFrom side job to a group of his own
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The nineties
Delivery driver at the first Domino's in the Netherlands
Alongside school I delivered pizzas, including at the very first Domino's store in the Netherlands. That's where I worked with Colin Rigter, with whom I later opened several stores for the head office. Around my twentieth the thought came: what I can do for others, I can do for myself.
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2002
First store of my own in Hilversum
I took over a store that had gone bankrupt shortly before. The first months were hard; some days I closed with just three hundred euros in revenue. Through hard work and real attention for the customer, the business started to turn.
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2008
Six stores and a choice
After Hilversum came Almere and Amersfoort, and later Utrecht, Friesland and Enschede among others. In 2008 I had six stores and an offer on the table to sell everything and take a management position. At the last moment I turned it down. I simply wasn't done being an entrepreneur.
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After that
Growing on to 21 stores
My approach rests on two things. Service: I called customers back after a long wait to ask how the pizza had arrived, because a complaint is a chance to turn a bad experience around. And people: give good employees room to grow and they stay, which lets you keep growing yourself.
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Now
Immensus Group
When the Domino's chapter was complete, I founded Immensus Group: hospitality concepts of our own such as Surya in Utrecht, Perron 22 in Enschede, 91Spices and LOT&DAAN in Rotterdam, and together with Colin our concept Colins in our own city of Breda; Colin and I have been partners for ten years now. And with Ahmed I co-founded Zino's Den Haag, where we are partners today. My focus today is concept development: I help entrepreneurs from business plan to logo, and Immensus is the administration partner of more than 90 young entrepreneurs. And one day, together with Colin: a sustainable, self-sufficient eco resort in Portugal or Spain.
What you as a starter can learn from my route
- A setback is not the end. An injury closed the door to professional football, but put all my energy behind a new goal.
- Service wins. A phone call afterwards and a well-handled complaint turn an unhappy customer into a loyal one.
- Invest in people. Give good employees opportunities and they stay, which lets you keep growing.
- Know when you're done, and when you're not. Turning down a great offer can be the right choice if the entrepreneur in you isn't finished yet.
Want to build or scale up your concept?
From business plan to logo, and from a first store to more. Tell me where you stand and we'll look at your next step together.
Book an appointment with Hassan