Ask Me Anything with Floortje Rasenberg

RightBrains recently launched a brand-new online event titled Ask Me Anything!

During this event, participants could ask Floortje Rasenberg, Chief Technology Officer at Budget Thuis, all their burning questions about her career, journey, and personal goals. She shares how her shoes led her to great heights – literally – and how to land in a place you find purpose.

Challenge your limits

Floortje is the youngest of three girls and had a chance to continue the family business in construction, but opted to search for her own path. This path led her to the world of finance, but at a certain point she felt an internal struggle and made the shift towards start-ups and scale-ups for various sustainable brands, like The Dutch Weed Burger. When she felt that she had experienced a broad scope of organisational functions like sales, service and finance, she shifted her focus towards digital, which she believes is the final pillar in servicing customers effectively. Currently, she is CTO at Budget Thuis, where she has worked on many rewarding projects to date. “Her take-away: Don’t stick with one type of organisation, or designation just for the sake of it. Believe in yourself, challenge your limits and strive to great depth in your portfolio wherever you can. I’ve found this journey incredibly rewarding.”

Learn to be selfish about 'me-time'

One of the practices Floortje is very serious about, is pursuing an interesting personal goal every year. With the demands of motherhood, she has learned to be disciplined in taking time for self-reflection, and to make time to pursue those goals on her own. She has completed her motorcycle and truck driver's license, walked the Camino de Santiago, did a freestyle swimming course and gone tandem skydiving. “The skydiving one was particularly challenging and exhilarating. Luckily, just before we jumped, I looked down at my shoes and wondered if they were tight enough around my feet. And then we were airborne before I had time to react.  The momentary distraction really helped, though!” she laughs. Her latest endeavor is a volunteering trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe with a friend, where she hopes to serve the local village through a community outreach project. “It’s important to learn to be selfish about ‘me-time’ – it makes you a better mom, employee, leader and spouse. It’s definitely made me a kinder and more caring Floortje.”

Explore your identity outside of work

One of the things Floortje wishes she knew at the beginning of her career, is to not take yourself too seriously. “I believe that everyone is more than their job and that it should not become your identity to the point that you lose yourself. Know who you are as a person, and get to know that person every day.”

Embrace inclusivity

The fact that the construction industry was so male-dominated, was one of the things that gave Floortje doubts that the family business was for her.  Today, on the director level in the tech world, she has worked with many colleagues who have been very inclusive. She did, however, need to leverage her intrinsic doubts and had to put in some effort. Ultimately, she believes that we are on a good trajectory and women should continue to embrace the potential they bring with confidence.

Key takeaways

• Challenge your limits: believe in yourself, challenge your limits and strive to great depth in your portfolio wherever you can.
• Learn to be selfish: It makes you a better mom, employee, leader and spouse to make some time for regular self-reflection.
• Explore your identity outside of work: Know who you are as a person, and get to know that person every day.
• Embrace inclusivity: Approach networking with a clear strategy, aiming to build meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships.

Final thoughts

So, RightBrainers, be inspired by Floortje’s interesting adventures and find your own professional and personal challenges to pursue in this new season. Be sure to let us know who you would like to see in the next Ask Me Anything session, and share your stories on the community Forum!