Founded with a clever idea and a baby carrier

Starting your own business shortly after having a baby – can that work? Absolutely, says master optician Sandra Moser.

This article is part of the special feature on women in the trades.

Sandra Moser has been running the "Brillenmeisterei" (glasses master's shop) in Dillingen since 2020. Her career path has featured a few changes of direction and many bold decisions. She initially began training as a dental assistant, but quickly realized the profession wasn't a good fit for her. So she dropped out and started over as an optician. "After completing my training, I went to master's school and worked in various companies. When I was pregnant and on parental leave, my then-boss called me and told me he was selling his business." A successor for the business had already been found. Sandra Moser had long harbored the dream of owning her own business. "Since it was clear that I wouldn't be able to take over my then-boss's business, I thought: I'd better do it myself," Sandra Moser recalls. The caveat: if a suitable business could be found. So she grabbed her daughter and, armed with her business idea and stroller, set off for the Saarland Chamber of Crafts.

For Chamber of Crafts business consultant Darius Nadery, it was the first consultation with an infant. "We don't often have this kind of thing. Naturally, you ask yourself whether having a child and starting or taking over a business are compatible, but after just a few minutes of conversation, it was clear to me: This is a tough woman with good ideas." After the conversation, it was clear that starting a business best suited the master optician's plans. Moser needed a loan for this, but financing was no problem given the business plan and the clear picture she had of her project. Specifically, the plan was to offer optical products made in Germany.

Business premises found via social media

While searching for suitable premises, she found what she was looking for in Dillingen at the end of December 2019. "For 90 years, the premises had housed an eyeglass shop, but the previous owner had passed away." The premises stood empty for six months before Sandra Moser became aware of them via social media. "I posted in a group for opticians that I was looking for a retail space. Then I was alerted to the vacancy here in the city center," the entrepreneur reports.

Starting a business with a new generation was anything but child's play. The challenge, however, wasn't primarily the childcare, which was always a priority for Sandra Moser, but the pandemic. "I signed the contract with the bank in March 2020. Two weeks later, the first lockdown came." Therefore, the young entrepreneur couldn't search for suitable furnishings for her shop in furniture stores and interior design shops as planned. But Moser found a solution for this too: A carpenter worked night shifts to take over the shopfitting for her.

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"I would do it again"

Her child was there every step of the way, or with the childminder. "Our childminder started her own business at the same time as I did. My daughter was her first daycare child." Sandra Moser now also receives support from her sister. And even though organizing childcare is sometimes difficult, as Sandra Moser and her husband's families live outside of Saarland, "I would do it again," she says. "It's a gain in freedom for me: As a self-employed person, I can largely plan my time myself and simply have more of it at my disposal than if I had remained an employee." Working in the shop from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. was not uncommon for her. Now, as the owner, she allows herself to go home early once or twice a week "to take the children to the swimming pool or do something else with them." The "Brillenmeisterei" now has three employees who can step in. "And if all else fails, I've set up a play area in the back of the store and can then take my daughter to work with me."

The business has now recovered from the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Just a year ago, customers only came between lockdowns. "Now there are new challenges, but we'll overcome them too." The transition from employee to motherhood to business owner wasn't a big one for Sandra Moser. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" is the motto of the self-confident artisan entrepreneur today more than ever.

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