Succession: "Women in the trades should have more confidence"

Master stonemason Jacqueline Hausotte took over two businesses at once and turned them into her own success story. Within a very short time, JH Steingestaltung became the largest gravestone company in the Leipzig area.

This article is part of the special topic women in crafts

"I see my work as a gift and do it with a lot of love and passion. I think the customers and employees feel that too," laughs Jacqueline Hausotte. The enthusiasm of the master stonemason Her enthusiasm for her work is simply contagious. With great enthusiasm, the 43-year-old has taken over two businesses with a total of three locations in Leipzig within six months: on February 1, 2019, she took over the owner-managed business "Grabmahle Günther" at Leipzig's Südfriedhof Cemetery, and six months later, she took over her former boss's company.

Photo: © JH Steingestaltung

In both business transfers, the transition was seamless. Jacqueline Hausotte started with two employees and "zero equity," and today JH Stone Design the largest company for gravestones and memorial stones in the Leipzig area and employs 15 people.

A remarkable achievement, found the jury of the Saxon Founders' Prize and awarded her and her project in 2021 with the first place .

The path to craftsmanship was not predetermined

For the 43-year-old, the path to a skilled trade wasn't predetermined. After graduating from high school, she began studying restoration and discovered her love of old gravestones during a study trip to Bohemia. Needing an internship for her studies, she decided to become a stonemason.

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Registration for journeyman and final examinations

Finding a training position was not easy. Many companies did not trust the young woman to work in the male-dominated industry They didn't agree or argued that they didn't have sanitary facilities for women. But Jacqueline Hausotte finally found a trainer, dropped out of college, stayed with the company for ten years, passed her master craftsman's exam in 2016, and then decided to become self-employed.

"In the Leadership: I've grown into it. I don't wrap anyone in cotton wool, but I give my employees plenty of freedom." At the same time, she has learned to get support from her team to implement her many ideas. She is convinced that many more women could pursue such a career in the skilled trades if they had more confidence in themselves.

Jacqueline Hausotte is currently planning to start a new business and, with her team, is restoring an old mausoleum in the Größnitz cemetery. She's also setting up a studio there "to do more artistic work again." This has been neglected in recent years.

Advisory services offered by the chambers

When is the right time to prepare for the handover? Where can I find a successor if the children aren't interested? How do I find and develop a committed and interested employee, or seek an external candidate? What types of handover are there, and what is my business actually worth?

Handing over and taking over a business is a complex process that raises many questions. The Business and management consultants the Chambers of Crafts and also the professional associations in the craft sector, for whom the issue of succession is one of the focal points of their work. 

The consultation is free of charge. Just like an advertisement as an offer or request on the business exchanges of the Chambers of Crafts. These can be found on the chambers' websites and on the nationwide succession exchange. nexxt-change.orgTogether with the owner, their tax advisor, legal advisor, and the principal bank, the chambers seek the optimal solution. 

Founders and potential successors can contact the (Start-up) consultant The chambers of commerce can also be contacted. Upon request, they can also put you in touch with business owners who wish to transfer their business.

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