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 feature on women in the trades.

"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 master stonemason's enthusiasm for her work is simply contagious. With great energy, the 43-year-old took over two businesses with a total of three locations in Leipzig within just six months: on February 1, 2019, the owner-operated "Grabmahle Günther" at Leipzig's South Cemetery, and six months later, the company of her former boss.

Photo: © JH Steingestaltung

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

The jury of the Saxon Founders' Prize found this to be a remarkable achievement and awarded her and her project first place in 2021.

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 an apprenticeship wasn't easy. Many companies didn't trust the young woman to work in the male-dominated industry or argued that they didn't have sanitary facilities for women. But Jacqueline Hausotte eventually found a trainer, dropped out of university, stayed with the company for ten years, passed her master craftsman's examination in 2016, and then decided to become self-employed.

"I've grown into managing employees . No one gets coddled here, but I give my employees a lot of freedom." At the same time, she's learned to get support from her team to implement her many ideas. She's convinced that many more women could achieve such a career in the 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?

Transferring and taking over a business is a complex process that raises many questions. Business and management consultants from the Chambers of Skilled Crafts and the trade associations in the skilled crafts sector are always there to support entrepreneurs, as succession planning is one of their key areas of focus.

The consultation is free of charge , as is placing an advertisement as an offer or a request on the business exchanges of the Chambers of Skilled Crafts. These can be found on the chambers' websites and on the nationwide business succession platform nexxt-change.org . Together with the owner, their tax advisor, legal advisor, and bank, the chambers will find the optimal solution.

Founders and potential successors can contact the chambers' (business start-up) advisors with their specific questions . Upon request, these advisors can also facilitate contact with business owners who are looking to hand over their businesses.

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