As a stonemason, Jan-Florian Sichert prefers to work in the workshop. In 2017, he took over the company Stein Sichert from Lüdinghausen and has been managing director since then. In addition to the craft, he is responsible for personnel, customer care and accounting, among other things.
In the interview, the man from Münsterland gives an insight into the time after taking over the company.
Our podcast interview is now almost two years behind us. Tell us how you and your company have fared since then?
In retrospect, I have to say that things have been very positive. The last two years were or are times of crisis, we were able to survive the Corona pandemic and also the effects of the current war in Ukraine without any negative economic impact. Nevertheless, we too have to deal with material shortages, rising prices and a lack of skilled workers. Accordingly, there is one downer: we are not getting our orders processed at the moment. This may sound like a luxury problem at first, but it is of course difficult to grow and satisfy our customers when it can take several months to process an order.
Would you approach the succession in exactly the same way again as you did back then, or would you have arranged some things differently in retrospect?
On the whole, I would have done everything the same way again. Of course, one has "fallen on one's face" once or twice with assignments, but from my point of view, you can only avoid that through experience in everyday work. Of course, you learn a lot in the first few years.
Has the relationship with the transferor changed in the last few years?
Nothing has really changed in that respect. Now and then we like to chat and exchange ideas about work. It is still a friendly relationship.
Have you changed anything fundamental about the company in the last two years?
Something has changed in my operational work: now I can finally be on the road and on the construction sites more, for example renovating an old building. At the beginning of the succession, I sat almost exclusively in the office. That took a lot out of me, because I simply love the job of a stonemason too much. I can live out my passion again. My office assistant Sarah is now very well trained and does a lot of the office work for me. I am very happy about that.
What's next for you? Are there any plans for the future?
I would like to grow. But as I described at the beginning, I don't have enough skilled workers. I would like to have more good staff in the future so that I can process my orders reasonably and quickly.
Behind the production of the video is the joint project Gründergeist #Youngstarts Münsterland. The project strengthens the start-up intensity in the Münsterland region and opens up new start-up potential and target groups with its offers. The area of business succession focuses on potential successors for taking over a business, who are to be supported in their possible decision for succession. For this purpose, offers such as workshops, networking events and a podcast are available to those interested. It is funded by the European Union and the NRW Ministry of Economics as part of the ERDF call "Regio.NRW".
