INTERVIEW

How did you start up or become self-employed?
I was employed in a larger joinery and wanted to change the employer once more. At that time, there were only two or three smaller companies, but they were not looking for employees. So I said to myself: Well, then you’ll just do it on your own. The CIT helped me with the foundation. There were good tips on what to look for and they helped me get the senior journeyman regulation recognised.
After I became self-employed, I took further training to become an instructor as well as an electrician and plumber. This allows me, when setting up the kitchen, connect the sink and the stove itself.

In a joinery many machines and tools are needed. How did you manage to do that or how do you manage that?
That was and is the greatest challenge. A real workshop, I don’t have the space for that. I can cut and process larger parts in a large carpenter’s workshop in Forst. Otherwise, I can do almost everything on my own; if I really need help, I ask a friend of mine.

What do you offer?
My offer includes the interior fittings as well as the installation of windows and doors. I plan furniture made to measure and install them.
A second mainstay is trade fair construction and I am also on the road a lot at markets. I travel around the world with a friend and we set up fair stands and market stands. After the fair or market is finished, we set them down.

So kill two birds with one stone?
Right. I can look at the world for a bit between set up and dismantlement. That’s a great thing, of course.

How do you reach your customers?
A lot about word-of-mouth advertising.  I am often on a construction site and talking to others I find out where projects are still open. For me, real advertising is rather ineffective, because there are very few answers. As for my business I’m on the move a lot. That’s why, I’m not so fixated on the region.

What does Forst mean to you?
I actually came to Forst from Guben for familiy reasons. Forst has become my home in the meantime.