I’m my own boss in my adopted home – Hassan and digitization in the trades
More and more tradespeople with a migrant background are starting businesses in Germany – with great success! Hassan is one of them.
Almost 10 percent of Turkish entrepreneurs in Germany run their own trade business, and 22 percent have become self-employed in services. Other figures show that Turkish entrepreneurs have become a significant but often underestimated part of the economy. Of the more than 2.6 million people of Turkish origin in Germany, around 60,000 are their own boss. With more than 300,000 employees, they already generate 26 billion euros a year.
Hassan came to Germany at the age of 13. His father had already been living here for a few years. At school, mathematics was the only subject Hassan got on with. He passed his secondary school leaving exam only at the second attempt. He then worked as an unskilled worker at a garden nursery to earn money, because his father was unemployed. At 25, Hassan got the chance to take over the business. He specialized in landscaping and is now “your partner for everything around the garden”. This includes garden maintenance, paving, tree felling, excavation work and, of course, landscape maintenance. With ever higher quality standards, it was of course necessary to invest in a modern fleet of machines. Because of high demand, the number of employees and the machine fleet grew steadily. At first, Hassan and his wife could still manage the business very well on their own. Now, though, he is in danger of losing track. With prices rising, Hassan is trying to stay competitive and still keep his prices stable. In the end he looks for help and advice. Staff, digitization, strategy and transformation, and sustainability are the focus areas of the wide-ranging offer of the German “Zukunftsinitiative Handwerk 2025” (Future Initiative for the Trades 2025). With this support, businesses in all trades can improve their market opportunities for tomorrow. Because: “A trade is worth its weight in gold – and has a digital future”.
Digitizing a trade business pays off above all when the business is growing. If the order book is full or you even work with subcontractors by now, it is not only the orders that grow. It also means that the paperwork may pile up sky-high and you can hardly keep up with the office work – so relief is needed. At the latest when coordinating appointments and machines becomes difficult, “digitizing the trade business” usually pays off. As a rule, introducing digital tools not only improves communication and work processes but also saves resources. Trade software also often reduces errors and costs, because you no longer have to rely on yourself alone. In the end, though, everyone has to decide for themselves whether more digitization pays off. Anyone who would rather spend time with customers than on admin hopefully knows more now! After all, digital transformation and traditional trades are by no means mutually exclusive – for many business models they go well together.
Hassan has now decided to digitize his business to stay competitive and keep track of everything. In Craftcloud he has found a competent partner to guide the business and its employees into digitization step by step. The employees now have an app in which they document progress on site and reserve the machines they need. Hassan has access to the latest status of his jobs, machines and appointments at any time and takes an active part in carrying out the work for his customers. In the meantime, Hassan has even been able to expand his business while saving resources. We will continue to support Hassan on his digital journey and help him become even more competitive – at exactly the pace his business needs.
Would you like to digitize your trade business too?
Businesses should not cling to old patterns and ways of doing things, but always look ahead, take an interest in digital solutions, not be afraid to learn something new and, above all, have the courage to introduce new processes, structures and digital tools such as trade software. Contact us – get the ball rolling!
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