Take the chance, advance.
Am I the entrepreneurial type?
In order to answer this question, it is important to reflect on yourself and seek feedback from your private circle or an external advisor. Your own professional skills are important: Are you prepared to work hard, especially in the beginning, and does your family support your decision in the long term? What is your work-life balance like, how fit are you, what compromises can you make, how secure do you need to feel (financially), and can you cope with an irregular income? How do you behave in stressful situations: do you panic or remain calm and solution-oriented? You should answer these questions honestly and they should not leave you with a bad gut feeling. In addition, a good level of business knowledge is fundamental. Business plans, controlling, marketing, office organization, strategy, personnel management, taxes, legal issues—these should not be foreign concepts to the aspiring entrepreneur. Training and continuing education courses offered by chambers of architects or universities provide practical knowledge transfer in the field of business management for the construction industry. Equally important is the entrepreneurial personality: persuasiveness, negotiating skills, decisiveness, empathy, the ability to delegate… These keywords are familiar, but do they correspond to your own strengths? Some are inherent in one’s personality, while others need to be cultivated. Whichever path you choose, it is helpful to have goals and a schedule to keep track of your own development.
Neugründung vs. Büroübernahme
Once you have decided to become self-employed, you need to weigh up the options of starting a new business or taking over an existing office.
Establishment of a new office:
When people think about becoming self-employed, they usually mean setting up their own office. This means almost no restrictions (except legal ones) and being able to do things their own way. Everything is based on their own business idea, and the office is tailored precisely to the founder’s personality, with maximum freedom in terms of office structure, core competencies, and unique selling points. The capital requirements are relatively low, and government measures such as KfW subsidies make it easier to get started financially. Chambers of commerce and banks offer discounted training courses or favorable terms, providing good starting conditions for a small team with low financial responsibility. This allows you to gain experience step by step and draw conclusions—with manageable risk. However, market positioning can be difficult, as there is no reputation yet and no differentiation from the competition. Building up your own network of contacts with clients and partners is a challenging task and requires tenacity, all with low sales and earnings prospects.
Taking over an office or joining as a partner
Those who jump on a moving train can benefit from existing structures, and established offices are often more efficient and productive than start-ups. There, you can draw on existing processes, a well-coordinated team, and the service portfolio on offer. Externally, the brand name is already well known, and there is usually a sufficient network and sufficient orders. On the other hand, expectations are high on all sides and the trust of those involved must first be earned. Despite all the advantages, however, the takeover remains a leap into the unknown if prospects are not fulfilled and the purchase price cannot be recouped. Or suddenly, legacy issues arise and outdated structures prove to be more expensive than rebuilding from scratch. If the newcomer has no standing in the office, employees will not really get on board. It is not uncommon for conflicts to arise between the transferor and the transferee. Professional support in finding an office, analyzing the initial situation, evaluating the office, and negotiating the framework conditions and transition phase can save a transferee a lot of trouble. Continuous external succession support makes it easier for the “newcomer” to take over as boss and makes the transition smoother.
Where can you find offices to take over?
Where can you find the right architecture or landscape architecture firm that suits you professionally, personally, and geographically? The obvious choice is to develop as a partner and later take over the firm where you are already employed, provided that there is the prospect of becoming a manager or partner. It is important to let your boss know about your goals and to work out a development plan together, if this is feasible for both sides. However, if the owner is not yet at an age where they are thinking about succession or partnership, or if there are plans for someone else to take on this role, other considerations need to be taken into account. If you don’t know of a suitable office to take over in your own environment, you can consider various ways of establishing contact: for example, numerous chambers of architects offer support options. These include (in some cases free) consultation hours for office succession, where advice is given on questions relating to takeover, partnership, and office search. Advice can also be sought here if you are still unsure about aspects of business management. If you want to take action yourself, you can place an advertisement on the succession exchanges of the respective state chambers or on www.nachfolge-boerse.de or www.dub.de to draw attention to your interest – anonymously or under your own name.
Whichever path you choose, starting a business or taking over an existing one presents opportunities as well as risks. While taking over an existing business may be the smoother route, successors must not only exploit existing potential but also give the firm its own profile and a new identity. Despite all the potential pitfalls, self-employment can be enjoyable and enriching, in line with the motto “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” When asked, many experienced architecture firm owners would choose self-employment again in retrospect.
About the authors: Andreas PreißingGraduate in Business Administration (FH), MBA, CEO of Dr.-Ing. Preißing AG, a management consultancy for architects and engineers specializing in office valuation, succession planning, and office brokerage. Has been active nationwide for many years as a speaker for various chambers, associations, and universities.
Isabel Maneval-RiegerGraduate in Business Administration (FH), project manager at Dr.-Ing. Preißing AG and responsible for PR.