High-quality furniture made of regional wood: This is the claim of the Bauereiß carpenter’s business located in Bad Windsheim, today and in the future. Hans and Birgit Bauereiß founded the business 32 years ago. The next generation, represented by their sons Florian and Steffen, is already assuming responsibility and making plans for the future. A conversation about happy employees, places where people feel at home, and the art of letting go.

Have you already had a good laugh today?

The members of the Bauereiß family share a laugh.

Florian Bauereiß: As a matter of fact, yes. During our morning meeting, a different employee every day gets the chance to tell a joke before we all start working. Additionally, we discuss daily business, upcoming deadlines and the status of individual projects. We started these morning meetings at the beginning of December 2020.

Hans Bauereiß: Since then, we all begin the day’s work with a smile on our faces.

A regular get-together of carpenters, team events, a beer at the end of the working day: You attach great importance to good cooperation.

Steffen Bauereiß: I spend a great deal of time on the issue of corporate culture. The reason: Our performance and our products are only perfect if the framework conditions are perfect. To give you an example: Once we have heard the morning joke, we all start working with a grin on our faces. There’s more to it, though. Laughing releases “feel-good hormones” and we are satisfied at work. We presented our visions at a Strategy Day. We defined the targets and measures necessary to achieve them as a team. The employees know where the journey is going.

Birgit Bauereiß: And people like that. Our employees share their ideas, too. A new dynamism has developed that way.

Hans Bauereiß: We notice employees being lured away in other industries. We have opted for a different strategy: We look for people who really fit into the team. This is not an easy way to do it, yet in the long run it is the superior option.

The future of your business is secured: Your two sons, Florian and Steffen, have for years been working in the business. How does the process of generation change evolve?

Florian Bauereiß: We were already handed over part of the company in 2018. My father holds 55 percent of the partnership interest, I have 45 percent, yet we act as equals. This is the plan for the next ten years. My brother Steffen is the general manager.

Hans Bauereiß: Together, we worked out a plan for the next five to ten years. I am glad that there is not going to be a hard cut and that I can still have a hand in the business transactions. If help is needed, we, that is, my wife and I, of course, want to be there. At the same time, we want to carve out more free time for ourselves. It’s not going to be like I will not be able to completely let go.

Birgit Bauereiß: You need to let go step by step. We cannot retire completely overnight. We just wanted to slow things down a little.

Talking about letting go. Will you have a hard time with that, Mr. Bauereiß?

Hans Bauereiß: Let me put it that way: Sometimes, I would handle things differently since I think differently than my sons. Yet, I look on and observe things, and afterwards I am positively surprised in most of the cases. I don’t think I will have a hard time stepping aside. I do not feel the need to check on my sons or interfere. Sometimes I can’t hold back, and then I put in my two cents (laughs).

How difficult is it today to find a successor for your business?

Hans Bauereiß: I have a few colleagues whose offspring do not want to take over their fathers’ business.

Birgit Bauereiß: We have three sons, yet there was never the request that one of them take over later. Today, we are very proud that they all live their lives and that Steffen and Florian will continue managing the business.

Hans Bauereiß: In 2005, we moved into our new workshop in Bad Windsheim. At the time, we surmised that there would be a successor. It is good to see that this investment will continue to pay off even after I am no longer there.

Steffen and Florian, was it clear to you from the beginning that you would join the business?

Florian Bauereiß: For me, it was clear, yes. I know from my father what it means to be self-employed. I kind of grew along with the workshop. The older I got, the more fun I had. That’s why I decided to train as a carpenter. Joining the management, however, proved to be a big obstacle. You move over from the carpenter’s workshop to the office, and you carry the entire responsibility.

Steffen Bauereiß: I couldn't even imagine. During my vacations, I sometimes helped out at the workshop, and that was enough for me. I simply was not attracted by it. At the time, nobody really knew how the business would develop. Before I joined, I worked in an advertising agency and marketed our carpenter’s business on the side. When we built our showroom in 2017, I did not want anybody from the outside to deal with the marketing aspect. I said: Either me or nobody will do it.

And then you just got on with it?

Steffen Bauereiß: At first, I developed a brand for the workshop, digitalized bookkeeping and optimized internal processes.

Hans Bauereiß: He turned everything upside down.

Birgit Bauereiß: A very drastic change, but life is full of changes. We are very happy that two of our sons will continue running the business.

Hans Bauereiß: Florian and Steffen always succeed in inspiring us in such a way that we go along with their initiatives.

Why do the trades need marketing?

Hans Bauereiß: Selling as such has changed tremendously.

Florian Bauereiß: In the past, it was not that important to have customers take a tour of the workshop.

Hans Bauereiß: Today, it is absolutely common. We opened our showroom in 2018. Looking at the size of our business, it might seem very unusual to have one person deal with marketing exclusively, yet this is absolutely necessary for advertising our showroom. Of course, we needed to invest time, energy and money in designing the website, being present on Instagram and organizing events. Yet, all this is part of our strategic development.

Steffen Bauereiß: It is very important indeed to tell the world out there who we are. If not, the world will tell us who we are. This is only possible with crystal-clear positioning of the business in the market. We present ourselves as employer brand, too, to persuade the best carpenters, the best employees to come and work with us. We offer more than the standard benefits. We have a vision, and we have a burning passion that drives us. We have a corporate culture that creates trust and allows everybody to develop further. Only if we promote our business will people take note of us, and we can act in a meaningful fashion, inspiring others.

At the moment, you are all working in the business. Differences in opinion cannot be ruled out then, right?

Florian Bauereiß: Actually, there is only friction if you mix business with private matters.

Steffen Bauereiß: We are currently testing a communication watch to avoid this. With the communication watch we record who talks to whom and how. In other words, do I talk to my father privately in my role as his son, or do I talk to him, the managing director, in my role as general manager. This being aware of one’s role helps to better reflect on the things that were said.

Hans Bauereiß: It helps that we are all experts in different fields. We don’t really get into each other’s business. We accept what the other one is doing. It has something to do with respect.

Florian Bauereiß:Sure, we had heated discussions, but at the end of the day, we are all role models. We need to show that we can cooperate very well. Otherwise, we cannot ask our employees to cooperate with each other.

Can the exchange between the younger and the older generation be inspiring, too?

Hans Bauereiß: On the specialist level, Florian and I work extremely well together. He joined the business six years ago and has a lot of experience. We do put our heads together when tackling challenging projects.

Birgit Bauereiß: Steffen takes a great burden off my shoulders in the office. We receive many inquiries through the internet. He can get very dogged and calls customers on the phone. We often ask our sons for advice.

Mr. and Mrs. Bauereiß, let us look ahead into the future: Are you already thinking about the time once you have retired completely?

Hans Bauereiß: I want to pass on my knowledge and my experience collected over more than 30 years of being self-employed to young carpenters—in the form of an academy. It would be too bad if my knowledge retired with me and nobody could have a share in it.

Birgit Bauereiß: The business will expand. I am sure that my sons’ wives have a few ideas of their own, too. We also familiarize our grandchildren with the trade.

Florian and Steffen, are you already making plans for the time when the business will be all yours?

Florian Bauereiß: Yes, of course! We have a vision. We want to create a place where people feel at home. A place where people can relax and enjoy life. We want to build a complex that houses places like a restaurant, a place where people look after your kids, co-working space and a yoga studio, and all this, of course, equipped with our furniture. We want people to drop in, have a good time, test our furniture and, at best, become our customers.

These plans are ambitious indeed. Are there things that you will adhere to?

Florian Bauereiß: Our family business is supposed to remain a family business. We have put our hearts and souls in it. We want to continue to train young people and become involved, e.g. in the form of donations to clubs or organizations.

Steffen Bauereiß: Our own production facility is important to us, and that our products represent value. After all, our products carry our name. Wherever you read “Bauereiß”, you know that you have to do with quality. It has always been that way, and this is how it’s going to be in the future, too.