4 ms·

Here in Germany I heard this a lot too as our economy is highly reliant on small family business and there's a lot of succession questions coming up as a huge c

Here in Germany I heard this a lot too as our economy is highly reliant on small family business and there's a lot of succession questions coming up as a huge chunk of the workforce ages into retirement. Despite lots of political kerfuffle a few years ago immigration has been a huge boon. I can't tell you how often I've personally heard how people were ready to close down long existing family businesses because they had nobody to take over until they got immigrants into vocational programs who now look like they may continue the business in the future. It's not just numbers either. A lot of domestic younger people were so set on going to uni and going to work for large firms that they just didn't want to take over their parents agricultural, trades or crafts business. In particular talking to Syrians this always stood out to me. A lot of them just seemed thankful for the stability and security that comes from our Mittelstand that we tend to take for granted.

thriftwy 4y ago
If businesses close down, eventually the remaining ones become profitable enough that new people (genuine middle class with ambitions) flock in.
- andix 4y ago
  Im working in IT (kind of obvious on HN) and I’m playing with the thought of buying some kind of business from someone who is retiring. Something completely different (like plumbing or electrician), where my knowledge is close to zero. It would be quite a risk, but in IT we are used to learning a lot of new things quickly. And I would need to have employees who are experts in that field anyway. A lot of those professions became way more complicated in the last years (smart homes, computerized appliances, …), and many people who stepped up their career from being craftsmen have trouble running those businesses nowadays.
  - FredPret 4y ago
    I did exactly this. Bought a tiny zero-tech business from an old guy. He wants to retire and nobody wants his business, so I got a steal of a deal. My plan is to turn off the fax machines, start using email and see if I can automate parts of it or combine with another similar acquisition in a couple of years. Just beware that buying a business is complicated and you need to keep your end clean, legally speaking.
  - raincom 4y ago
    Plumbing, HVAC, Electrician, etc require proper licenses. If you are trying to run such places by hiring a journey man, it is a bad idea.
    - tw98521358 4y ago
      You can get those in a couple years if you train under the person you buy from
    - lnsru 4y ago
      I am getting this year this nice electrician’s certificate. If you’re studied electrical engineer 2 week course is enough. At least in Germany. I think it’s fair deal.
      - lostlogin 4y ago
        This seems incredible - the job is very practical. Do you really think you’ll be competent after two weeks? Maybe I am unclear on what electrical engineers learn when studying.
        jsmith45 4y ago
        From a circuitry perspective, what most electricians deal with is relatively simple and obvious to an electrical engineer. Diagnosing issues in an electrical system is certain a familiar skill to any electrical engineer, so that part of the job is easy enough. I would seriously expect a certification to be based primarily on the electrical safety/building code, possibly with some fault diagnostics stuff and basic theory of operation of the circuits involved mixed in. I would expect little if any of the practical skills to be tested in most such certifications, so the required studying would mostly be about what the safety/building code required. The regulators really won’t care about your skill at snaking wires through walls, ability to bend conduit into a nice curve, etc. Most practical skills needed fall into this category. If you are bad at those things, it might slow you down, require you to redo things more often, or even require you use more expensive parts to avoid needing those skills, or whatever. Lacking such skills mostly just means you won’t be price competitive with others, which is your problem, not the governments. The government just cares that the result (and possibly intermediate steps) is safe and meets code. The fact that it took you longer than most competitors, and you made a much bigger mess than most of them isn’t really a major concern.
rr888 4y ago
Interesting that you mention Syrians. I know Nassim Taleb talks a lot about people from the Levant really prize running your own business. People who work in a regular office job get little respect even if they earn more money. Skin in the game.
tannhaeuser 4y ago
There's more trouble ahead with inheritance tax for real estate being an unsolved problem since the begin of the year with limits not adapted to new property valuation requirements.

thriftwy 4y ago

If businesses close down, eventually the remaining ones become profitable enough that new people (genuine middle class with ambitions) flock in.

andix 4y ago
Im working in IT (kind of obvious on HN) and I’m playing with the thought of buying some kind of business from someone who is retiring. Something completely different (like plumbing or electrician), where my knowledge is close to zero. It would be quite a risk, but in IT we are used to learning a lot of new things quickly. And I would need to have employees who are experts in that field anyway. A lot of those professions became way more complicated in the last years (smart homes, computerized appliances, …), and many people who stepped up their career from being craftsmen have trouble running those businesses nowadays.
- FredPret 4y ago
  I did exactly this. Bought a tiny zero-tech business from an old guy. He wants to retire and nobody wants his business, so I got a steal of a deal. My plan is to turn off the fax machines, start using email and see if I can automate parts of it or combine with another similar acquisition in a couple of years. Just beware that buying a business is complicated and you need to keep your end clean, legally speaking.
- raincom 4y ago
  Plumbing, HVAC, Electrician, etc require proper licenses. If you are trying to run such places by hiring a journey man, it is a bad idea.
  - tw98521358 4y ago
    You can get those in a couple years if you train under the person you buy from
  - lnsru 4y ago
    I am getting this year this nice electrician’s certificate. If you’re studied electrical engineer 2 week course is enough. At least in Germany. I think it’s fair deal.
    - lostlogin 4y ago
      This seems incredible - the job is very practical. Do you really think you’ll be competent after two weeks? Maybe I am unclear on what electrical engineers learn when studying.
      - jsmith45 4y ago
        From a circuitry perspective, what most electricians deal with is relatively simple and obvious to an electrical engineer. Diagnosing issues in an electrical system is certain a familiar skill to any electrical engineer, so that part of the job is easy enough. I would seriously expect a certification to be based primarily on the electrical safety/building code, possibly with some fault diagnostics stuff and basic theory of operation of the circuits involved mixed in. I would expect little if any of the practical skills to be tested in most such certifications, so the required studying would mostly be about what the safety/building code required. The regulators really won’t care about your skill at snaking wires through walls, ability to bend conduit into a nice curve, etc. Most practical skills needed fall into this category. If you are bad at those things, it might slow you down, require you to redo things more often, or even require you use more expensive parts to avoid needing those skills, or whatever. Lacking such skills mostly just means you won’t be price competitive with others, which is your problem, not the governments. The government just cares that the result (and possibly intermediate steps) is safe and meets code. The fact that it took you longer than most competitors, and you made a much bigger mess than most of them isn’t really a major concern.

rr888 4y ago

Interesting that you mention Syrians. I know Nassim Taleb talks a lot about people from the Levant really prize running your own business. People who work in a regular office job get little respect even if they earn more money. Skin in the game.

tannhaeuser 4y ago

There's more trouble ahead with inheritance tax for real estate being an unsolved problem since the begin of the year with limits not adapted to new property valuation requirements.