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Business Succession as a Career Path for Craftsmen: Owning a Company Without Starting from Scratch

At least 125,000 craft businesses are seeking successors in the next five years. For qualified craftsmen – whether journeyman or master – this represents a concrete opportunity to own their own company: with an established customer base, a well-coordinated team, and without the risks of a startup.

11 min reading time

Owning Your Own Business Is the Goal for Many Craftsmen – But the Path There Is Almost Always Seen as Starting from Scratch. You seek out a customer base, purchase machinery, rent a workshop, and recruit employees. This costs time, capital, and nerves, and it takes years before the business truly runs smoothly.

There is another way. And it is becoming increasingly realistic, especially for craftsmen.

According to the Central Association of German Crafts (Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks), at least 125,000 craft businesses are looking for successors in the next five years. Owners are retiring. Their children do not want to take over the business. And qualified external successors who are skilled craftsmen and understand the business are hard to find. Nearly a quarter of these businesses face closure—not because the business model doesn’t work, but because no one is there to continue it.

This is the owners’ problem. And at the same time, it is an opportunity for craftsmen seeking to become self-employed.

What Distinguishes an Acquisition from a Startup

Anyone starting a craft business from scratch begins at zero. This means: customers must be acquired, employees found and trained, machinery and tools procured, a workshop or storage rented—and all this must be financed before the first dollar is earned.

The dry spell can last years. And it is risky: many startups fail not due to craftsmanship quality but because the business does not survive the critical initial phase.

An acquisition starts at a completely different point. The business is already running. Customers exist and return. Employees know the processes. Machinery and equipment are in place. Contracts with suppliers are ongoing. And from the first day after the handover, revenue flows.

This is no guarantee of success—but it is a significantly more stable starting position than a startup.

Who Is Allowed to Take Over a Craft Business

Here lies one of the most important decisions: the craft law requirements.

Crafts Requiring a License

In Germany, there are 53 crafts that require a license, for which a master craftsman certificate (Meisterbrief) is mandatory if you want to run a business independently. These include, among others, bricklayers and concrete workers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, automotive technicians, hairdressers, and bakers.

Anyone wishing to take over a business in these trades needs either:

  • their own master craftsman certificate, or
  • an employed operations manager with a master craftsman certificate who assumes the craft law responsibility.

The second option allows running a business without holding a master craftsman certificate yourself—but it means permanent dependence on that person and additional personnel costs. Those planning long-term should aim to obtain the master craftsman certificate if they don’t already have it.

Crafts Not Requiring a License

For the approximately 50 crafts without licensing requirements—including tilers, parquet layers, interior decorators, photographers, and many others—a master craftsman certificate is not required. Here, anyone with the appropriate expertise and entrepreneurial qualification can generally take over a business.

This also means that qualified journeymen in these trades can enter directly without having to take the detour of the master craftsman exam.

The Master Craftsman Certificate as a Quality Signal

Even though the master craftsman certificate is not mandatory in crafts without licensing requirements, it remains an important quality signal for customers. Many clients—especially in residential construction and renovation—prefer master craftsman businesses. And certain subsidies, for example for energy-efficient renovation, require an approved specialist business.

Valuing a Craft Business: What a Business Is Worth

Craft businesses are valued differently than typical service companies. The earnings value is central—and the purchase price usually corresponds to a multiple of the average annual profit.

As a rule of thumb in financing practice: banks consider 3 to 5 times the average sustainable annual profit an appropriate purchase price. The profit must be sufficient from ongoing operations to cover debt repayment.

An example: An electrical business with five employees sustainably generates a net profit of €120,000 per year. A realistic purchase price ranges between €360,000 and €600,000.

Other factors influencing the purchase price include:

  • Customer base and proportion of loyal customers – the more loyal the customers, the more valuable
  • Employee quality and retention – a well-coordinated team is a real asset
  • Machinery and equipment – condition and modernity of the business equipment
  • Location and catchment area – regional monopolies in rural areas can be especially attractive
  • Dependence on the previous owner – if 80 percent of revenue is tied to the owner personally, this is a significant risk

A thorough examination of these factors—and especially the financial statements of the last three to five years—is essential before accepting a purchase price.

Financing: How to Buy a Craft Business

Equity Capital

Banks generally expect an equity share of 15 to 30 percent of the purchase price. This can be personal savings, a severance payment, or funds from the family environment.

Those previously registered as unemployed and still entitled to unemployment benefits (ALG I) should also consider the startup grant: with at least 150 remaining days of ALG I entitlement, there is a six-month period during which the previous ALG I amount plus an additional €300 per month is paid—a valuable buffer for the first months.

KfW Funding Programs

The ERP Start-up Loan-StartGeld from KfW (since the end of 2025 up to €200,000, with 80 percent risk coverage for the house bank) is often the first financing source for smaller craft businesses. For larger transactions, there is the ERP Start-up Loan-Universal with up to €500,000.

Guarantee Banks

If you cannot provide sufficient equity as collateral, you can involve the guarantee bank of the respective federal state. It assumes default guarantees of up to 80 percent of the loan amount, enabling financing even without real estate ownership or other securities.

Seller Financing

An often underestimated instrument: many owners are willing to leave part of the purchase price—typically 10 to 30 percent—as a loan. This reduces the external capital requirement from the bank and simultaneously signals trust: those who leave money in the business believe in its future.

Chamber of Crafts and Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK)

Both institutions offer not only succession advice but also active mediation and can point to regional funding programs that go beyond the nationwide KfW programs.

What Makes Acquiring a Craft Business Special

Craft businesses have some particularities that should be known before an acquisition.

Documentation is often incomplete. Owner-managed craft businesses rarely focus on controlling and structured documentation. Much runs on the owner’s experience and implicit knowledge. This means: due diligence takes longer, and you must actively inquire to get the full picture.

The owner often is the business. If the owner has personally known and served key customers for thirty years, the question arises: what remains after the handover? A long transition phase, during which the owner actively participates in transferring customer relationships, is therefore especially important.

Employees are the most important asset. A craft business is only as strong as its team. Experienced journeymen who master the trade perfectly are not easy to replace. The most important step in the first weeks after the takeover is to gain the team’s trust—and this succeeds only through respect for what has been built and clear, transparent communication.

Digitalization as a lever. Many craft businesses have barely touched digitalization: offers are still sent by fax, order processing runs via phone notes, time tracking on paper. Here lies enormous efficiency potential that a new owner can unlock with more modern working methods—without changing the core business.

Typical Transition Phases and What They Mean

How the handover is structured is no less important than the purchase price.

Immediate handover (the owner leaves immediately after closing) is risky if customers and suppliers are strongly tied to the owner personally. It can work if the team is stable and the new owner has already worked in the business before the takeover.

Accompanied transition (3–12 months) is in most cases the best solution. The previous owner remains as a consultant or employed staff member for an agreed period and helps transfer customer relationships and share implicit knowledge. This creates stability and gives the new owner time to truly understand the business.

Lease before purchase is an option sometimes used in crafts: you initially take over operational management without immediately paying the full purchase price. This allows you to get to know the business from the inside before committing fully.

Where to Find Craft Businesses for Acquisition

nexxt-change (www.nexxt-change.org): Germany’s largest free succession marketplace, published by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs. Many listings from the craft sector.

Viaductus: Aggregates offers from over 70 broker and marketplace sites. Especially useful for a structured search by industry, region, and price range—without having to click through dozens of individual platforms.

Chamber of Crafts: Regional chambers of crafts operate their own succession marketplaces and actively mediate between sellers and interested parties. Those registered there are also contacted proactively.

Direct approach via guilds and professional associations: Word of mouth is a powerful tool in crafts. Those known in the guild and signaling interest in taking over a business often learn of handovers before they become public.

Tax advisors: Many craft businesses have been advised by the same tax advisor for decades. Tax advisors often know first when an owner plans to sell—and sometimes mediate discreetly.

A Realistic Picture: What You Should Bring

Taking over a craft business is not a risk-free path. But it is realistic—if you bring the following prerequisites:

Professional qualification. For licensed crafts, you need the master craftsman certificate or must employ a master craftsman. For non-licensed crafts, proven professional experience suffices. Craftsmanship competence is the most important foundation for the team’s trust.

Basic business knowledge. Running a craft business means more than craftsmanship. It means preparing offers, issuing invoices, managing employees, retaining customers, and keeping an overview of liquidity and costs. Anyone with gaps here should close them—through courses, consulting, or an experienced co-partner.

Equity of at least 15–20 percent of the purchase price. This is the realistic minimum. Anything less makes financing significantly more difficult, even though guarantee banks and seller financing can provide some leeway.

Patience. From first contact to closing, an acquisition takes six to twelve months. This period should not be underestimated and must be considered in personal financial planning.

Conclusion: The Craft Sector Is Looking for Successors—and Offers Real Opportunities

Owning your own craft business is a lifelong dream for many craftsmen. But starting from scratch is risky, capital-intensive, and takes a long time. Taking over an existing business is a much more direct path—with a proven business model, existing customer base, and a well-coordinated team.

The craft sector faces a demographic succession problem of historic proportions. This is a burden for the industry—and a concrete opportunity for every qualified craftsman seeking to become self-employed.

The businesses are there. The question is: who will take them over?

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About the author

Christopher Heckel profile picture

Christopher Heckel

Co-Founder & CTO

Christopher has led the digital transformation of financial solutions for SMEs as CTO of SME financier Creditshelf. viaductus was founded with the goal of helping people achieve their financial goals with technology for corporate acquisitions and sales.

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