Moving back from China to Germany, sounded at first like a good idea. Being closer to friends and family again, was the key reason, and a job I would find without a problem – at least I thought so. Then Covid-19 came along and with it, the stops of recruiting anyone related to the management side in hospitals.
I decided to wait it out and see what happens in the next months. During this time, one of my former classmates of the MBA – IHM, contacted me and asked if I would help him with some paperwork in German. Having nothing pressing to do, I agreed to help.
So, I started supporting my colleague to move with his family to Germany as a doctor. Arranging an apartment, help with the translation of emails and official texts, whatever there was a need for, I did what I could to help.
Suddenly it dawned on us, that this could be a possible business opportunity. We are both of the healthcare sector, Germany is in need for healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, physiotherapist and we are both experienced on international moves, knowing what needed to organized.
It sounded like a great opportunity, but we did not want to go into this blindly. First we did a small market research, some tests on potential competitors about their offers and we looked into details on the specific needs in Germany. We thought about the risk especially during this time of crisis, but also about the opportunity which arises out of it until we finally decided to give it a go.
Next step was the obligatory business plan. It is still tedious writing it, but it is definitely a necessary tool to give you a better idea on how your business could and should run!
But to be certain that we made the right decision, we asked our Professor from Frankfurt School, what he thought about the business idea. After his positive feedback, we started to set it up with the support of the MBA at Frankfurt School. Our former classmates gave us tips on recruiting, the different countries specifications, and playing through ideas and strategies – supporting us however they could. Last but not least, the IHM network supported us again to get our name out and giving us the opportunity to promote Candelabra Consulting!
All those things made it feel right to open a business even during the Corona crisis. To end this in a short way, I can only give you one advice: If you are considering doing an Healthcare MBA with Frankfurt School for whatever reason, do it. You can only benefit from it!