We recently connected with Inès Hellwig and have shared our conversation below.
Inès, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
to our Solnhofen Stone Paradise!
Let ideas come to you!
My motto: “Never settle for less than your own dreams”
I believe, this is the guarantee for every success.
My conclusion:
the most important prerequisites for success and thus personal satisfaction are:
passion, commitment, patience, authenticity, honesty, care, empathy.
“Take care of your customers, success will come naturally”.
I like to share my satisfaction and give something back of my luck.
Because stones, decoration, fantasy and furnishing are art for me, I set up a free Artist Forum on my homepage.
For Tanya & Sondre I have established a corner to promote their talents.
Other artists are also welcome to use my free Artist Forum to make their art known and to find followers.
This is my little contribution to support talents.
Good energy that we give reflects back to us!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
While I was searching for warm and cosy natural stones for my country house I fell in love with fossil stones. On my search I only found cold anthracite coloured stones. They didn’t radiate warmth and security. My dream was to create a natural, homely atmosphere with a Mediterranean flair. Coincidentally in my girlfriend’s old house I saw exactly the stones I was looking for in my dreams. I went to a quarry, where I immediately bought the 4 pallets of natural stone I needed in the colour I wanted.
The history of these stones with their primeval animals fascinated me.
They formed in a subtropical sea 147 million years ago. My enthusiasm carried over. One of the 2 owners of the quarry, a graduate palaeontologist, was impressed by my interest in stones. He suggested me to become a representative for his quarry.
I was asked to create a homepage and to advise people on their furnishing needs with stones of all kinds. The idea for my company was born!
I had to learn a lot. But I did it with great passion. Within a year I created my homepage and started selling. A new world opened up for me!
The request of my first customer shocked me. I couldn’t believe it worked.
Natural stones (enjoy growing enthusiasm. Due to their wide range of possible uses, they fulfill every design wish (floors, walls, ceilings, sauna, kitchen worktops, skirting boards, fireplace surrounds, house facades, terraces, garden design, high slip resistance – important for public areas -, custom-made products, variety of colours).
Our Products:
Polygonal Slabs (Solnhofen Slabs, slip resistance R13 or Quartzite)
Granite (acid resistant & frost resistant)
Jura-Limestone, Limestone, Marble
Quartzite (acid resistant & frost resistant)
Travertine (frost resistant)
Format Slabs
Skirting Boards
Stairs
Window Sills
Made to Measure
Laying Products
Impregnation
Patented SolKer® Fine Stoneware with a natural stone look (acid resistant + frost resistant) R10 slip resistance. These tiles look like the Solnhofen natural stone slabs. They offer a cheap reasonable alternative to Solnhofen slabs. They are extremely easy to clean and suitable for both indoor and outdoor installation, for walls and floors. In contrast to Solnhofen Limestone, they are both frost-proof and acid-proof.
The hard-wearing and long-lasting SolKer® Fine Stoneware impresses with its extraordinary properties: extremely robust and economical, also scratch and abrasion resistant, colour- and light-fast, antistatic and absolutely environmentally friendly. The slip-resistant properties of the SolKer® Fine Stoneware is slip resistance class R10.
My own experiences form the basis for my business model:
I did not receive competent, patient advice from any provider. Technical knowledge was assumed due to lack of time. How can a layman dispose of it? There was never an after sale service. I wanted to change that.
With a lot of patience I explain my stone recommendation in color and design without technical terms. I am happy to offer installation material in the required quantity, including insured transport. Stone transports are often uninsured for cost reasons.
In contrast to other providers, I take my time and familiarize myself with the respective project of my customer. I love to provide good professional service for my clients and to communicate with people. I only work with one single quarry and have been successful on the market with my company since 2013. In all those years I have not had a single complaint.
In contrast to our competitors, we deliver an excellent after-sale service. Even after payment and delivery of our stones, we can be contacted by our customers.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
– Promote open-minded communication in the team – Create trust through common goals
– Regular team meeting
– Recognizing and defining problems together, finding solutions
– Value experiences of team members
– Offer joint activities
Manager or team leader:
– Never change anything in a well-running operation.
– Managers or team leaders can delegate everything except responsibility.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
My most efficient marketing source to gain new clients is my homepage in 3 languages (English, French, German).
Especially the clear structure of my homepage helps with many photos and simple descriptions.
Contact Info: