Interview with Franziska

Franziska Hübsch started her MBA studies at the Wine Campus Neustadt in the winter semester of 2019 , when she was still working in the automotive industry.   She very quickly made the courageous decision   to follow her passion and completely reorient herself professionally in the wine industry. She combined her experience from the industry with the wine knowledge and management skills from her MBA studies and took the plunge into self-employment! The interview was conducted in February 2021.

1 What are you currently doing?

I'm currently putting a lot of energy into developing my own business as a solo self-employed person. I originally started "Weinfimmel" to offer wine seminars in Berlin. Now my focus is on consulting for small, family-run wineries in the areas of marketing, communication and strategy. At the same time, I'm on the home straight with my MBA and will soon be starting my final thesis.

2 As a Berliner, how did you get into wine in the first place?

The first time I came into contact with wine was when I spent a semester abroad in southern Italy years ago. Back then, it all started with table wine in a Tetrapak. Back in Germany, I attended various Further education courses over the years and worked at wineries. This deepened my interest and passion for wine. Over time, I realized that I wanted to get to grips with the subject professionally. That led me to the MBA!

3 What have you worked on so far and did wine play a role in this?

Although my passion for wine has been with me for many years, the subject has not yet played a role in my everyday professional life. Originally a political scientist, I went to Nepal for a year as a development worker after my studies. After I came back, I ended up working for an automotive supplier - quite unplanned actually. A short stint turned into seven years in which I worked on an international level in sales, process management and organizational development.

4 How did the change come about?

After seven years in the automotive industry, I felt that the time had come for a change: true to the motto "It's now or never!", after careful consideration I decided to resign and enrolled for an MBA at the Wine Campus. It was important to me to study something where I could also incorporate my industry experience in a meaningful way and not start from scratch. To this day, I am very happy that I took this step!

5 Why consulting for wineries?

I've noticed that small, family-run wineries in particular are often a "one-woman" or "one-man" show. The winemaker stands in the vineyard, then in the wine cellar, sells wines, is supposed to take care of social media and improve processes in the business at the same time. Inevitably, issues fall by the wayside. There is no such thing as the jack of all trades. I think winegrowers are overstretching themselves. Just as investing in a new grape press pays off, so does investing in professional support for business organization or marketing.

6 How has the MBA contributed to this development?

The MBA gave me a lot of knowledge about strategy and management in the wine industry. I also gained a lot of inspiration and made new contacts. Overall, the course gave me the skills and self-confidence to want to start my own business in the wine industry. The exchange with the other students helped me a lot and gave me a boost.

7 How do you help the wineries?

Wineries often get stuck in their daily routine - we all know that. In the first step, a fresh and critical view from the outside helps. During my previous job in the automotive industry, I prepared audits and worked closely with quality. Now it's more or less in my blood: first understanding where exactly things are going wrong, what is needed, providing food for thought and implementing initial, simple measures for - for example - greater reach. As a solo entrepreneur, I advise wineries personally and individually. At the same time, I can draw on a network of contacts who can provide support on special topics.

Great, thank you very much and good luck!

If you would like to find out more about Franziska in moving images, you can find a short interview with her on our YouTube channel! You can get in contact with her at weinfimmel.de.