The story of Mark Haacke and his company
Again and again, people ask me how it was possible for us to grow from a “one-man-show” to a small but solid consulting firm in such a short time.
Therefore, I would now like to give you an insight into how all this could come about and why it actually took not just months to get to this point, but years. Even
25, to be exact.
My school days: The maker and the tinkerer
Even in school, I was more of a doer and tinkerer and was interested in many different things – both in theory and in practice. You could also see that in my hobbies. I could get excited not only about photography or model airplane racing, but also about electronics. For example, at that time I was also a DJ in my spare time. But you can’t book me as a DJ anymore 😉
After graduating from high school: Apprenticeship as a car mechanic
My heart beat for the craft. Instead of going to university first, as most high school graduates do, I completed an apprenticeship as an automotive mechanic. At that time, I had already laid the foundation for my entire future path, without being aware of it.
Dual studies: mechanical engineering and automotive engineering
Because I was so enthusiastic about the subject, I later decided to study mechanical engineering with a focus on automotive engineering. Among other things, I also attended lectures on “Road Traffic Law and Related Fields of Law”, which in turn was to provide me with a small basis for my future career. But we will come to that later.
At the time, that was a dual study program in which DEKRA Automobile GmbH was my training partner. This meant that my path to an expert from an officially recognized monitoring organization was already virtually predetermined.
From Expert to Head of Conformity of Production
As an expert at DEKRA, I was already able to practice sales, communication and accounting basics very well. Many new bases, a solid turnover and a very high recognition from colleagues and customers made me want to develop even further.At that time, it was already the case that very extensive knowledge of the legal requirements for vehicles was necessary. Therefore, it was only a little surprising that the homologation of vehicles and their components should determine my new job description.
After working for a supplier of particulate filters, an engineering office and various positions in the areas of type testing, recalls and quality assurance at a vehicle manufacturer, I qualified for the position of “Conformity of Production” manager there. I then held this position for 6 years until I finally switched to self-employment.
My path to independence
For 4 years, I then worked as a freelance trainer on approval-relevant requirements for a large German training provider – initially as a part-time job. However, I wanted to make my knowledge available to more than just one company in the future.
Thus I founded Mark Haacke Training & Consulting as a sole proprietorship. This was so successful on the market that the next logical step finally had to follow at the beginning of 2021: conversion into a limited liability company. So we rented an office and have been steadily expanding our team ever since.
My path to independence
As you might have read by now, I always like to learn new things. For this reason, I am currently in the process of studying law. Not only do I benefit from this, but so do our customers. Because I can only continue to offer my customers the best possible advice in the future if I don’t stop learning.
At first glance, it may seem that our success was a matter of a few months. But as you now know, the last few months are merely the fruits of the last 25 years. Although I did and saw many different things during that time, they all had one common denominator: they all brought me to the exact point I needed to get to and where I am now. I am proud to offer my 25 years of experience and expertise to my clients and look forward to each additional year to come!