Niklas is a member of the Houzz Industry Solutions team in Berlin, helping home professionals build their brands and connect with homeowners. Outside of work, Niklas enjoys spending time with his family, reading books, playing legos and cooking with his daughters.
What brought you to Houzz? I’ve always been interested in home design, so when a friend of mind – who was already working at Houzz – let me know that Houzz was hiring, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity.
What is a typical workday like for you? My days are a balance of helping pros on Houzz get the most out of their experience with Houzz and meeting with my team to help them do the same. The number one priority if to provide the best value to home professionals.
What do you like most about your job? I love working with home professionals, especially when I can provide value that ultimately helps them grow their businesses. The best thing about my job is when one of the pros I work with tells me that their client found them on Houzz.
What is your favorite Pro + feature? Definitely Pro Spotlight, which are editorial stories that give home pros on Houzz the opportunity to position themselves as a helpful, knowledgeable expert in their field. Pros have the chance to share much more information beyond their recent projects. There is no other opportunity like it for homeowners to get to know how you work.
What’s something that has surprised you about working at Houzz? My team has been really open and helpful from day one. Any time I’ve had a question, at least one colleague has jumped in to help me. From the first day on, I’ve been a part of the family.
What time of day are you most productive? In the morning, the first thing I need is a strong cup of coffee and a few minutes to settle in at the office. Then, I’m ready to be productive!
What advice do you have for others looking to start their career? On a day-to-day basis, I talk to very different personalities. You have to prepare yourself before each call because every customer requires personalized recommendations.
Beyond that, I have a few other tips:
– Open yourself up to new ways of doing things and new opportunities.
– Don’t be afraid to talk to people.
– Don’t be afraid of hearing “no”.
– Never sell something you don’t think the customer really needs.
– Focus on providing value.
How have you used Houzz at home? I just bought an apartment in Berlin, so my family and I have enjoyed looking for ideas and inspiration for every room, especially the living room, bathroom and kids’ rooms. I like that with Houzz, I can sort all of my ideas and inspirations in different ideabooks and make short notes for every picture. The new Chrome extension is also great because it allows me to save any picture I find on the internet to my ideabooks, so all of my inspiration is in one place.
