Selina and Simon Hasse: An unplanned path to their own business
Hearing Selina (31) and Simon Hasse (33) talk about their company, you might think they had long planned to become self-employed. In fact, taking over the Harz’s only GlowGolf venue in Wildemann happened entirely by chance. ‘We were looking for a house back in our old home region,’ says Selina, who was born in Clausthal-Zellerfeld. An online listing led them to Wildemann’s former spa building, where Isabel Smits and Theo van Megen opened the GlowGolf venue in 2015. ‘The house turned out a little bigger than planned, but now we have the shortest commute imaginable,’ Selina adds with a laugh.
She is a specialist care worker for people with disabilities and had been quite happy in her profession in Husum. Simon grew up in Wildemann and knows the local area. Together, they wanted to return to the Harz. As initial discussions about taking over GlowGolf began, they soon made contact with Wirtschaftsförderung Region Goslar GmbH & Co. KG (WiReGo), through their father and father-in-law Reinhold Hasse. WiReGo’s event series for founders, which covers the essentials of business models, business plans, tax law and financing in five modules, gave the young business owners important information for their next steps. WiReGo also supported them in preparing their business plan and applying for financial support under the coronavirus restart assistance program.
Despite delays and obstacles caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the business was handed over on 1 December 2020. Hoping to open during the Christmas holidays, Selina and Simon rolled up their sleeves and made substantial changes. They redesigned the entrance with a photographic wall mural. Upstairs, a colorful Harz painting now welcomes visitors in the new lounge, created with the creative help of Andrea Günther of GuennyAirbrush in Jerstedt. She also turned the doors of the newly renovated restrooms into unique pieces; she herself had successfully left employment for self-employment in early 2019. A wooden statue by the HarzRitter of Blankenburg and a carved wooden sanitizer dispenser by Dirk Engelmann of Bad Lauterberg also enrich the entrance. Involving local people reflects the two returnees’ connection to their home region. On the first floor, the former spa building cafeteria became a bistro serving hot and cold drinks and small snacks.
The committed young couple have more ideas to keep the GlowGolf venue attractive to regular players. From Wednesday to Sunday, the special blacklight minigolf experience draws visitors of all ages to Wildemann. Current information is available at glowgolfharz.de, on Facebook and on Instagram.
