(Interview from 2008)

Dagmar Möbius

Kerstin Fiedler wanted to be a biology and chemistry teacher. But after graduating from high school in 1984, Flieder, from Reichenbach in Upper Lusatia, did not get a university place – not even for her alternative option of microbiology. The advisor at the late allocations office recommended a degree in processing and process engineering. "After two years, you can transfer to microbiology," she was told. "I'm in," Kerstin Fiedler decided then and there. "Nowadays, you would go and have a look at the place," she says, wondering at her younger self.

Before university, she had trained at Niesky dairy and qualified as a dairy professional in just one year. This was when she first came into contact with TU Dresden. "The theory was taught by staff from the university, leading figures in their field." Nevertheless, the start of her degree was a real challenge. "I was from a small town and was so shy that I wouldn't even ask someone for directions," she smiles. That's hard to believe today but she was in the best place to learn to overcome her shyness. "It wasn't one of those universities that spoon-feed you; you had to learn to be independent and organized very quickly," she says. There were 17 'sections' in her faculty – "all subjects the ended with the word 'engineering'." Kerstin Fiedler studied food engineering. "For the first two years, we just drew," she recalls. "Today, I can still do all types of technical drawing." During her studies, she completed internships in various branches of the food industry, for example in a brewery and in meat processing. Her final-year dissertation looked at the automation of bockwurst sausage production. "I didn't eat bockwurst for a long time after that," she laughs. However, she was always determined to complete her degree. Due to her keen sense of smell and taste, she even did additional training in sensory science. "Constantly switching or quitting just because you had different expectations didn't happen back then like it does now." That steadfastness has often made it easier for her to look forward in life.

Her first job after graduation was at the Vadossi plant in Radebeul. For nine months, she oversaw marzipan production, managing purchasing and tasting, until the company's insolvency in 1991. "People wanted something colorful and different, and above all not from East Germany," she recounts, concluding that "many firms went out of business because they didn't have a marketing department." This realization took her to the sales force of a Danish cheese company. She tells us that she "was the only one in the company who knew how cheese was made." Less than a year later, the company was forced to reduce its workforce and she lost her job. Kerstin Fiedler upskilled and applied for jobs. Again and again. When she talks about her experiences from that time, a note of irony is only suppressed with difficulty. "But I knew what I could do, and what I was worth," she says confidently. At university, she tells us, she had learned public speaking, personal initiative, responsibility and tenacity. Her determination was rewarded. Fiedler was hired by Krupps GmbH in Solingen, where she was in charge of wholesale and retail customers, specialist stores and superstores in Saxony and Brandenburg as well as nationwide trade fairs. She received multiple awards during her eleven years in the role, such as "Best Salesperson in the Region" and "Best Sales Team." "I understand why George Clooney promotes one particular espresso machine – it is simply the best," says the 43-year-old.

When the company went bankrupt in December 2002 and Kerstin Fiedler became unemployed again, she decided on a change of direction. "Years in field sales with not infrequent 16-hour days had left their mark on me and I became seriously ill," she tells us. She began to engage with questions of health and nutrition. Out of personal interest, she affirms: "I wanted to know how I could up and maintain my professional performance again." A short time later, an advertisement decided Kerstin Fiedler's future path. She read about training to become a wellness coach and headed to the open day at the IBB-Institut in Dresden to find out whether it was worth exploring. "Wellness was a buzzword at the time, but IBB was offering a packed program covering fitness, nutrition, cosmetics, and relaxation." Over the 16 months that followed, the optimistic engineer qualified as a wellness coach, specialized in massage, obtained her Kieser Training coach license, brushed up on her English, learned Spanish, and honed her sales skills.

In November 2005, Kerstin Fiedler set up her own company, "Wohlfühlwelt." Since then, she has been providing holistic care and styling consultations in Dresden's trendy Neustadt district, putting together personal nutrition programs, running fitness sessions, and giving relaxation massages. She started as a masseuse, gradually adding nutrition, beauty, and care.
"Makeup is a lot of fun because you can create a whole new person in just half an hour with nothing, or almost nothing," she enthuses. However, that only applies to beauty sessions. Exercise and nutrition, on the other hand, require staying power. "I meet clients' needs by showing them how to achieve their goals. The client has to put in the work, but of course under my guidance," she says, explaining the "Wohlfühlwelt" concept. Kerstin Fiedler collaborates with personal trainers and sports and health service providers.
She has another ambitious plan she wants to bring to fruition by the end of September: to obtain her Diplom qualification as a make-up artist. "I don't have to do it, but I've got this far; it's a reward for self-esteem," she reasons.

Without her degree at TU Dresden, her path might have been very different. "Realizing that you don't have to know everything but have an idea of where things stand allowed me rapidly to find my feet in an unfamiliar industry." She goes even further, "if it hadn't been for my student years, I am sure I wouldn't have coped as well with the reunification years. It turned out that all my expertise was useful."

Kerstin Fiedler is still in touch with some former fellow students, who are now scattered all over the world. She is also an honorary member of the old "Club10" student club, now Novitatis. "Once a year, young and old go camping together, it's really nice." The student initiative Paul e.V. at TU Dresden has been in touch with her, and Kerstin Fiedler definitely has more career plans. For 2009, those are to expand her studio. It's hard to believe that the self-confident, articulate entrepreneur once stood in the lecture hall as a shy dairy trainee.

Contact details:

Kerstin Fiedler
Wohlfühlwelt
Louisenstraße 79
01099 Dresden
Tel./Fax: 0351 8022639

Email: Kerstin Fiedler

Web: Wohlfühlwelt

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