Becoming self-employed – anyone who is of legal age can do that. Even if the start usually only consists of business registration, the right planning is immensely important for successful self-employment. From the business plan to financing to permits and insurance: We show you tools for preparation and all the steps up to a successful foundation and the realization of your dream. Here we will cover in simple words how to develop an actual business idea, business plan writing tips, everything you need to know about permits, advice on names and logos, website setting up tips (if you are looking for an example business website you can check out online slots), business registration guidelines, marketing, accounting, and insurance information.
Develop a business idea
The idea is the starting point when you start your own business. The following questions will help with brainstorming: What are you good at? What motivates you? What do customers pay for? What does society need? How can you differentiate yourself in the market? What’s a problem that you can think of that you could potentially provide a solution for? There are many different ways and angles for approaching things so try to keep an open mind and process your ideas in every way you possibly can.
Write a business plan
The business plan helps founders in all important areas on the way to self-employment: Calculate prices correctly with a tool, analyse the competition and find out strengths and weaknesses. With just a little bit of googling you can find numerous free templates and tools online to help you with your tasks.
Obtain permits and choose the legal form
Depending on the activity or industry, permits, a trade license, or a master craftsman’s certificate are required. For example, gastro founders need a health certificate. Take care early is the motto here because these certificates must be available to register your business – find out which permits you to need them.
Find names & create a logo
Now it’s getting creative: In order for you and your product to stand out from the competition, you need a name with recognition value and a logo. This is something you can do all by yourself and you will get to be as creative as you wish. If you find yourself struggling with the creative aspects you can always find some professional help online to design a logo for you or to help in any way you need.
Set up a website
As a figurehead for customer acquisition, a website is the alpha and omega of starting your own business. It is very easy to find out online nowadays which website builder is best suited to building your website and what needs to be considered when creating a website – stylistically, content-wise, and legally. But all these are things you need to keep in mind in order to have the best website for your business, that will help you grow but also to be covered legally in every aspect.
Register your business
Before self-employment officially begins, the practical establishment, including all formalities and administrative procedures, must be completed. Most founders have to stop by two offices: Google how to fill out the business registration at the trade office and the questionnaire for tax registration at the tax office.
Start marketing
To win customers, you have to drum up for your business: advertise, place yourself in search engines, be present on social media, make phone calls, etc. Even if you don’t have a significant budget to start with there are plenty of affordable or even almost free ways to advertise and promote your business. Rely on all kinds of social media channels, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and anything else you can think of. Rember that search engine optimisation is crucial and that is one thing you may want to invest in. Of course, there are also more traditional marketing channels like printed papers, etc. Do your research and find out what best serves your business idea and your budget.
Open a business account
Separate professional and private expenses right from the start – this way you can keep track of things and simplify the entire bookkeeping. You can easily find the right business account with a simple google search.
Writing invoices & accounting
As a self-employed person, there are many new tasks, including accounting. You can do this yourself with the help of smart tools or simply outsource it to your tax advisor. There are so many accounting tools available online from simple free ones to more complicated paid ones. Excel is also a classic, standard choice for bookkeeping. Once the first orders have been won, the self-employed also have to write invoices.
Check insurance
Most self-employed have questions about health insurance. You need to do an insurance check and figure out whether private or statutory health insurance works best for you and your business. Research what works best for start-ups and your kind of business