Starting a successful business in Finland is a long-term dream for many people. Working for nobody but still making living or even getting rich. Sounds very good, right?
But how to get started? How to come up with a good business idea that actually works out in the long-term and how to kick-start the company? What are yritystuki (business aid) and Vakuudeton luotto (loan without guarantee) in Finnish context? Read this post and get some great ideas for starting a business in Finland and being the best at it!
What is success in the business world?
To talk about successful business and the road to success, we need to determine what success actually is. Is it money or fame? Is it managing from day to day and being able to pay the bills? Is it being able to grow and learn even after multiple years of operations?
Success can be really anything you want it to be. It depends on your own goals and how well you manage to fulfill them. So actually being successful in your business starts from goal-setting. When the goals are in the spot, it’s easier to measure how well you are doing with them.
Good goals are always measurable and reasonable. What do you think your brand new business can achieve during the first year? How about in two years or five years? Is there an ultimate goal?
Goals are always also something that needs to be reviewed. Reviewing the goals gives you a chance to see where you are heading and are the goals still valid. You can always change them when needed.
So success in business world is actually something non-measurable. If you want to be on the list of most successful entrepreneurs in the World, that is usually measured in money terms but success is also something you can achieve without anyone noticing since you are the person who decides about your own success.
business in Finland – How To Start?
Now that you know what to expect success-wise we should talk about actually starting a business. What does it mean in practice?
First, you of course need to know what your business is about. What is the business idea? Sometimes business idea does not need to be something totally new. It can be a new way to do something or it can be something that already exists. For example, being a hairdresser often means starting your own business. Nevertheless, you are not going to the be only hairdresser in the market or even the best at it. You will come to the market as yourself and with your design and ideas and win your customers’ trust eventually.
Having a clear vision about the business idea helps you to choose the company form. That helps you to actually set up the business and get it going. When the paperwork is done you can proceed into opening a bank account, setting up the taxation, starting the marketing, and getting an accountant.
The starting phase is rather time-consuming but when everything is set life will become much easier and you can use more energy to actually do the business and boost the growth of the company.
Starting a business can be costly and take some initial investment. Read the next chapter to get some ideas for financing the business!
Yhtä kaikki sähköjen kilpailutus on helppoa ja kannattaa!
Helpoin tapa säästää sähkölaskussa on kuitenkin säästää sähköä! Älä siis tuhlaa sitä ottamalla pitkiä suihkuja tai pitämällä valoja päällä silloin, kun et ole huoneessa. Hyvien säästövinkkien ottaminen osaksi omaa arkea helpottaa pitämällä sähkölaskun aisoissa. Harkitse siis talvisen sisälämpötilan laskua muutamalla asteella tai ota muut vinkit käyttöön ja säästä oikeaa rahaa!
Financing and risk of starting succesfull business in Finland
Starting a business takes money since usually, you will need to invest in property, machinery, or for example tools to start the operations. Then again loan money can be difficult to get when you have no financial statements to show or property to give as a guarantee.
Financing and the ways to do it depend a lot on the country in where you plan on doing the business. Banks have different rules and the government has different ways to support entrepreneurship.
Let’s bring here an example: Finland is a model country in offering different support mechanisms for businesses. Support methods are called yritystuki and in practice, the government pays the entrepreneur a certain amount of money to make sure the person can pay his personal bills when starting a business. Also other help and monetary support is available.
If the government aid is not enough there are different loans that the businessman can get. Loan without guarantee or so called Vakuudeton luotto is a loan that can be granted without any guarantee or with a government backed guarantee. So we can say that in Finland financing is rather easy.
Risk is another key in starting a business. Is there demand? What are my financial risks and what if the worst scenario happens? Think these through before setting up a business!
Frequently asked questions – FAQ
What is a loan without guarantee?
Loan without a guarantee is a loan in Finland that you can get based on your risk analysis and payment ability. You don’t need to give collateral.
Does Finland help and support entrepreneurs?
Finland does help entrepreneurs in multiple ways. You can get government aid, cheap loan and help in different phases of your entrepreneusrship.
