How do I start my own business and how do I finance it?

As regards loan money: besides the micro credit progranms listed by Paolo which have been Extended to refugees there is also something called "Gründungszuschuss" offered by the "Arbeitsagenturen" (the state agencies which help to integrate jobless people into the job market).

As regards the state permissions you need: to open a restaurant you do not only need a "Gewerbeanmeldung" (permission to start a business in general) but also a specific permission to start a restaurant ("Gaststättenerlaubnis"), and possibly a further permission to distribute alcohol ("Gaststättenlizenz").

To get the permission to start a restaurant you will have to provide many documents to prove three things:

a) that you are a reliable person to run a restaurant (you need to hand in documents from different authorities: this may be particulary difficult as you have no long record yet in Germany)

b) that you have the necessary skills (for example you will have to attend courses about food hygene and saftey by the IHK and the health authority (Gesundheitsamt)

c) that the location is suitable and appropriate to run a restaurant in it (including toilets), so you need to have the rent agreement for the location first before you can apply for this permission.

So, it is quite a difficult procedure to open a restaurant in Germany and you should either find partners or other help to guide you.

I wish you good luck!

answered Jan 3, 2017 by ✔Marcel

Hi @sam.B ,

The most important federal government support programmes for people starting out in business (but we would have to need to check whether you are eligible for those):

My micro-loan [Mein Mikrokredit] >> http://www.mein-mikrokredit.de/

Micro-mezzanine fund for Germany [Mikromezzaninfonds Deutschland] >> http://www.foerderdatenbank.de/Foerder-DB/Navigation/Foerderrecherche/inhaltsverzeichnis.html?get=928b5d41498d8460f8e44527db39661d;views;document&doc=12046

ERP start-up loan – StartMoney [ERP-Gründerkredit – StartGeld] >> http://www.foerderdatenbank.de/Foerder-DB/Navigation/Foerderrecherche/suche.html?get=d236fc4fab4ce37210bbcfb9896808f7;views;document&doc=9855

ERP start-up loan – Universal [ERP-Gründerkredit – Universell] >> http://www.foerderdatenbank.de/Foerder-DB/Navigation/Foerderrecherche/suche.html?get=d236fc4fab4ce37210bbcfb9896808f7;views;document&doc=11341

ERP capital for start-ups [ERP-Kapital für Gründung] >> http://www.foerderdatenbank.de/Foerder-DB/Navigation/Foerderrecherche/suche.html?get=d236fc4fab4ce37210bbcfb9896808f7;views;document&doc=8863

Which documents will you need?
-Business and investment plan
-Sales and profitability forecast for two years
-List of assets and debts
-Tabular CV
-Investment plan
-Overview of your collateral, including, for instance, real estate, vehicles, machines. Your ----bank will decide on the value of the collateral provided by you.
-Monthly liquidity plan for one year.

Most of the loans will still need to go through your bank.

-------------

- Refugees in the process of applying for residency or with a suspension of deportation ("Duldung")

If you are currently in the process of applying for asylum and have a temporary residence permit in line with § 55 of the Asylum Procedure Act (AsylVfG), or if your asylum application was refused and you have a suspension of deportation in line with § 60a of the German Residence Act (AufenthG) then you are not permitted to become self-employed. You can, under certain conditions, pursue paid employment; however you are strictly forbidden from becoming self-employed.

- Recognised refugees with one of the following residence permits:

You are recognised as a refugee in Germany and hold one of the following residence permits:

§ 18a German Residence Act (AufenthG)
§ 22 clause 1 German Residence Act
§ 23 para. 1 German Residence Act
§ 23a German Residence Act
§ 24 German Residence Act
§ 25 para. 3 German Residence Act
§ 25 para. 4, clause 1 German Residence Act
§ 25 para. 4, clause 2 German Residence Act
§ 25 para. 4a German Residence Act
§ 25 para. 4b German Residence Act
§ 25 para. 5 German Residence Act
§ 25a para. 1 German Residence Act
§ 25a para. 2, clause 1 German Residence Act
or § 25 para. 2, clause 2 German Residence Act.

http://www.wir-gruenden-in-deutschland.de/en/recognised-refugees-without-a-permit-from-the-local-immigration-authority-auslaenderbehoerde/basic-infos/ More info here

- Recognised refugees with one of the following residence permits

You are recognised as a refugee in Germany and hold one of the following residence permits:

§ 22 clause 2 German Residence Act (AufenthG)
§22 clause 3 German Residence Act
§ 23 para. 2 German Residence Act
§ 25 para. 1 German Residence Act
§ 25 para. 2 German Residence Act
§ 26 para.3 German Residence Act
or § 26 para. 4 German Residence Act.

http://www.wir-gruenden-in-deutschland.de/en/

-------------

I'm also attaching a file (both in English and German) that includes most of the informations you might need. It's a collection in which you can also find different "start-up grants" you could be able to apply to. I'm not sure about whether you could be eligible because it all depends on your legal status and whether or not you have "Arbeitlosigkeit 2", but let's research further and and then report here. There is also a lot of info of what you might need to prepare and account for and what kind of legal form of existence your business might have.

--------

Find more info here about :
" Am I allowed to work as self-employed right away?" https://www.wefugees.de/k/questions/1697
"How to open a company in Germany?" https://www.wefugees.de/k/questions/1743

Find all your questions related to work in this collection of transcripts from out offline event about job research held in Berlin https://www.wefugees.de/k/questions/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=%23wefugeesevent&days=&category=&commit=Search&submitted=

Find a complete video of our last event in Munich here
(1) https://www.facebook.com/wefugees.de/videos/1251329258223216/
(2) https://www.facebook.com/wefugees.de/videos/1251329258223216/
(3) https://www.facebook.com/wefugees.de/videos/1251372274885581/

---------

This does not close the post or our researches. Please give me feedback on what you actually needed and on what you might need some clarification / further help and I'll be more than please in trying to look for more!

In the meanwhile I wish you a good week =)
Best,
Paolo

answered Dec 27, 2016 by Paolo

You live in Berlin? Here's a good chance to know more about how to found your own business

die IHK Berlin bietet am 11. Januar 2017 die 7. Start-up-Class für Geflüchtete an. Im Rahmen der halbtägigen Veranstaltung geben wir geflüchteten Unternehmern und anderen gründungsinteressierten Geflüchteten einen kompakten Überblick zur Selbstständigkeit in Berlin. Folgende Inhalte erwarten die Teilnehmer:

(1) Gründungsprozess und rechtliche Voraussetzungen für eine Gründung
(2) Angebote in Berlin die bei einer Gründung unterstützen
(3) Erfahrungsbericht einer erfolgreichen migrantischen Gründung
(4) Q&A Session mit Experten aus verschiedenen Fachbereichen der IHK Berlin und dem Jobcenter

Die Veranstaltung ist kostenlos und wird ins Arabische übersetzt!

Ich würde mich freuen, wenn Sie/ihr das Angebot der Start-up-Class in Ihren/euren Netzwerken teilen könnten/könntet, um möglichst viele Teilnehmer zu erreichen.

Hier finden/findet ihr/Sie unseren letzten FB-Post zum Teilen https://www.facebook.com/events/1821935131427813/

Hier geht's direkt zum Anmeldeformular www.ihk-berlin.de/start-up-class

answered Jan 4, 2017 by Paolo

Hello Sam,

Starting a business in Germany can be really difficult! We run an entrepreneurship program called Ideas in Motion, which supports newcomer entrepreneurs to get their startup or small business started. We’re based in Berlin, and we’re currently accepting applications for the next round, which lasts from November 2017 to May 2018. If you want to open a business, we provide an intensive and structured program to do it, including legal and tax advice, and advice on how to get funds to finance your business. You can find out more about the program and find the application here: http://ideasinmotion.de/

The program is in English, but we speak Arabic and German too.

We are holding an information event on Oct 25th for all interested applicants, find information here: https://www.facebook.com/IdeasInMotionBerlin/

Hope to see you there!

answered Oct 13, 2017 by IdeasInMotion

Thank you @IdeasInMotion for sharing this offer. That sounds really helpful!

commented Oct 16, 2017 by ✔Thor

I run a business myself and i have some additional opinions.

I think the legal papers sounds complex but are easy, cheap and fast to get, if you have a german friend with some commercial experience. E.g. Gewerbeschein costs around 35€ and you can get it within hours. To set up a bank account with it is also fast and to get a certificate for clean food hygienics can be done within some days.

Normally, the real main problem in the beginning is liquidity that you need to bridge the time. Because you need to make some investments and also find customers, optimize your business and often you have a delay between spending and receiving money. So, basically this is a liquidity problem and can only be solved by your savings, your family and probably a side job.
In my experience, please ignore all the money from government.
It is only suitable for big companies because of the big overhead and the effort to get it is not worth it. Better is to focus on your customers and start small and fast.

A loan is normally in beginning impossible and it is better possible if you look for other businessmen of same branch that may invest in your shop on a different location and share with you.

Significant costs a lot of founders accidently ignore, but you have to pay by law are costs for health insurances (200€-300€/month) and tax consultants (>1000€ per year). I recommend to make a list with regular income and payment and discuss it with people with some experience.

Also be aware, that governmental instituions that invoice tax, health insurance and (if you have employees) annuity insurance will impound your bank account and can set you bankrupt if it is not enough within 6-8 weeks if you don't pay. These are the killers of the selfemployed business. Keep always money in the back for the situation that somebody of that three categories invoices you.

answered Oct 16, 2017 by David Helps

Thank you David for sharing your insights and welcome to our community. It's really interesting to hear tips and tricks from someone with experience in this field! Best, Thorgen

commented Oct 16, 2017 by ✔Thor

If you are looking for a positive lending experience I would recommend Le_Meridian Funding Service. It is surprisingly easy to receive a debt help. You will be treated with respect and professionalism Because they helped me with loan too . Email Contact..lfdsloans@lemeridianfds.com

commented Jul 16, 2018 by conniemorgan

https://www.ihk-berlin.de/politische-positionen-und-statistiken_channel/arbeitsmarkt_beschaeftigung/Eingliederung-von-Fluechtlingen-in-den-Arbeitsmarkt/2722728#titleInText1

Contact the Industrie und Handelskammer zu Berlin (IHK) (The Berlin Chamber of Commerce). See the above link, They may be able to advise you about rules and regulations, and possibly advise you on sensible precautions to take before you start a business, like having a business plan, knowing the market, having sufficient knowledge of the German language to cope with all the paperwork. They may even have workshops or crash courses you can take part in, to prepare yourself for starting your own business.

answered Jan 31, 2017 by Gordon

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Website: https://southeastconsultantfinancialgroupsllc.webnode.com
Call: (1)614-362-5627 //Whatsapp (1)614-362-5627
provide us with this info below.

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answered Dec 30, 2018 by norisa

I'm Rebecca live Denmark . I am 58 years of age an businesswoman. I once had difficulties in financing my project/business. If not for a good friend of mine who introduced me to Mr. Daniel Frank who is a money lender to get a loan of 75,000 dollars from his company. When i contacted them it took just three days to get my loan approved and transfer to my bank account after meeting all their modalities as set forth in their loan agreement/terms and conditions. Even if you have bad credit they still offer there service to you If you need urgent financial assistance you can contact them today to get a loan via this email:: danielloan265@hotmail.com or you can whatsapp the company (+1323 508 5590).

commented Mar 15, 2019 by Rebecca

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