Thoughts On Entrepreneurship - Uusyrityskeskus

What isentrepreneurial work?Entrepreneurship gives you the opportunity to do things your own way andaccording to your own values. As an entrepreneur, you are responsible for theresults of your work and the obligations of the entrepreneur. When you understandwhat it takes to become an entrepreneur and prepare yourself carefully, you haveevery chance of succeeding.Are you planning to become anentrepreneur? Stop for a momentto consider whether you have anentrepreneurial mindset and qualitiesthat will help you succeed as anentrepreneur. You should also consideryour life situation as you should be ableto focus on your business and perhaps beable to wait a while before your businessstarts making money.Entrepreneurship is always a riskybusiness. Most risks are manageable ifyou identify them in advance and knowhow to prepare for them. The EnterpriseAgency’s business advisors will help youtest and plan your business idea for freeso that you can start your business on asolid foundation. Remember that risk isoften the very force that drives people toentrepreneurial activity.Who is an entrepreneur?The definition of an entrepreneurvaries depending on the context. Forexample, Statistics Finland defines anentrepreneur as a person who engages ineconomic activity on their own accountand at their own risk. An entrepreneurcan be an employer or a self-employedperson. A person working in a limitedcompany who, alone or togetherwith their family, owns at least halfof the company is also considered anentrepreneur.In the case of unemploymentinsurance, an entrepreneur is a personwho works in a company of which theyor their family own a specific sharedetermined by law. Furthermore, aperson who works, but is not in anemployment or service relationship with8BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEURthe employer company, is considered anentrepreneur (such as a self-employedperson or a person who works throughan invoicing service company). Owninga company or a part thereof does notautomatically make you an entrepreneur.The various forms ofentrepreneurshipYour personal life situation andbusiness idea will determine whetheryou should become a full-time or parttime entrepreneur. Depending on yoursituation, you should also evaluatewhether you should start a businessalone or with a partner. There are manypossibilities.Full-time entrepreneurship, as thename implies, is the entrepreneur'smain job and main source of income. Itimposes strict profitability requirementson the operations, as you have to makea living from the business. On the otherhand, full-time entrepreneurship allowsyou to be fully invested in the operationsof your company.The law does not distinguish betweenfull-time and part-time businesses.The distinction comes from theentrepreneur's possible other sources ofincome. You are considered a part-timeentrepreneur if you have another fulltime job.As a part-time entrepreneur, thefinancial risk may be lower, but eventhen you have to ensure you have enoughincome to cover the expenses.Part-time entrepreneurship may bejust a hobby, a way to earn a little extramoney, or an opportunity to try out abusiness idea. Starting a business as apart-time activity alongside paid work orstudy is recommended if you are unsureabout the profitability of your business.Part-time entrepreneurship is a goodway to test whether you will have enoughcustomers. Testing is particularlyimportant if you are planning to providea specialised service.Things to consider in parttime entrepreneurship:If you are employed, discuss yourplans for becoming an entrepreneurwith your employer.As an employee, you are not allowedto perform similar work as anentrepreneur. It is often sufficient toinform your employer of your part-timeentrepreneurship, but sometimes it isgood to ask for written permission.Find out how part-timeentrepreneurship will affect yourunemployment security.This is worth doing even if you are stillemployed.Price wisely.If you intend to expand your businessinto a full-time occupation, thinkcarefully about the right price for yourproduct or service. The price must behigh enough for you to make a profiteven if you expand your business intoa full-time occupation, because a steepprice increase may be impossible toimplement later on. An excessively lowprice level can give a false impressionof the market demand if your largecustomer base is the result of low prices.UUSYRIT YSKESKUS.FI/IN - ENGLISH

Characteristics ofa successful entrepreneurThere are as many different ways to become an entrepreneur asthere are people. However, your personality is the most importantfactor that determines the success of your business. You need certainqualities and skills to make your work productive and meaningful.As an entrepreneur, you must have: A good business ideaConfidence in your own business ideaUnderstanding and knowledge of your industryA desire to make moneySpontaneity and determinationCourage to take risksAbility to cope with uncertaintyClear goalsRunning a business also requires entrepreneurial skills: Business managementSalesMarketing and communicationFinancial managementRemember, you do not have to be able to do everything byyourself. You can buy services from another entrepreneur,such as an accounting firm or an advertising agency.There are a varietyof training courseson entrepreneurship.UUSYRIT YSKESKUS.FI/IN - ENGLISHBECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR9

Who can do the work on your behalfif necessary?Private tradership orpartnership?Finland has a strong culture ofsolopreneurship. Well over half of allFinnish companies are one-personenterprises. Starting a business alonehas its advantages, but working with apartner can also be a good option.Private tradershipAdvantages You can make all the decisionsyourself. You do not have to share the profitwith anyone else.Things to consider Do you have the necessary skills,networks and capital to succeed onyour own? Do you want to take on all theresponsibility yourself and workalone?PartnershipAdvantages With your partner, you cancomplement each other's skills andattributes. You can share responsibilities,successes and concerns with yourpartner.Things to consider Can you be sure that yourcooperation will run smoothly in allsituations? How would you share the companyownership and responsibilities withyour business partner?Partnership and teamentrepreneurshipA partner is a person who owns oneor more shares in a limited liabilitycompany. Operating as a partner can bean entrepreneurial activity depending onhow the responsibilities and authority aredivided among the partners. For example,the spouse and children may be partnersin family businesses. In small businesses,it may be possible to get key people tocommit themselves to the enterprise andits development by transferring shares inthe business to them.An enterprise can also be formed bya team. In this case, several people whowish to become entrepreneurs establisha business together. The members ofthe team commit to common goals,complement each other’s expertise, andare jointly responsible for the company’ssuccess.Work integration socialenterprises and socialentrepreneurshipA work integration social enterpriseprovides employment for the partiallydisabled and the long-term unemployed.It aims to make a profit, like any business,but at least 30 percent of the workersemployed are disabled or long-termunemployed. The company is enteredin the register of social enterprisesmaintained by the Ministry of EconomicAffairs and Employment and can begranted an increased wage subsidy.In a social enterprise, business isprimarily conducted for a specific socialor environmental goal, and most ofthe company’s financial profit is usedin furthering the goal. A companyestablished for a social purpose mayapply for the Finnish Social EnterpriseLabel.What is light entrepreneurship?Light entrepreneurship is anentrepreneur-like way to sell yourown work without having your ownBusiness ID. A light entrepreneuracquires their own work anddetermines its price. Invoicing andpayroll accounting are outsourcedto an invoicing service that collectsa service fee when paying wages.The invoicing service also handlestax deductions and other requiredpayments for the self-employedperson.Light entrepreneurship is agood option if you want to testyour business idea or if you sellyour expertise on an occasionalor temporary basis. This service isnot suitable for selling products. Ifyou use an invoicing service, youshould always agree on the use of10BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEURthe service with your customer.We advise you to comparedifferent invoicing services.When comparing service feepercentages, you should also lookcarefully at what the fee includes.With some service providers, thefee includes accident and liabilityinsurance, which is importantfor a light entrepreneur. Yourpersonal insurance is not likelyto cover any damage that occursduring the assignment.When choosing an invoicingservice, you should also find outwhether the service is availableabroad and whether it acceptspayment terminal or cashpayments. Your intended businessdetermines which invoicingservice best suits your needs.An unofficial form ofenterpriseLight entrepreneurship is nota legally recognised form ofenterprise. It simply means thatyou sell your own work andexpertise through an invoicingservice. Some service providersmainly act as an online accountingfirm and require you to create aBusiness ID.You should always familiariseyourself with the content of theservice and check whether itrequires a Business ID. The bestoption for you depends on yoursituation and business idea. If youare planning a new business as alight entrepreneur, the EnterpriseAgency is happy to help you!UUSYRIT YSKESKUS.FI/IN - ENGLISH

Unemployment securityIn this ever-changing world, business conditions may deteriorate unpredictably,even if an entrepreneur has a viable business idea and a high level of expertise.New entrepreneurs should always think about their social and unemployment security.According to the Unemployment SecurityAct, an entrepreneur is a person whoworks in a company of which they or theirfamily own a specific share determined bylaw. Furthermore, a person who worksin a company without an employmentor service contract, i.e. a self-employedperson or a person who works throughan invoicing service, is also considered anentrepreneur.An entrepreneur can join anunemployment fund for the selfemployed if their YEL income is at least 13,247 per year (Entrepreneur's YEL/MYEL earned income and the companyco-owner's TyEL salary). Entrepreneurswith a lower level of income are onlyentitled to labour market support.When is an entrepreneurunemployed?You are not entitled to unemploymentbenefits if you are fully employed asan entrepreneur. In order to receivethe benefit, you need to close downyour business. According to theUnemployment Security Act, you areunemployed if it can be proven thatyour business activities have ended orif your employment with the companyhas ended in a lawful manner. The TEOffice always ensures that you meet theemployment conditions for the paymentof the benefit. The concept of terminatedentrepreneurial activity variesdepending on the form of enterprise andthe entity as a whole.The entrepreneurial activityis deemed fully terminated if the enterprise has been placed inbankruptcy the enterprise has been placed inliquidation a dissolution agreement has beenconcluded between the partners(excluding limited liabilitycompanies) the production and financialactivities of the enterprise haveUUSYRIT YSKESKUS.FI/IN - ENGLISHended and the entrepreneur hasgiven up their YEL or MYELinsurance and filed a notificationwith the Tax Authorities forremoving the enterprise from theprepayment register, the employerregister and the VAT register (orinterrupting its VAT liability).In some cases, the TE Office mayconsider the entrepreneurial activity tobe seasonal and grant unemploymentbenefits for a period when theentrepreneur is unable to conduct theirbusiness. In this case, the entrepreneuris comparable to a wage-earner and mayreceive a benefit between assignments.A person's employment with a companyis considered to have ended if their workcapacity has decreased permanently andmaterially.Basic daily allowanceor earnings-relatedunemployment allowance?An entrepreneur’s livelihood duringunemployment is secured by either anunemployment allowance or labourmarket support. Unemploymentallowance can be a basic daily allowancepaid by Kela or an earnings-related dailyallowance paid by an unemploymentfund.Employees are insured by anunemployment fund for salariedemployees, and entrepreneurs areinsured by the Unemployment Fund forFinnish Entrepreneurs (Yrittäjäkassa).You cannot be a member of both funds atthe same time. You should always choosean unemployment fund according toyour main occupation: if you are a parttime entrepreneur with a full-time job,you should belong to an unemploymentfund for salaried employees.The basic daily allowance in 2021is 33.78 per day, approximately 726.27 per month. As a member ofthe Unemployment Fund for FinnishEntrepreneurs, you receive a dailyallowance based on your earnings,which is clearly higher than the basicdaily allowance. The amount of earningsrelated daily allowance is determinedon the basis of your pre-unemploymentincome or insurance. You can calculatethe amount of your earnings-relateddaily allowance on the UnemploymentFund for Finnish Entrepreneurs’website at WWW.YRITTAJAKASSA.FI.Employment condition andpost-protectionYou can receive an earnings-relateddaily allowance if you are a member ofthe Unemployment Fund for FinnishEntrepreneurs and you have worked asan entrepreneur for at least 15 months inthe four years preceding unemployment.The reference period cannot be extendedto a period when you have not been amember of the fund.If you change from being an employeeto an entrepreneur, you usually havethe right to post-protection. You mayreceive an earnings-related dailyallowance based on the income fromthe salaried employment you had beforeyou became an entrepreneur if yourbusiness is closed down during the postprotection period. The post-protectionperiod is usually 18 months from thestart of the business. In order to receivea post-protection allowance, you musthave joined the Unemployment Fundfor Finnish Entrepreneurs within onemonth of leaving the unemploymentfund for salaried employees. Entitlementto an employee-based daily allowanceends when the entrepreneur's 15-monthemployment condition is met.More information on entrepreneurs’unemployment allowance:WWW.YRITTAJAKASSA.FI,WWW.KELA.FI/WEB/EN Our services Unemployment, WWW.TE - PALVELUT.FI/TE/EN For jobseekers If youbecome unemployed Unemploymentsecurity The entrepreneur andunemployment securityBECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR11

Secure your livelihoodSetting up a business and acquiring customersoften take time. A new entrepreneur must alsosecure their own financial situation before thebusiness starts to produce results.A start-up grant supports anew entrepreneurA start-up grant secures a newentrepreneur's livelihood at the startingphase of full-time entrepreneurship.The grant is only meant to cover theentrepreneur’s personal living costs, notthe costs of business operations. Startup grants are taxable income, i.e. tax ispayable on them.A start-up grant can be grantedto a person who is becoming a fulltime entrepreneur at the startup andestablishment stage of the business.A start-up grant may also be grantedto a person who plans to expand theirpart-time entrepreneurship into a fulltime occupation. Start-up grants canbe granted to several entrepreneurswho are working in the same start-upbusiness. You can apply for a start-upgrant when you own at least 15 percent ofthe company, are in a dominant positionin the company, and are employed fulltime in the company.A start-up grant can be paid for aperiod of up to 12 months. A decision onthe start-up grant is always made for aperiod of six months. After the first sixmonths, the entrepreneur may apply foran extension of the start-up grant foranother six months.How to apply fora start-up grantDetermine youreligibility fora start-up grantin good time.12BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEURA start-up grant is a discretionaryallowance granted by the Employmentand Economic Development Office(TE Office), or municipal employmentservices, if your municipality isinvolved in a local government pilot onemployment and you belong to the pilot’starget group. For more information onthe entities granting start-up allowances,please contact your local TE Office.When considering setting up abusiness, you should contact yourlocal employment services in goodtime to ensure your eligibility for astart-up grant. Operations must not becommenced before a decision on thestart-up grant has been made.The application for a start-up grantmust be accompa

name Tina’s Bakery. I used Google to check if the name was still available. In my shop window, there is always a mouth-watering advertisement next to the name. TINA KILICKESEN Tina’s Bakery Entrepreneurship is usually related to an entrepreneur’s passion. Enthusiasm and working on something they find important helps them work hard and .