Start-up entrepreneurs

Where can I book a business advice session?
You can book an appointment for business coaching by contacting our On-Call Business Services, tel. +358 (0)10 419 8011, Mon – Fri, 9 am – 5 pm.

How quickly will I get to see a business adviser?
As a general rule, we aim to arrange the meeting to take place within one week of when you contact us.

How much does a business advice session cost?
Business advice sessions are free of charge.

You can view the information and materials of the Business Interpreter service beforehand.

You can make use of the Business Interpreter service’s free tools, forms and documents for planning and starting your business.

Business plans and calculations can also be made using the Succeed as an Entrepreneur service.

Information on business planning can also be found at Suomi.fi.

Do I need to make a business plan?
If you intend to apply for funding, a business plan will be required for the funding application.

Making a business plan is recommended in any case as it helps you to work through the central aspects of running a business and helps you to think about your business concept from different perspectives, which in turn helps you to further develop your idea.

Can I test out my business idea before setting up a business?
Talk to potential customers about their needs and ask them to assess whether your business idea meets those needs.

You can try out your business idea through either light entrepreneurship, a co-operative, or as a part-time entrepreneur. You can come and discuss these options more at a business advice session.

You can develop your idea by testing it out using, for example, the Business Model Canvas approach.

Is my intended name for my business available?
You can find out from this Name Service if the name is already in use, or you can make a company search from the Business Information System.

Where can I get external funding for starting a business?
Book a time with the business advice service, after which the financing options that suit you best can be worked out.

The possible funding channels for new businesses include:

• Start-up grants
• Rural entrepreneurship support
• Finnvera loans and guarantees
• Bank loans
• ELY Centre's business subsidies

I don’t know how to make the calculations. How can I move things forward?
Book an appointment with our Business Helpdesk to get advice on how to make cost and funding calculations and how to price services and products.

Which registers do I need to register for when setting up a company?
When setting up a business, you can register with the Companies Register, the Finnish Tax Administration’s Preliminary Tax Withholding Register, the VAT Register and the Register of Employers at the same time.

For more detailed instructions, see the Tax Administration website:
How to set up a business for the first time and take care of tax payments

If I start a part-time business, will I lose my unemployment benefits?
Part-time entrepreneurship is possible also when unemployed.
Take a look at the TE Services guidelines.

If you’re unemployed, contact the TE Services before starting your business.

If my business activities stop, can I receive unemployment benefits?
If you are a member of an unemployment fund intended for entrepreneurs, you will receive entrepreneur's unemployment benefit for 400 days according to the level of the cover you paid provided that you have been a member of the fund for at least 15 months and have been paid a YEL contribution of at least €12,576 in accordance with your YEL income level.

If you are not a member of one of these unemployment funds, you will receive only the basic unemployment allowance for up to a maximum of 400 days, and only if you have been a member of a fund for at least 15 months and have been paying a YEL contribution of at least €12,576 in accordance with your YEL income level. After this, it is possible to obtain discretionary labour market support.

If the employment conditions are not fulfilled, there is still a possibility of receiving discretionary market labour support.

Typical reasons for why a business fails may include:

• The business has started with ‘too little money’, meaning that the entrepreneur has not considered the likelihood that the business would be operating at a loss for the first few months. It should be assumed that for the first few months of a business’s operations, the costs will be greater than the income. It takes time for customers to discover the business.

• Sometimes a new entrepreneur overestimates their sales income and underestimates their operation costs. We recommend that you overestimate your costs by 20 % and underestimate your income by 20 %. The actual figures will often end up somewhere in the middle.

• Sometimes an entrepreneur doesn’t know their target group: who is buying the company’s products and so the marketing does not reach the right customers. Purchasing must be made as easy as possible for the customer. Productisation helps to bring success. It’s not wise to just trust that people will hear about the company by word-of-mouth. Sometimes profitable business is just a matter of timing.
  

You can book a business advice session at any point of entrepreneurship. Don’t just try and work it out on your own, you can always come and discuss matters with us. The Business Joensuu services are available for all stages of the business life-cycle.