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Who hasn't thought about being their own boss?
In the first half of 2020 alone, there were 324,000 business registrations and 58,000 companies registered in the commercial register in Germany.
Even if the business registrations and the number of new businesses are below the previous year according to the Federal Statistical Office due to the corona pandemic, this should not be understood as a U-turn, explain the statisticians.
They refer to the temporarily closed trade offices during the lockdown phase.
There is not only the hope of catching up.
"Some people now have the time in their home office to deal with the question of self-employment," says Berlin lawyer Andre Kraus.
His law firm specializes in business start-ups.
But the step into self-employment is not entirely trivial.
“Those who simply go to the trade office and register their company often fail,” says the Munich Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK).
The change to personal responsibility requires preparation time, courage, ambition and a lot of perseverance.
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It's not just about the right business idea, but also about the right legal form and other questions - and last but not least about the financial possibilities.
With a view to the effects of the Corona, the topic of self-employment could come into focus for many when the short-time working phase expires, according to the IHK.
"You can become boss within a few hours"
The topics of self-employment and start-up companies are a playing field for various providers of seminars, allegedly carefree flat-rate start-up packages, so-called shelf companies, through to individual advice with clarifying legal subtleties.
There are immense differences in terms of costs, liability and the time it takes to get into your own company and your own executive chair.
While the usual start-up of a company takes roughly a month even with specific ideas in the pre-Corona period, there is also the overnight option.
For this purpose, shelf companies founded in advance are used, whose share capital has already been paid into a GmbH.
In a figurative sense, brand new and ready for use.
This dormant legal shell can be brought to life from now on.
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"You can become a partner and managing director of a company within a few hours," says lawyer Georg Schumacher, CEO of Blitzstart Holding AG.
The Munich-based company is one of the leading suppliers of shelf companies in Germany.
Since 1998, over 12,000 companies have been launched.
The palette of customers ranges from private individuals to the Dax group.
"Call us at 10 o'clock, make an appointment at the notary at 12 o'clock, and act as head of the company from 1 o'clock onwards," says Schumacher.
Such express deals exist, for example, when the founder of an advertising agency does not want to sign the lease for his business as a private person because of the unlimited personal liability or when real estate is bought.
Users of shelf companies are currently mostly clients of professionals, such as lawyers and tax consultants, or corporate customers.
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One of the peculiarities is that the notary appointment for taking over the shares and appointing the managing director has a constitutive, i.e. legally generating effect, because the shelf company is already entered in the commercial register and the share capital has been paid in.
The new managing director can act immediately.
The changes in the commercial register with the new managing director name and business purpose will be made up for.
The main advantage of shelf companies is the immediate availability and the exemption from personal liability in transactions, it is said.
In the case of a normal start-up, just opening an account can take weeks, for foreign investors even months.
3500 euros speed surcharge
The providers can reward the speed surcharge for the GmbH from the shelf with a few thousand euros.
A GmbH with 25,000 euros of share capital then costs 28,500 euros, for example.
One of the special features is that start-up costs are not charged to the share capital and this can be spent in full immediately, for example to pay bills.
When setting up your own new company - also with the help of flat-rate providers and service providers - often only half of the EUR 25,000 share capital is paid in with the GmbH variant.
This is legally possible, according to the Berlin law firm Kraus Ghendler Ruvinskij.
The other half should be available.
Until full payment has been made, all shareholders are jointly and severally liable for the difference.
It can also be cheaper.
Some providers of shelf companies also offer the relatively new legal form of the UG (entrepreneurial company), a kind of mini-GmbH.
Theoretically, a UG can get started with a minimum deposit of one euro, but notary fees are due a few hundred euros.
The UGs at shelf companies usually have 1000 euros of share capital.
The UGs are popular with people without a large financial cushion or in the start-up scene.
In the business world, however, the UG has an image disadvantage compared to the financially better equipped GmbH.
The small companies are increasingly being founded as a sideline in order to limit their own liability, says Berlin lawyer Andre Kraus.
"The founders come from almost all industries."
The attorney warns against taking the costs of starting a business - wherever the company comes from - offsetting.
In addition to the initial contribution for the company itself, the notary costs for the notarization would be added.
In addition, the entry in the commercial register, the business registration, the annual fee for the IHK, the bank account and the tax software.
Practically every GmbH or UG is a compulsory member of the IHK.
"In order to get started, you should, in the best case scenario, have at least 900 to 1000 euros in addition to the capital contribution," said the lawyer.
In addition, there would be the costs of operation.
It is also dangerous to start with a sample protocol as a articles of association in a company with several shareholders.
If someone then wants to get out, there could be “painful cuts, like a divorce”.
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