A Guide to Starting a Business in Poland
If you are considering starting a business in Poland but are not sure how to go about it, understanding all the essential steps about initiating a Polish entrepreneurial venture will help youget the ball rolling.
In order to make your business journey successful, you will need to answer some essential questions first. For instance, if you currently work as an employee, you should ask yourself if your business venture will help you earn a greater income than what you currently earn. You also need to compare the costs and benefits of full-time employment against the costs and benefits of operating a business.
Of course, you will also have to determine the amount of capital that you will need to get your business up-and-running. Equally important is to consider the amount of time that your business will take to turn profitable. This is where a business plan comes into play.
Moreover, you must decide whether you want to start this journey all by yourself, or if you want a partner. A lot of people forget to take this into account while planning for their business venture, but remember that this one decision will determine your entrepreneurial duties, which is why you must be clear about this right from the start.
Below are some of the most essential things to do and consider before opening your business in Poland:
1) Determine if you will be able to make more profit as an employer:
If you are currently an employee and are considering the switch towards entrepreneurship, you need to make sure that this switch will have monetary benefits for you. For this reason, you must list down all potential business expenses, as well as the revenue that you can expect to make in the foreseeable future. This way, you will be able to see if your entrepreneurial venture will pay more or less than your job does. Of course, preparing a thorough, research-based business plan will help you come up with realistic estimates for the costs and revenues associated with your prospective business.
2) Obtain entrepreneurial advice:
When starting a business, you cannot overstate the importance of receiving crucial entrepreneurial advice from seasoned businesspeople and experts. Thankfully, Poland offers numerous programs and centers for budding entrepreneurs, and you should take advantage of these platforms – one such platform is the PARP (Academy of Polish Agency for Enterprise Development).Unemployed residents considering starting a business can reach out to their employment offices.
3) Check for company registration requirements:
While a lot of companies in Poland will need to get themselves registered in order to conduct business, not all of them are required to do so. For instance, small businesses with an income less than half of the Polish minimum are allowed to operate as ‘non-registered’ entities and need not report to the authorities or offices.
4) Select the right form of business:
Do you have the funds to start a business all by yourself? Even if you do manage to start it by yourself, will you be able to operate it in an efficient manner? Like we mentioned previously, your choice of business type (partnership or self-employment) is a crucial decision that needs to be made very early on in the process. If you do decide to go for a partnership, you must remember that you will need to come up with an agreement with your partners regarding the sharing ratios for profits, losses, and liabilities, as well as determine the tasks and duties that each business partner will be responsible for. Poland offers numerous options with regards to legal business forms, such as:
Before setting up your company, do not forget to research about the various business types that you are eligible for, as well as how each business type is different from the rest (social security, taxes, accounting, partner liability, and so on).
5) Seek out funding for your new business:
Naturally, there are a lot of expenses that you will have to incur before your business becomes profitable; in fact, a large proportion of the overall business expenses are incurred even before the business starts its operations.
You will have to accumulate inventory, purchase equipment, and pay your workers (should you decide to hire them), and you need to ensure that you have the funding required to meet these costs. You need not rely entirely on your own money to start your business. There are various programs and institutions that offer startup funding for new entrepreneurs (Support for Start, for instance). You can even reach out to the employment office to seek out money for your new venture, or benefit from funding offered to members of the European Union.
Final Word:
Once you have the above areas covered, the actual business registration process will become much easier and smoother for you. We hope that this guide will help you prepare an effective and successful plan for your new business in Poland. If you want to learn more about business opportunities in Poland or require assistance regarding business registration, feel free to reach out to us and allow our experts to walk you through any questions that you might have.