Moving to a new city or country can be challenging. It is even more complicated when you are relocating with intent to start a business enterprise. Today we focus on Switzerland. How easy is it to do business here? As you already know, the country has strict regulations for foreigners moving into the state.
Self-employment or freelance business are some of the viable options for foreigners who do not wish to follow up on the strict employment allocations. This article brings to light some of the most important things that prospective entrepreneurs need to know before venturing into the country’s business sector.
What Do You Need Before Starting A Business?
Market Study
It is important that you study the market structure of any region before getting down to investing your money. You have to do the same in Switzerland. For instance, if you intend to start a business that involves selling a certain product, service or commodity, you will need to know the people’s preference for the item in question.
You will also need to know who your competitors are. Knowing your prospective competitors will help you come up with marketing techniques that will help you remain viable in the market to ensure business sustainability.
Research on Business Sustainability
For any business goals to be accomplished, everything needs to be built on a sustainable business foundation. As such, you will need to conduct detailed research and analysis of all that is likely to affect your business idea. Things like regulations, licensing, and availability of required skills, potential market share and financial capability should be a primary concern.
If you are already running an entity and are thinking business relocation to Switzerland, then you can consult a professional resettlement company that will handle all the analysis, paperwork and registration with you or on your behalf. A good resettlement company will walk with you through the entire process of relocation and even initiate communication with the relevant regulators.
Complying with the local requirements plays a major role in seeing to it that business runs smoothly.
Business Structures That Are Available In Switzerland
Just as analyzing the market is important before venturing into business in Switzerland, so is choosing the right structure. You can choose to either do business as an independent proprietor, start up a partnership or to establish a legal business unit. Switzerland has several structures to choose from. They include;
Sole Proprietorship
As suggested by the word ‘sole’, this is a business structure with a single owner. The business owner works for her/himself. Many sole proprietorship businesses do not have employees and are only run by an individual who in this case is also the investor. Running a sole proprietorship business in Switzerland requires registration of a business name with the authorities. These types of businesses normally bear the name of the owner.
Limited Liability Company
This is one of the legal business structures available in Switzerland. This structure requires that the shareholders appoint a managing director(a Switzerland resident), who appends his signature on behalf of the limited liability company whenever a need arises. It is a requirement that the shareholders of a limited liability company are listed in Switzerland’s commercial register.
Partnership
A partnership is more like a sole trader structure with the main difference being that it’s run by two people or more. A partnership has no limited capital and the partners must be Swiss residents. Though partnerships are not legal entities, Switzerland regulations require that upon formation, partnerships be registered at the chamber of commerce and commercial registry.
Branches
This is a wing of a foreign company that wishes to establish its root in Switzerland. Though they may be highly dependent on the head offices in the source countries, branches are treated independently in Switzerland. Running a branch requires the authorization of at least one Swiss resident.
In Summary
The primary legal requirement of nearly all business structures in Switzerland is that residents run the entities. Recent trends indicate that business is on the rise. Wish to relocate? Moving here and getting a permit should not stress you out; there are a number of high profile companies that can take care of relocating you and your business.