In between of the ups and downs of my job hunting the idea of starting my own business has been constantly present. People around me have also been very encouraging about it; I even got as a present for my last birthday a book with ‘100 sales ideas’. I keep a little notebook where I write all my entrepreneurial thoughts and possible business projects but I still haven’t managed to figure out what exactly my company should offer and sell. With the aim of taking-charge of this fuzzy dream instead of waiting for the ‘great idea’ to come, I decided to go to the Chamber of Commerce (KvK) and start researching about the papers and procedures I need to follow in order to start my own company. I went there thinking that, as many bureaucratic procedures tend to do, a long list of stamps and requirements where going to drag my enthusiasm away. But, oh, how wrong I was! I entered that office without knowing that I was only 15 minutes away of almost registering my own company, getting my own BTW number and declaring the average income and expenses of a business that I have not even figured out yet.
So how did this happen? Well, it was the over attentive and helpful service offered by the KvK staff that made the process of registering a company seem so easy that I left myself get wrapped into the illusion (and yes, apparently for certain kind of businesses you don’t need much more that a name and a short description of what you intend to offer).
The man who attended me appeared to be sincerely interested in my various ideas and projects as I started explaining my uncertain plans. I also mentioned that one option I had considered was to register as an artists, using my own name and start developing from there, but again, that was still something unclear for me. I ended up showing him my website to talk in detail about my occupation and interests. He asked me questions regarding my expected income, number of clients and expenses. I followed the conversation always assuming that we both were talking about possibilities, random targets, and casual estimates. I kept insisting that I wasn't sure at all, that I just wanted more information but he didn't seem to listen and while the conversation kept going he was filling data on a paper.
After 15 minutes of conversation he said: "well, I'll send you to my colleague and you can finish the registration, pay and get your BTW number".
- “But Sir” I said, “I've been telling you that I still have to work it out, I want to be sure... just look at those random numbers we calculated as earnings, I don't want to be in trouble with the taxes!”
- “Ahh don't worry” he replied, “Here is a dvd with all the taxes information you need and what we wrote in the form is just an estimate, what is important is what you actually earn. Please go to my colleague. You can always change your mind afterwards and modify your business description at any time. Good luck!”
And this same story repeated with his colleague, she insisted on my registration, started preparing the 37 euros bill and again told me that I shouldn't worry too much, that changes could be done later.
Well I couldn’t agree with them, so I decided to stop the process and go home. I really want to take my time to explore my options and the day that I finally register my business in the Chamber of Commerce I want to have at least a sketch of my business plan, be sure of my objectives and have realistic expectations. After all it could be my greatest masterstroke!
Funny business ideas that turned out to be a success. Source: Spiegel.de