Starting a business

You are starting a business alongside your job

Seven in ten new businesses start on the side, half of them with ten hours a week or less. For side-business founders, red tape is almost twice as often the biggest obstacle as for full-time founders (KfW, 2026).

Do I have to tell my employer?

Check your employment contract first. Many contracts say you have to report a side job or get it approved. In that case, get your employer's consent in writing. Competing directly with your employer usually isn't allowed.

What do I need to register, and where?

If you run a trade, you register it with the Gewerbeamt (trade office) before you start. Freelance professions such as consulting, writing or design don't need this. In both cases, you send the tax registration questionnaire to the tax office within one month, through ELSTER, the tax office's online portal. Signing up for ELSTER takes about two weeks, so apply early.

How am I covered for health insurance?

If your job remains your main occupation, you're usually still insured through it. Your health insurer decides whether your self-employment counts as your main or side occupation, based on time and income. Tell them about your new business and ask them to confirm how you're classified.

Can I get a development loan for a side business?

Yes. The ERP-Gründerkredit StartGeld from KfW is explicitly meant for side businesses as well. Read more under “You need money to get started”.

What you can do now

1. Check your employment contract and get written consent for your side job if you need it.
2. Apply for your ELSTER access before you start.
3. Register your trade before you start and send the tax registration questionnaire within one month.
4. Tell your health insurer and ask them to confirm your classification.

Whether the small business VAT exemption (Kleinunternehmerregelung) is right for you is covered under Taxes.

You want to know if your idea will work

The best time to find out whether anyone will pay for your idea is before you invest a lot of money.

How do I test my idea before I spend a lot of money?

Talk to people in your target group before you finish building your offer. Ask them what problem they have, what they pay to solve it today and what's missing. A small pilot offer or a pre-order tells you more than any survey, because you see whether people will actually pay.

Who exactly is my customer?

The more precisely you describe her, the easier she is to find. Think about her industry or situation, her specific problem and where she looks for information. “All women” or “small businesses” is too broad to advertise to in a targeted way.

Where do the first jobs come from?

Usually from your own network and from recommendations. Tell the people around you exactly what you offer and who it's for. Ask happy first customers for a recommendation or for feedback you're allowed to share.

Do I need a business plan?

For you, it's a tool to think through your idea, target group, prices and how much money you need. It becomes a must as soon as you want a development loan, the Gründungszuschuss (start-up subsidy for the unemployed) or money from investors. The IHK (chamber of commerce and industry) and the Handwerkskammer (chamber of crafts) offer free templates and advice.

What you can do now

1. Have five to ten conversations with people in your target group before you settle on your offer.
2. Describe your first customer in three sentences: who she is, what problem she has and where you can reach her.
3. Offer a pilot to your own network first.
4. Book an appointment with the start-up advice service at your IHK or Handwerkskammer.

You are setting your prices

Your price decides whether you can make a living from your business. You work it out from your costs.

How do I work out a price I can live on?

Start from your costs and leave aside what others charge. Add up your annual business costs, the salary you want to pay yourself, and your health insurance, pension savings and taxes. Divide the total by the hours you can realistically bill, because nobody pays you for finding clients, admin, holidays or sick days. The result is your minimum.

What if my price is higher than everyone else's?

First check that your calculation is right. Then look at what sets your offer apart. A price below your minimum won't work in the long run, even if it makes the first jobs easier to win. Packages or fixed prices often make the difference easier to understand than an hourly rate.

What's a BWA, and do I really need one?

The BWA (monthly business report) sums up your bookkeeping every month, with revenue, costs and result. It isn't required by law, but it shows you early on whether your price works and whether you can afford your salary. Banks ask for it when you apply for a loan. You get it from your bookkeeping software or from your tax adviser.

What you can do now

1. Write down your annual costs and the salary you want, including insurance and pension, and divide the total by your billable hours.
2. Check whether your current price is above this minimum.
3. Set up your bookkeeping so that you get a BWA every month.
4. Put a fixed date in your calendar each month to compare your BWA and bank balance with your plan.

How much you should set aside for tax is covered under Taxes.

You need money to get started

Many new businesses get by with little money. Still, more than four in ten business plans submitted to the IHKs have gaps in their financing (DIHK, 2026).

How much money do I need?

In 2025, 38% of founders started with €1,000 or less (KfW, 2026). What matters more than the amount is a plan that covers purchases, running costs until the first income comes in and your private expenses, with a buffer.

What development loans are there?

The most important starting point is the ERP-Gründerkredit StartGeld from KfW. It goes up to €200,000, is also available for side businesses and can be used up to five years after you start. KfW takes on 80% of your bank's risk, and you don't need any equity of your own. You apply through a bank, before you begin your project. The federal states also have their own development banks.

When do business angels or investors make sense?

Equity funding suits companies that are meant to grow fast and need a lot of money to do so. In return, you give up shares. For most service businesses and solo self-employed women, a development loan or your own money is the better route. At She Owns Day you can meet investors and other founders in the Founders Lounge.

Are there grants if I come from a university?

Yes, through EXIST. The EXIST start-up grant pays your living costs for up to one year, for example €2,500 a month if you have a degree, plus funds for materials and coaching. The start-up network at your university submits the application, and your idea has to be innovative.

What you can do now

1. Draw up a plan of how much capital you need, with purchases, running costs, private expenses and a buffer.
2. Talk to your bank about StartGeld before you sign or buy anything.
3. Be honest with yourself about whether your business needs equity funding or whether a loan is enough.
4. If you come from a university, ask its start-up service about EXIST.

You are starting a business with a child or on parental leave

Flexibility is the most important reason women give for starting a business. With a child and on parental leave, though, there are a few legal pitfalls.

Can I start a business while on parental leave?

Yes, but as an employee, you need your employer's consent. They can only refuse for urgent operational reasons, in writing and within four weeks. In total, you can work up to 32 hours a week during parental leave.

How does starting a business affect my Elterngeld?

For the self-employed, Elterngeld (parental allowance) is based on the profit from the calendar year before the birth. If you also ran a small side business alongside your job before the birth, the calendar year before the birth becomes the reference period for all your income, including your salary, and your Elterngeld may turn out different from what you expected. What you earn while receiving Elterngeld is counted against it.

Is there maternity protection for the self-employed?

As of October 2026, there's still no statutory maternity protection like the one employees have, although it's been announced for a long time. Today, you only get maternity benefit (Mutterschaftsgeld) if you have statutory health insurance that includes sickness benefit (Krankengeld), or private daily sickness allowance insurance that covers it.

How do I plan with little time?

Plan with the hours you actually have. An offer you can deliver in fixed blocks of time works better than one where you always have to be reachable. Agree early on who takes over at home and when.

What you can do now

1. If you want to start a business during parental leave, get your employer's consent in writing.
2. Before you start, ask the Elterngeldstelle (parental allowance office) to work out which period counts in your case.
3. Check that your health insurance includes sickness benefit or a daily sickness allowance before you get pregnant.
4. Decide how many hours a week you realistically have, and sort out childcare.

You are starting a business while unemployed

With the Gründungszuschuss, the order of steps matters. If you resign or start too early, you often lose it.

What's the Gründungszuschuss, and can I get it?

You can get it if you receive unemployment benefit, still have at least 150 days of entitlement left when you start, and work at least 15 hours a week on your business. You have no legal right to it: the employment agency decides case by case. For six months you get your unemployment benefit plus €300, and after that, if you apply, €300 a month for another nine months.

What do I need for the application?

An expert body such as the IHK, the Handwerkskammer or a start-up advice service has to confirm that your idea is viable. For this you need a business plan, a financing plan and a revenue forecast. The employment agency doesn't cover the cost of this expert opinion.

Can I resign and then start with the subsidy?

That's risky. If you resign yourself, you've caused your own unemployment, and funding is then usually not possible. Talk to the employment agency first.

And if I receive Grundsicherung?

Then the Jobcenter can pay you Einstiegsgeld (a start-up allowance on top of Grundsicherung, Germany's basic income support) for up to 24 months. Here, too, the Jobcenter decides case by case.

What you can do now

1. Check whether you'll still have at least 150 days of unemployment benefit left on your planned start date.
2. Talk to the employment agency before you resign and before you start.
3. Prepare a business plan, financing plan and revenue forecast and present them to an expert body.
4. If you receive Grundsicherung, ask the Jobcenter about Einstiegsgeld.

You are hiring your first employee

A quarter of founders already had staff in 2025 (KfW, 2026). The first employment contract brings reporting duties, and the time you spend on red tape rises considerably.

What do I have to do before my first employee starts?

You need an establishment number (Betriebsnummer) from the Federal Employment Agency, even for minijobs. You register employees with their health insurer, and minijobbers with the Minijob-Zentrale (central minijob office). You also register your company with the relevant Berufsgenossenschaft (statutory accident insurer).

Minijob, part-time or freelancer?

A minijob is often the easiest way to start. Freelancers keep you more flexible, but you have to make sure they aren't fully integrated into your business and don't take instructions from you. Otherwise you risk Scheinselbstständigkeit (bogus self-employment).

Can I afford it?

Expect to pay more than the gross wage. Add the employer's share of social security, accident insurance, time off and your own time for training. Your BWA shows you whether your current results can carry the cost.

What you can do now

1. Apply for your establishment number at the Federal Employment Agency.
2. Find out which Berufsgenossenschaft is responsible for you and register your company there.
3. Compare the total cost of the position with your BWA.

What you need to know legally about freelancers and employment contracts is covered under Law.

You are ill for a long time

When you're self-employed, nobody pays you for the days you're ill. You have to protect yourself, and do it before it happens.

Do I get sickness benefit as a self-employed person?

With statutory health insurance, only if you explicitly choose it. You then pay the general contribution rate instead of the reduced one and receive sickness benefit from the 43rd day. You're bound by this choice for three years.

And the first six weeks?

Only an optional add-on plan (Wahltarif) from your health insurer or private daily sickness allowance insurance covers them. If you have private health insurance, you need a daily sickness allowance in your policy, and you decide yourself from which day it pays.

How much cover do I need?

Enough to keep your fixed costs going, both private and business. Work out the minimum you need each month and choose your daily sickness allowance accordingly. The later the payments start, the cheaper the premium, but the bigger your cushion needs to be.

What you can do now

1. If you have statutory health insurance, submit the declaration for sickness benefit to your health insurer.
2. Check whether your savings would get you through the first six weeks. If not, take out an add-on plan or a daily sickness allowance.
3. Decide who will inform your clients in an emergency and who has access to your accounts and passwords.

What you're legally entitled to when you're ill as an employee is covered under Law.