When planning to start your own business, not everyone thinks about starting in their home country. Some aim directly for the foreign market. Many people think that Scandinavia is a perfect place for this due to its relatively safe and simple process of building a business. Do you wonder how to successfully develop your company in one of the Nordic countries? This article will certainly dispel many of your doubts and highlight the most important aspects of building a successful business in Scandinavia.
Knowledge in the legal aspects
If you decide to build a business abroad, you should start by familiarizing yourself with the laws that apply in Scandinavia. Remember that what works smoothly in your home country, can look completely different in Norway or Sweden. Knowledge of the local law is undoubtedly one of the most important elements when building a foreign business. The good news is that legal regulations in all Scandinavian countries related to opening your own business are relatively simple, and do not hamper your work. A foreigner setting up a company in one of the Scandinavian countries is subjected to the same rules as the citizens of these countries. The development of foreign business begins with legalizing your stay in given country and the registration of the company in the commercial register. The whole process is quite smooth and does not cause major problems. In Scandinavia in general, it is made sure that bureaucracy is as light as possible for people setting up their own businesses. Also, you will certainly need to know about taxes, holiday pay and health insurance. For example, entrepreneurs may be attracted to relatively friendly tax regulations to Norway. The Norwegian Social Insurance Institution amounts to 11.4% of income. Which in practice means that if a company generates low income, it is subjected to a very low tax burden. And if the company does not generate any income, it does not pay anything.
Institutions helpful in business development
When thinking about business abroad, it is worth getting acquainted with the institutions in each country, that may prove to be helpful or even necessary in developing a business. It is worth looking at the Export Portal to get a list of foreign trade offices. What other places? Patent and Registration Office or Enterprise Registration Office. It is also worth familiarizing yourself with the Swedish crowdfunding platform FundedByMe, which can be a great solution for start-ups. The Swedes very much appreciate for example Polish projects, and see in them great potential, so you can certainly look at such a solution.
Openness to another culture
Starting your own business in Scandinavia is also associated with possible work in international teams as well as functioning in a completely different environment than your home country. That is why it is equally important to be open to a different culture and adapt your business to a given society. If you intend to employ personnel in your company, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the topic of working in a multicultural team and the challenges that may be waiting for you in such a situation. And if you plan to open your business in Sweden, it is worth getting to know the Swedish work culture and prepare for how to function in a new environment.
Successful business in Scandinavia
A good business idea is the basis of success in any country. But in order to achieve this success especially in the Scandinavian countries, which industries are worth considering? The Scandinavian market will undoubtedly always accept hi-tech technologies, software, and programming services with great interest. However, apart from strictly technological industries, businesses related to environmental protection or ecological food, which is immensely popular in all of Scandinavia, have a great success. What else is interesting? Businesses in the construction or cleaning industry.
Business development abroad requires many of the same activities that are carried out on the local market. The difficulty is to get to know the differentiations within the Scandinavian market and best adapt to the new environment, to different consumer requirements or even different legal regulations. It is however not impossible, and many foreigners run their businesses in whole Scandinavia with great success!