Starting your own business: preliminary advice and agencies providing assistance
Guide to setting up a company
What do you need to do to set up a business on Swiss territory? The process is quite easy. Only certain regulated sectors in the Confederation (medical, educational, social professions) or in the cantons (traffic, architecture, legal professions, etc.) require special authorization.
Preliminary advice
Before jumping in, a few crucial steps should be taken: These include:
- Conducting a market analysis
- Creating a business plan
- Choosing a suitable legal structure
- Registering with the trade register
- Intellectual property
An ordinary partnership can be created without too many formalities. It is not until later that the entrepreneur needs a Unique Enterprise Identification Number (UID) and can decide on a business structure which, from a legal and tax point of view, is more appropriate.
Agencies that will help you start a business
There are numerous tools and agencies providing assistance to help the entrepreneur during these various stages. The SECO supports setting up a business through its portal EasyGov.swiss.
Other partner institutions and organizations offer effective assistance:
- Cantonal Economic Development Departments
- Venturelab is a Swiss Innovation Agency initiative aimed at young entrepreneurs. It has enabled the emergence and development of many start-ups.
- Eurostars
There are many support structures to assist with the various administrative formalities. Depending on the circumstances, they can even suggest office spaces or personalized services with advantageous terms.
The State does not grant any direct financial support for starting a new business. The unemployment scheme (see labour market measures - work.swiss) is the only exception, introducing support measures for unemployed individuals wanting to set up their own company.
Learn more
First step: Why start your own business?
Starting a business requires a great deal of commitment, perseverance, and time investment, especially in the early stages. Long working hours and intense planning phases are common. However, with a clear strategy and consistent execution, these efforts can pay off in the long run.
Choosing a legal structure: Matching your company’s legal structure to your requirements
Anyone wanting to set up or restructure a business needs to decide on a legal structure. Be careful, as not all legal structures are suitable for all businesses.
Insurance: Social security schemes and business insurance
During the business start-up phase, SMEs also have to register for various types of insurance.
Commercial register: How does it work?
The commercial register is a public database managed by the cantons. It contains information on the legal structure, ownership, and governance of registered businesses and legal entities.
UID register: Business and Enterprise Register (BER) and Unique Enterprise Identification Number (UID)
Administrations use UID and BER to better identify SMEs. Discover how companies are also using these identifiers.
Intellectual property: Do you need to protect it?
A company has the option to protect its innovations and other creations (such as a brand, an invention, a logo, or a product or packaging design). It should decide as early as possible whether to do so and how.
Twelve specific scenarios
You want to set up your own business? Congratulations on your entrepreneurial spirit! Here are the nine steps to do it along with twelve specific scenarios to help you.
Foreign national: Setting up a business
More and more entrepreneurs from foreign countries want to become self-employed in Switzerland.
