Advice on starting your own business

Do you want to start your own business while receiving social assistance? This is only possible with the permission of your client coordinator. It is important that you do this. always first discuss with your client manager. Without permission can you not starting a business.

The caseworker will assess your application and ask questions about your motivation, your entrepreneurial experience, and your knowledge of matters such as administration and taxes. They will also assess your ability to work as an employee. Only if both you and the caseworker are sufficiently confident and you have received explicit permission will you be transferred to a caseworker specializing in entrepreneurship while receiving benefits.

This client coordinator will guide you through the process. You will be asked to create a mini-business plan. Based on this, your eligibility to register with Ondernemersadvies will be assessed. Your registration with Ondernemersadvies can only take place after once you have received permission for this from your account manager.

After registering, you'll receive a case number. Use this number to complete the online registration form, upload your business plan, and share it with your client manager. You'll then be invited for an intake interview with a business advisor.

The entrepreneurial process lasts approximately six weeks, during which you'll have several meetings. The advisor will assess the viability of your plan. There are three possible outcomes:

• You are going to start a business while receiving social assistance (part-time or full-time).
• You become a fully self-employed entrepreneur, without social assistance benefits.
• You will receive negative advice (NO GO).

Full-time business

From your social assistance benefit you move on to the Bbz2004. This is the Decree on assistance for the self-employed. A business advisor will then discuss this with you and guide you in this.

Part-time business

Part-time entrepreneurship means working as a self-employed person for a maximum of 23.5 hours per week. You will retain (part of) your social assistance benefits. We will supplement your business income up to the social assistance standard. This means your benefits may be lower, but your total monthly income will remain the same.

If you are going to be an entrepreneur part-time, you have to deal with the following rules:

• You must register with the Chamber of Commerce. This way you are officially registered as an entrepreneur.
• You must cooperate with the guidance of the business advisor. You have conversations about how your company is doing.
• You submit a form to Work and Income every month on which you enter your income, costs and hours worked.
• You must earn at least one and a half times the social assistance standard per year from your business.

There are two evaluation periods per year (after 6 months and after 12 months). You and your client coordinator will then assess whether you meet the requirements to continue working part-time, such as submitting monthly forms and finding and accepting paid work for the remaining hours.

Important

Are you starting a business? without prior permission from your client manager, this may have consequences for your right to benefits.

The goal is to get you started as a self-employed person. It is important that you have a realistic plan. In addition, the expectation must be that your company will be a success.

This naturally depends on how far along you are with your plan and how big (or small) your future business is. Discuss this with your client manager.

For anyone with or without benefits who has a realistic plan to start up their own business. If you think this might suit you, please contact your client director to discuss this. Together you look (broadly speaking) what your plans are and whether they are feasible. If you determine together that it is a good idea, your client director will arrange a meeting with the Entrepreneurial Advice team.

First you make a mini business plan. Your client director will send this to Ondernemersadvies together with your application. You will then be invited for a consultation within two weeks. In this conversation you can explain what your plans are for your (future) company.

The advisor then checks whether:

• • your idea is feasible
  • there is a demand for the service/product with which you want to enter the market
  • your (investment) costs are in proportion to the income you will get from your company
  • you use rates in your plan that fit the market you are in
  • you have sufficient knowledge and skills to make the company a success. Think of the skills you need when recruiting customers/assignments, doing the administration and of course creativity!
  • you want to become a full-time or part-time entrepreneur

The aim of the help of the business advisors is that at the end of the process there is a concrete and financially well-founded business plan. This allows us to estimate whether starting a business is realistic.