Hi,

A friend and I are planning to start our own business in Switzerland, selling a juice product. We're putting together a general business plan, the logistics, viability, competitors etc and I am doing some research on the legal aspects of it... I think I picked the short straw!

I don't know if anyone has any experience of this but I have many questions to start with - every time I go to the internet for info, I find a myriad of different answers and, of course, they all seem to be after my money, so I thought I would throw it out into the forum and see what comes back. If anyone can help to answer anything from the following, that would be really helpful ... ... so here goes ...

1. Any recommendations on where to go to incorporate a company here? It's just the two of us to form it, and we would both like some legal structure around it for protection. What should we be thinking about?

2. Any plus or minus points for the different types of structure available? Tax advantages etc.

3. Would it be better ( cheaper ) to form the company in the UK and would it still be possible to operate here? We're looking for low start-up costs and I'm not sure a 10k Cayman company is necessary in the early stages...

4. If one of us moves away from Switzerland ( Australia ) could we trade under the Swiss entity over there or would we need to form another company? Anticipation of any jurisdictional issues between the two countries?

5. Interested at some point in buying a property, perhaps in Australia, so could it be done under the Swiss company for take advantage - I heard it was better to buy under a company rather than as an individual, as well as for expenses and things like that.

I totally appreciate these are very wide-reaching questions and that we might be well-advised to seek proper legal advice ( which we will ), but I was really just after some initial reactions, and I wanted to put it out there and get a flavour for what we need to be thinking about and maybe the type of questions we should be asking.

Any advice would be very much welcomed,
Matthew

Just a quick reply at the moment but the following web site shoudl answer some of your questions:

www.gruenden.ch

Most of it is in English too

GREAT - that PDF looks really useful, thanks a million

I don't know jack about anything you asked, but i wish you all the best with your project.
I find entrepreneurs so inspiring

Thanks Amande, that's a really nice thing to say. I have to agree with you, actually, I find the idea of starting out something individual very interesting. My friend and I are from a private banking background and one of the things we've noticed is that none of our clients ever got their millions by saving up, which was always the advice my parents gave. I've always been too good at spending to amounted much, that's for sure!

All their backgrounds, whether it's jewellary, toys, cars, property, hedge funds etc - they all had the challenge of starting somewhere, one day, with an idea. Sure, out of every client we had, there were another 10 who failed, but - I'm reading the Alan Sugar biography and he made his money, lost it, then got it all back again - a huge amount of luck was involved, sure, but, he definately had the brawn to keep going back until he had made it. I find that super inspiring, too.

I'll let you know if we ever get off the paper and you can come sample one of our products

With pleasure !

I agree so much with you, you sometimes have to take a leap of faith and believe in yourself and your product, to build great things. ( I am not sure I am making any sense here... English isn't my mothertongue, sorry!).

I have a lot of admiration for those who create their own chance, and built their fortune from scratch. It takes a lot of courage to do so.

So again, I wish you the best of luck for you and your friend, and a lot of prosperity

go for it, and best of luck! one piece of advice though: don't underestimate the legal costs of founding a running a GmbH/AG here. they're literally horrendous, and you can't get away from them either - the rates of Treuhand people are pretty much the same no matter where you go...

Irisviel, I totally agree - I have a friend who started her own business ( well, the company was already formed but she had to register it here or something ) anyway ... she was doing this and THEN found out she had 4 or 5 different types of insurance she had to buy .... On the one hand, she possibly could have found out in advance and lessened the surprise, on the other, it seems that definitive information is so difficult to get hold of ... There are SO many things to think about.

I have been considering an alternative proposition, which is to BUY an existing business - you get the infrastructure already, the equipment, the client base, a forensic track record and forecasts, maybe some staff who know what they're doing, probably an existing lease and ... probably all for a discount ... The thing you have to be sure of is to that you can turn a profit and fully understand why someone else wants to get rid of it ... In this market, there are quite a few businesses for sale .. all worth considering - and thanks everyone for your useful insights and encouragement

M

Heads up for you too Momus (I posted this on another similar thread yesterday): there is a free entry event of one day with seminars and conferences for people wanting to open up their own business. It's on 1st Nov in Lausanne. I saw it on an advert in the street today.
Couldn't find it online, but maybe the info is still useful for you.

Hello Matthew,

I have actually started my own Business in Basel, and can tell you that it was pretty easy to register my company. I know legislation varies between Kantons, so you need to pay attention and compare the different mechanisms involved. There are different types of companies you can register (self-proprietorship, society...and other). Perhaps you find the following link useful. http://www.baselarea.ch/en.html
Are you in Switzerland already? I am interested in the beverage sector too. If you want to meet let me know. Good luck!

Hi - we're in Switzerland already, yes, in GE - but at the moment I have a partner and we're not looking for anyone else at the moment, but thank you for your offer and the link, though - I will certainly check it out.

Ill quickly throw in my 2cents. I dont know if you guys want to bottle your juice (less spoilage) or just sell fresh, but we set up a company in the Caribbean a few years back to bottle juices.

Its was easier to start out bottling water and then slowly integrate juice products. Thats because water is free (we have a machine that extracts its from the air) and you will make some mistakes until youre used to the process.

Starting with bottled water first we saved our selves plenty of money and learned about the distribution system in advance. Its just a thought that might help you?

The program and details are in French.

Link: http://www.genilem-suisse.ch/vaudgen..._des_createurs

Click on the first PDF to get the program of the day.

Hi!
I am in the process of setting up a business as well (actually moving an existing company).
My tip is that you should have a business plan that includes financial forecasts , how many people you are looking to employ etc and then talk to different cantons. You can negotiate the tax rate directly with each canton. For example, I found Luzern and Fribourg very helpful. They can also help you with what steps you need to take for different type of companies.
hope that helps and good luck!

Hi guys,

I am just wondering how did it go with your business? I am looking at starting up a business in either ZG or LU myself in either Asian takeaway (a small kiosk in the train station) or one of those grill that sells sausages and some fusion Asian/Greek grill.

Would someone be able to provide me with some advise as I am a non-EU citizen and is looking at relocating over.

What was your setup cost?

Rgd

Pk

This was exactly what I was looking for. Great thread!