An honest book about opportunities, risks, and reality
Anyone wanting to become self-employed is encouraged from all sides.
Founder initiatives, start-up aids, business angels, chambers of commerce and skilled crafts – everyone encourages taking the leap. Yet hardly anyone warns of the real risks and pitfalls.
And that is exactly negligent.
Because behind every founding there is not just one person, but also a family and a circle of friends.
A start-up can become a major burden – sometimes even a breaking point.
Why this book is important
In 2018, nearly 20,000 companiesin Germany went insolvent – with around 200,000 lost jobs.
These figures show: self-employment is an enormous challenge.
There are many reasons for failure – you will learn about some of them in this book.This book aims to warn and preparethe courageous.
Those who have read it will no longer enterthe adventure of self-employment unprepared.
And anyone who
still
wants to become self-employed afterwards will know what they are getting into – informed, realistic, and conscious.
A book with two perspectives:
📘 For founders: an honest, relentless warning of typical mistakes and pitfalls.
📗 For policy and business: a valuable analysis of structural problems that make life unnecessarily difficult for founders.
- Contents
- The book is divided into several chapters:
- The self-employed person's environment
Typical "natural enemies" such as the tax office, employees, public broadcasting fees (GEZ), or professional associations
A list of the most frequent pitfalls to avoid when starting a business
About the authors
Matthias Büttneris a serial founder and successful entrepreneur. He knows the opportunities and risks of self-employment from his own experience.
Guido Joest
