D
Deleted78083
Guest
Hey,
It's me, Monfii.
It appeared to me today that the context and culture between the US and Europe are strikingly different. A bunch of material I found in the books and on this forum has proven invaluable, but not all advice can apply in the context of doing business in Europe, for two main reasons.
1. Laws and regulations: you can't come to Europe and just open your business. You first need to make sure you have diplomas, authorizations, registered your activity to the correct agency that will control you, enough funds, the correct company structure, the scale of a dragon, and the blood of a unicorn.
2. Culture: US companies are ruthlessly efficient in working with people that will deliver value for them and don't care about diplomas. Americans like what is new and are generally oriented towards buying stuff and having huge houses, huge cars, huge phones, etc. Americans want innovation, and want to be the first ones in their neighborhood to get the latest technology. That's why GAFAM companies are all American, and none of them are European. That's why Americans are so productive, and why everyone wants to sell in America. But Europe is different. People do much more stuff by themselves (from lawn care to marketing services) and buy much less in general. We are not as creative and innovative at the entrepreneurship level. After all, Europe is mainly known to be the leading authority in terms of regulation, not in terms of ease of business, or innovation (although Denmark does not score badly).
Applying fastlane thinking and US business principles don't work as smoothly in Europe. Almost no one freelances, one-person companies are much harder to create and much more weird to come by if not in the context of a craft (chocolate-making, plumbers, electricians...). The cultural and regulatory business context was built for behemoths that can pay for lawyers to comply with the law.
The result is that doing business in Europe is a double-edged sword. It's much harder to get started because the environment does not want you to start. Companies will be scared to do business with you because Europeans don't like to be disrupted, nor what is new, even if it is better. Furthermore, the slowlane is comfy, you get 1 or 2 months of holidays per year, free healthcare, parental leave, and a company car. There is no "European dream", and people will be angry at you for even wanting to be rich. The law forces you to invest 20 000 euros to open a stupid consulting company, and you get taxed for only thinking about opening a business.
That being said, competition is not as intense as in America. If you know what you are doing and apply US ruthlessness to your competitors, you can go ahead and dominate your market. Just don't become a monopoly or the EU Commission will come for you (unless your name is Airbus).
So we opened this thread to give European entrepreneurs the chance to ask European-related questions. Topics are:
Voila!
I hope Europeans can help each other and build trade routes inside their own continent instead of reaching for China or the US.
We did invent capitalism and entrepreneurship, after all ; )
Monfii
It's me, Monfii.
It appeared to me today that the context and culture between the US and Europe are strikingly different. A bunch of material I found in the books and on this forum has proven invaluable, but not all advice can apply in the context of doing business in Europe, for two main reasons.
1. Laws and regulations: you can't come to Europe and just open your business. You first need to make sure you have diplomas, authorizations, registered your activity to the correct agency that will control you, enough funds, the correct company structure, the scale of a dragon, and the blood of a unicorn.
2. Culture: US companies are ruthlessly efficient in working with people that will deliver value for them and don't care about diplomas. Americans like what is new and are generally oriented towards buying stuff and having huge houses, huge cars, huge phones, etc. Americans want innovation, and want to be the first ones in their neighborhood to get the latest technology. That's why GAFAM companies are all American, and none of them are European. That's why Americans are so productive, and why everyone wants to sell in America. But Europe is different. People do much more stuff by themselves (from lawn care to marketing services) and buy much less in general. We are not as creative and innovative at the entrepreneurship level. After all, Europe is mainly known to be the leading authority in terms of regulation, not in terms of ease of business, or innovation (although Denmark does not score badly).
Applying fastlane thinking and US business principles don't work as smoothly in Europe. Almost no one freelances, one-person companies are much harder to create and much more weird to come by if not in the context of a craft (chocolate-making, plumbers, electricians...). The cultural and regulatory business context was built for behemoths that can pay for lawyers to comply with the law.
The result is that doing business in Europe is a double-edged sword. It's much harder to get started because the environment does not want you to start. Companies will be scared to do business with you because Europeans don't like to be disrupted, nor what is new, even if it is better. Furthermore, the slowlane is comfy, you get 1 or 2 months of holidays per year, free healthcare, parental leave, and a company car. There is no "European dream", and people will be angry at you for even wanting to be rich. The law forces you to invest 20 000 euros to open a stupid consulting company, and you get taxed for only thinking about opening a business.
That being said, competition is not as intense as in America. If you know what you are doing and apply US ruthlessness to your competitors, you can go ahead and dominate your market. Just don't become a monopoly or the EU Commission will come for you (unless your name is Airbus).
So we opened this thread to give European entrepreneurs the chance to ask European-related questions. Topics are:
- European opportunities: Europe, despite being a regulatory pain in the a$$, is also the biggest single market in the world! Get access to almost 500 million customers instantly! Become a government contractor (they have big budgets), sell alcohol to 16 year-olds, or move people from country to country by bus or plane. You can't sell guns though, sorry.
- European sourcing: you thought you had to source products in China? Try doing so in Turkey, Ukraine, or better, Bulgaria.
- European regulations and laws (basics)
- European accounting and VAT system for cross-country selling (basics)
- European culture
- Best European countries to start a business
- Best European countries for taxes
- American businesses that do not have European equivalents and how to start them
- European business resources
- Anything else related to doing business in Europe (whether buying or selling).
Voila!
I hope Europeans can help each other and build trade routes inside their own continent instead of reaching for China or the US.
We did invent capitalism and entrepreneurship, after all ; )
Monfii
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