Don't look for a job, start a business | Penize.cz

Jiří Novák from Most is 55 years old. A trained mechanic has been unemployed for a long time. At the same time, he is proficient in everything from the craft - from tinsmithing to masonry to fine mechanics. Nevertheless, due to his age, he does not have many chances to find a job, especially in the north of Bohemia, where the unemployment rate exceeds four times the national average. People over fifty years of age and recent school graduates have the biggest problems finding a job here.

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However, there is a way to get back on your feet - start a business. "People go into business who, although they do not have a chance to apply themselves because of their age, have something to offer and want to prove it," says Kristýna Drienová from the retraining and information center in Most. This deals with the development of small businesses of people disadvantaged on the labor market within the INNOSTART project, which was financially supported by the EQUAL initiative of the European Union.

For those who have no experience in business, the journey to their own business begins at the employment office with a request for retraining focused on preparation for independent business. In this case, the applicant receives support in the amount of 60% of the average monthly net earnings or assessment base for the entire period of retraining (standard support is 50% of income during the first three months of unemployment). If the relevant employment office according to the place of residence does not organize such a course, the applicant can attend a course in another city. In this case, the Labor Office will reimburse him for the costs associated with retraining: for example, proven travel expenses for the journey by public transport from the place of residence to the place of retraining and back, as well as accommodation expenses for the period of retraining, but up to a maximum of CZK 1,000 per day and food allowance on days of participation in retraining.

The condition for awarding higher support and possible compensation is the submission of a business plan and a declaration that the unemployed person will start self-employment after retraining.

According to the data provided by the labor office in Most, a total of 42 people underwent entrepreneurial retraining in three courses in 2005. A total of 16 participants started their own business within three months, 9 found work and 17 remained on the unemployment register. A year later, 39 people attended three more courses. 15 people started their own business, 11 started employment. A total of 36 people attended three courses last year.

The HelpDesk program has also been helping people in regions with high unemployment since 2005. Counseling centers focused on this project operate at the employment offices in Mostek, Litvínovsk and Louna. "HelpDesk is an advisory tool for those who, for some reason, have not succeeded on the labor market and want to try their own business. Those interested have advisers available who will discuss with them whether they have any chance of succeeding on the labor market with their business plan, whether they have sufficient knowledge for running a company and many other things that are needed to start a business," explains Ivana Matuščinová, head of the job counseling department from the Mostek Labor Office.

About a thousand interested parties should go through the HelpDesk. Two projects are aimed at helping those who have been out of work for several years, have no experience or are physically handicapped in finding a job.

Graduates of the course were mainly employed in tailoring, ceramic works, electrical installations, hospitality, barbering and hairdressing, in the field of repair and maintenance of household goods and sporting goods, carpentry, masonry, herbalism and gardening.

"These fields were mainly chosen by people with a teaching certificate, high school graduates and people with university education started working as financial advisors, bank brokers and accountants," adds Matuščinová.

The launch of a number of business plans, however, is often complicated by a lack of finance. The unemployed can apply for a non-refundable loan based on a submitted business plan at the relevant employment office. Its amount is in the order of tens of thousands of crowns, which is usually not enough to start a business. The paradox is that if a budding entrepreneur wants to employ someone from the list of unemployed people, he will receive support from the employment office for the job created in this way. However, he will not get anything for the job for himself.

When a budding entrepreneur turns to a bank with a request for start-up capital, he discovers that some financial institutions do not provide a start-up loan at all, or the loan is conditional on a minimum loan amount. Only the Czech Moravian Guarantee and Development Bank offers business development loans to graduates of accredited retraining courses under favorable conditions.

Are you starting a business? What is your experience with bank loans for start-up entrepreneurs?