1
Check employment contract
Separate side activity, competition and working time cleanly.
Your guided start plan for Germany
Want to start, but not sure what comes first?
Answer 7 short questions and get your personal start plan right away, free, without login and in about 2 minutes.
No legal, tax or financial advice. The start plan gives orientation and shows what you should check.
Free and no login
Private noindex link
Official sources in guides
Affiliate links clearly marked
Preview from a start plan
First know what actually matters now.
Most important immediate action
For product sales, clarify registration, packaging and clean records first. Providers come later, once the next step is clear.
2
Prepare registration
Sort activity, start date, sales channel and tax registration.
3
Separate records & payments
Only check account, records and tool decisions when they are actually needed.
How it works
A clear entry point for your side business.
1
7 short questions
You answer structured questions about situation, idea, stage, budget, brand plans and start speed.
2
Your start plan
You get a clear overview, the most important immediate action and the next steps in a sensible order.
3
Relevant recommendations
The plan shows guides, topics and provider categories exactly where they can make your next step easier.
4
Continue with focus
After the start plan, you can go deeper into individual open points without starting from zero again.
Your skills as the starting point
What you already know can become a side business.
Many people already have something that could work next to their main job: work experience, specialist knowledge, a craft, creative work, digital skills or a product idea.
Usually the missing piece is not talent. It is the order: What am I allowed to do next to my job? What do I register? What matters now and what can wait?
Employed with expertise
Turn experience into an offer
You can do something from your job, but want to test it cleanly on the side. The plan checks employer, separation and registration path first.
Creative or hands-on
Turn ability into a small business
Music, design, handmade, repairs or other creative work. The plan sorts what matters before selling, invoicing and appearing publicly.
Product idea or shop
Do not sell goods blindly
Products, prints, merchandise or resale goods need registration, records, packaging and platform data in the right order.
Service on the side
Clarify the service, then choose tools
If you want to consult, coach, develop, design or support, the plan helps classify freelance/trade, account and bookkeeping.
Orientation, without detours
If you are unsure, orient yourself briefly and then start your plan.
The start path, topics and guides help before or after the start plan. The core product remains the personal plan based on your answers.
Side paths that lead back to the start plan
Start path
Understand the order
For quick orientation when you do not know which step comes first.
Guides
Read up on specific questions
For concrete topics such as registration, invoices, employer, LUCID or bookkeeping.
Solutions
Check providers only when needed
For account, bookkeeping, insurance or financing once the start plan shows the need.
Before registering
I want to get started, but I don't know what comes first
For the early phase, when your idea, target audience, registration, and initial costs are still unsorted.
Fits better if
- you have an idea but no clear order of steps yet
- you want to avoid jumping straight into tools or providers
- you need orientation before visiting the Gewerbeamt (trade office) or Finanzamt (tax office)
Matching guides
Alongside Your Main Job
I'm starting a business alongside my job
For users who need to understand how a side business, employment contract, working hours, health insurance, and everyday life fit together.
Fits better if
- you are employed and want to start a side business
- you are unsure about your employer, competition clauses, or working hours
- you want to realistically plan your side business around daily life and rest time
Matching guides
Relevant topics
Your result
Your answers become a plan you can keep working with.
The start plan summarizes your situation, prioritizes the most important next action and places notes, guides and recommendations directly into your flow.
Create start planSituation
Your starting point
Status, idea and start speed are summarized briefly.
Priority
Most important immediate action
The plan shows what you should start with first.
Order
Next steps
Registration, taxes, bookkeeping and setup are put into order.
Checks
What to watch
Notes on job, legal form, insurance, goods sales or VAT.
Recommendations
Relevant guides and providers
Only where they fit your situation and next step.
After that
Go deeper optionally
You can read up or ask about individual open points later.
For real situations
Same platform, different plans.
An Etsy start, an ongoing eBay sale and a coaching idea do not need the same answer. That is why the product starts with a structured interview.
Lisa
Etsy idea next to a job
Physical products, own brand, no registration yet. The start plan makes LUCID, VAT ID, trade registration and setup tools visible.
Open Etsy guide →
Markus
Already selling on eBay
Marketplace sales are already happening, but without clear structure. The plan prioritizes registration, records, taxes and bookkeeping.
Open eBay guide →
Sophia
Student with coaching idea
Service, little start capital, still unsure. The plan checks freelance classification, extra income, health insurance and simple tools first.
Open student guide →
From lived experience
Why I built this page
I am Luis. In 2025 I founded Niflheim Records and learned many things on the way: registration, tax office, records, account, mandatory information and what really matters first.
After helping friends start their side businesses, the pattern became clear: many people do not fail because of the idea, but because the first clean step feels uncertain.
Common questions
Questions people ask before starting
These are common questions when starting a side business in Germany. The start plan then helps you sort your own situation step by step.
What is a side business in Germany?
It is a self-employed activity you run next to your main job, studies or another main activity. What matters is what you do, how regularly you do it and whether you intend to earn money.
Do I need to register a side business?
If you run a commercial activity on an ongoing basis with the intention to make a profit, trade registration is often needed. Freelance professions can be handled differently. The start plan helps you find the likely direction for your case.
Can I start while employed?
Often yes. Your employment contract, employer rules, working time, competition and personal status can matter. That is why the start plan asks about your current situation right at the beginning.
Is the start plan free?
Yes. You can create the start plan for free and without a login. Some provider links may be affiliate links when a tool or provider fits your next step.
Is this legal or tax advice?
No. The start plan gives orientation, structures next steps and shows points to check. It cannot replace binding legal, tax or financial advice.
Ready for your first plan?
In 2 minutes, you know what to start with.
You do not have to formulate the perfect question. The start plan asks the right questions for you.