The highs and lows of self-employment

A willingness to take risks, self-management, stamina: entrepreneurs and the self-employed need all of these character traits. They swap flexibility for security, routine for adventure, and all this in order to turn their passion into a profession. However, those who no longer work under a boss, but become one themselves, also "fight" every day against a Luxembourgish system that actually promotes a regulated career – from school to university or training, to a job as an employee, classically in the 9-to-5 model, even if this in itself is increasingly faltering. According to EURES (European Employment Services), there were 29,383 self-employed persons in Luxembourg on 30 November 2022, including 5,966 cross-border workers.

One of them is Thomas Chalant, founder of Comber Logistics, a logistics service provider in Dudelange that has been operational since July 2023 and offers its customers warehousing services, order preparation and the management of shipping and returns. The 38-year-old founded the company last year – to be prepared, as Chalant has known the sector for a long time. "I worked for a company in the same field for over ten years. Founding my own company was a first for me, but as I had already been in a manager position before, most of it was not new territory for me." The only challenge Chalant had never faced before was finding the necessary financing.

Running the financial gauntlet

Although the entrepreneur found an investor quite quickly, the discussions with the banks did not go as he had imagined: "They only say yes or no, you don't get any advice from them." The letter of approval from the Société Nationale de Crédit et d'Investissement, or SNCI for short, was dismissed by the financial institution, as Chalant had his own guarantees, i.e. a flat in addition to his own home. However, a few months later, the entrepreneur needed finance again, as a few surprises arose during the start-up, but lo and behold – the SNCI loans can only be used for the start, but not as a subsequent cash reserve. So it was too late for help from this side.

Even today, a good year after Comber Logistics started operations, the topic of finances still plays a major role, because it takes a few years for a company to really get up and running and become profitable. "It's relatively unbelievable when you consider how much banks will lend you as a private individual for a house and how little it is for a company." The entrepreneur describes the attitude of Luxembourg's financial institutions as "anti-business", as well as the system of state aid, which often does not correspond to the timeline of a company: "There are some tools, but they are impractical. For example, you can apply for a subsidy for first-time start-ups, but only up to a maximum of six months after the certificate of establishment has been issued. However, if you set up your company earlier, as was the case for me, the deadline has passed."