I am interested in self-employment
The options for work are changing, and new opportunities for self-employment are opening up. In addition to conventional paid employment and entrepreneurship, you can be employed as, for example, a light entrepreneur, freelancer or informal carer. At Job Market Finland, you can find information on many different ways of self-employment.
Information about the situation
In culture and science, grants enable you to find employment as an artist or a researcher, for instance. Grants are awarded by the state as well as private foundations and funds.
Applying for a grant for making art
The Arts Promotion Centre Finland Taike annually distributes discretionary government transfers as grants and subsidies for making art.
Grants are aimed at individuals and working groups, while allowances are aimed at communities.
Eligible entities, such as associations, cooperatives, and companies, can apply for allowances. Unincorporated associations, sole traders, or individuals cannot receive Taike allowances.
Artist grants and working grants are intended to be used for artistic work. The Arts Promotion Centre Finland also awards target grants for individual projects. The special subsidies and operational grants awarded to communities by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland are intended for associations, foundations, cooperatives, municipalities, and companies.
The Ministry of Education and Culture awards government aid for such purposes as education, science, culture, sports, and youth work. You must apply for the grants separately and they are granted based on discretion. The ministry awards grants mainly to communities.
In addition, Finland has several private foundations and funds that award grants. Information about applying for funding at research.fi. Most grant providers have application periods, but you can apply for some grants all year round.
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More information
- Arts Promotion Centre Finland Taike - government assistance as grants and subsidies (taike.fi)
- Applying for a government grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture (in Finnish, okm.fi)
- Open funding calls (research.fi)
- Social security for athletes, grant recipients and students (stm.fi)
Applying for a grant for conducting science
If you are conducting scientific work or research, you can apply for a grant to secure your income and to cover the costs related to your research. You may be entitled to a grant if you are a student or postgraduate student pursuing a basic degree. Basic degree students are often granted a one-time grant, whereas the grants awarded to postgraduate students may be long-term grants. Working groups may also receive grants.
You can find more information about applying for funding on the Research.fi website. Most grant providers have application periods, but you can apply for some grants all year round.
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Franchising is a form of entrepreneurship that involves setting up a business as an independent entrepreneur but with a ready-made model provided to you as a member of a company chain.
Franchising may be a suitable option for you if you would like to become an entrepreneur, but do not have a ready-made business idea of your own. When you enter into a franchise agreement, you get a right to use the trademark and business model of the company chain. You pay a contractual fee in return for these rights, which may be a flat annual payment or a certain percentage of either sales or the profits you earn.
Franchising has been an increasingly popular form of entrepreneurship in recent decades. The most typical franchising chains are restaurants, cafés, and kiosks, but the model has also been spreading to new sectors in Finland.
If you find that becoming a franchise entrepreneur could be right for you, read more about the model on the websites of the Federation of Finnish Enterprises and Finnish Franchising Association.
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As a freelancer, you can work for either one or more work providers at the same time without a permanent employment relationship.
As a freelancer, you act as either an employee or an entrepreneur, or you are paid non-wage compensation for your work. You can enter into a service agreement, which creates a fixed-term employment relationship, or you perform the work as an entrepreneur. If you receive non-wage compensation for your work, labour law will not apply to you, but your status is considered comparable to that of an entrepreneur.
Many people become freelancers because this provides them with more freedom to influence their own working methods, working hours, and content of projects. However, as a freelancer, you have more responsibility for your livelihood and the fulfilment of your rights than employees.
In some industries, freelancing is such a well-established way of finding employment that there may be hardly any other options available.
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As a social media influencer, you can earn your income in many different ways.
Many produce content for their social media channels as a leisure time activity. In addition to this, social media has become an increasingly popular way of earning a livelihood on both a full-time and part-time basis. The number of followers a person has significantly affects how much income they can earn by producing social media content.
As a social media influencer, you may receive income from collaborations with companies and advertisements displayed as part of the content you produce. In addition to producing content, many of the most popular social media influencers take on public speaking or hosting gigs.
When you work together with a company, choose the best way for you to invoice for your work. You can register as a private trader and get your own business ID or invoice for collaborations without a business ID through an invoicing service. The amount of revenue you make affects which alternative is most appropriate for you. If your annual income from collaborations exceeds EUR 5,000, you should find out more about registering as a private trader. You should also consider getting an accountant, as it allows you to purchase administrative work from a professional and you get to focus fully on content production.
Social media influencers with a higher income particularly prefer setting up a limited liability company as they can use it to pay a salary for themselves and employ others. If your earnings as a social media influencer exceed EUR 40,000 per year, you should consider setting up a limited liability company.
Remember that any income you make through social media is subject to tax. This also includes any products and services you receive in return for your services.
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As a professional athlete, you can secure your livelihood with a player agreement with a sports club, a grant, or a sponsorship agreement.
Athletes can earn a living in many different ways. If you are a member of a sports club, you can make a player agreement with your sports club. The agreement is used to agree on the terms and conditions under which you commit to making your contribution to the club and the compensation the sports club pays you for this. As the work of an athlete is different from regular work, a player agreement has many unique features.
The Ministry of Education and Culture also grants athletes coaching and training grants and discretionary government transfers for physical activity. You must apply for the grants and transfers separately, and they are granted based on discretion. In addition, Finland has several private foundations and funds that may award you a grant.
As an athlete, you can also receive income from competition prizes, participation fees, and fees based on advertising and sponsorship agreements. A sponsorship agreement is a cooperation agreement between an athlete and a company. Under the agreement, a company pays compensation for an athlete for things such as using the company’s products, performing in the company’s events, and other kinds of marketing for the company and increasing the company’s visibility. If you have a lot of followers on social media, you can earn income from various forms of advertising.
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Services
You can use a work try-out to find out about career choices and career options in practical tasks. You can also use it to support your return to work.
Citizens
A work try-out may be suitable for you if you are considering your own field or want to find out whether a field is suitable for you. A work try-out is also an option if you have been outside of employment for a long period. During the work try-out, you will participate in general work at the workplace. A work try-out is not an employment relationship, and it does not create expenses for the employer.
Agree on the duration and working hours of the work try-out together with the employment authority in your area and the employer. The maximum duration of a work try-out is six months.
During the work try-out, you will receive the same unemployment security as if you were unemployed.
If the costs of participating in the work try-out are incurred, you can receive expense allowance for the days of participation. If you do not receive expense allowance from the payer of the unemployment benefit, that is, an unemployment fund or Kela, the employment authority can pay a discretionary expense allowance.
To whom and on what terms
You can participate in a work try-out if
- you have registered as a jobseeker
- the work try-out has been agreed upon in your employment plan
- the employment authority estimates that a work try-out is the best way to support your employment.
In your employment plan, you agree with the employment authority on whether you will find a work try-out place yourself or whether you need help finding a place.
A work try-out may be organised by a company, entrepreneur, municipality, joint municipal authority, other corporation, foundation or government agency or institution. A private individual may not act as the organiser of a work try-out. You cannot go to a work try-out at a workplace for which you are already employed.
Do the following
Contact the employment authority in your area and ask if you can participate in a work try-out.
The Job Market Finland's regional pages contain contact information provided by employment officials.
Browse regional services
You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.
If you need help in applying for unemployment security, read the contents of Job Market Finland or call the national Unemployment security advice.
Labour market training helps you develop your professional skills and promote your employment.
Citizens
Labour market training develops your professional skills and promotes your employment. Labour market training is training organised by the employment authority. The employment authority and the training provider plan the training together. Employers can also participate in the organisation of labour market training.
Labour market training may be:
- training that increases professional competence and capabilities
- training to increase entrepreneurial skills
- integration training.
Labour market training is free of charge, so you won’t need to pay participation or examination fees. However, card and licence training may be subject to a fee.
If you are unemployed, you are entitled to the same unemployment security during labour market training that you get when you are unemployed.
If you incur costs from participating in the training, you can receive an expense allowance for the days of participation. If you do not receive the allowance from the provider of your unemployment benefit, that is, the unemployment fund or Kela, you can apply for a discretionary expense allowance from the employment authority in your area.
To whom and on what terms
In order to receive vocational guidance and career planning, you do not need to be registered as a jobseeker.
Do the following
You can find which labour market training is currently available in the Trainings and services online service.
How do I apply for training?
Apply for labour market training in the Job Market Finland’s e-service
If you are unable to apply online, you apply by filling in the form “Application for labour market training”.
Before submitting your application, carefully read the admission criteria of the training programme you are interested in.
If you are an unemployed jobseeker, you can apply for reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses from the employment authority when you travel for an admission event or aptitude test for labour market training, or visit the educational institution before starting labour market training if your disability or illness requires familiarisation with the accessibility and suitability of the educational institution.
You can get support for using the E-service from the Job Market Finland's E-services advice.
- E-services
- Job Market Finland's E-services advice
- Application for labour market training form, in Finnish (suomi.fi)
Browse regional services
You can find more detailed information and instructions in the service description published by the employment authority in your area.
All situations
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