Wellhomes real estate agents often receive the following questions:
- where to find a job in Turkey?
- how to start a business in Turkey?
- is it possible to create a successful business in Turkey?
Today we are visiting one of our real estate buyers Alexey. Today we are not talking about real estate, but about how Alexey and his partner Kim opened their business in Mersin. Where did they get the idea from and what difficulties did they encounter when opening a business.....
Kim said that after they had settled down in Mersin and made some acquaintances, they decided to open their own business. It was supposed to be either a cocktail bar or a fine-dining restaurant. After determining the budget, the partners started looking for premises. Alexey was up to the task and found a rather non-standard for Mersin glass complex in a good location. The business center near the Forum shopping center houses approximately 160+ offices. The average number of people is 5. Average salary over 15,000 liras monthly, i.e. the audience is quite well off.
Since there is a school and a mosque nearby, alcohol is now prohibited, the emphasis will be on coffee. In the future, it is possible that the alcohol license will be extended.
When finalizing the deal, the first thing we did was to find an interpreter, choosing the most professional of the two options. When we met, the interpreter immediately introduced a lawyer who deals with opening legal entities. The meeting was held at his office, where we immediately set deadlines, dates and discussed the issues we were interested in. The meeting was useful and lasted about 3 hours. We spent 5500 liras to open a legal entity, plus taxes. All together about 8000 liras. It took 5 days to complete the process. One of the partners has Ikamet, the other has TAPU. But even a foreign citizen can open a legal entity in Turkey, pay taxes. Only a foreigner cannot be a director, it requires a work visa. According to the rules, one foreigner must have 5 local citizens working for him.
The guys were advised to make absolutely all copies and screenshots and check email addresses when negotiating to avoid being cheated. This really made it easier for them to misunderstand when paying bills in the future.
Kim talked about how to avoid a puncture when applying for a residence permit, you should choose a lawyer very carefully and seriously collect all the documents.
In small businesses In Turkey there is no accountant as such, all reports are done by the manager. All accountants specialize in certain industries. If he understands one area, he may not understand another at all. If you do hire an accountant, you should choose one who has already worked in your industry. There is a labor exchange and a refugee exchange to hire employees. Syrian refugees are paid a salary by the state and it is profitable to hire them.
Very good reviews businessmen left about the work of the bank. Opening a bank account for a company in any currency took about an hour of time.
In the future, the guys will meet with a local coffee machine manufacturer and create a contract to supply coffee. They also plan to open several kiosks selling roasted coffee.
Advice to newcomers: it is very difficult to find a simple job, like a cab, because of the high competition. It is necessary to think in advance what you would like to do and realize it on the spot. One thing is certain - it is possible and more than realistic to run your own business in Turkey!