{"id":2931,"date":"2016-04-28T10:30:48","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T08:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/?p=2931"},"modified":"2020-01-22T12:15:45","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T10:15:45","slug":"doing-business-in-berlin-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/2016\/04\/doing-business-in-berlin-i.html","title":{"rendered":"Doing business in Berlin I"},"content":{"rendered":"

Berlin is an amazing place<\/strong>, and not really complicated to get into, at least not in the beginning.<\/p>\n

Probably the first question is about the language<\/b>: no worries. In the startup world English is enough, and of course for daily life German is useful, but it\u2019s not a barrier if you don\u2019t know it.<\/p>\n

And another worry is: Am I going to be welcome<\/b>? And I\u2019m sure the answer is yes, if you have something to offer. If your project is really doing something good and you can show it, or your profile is interesting, where you come from will be just a topic of conversation.<\/p>\n

In Berlin many people are transient,<\/strong> so creating personal and professional relationships is complicated because things are always changing, sometimes that\u2019s cool, sometimes you feel like starting from scratch every day.<\/p>\n

\"berlin\"<\/p>\n

Be focused on what you do and how you create value.<\/b><\/p>\n

Despite startup culture <\/b>being based on the same principles around the world (basically American ones), German business culture gives to it a special personality. If you\u2019re in B2B, you\u2019ll face big, German companies, that are so big and so German.<\/p>\n

Building trust <\/b>is the key for business here. Insurance, credit rating and some cultural issues prove it. Efficacy<\/strong> is also very important. I always think about what\u2019s the best and fastest way to add value to myself and others before starting anything new. This also means having clear ideas, getting to the point and receiving honest, and sometimes negative feedback. In the beginning, it could be perceived as impolite but it\u2019s tremendously useful.<\/p>\n

Learning how to respect the time of others and also your own<\/strong> is a lesson learned here. Maybe in meetings<\/strong> where all this business culture is clearer, 20 minutes is enough<\/strong> to get to the point, learn what is beneficial for everyone, and also to close a deal. Easy, fast, good management <\/b>is really appreciated. So try to be as efficient as possible saving others\u2019 time and your own. Efficacy is one of the areas where you can build confidence and, more importantly, improve your way of working.<\/p>\n

Fast answers, clear ideas and objectives, and a decision oriented mindset<\/strong> are important for success. Also, you\u2019ll get a lot of NO\u2019s that are useful for not wasting time chasing false opportunities. Usually it\u2019s easy to get a first meeting, where you can close deals. For a second one, you\u2019ll need to be sure you\u2019re adding value to the first one.<\/p>\n

In Germany, building confidence is key<\/b>. That demands time, but will give you good returns. It\u2019s not just based on who your friends are, it\u2019s about making the right, successful business relationships. You\u2019ll need a bit of luck, because when you\u2019re approaching people you don\u2019t know if they\u2019ll be leaving the city or their job next month. Taking time doesn\u2019t mean wasting time, it\u2019s more about the right, short interactions. When security is questioned show that you\u2019re someone who can be trusted. Stay new, fresh and innovative, but also solid and trustworthy.<\/p>\n

That means forget the bullshit, get to the point and have clear goals.<\/b><\/p>\n

You can read more in:<\/p>\n

Doing business in Berlin II: events and networking<\/a>
\nDoing business in Berlin III: coworking and accelerators<\/a>
\nDoing business in Berlin IV: market and trends<\/a>
\nDoing business in Berlin V: Incorporating in Germany<\/a>
\nDoing business in Berlin VI: Living here<\/a>
\nDoing business in Berlin VII: Salaries and taxes<\/a>
\nDoing business in Berlin VIII: Hiring in Berlin (and what to expect if you\u2019re looking for a job)<\/a>
\nDoing business in Berlin IX: final thoughts<\/a>
\nBrexit: an opportunity for Berlin to grow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Berlin is an amazing place, and not really complicated to get into, at least not in the beginning. Probably the first question is about the language: no worries. In the startup world English is enough, and of course for daily life German is useful, but it\u2019s not a barrier if you don\u2019t know it. And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,121],"tags":[124],"class_list":["post-2931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-berlin","category-insights","tag-berlin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2931"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3491,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2931\/revisions\/3491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wlappe.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}