This year, in January, I didn’t go on vacation for a month . I broke a long tradition and it’s for a good reason: I moved to Switzerland in December with my little family .
No, it’s not for tax reasons, but rather because my lady of heart is Swiss. In December 2018 (phew, that’s already last year), we packed two small suitcases, dressed the little one and we landed in Switzerland, more precisely in Sion in Valais. After two months, I decided to present my first 5 business observations of Switzerland.
1. Formalism, coldness… but not quite!
“ You’ll see: the Swiss are cold ” is one of the first things I was told, mainly by my French friends. I find that if we only rely on first impressions, it’s not entirely wrong.
There is a level of formality that we are less accustomed to in North America. It’s not uncommon for an email I receive to end with “looking forward to meeting albania telephone number data you again, please believe me, dear Sir, in the assurance of my devoted feelings” when I have just met the person in jeans and a t-shirt and told them a ton of crap.
Having gotten to know them better and having married a Swiss woman, I find that it’s not a question of coldness, but rather a natural way of operating. Beyond these first contacts, they advocate relational depth.
Quebecers are often known for being warm and welcoming ,
which is far from false; I can testify to this myself jérôme fortin légaré, spk specimen when I arrived fresh from Lebanon in 1999 and found that everyone was way too cool. However, it is more often in the context of a party or celebration and, unfortunately, it took me a while to develop real deep relationships with friends from Quebec. Although the Swiss are generally more difficult to approach, there is a real depth that is established once this first step is taken.
2. Relationships and values > business
In Switzerland, it is rare, even very rare, to start new meetings based solely on business. For example, during 5 to 7 or business aperitifs, people really don’t talk about work, but rather about life, hobbies and family.
So far, I haven’t heard anyone tell me: “I was just looking for a development team for one of my projects” while this happens quite regularly in Quebec. Even if they have an interest or a need, they will rather generate a discussion in order to get to know me better personally before talking about business.
It is not uncommon after meeting someone for the first time to then go and find out about them from several other people to get a better idea of their reputation. It’s a bit like a human “blockchain” principle. 🙂
Business always comes second and it is really the relationship that is the priority, even during business meetings. For my part, this is an approach that resonates with me a lot.
3. Phone > Emails
This one still surprises me after two months. In Switzerland, when you meet someone, they ask for your cell phone number and they will actually call you instead of sending you an email. Yes, yes! Here, people almost always talk to each other face to face. When I arrived, I sent a few emails to people who had been recommend to me (accountants, lawyers, etc.) and I never got a response even though I was a potential client.
However, when I picked up the phone, it was business to consumer reviews a different story. I recently met someone very nice at an event and the next day, I received a call from him, inviting me to go skiing.
4. Starting a business isn’t for everyone
This observation is purely administrative. In Canada, incorporating a corporation (inc.) costs $200 and that’s it. By going through a lawyer, you end up spending between $2,000 and $3,000, which is still consider a simple and inexpensive process.
In Switzerland, to incorporate a public limit company (SA) by shares, equivalent to incorporation in Canada, you must have a mandatory capital of CHF 100,000 (CAD 130,000) just to legally create the company. There is another form of incorporation, the SARL, which requires a lower mandatory capital of CHF 20,000 (CAD 26,000), but it is not the equivalent of incorporation.
When I learned of this reality,
My first thought was that Spektrum would probably never have seen the light of day under these conditions. But what about all the young people leaving school who want to start an entrepreneurial project? Isn’t this a major obstacle to entrepreneurship? So I’ve rais the subject many times with people here and the same answer often comes up: “they manage and eventually succe”. That didn’t convince me.
Then, during a discussion with Fréric Bagnoud on the lean approach that we advocate through Apollo13, he point out to me that ” mandatory capital is a bit like the first sale of entrepreneurs. If they are not able to convince those around them, how will they convince potential customers? ” I really lik that answer. To this day, I still do not know how to position myself in relation to this measure, which does not necessarily seem completely negative to me. It probably slows down and blocks many entrepreneurs, except that in return, the level of commitment of those who succe in getting start is much higher and more painful than if they had only invest $200.
5. SPK values are less marginal
For 10 years, through Spektrum and more recently with SPK, we have initiat the slowness and responsible entrepreneurship movement in Quebec. It is still far from being the norm, but I am and will always be convinc that it is the right path to follow. When I arriv in Switzerland,
I realiz that our discourse is far from being marginal. Slowness, smallness, excellence of work, organic growth and the importance of strong values within organizations are all elements that are naturally anchor in the practices of companies and entrepreneurs. This may come from the physical size of the country, but it really surpris me to see that the vision of frenetic growth had no place there at all.
Switzerland being a country recogniz for the quality of its products, its efficiency and, above all, its independence of opinion, I see it as proof that practicing entrepreneurship in a more humane way does not mean sacrificing one’s competitiveness.
My stay in Switzerland has been, so far, a real charm that goes beyond my initial expectations! All this would have frankly been impossible if it were not for the extraordinary people I met there. Special mention to the “crooks” of the Cabine , especially Sébastien and Florence !