I finally instructed my accountant to set up Openismus GmbH which will probably take a few weeks. It feels slightly scary, but I want to give it a try. Got to build to grow.

I already have a first part-time employee – Johannes Schmid of Anjuta fame. I was very sad to reply to all the other people who answered my call for a mini-job, but maybe I can use some of them if I get enough work.

A GmbH is a German form of limited company, and is one of the few forms of company that is taken seriously. It’s not actually necessary in Germany, unlike the U.K. which demands that freelancers create one-man Ltd companies that employ them(selves). It’s also much more difficult and expensive than in the U.K. There’s an extra tax that you have to pay, plus additional administration. But it’s generally simpler when dealing with international companies, so I can consider it as marketing, and it will be better for employing people.

I should probably improve the web site too. Sooner or later I’ll have to accept that there’s no sane way to make attractive web sites without hacks. Yes, I mean round corners.