American hairstylist

Please check the (very com[plicated) German rules about registering and running a business, incl. taxation of the proceeds. If you break these rules, at least you should know that you do so!

Especially doing stuff out of your home that involves hygiene can meet with strong consequences. Probably the best advice would be to remember -
in Germany a no means no, even if you fix issues later. Hence do your homework on what is allowed -under which circumstances - very well before assuming ...

Realistically one could possibly do such a thing over personal contacts but hardly do any advertising to do it openly unless most likely fulfilling certain requirements as others have mentioned. But if you are good and have a large local social network then maybe you can make a bit of pocket money but not likely a living.

Another problem might be competition. What one will notice in Germany is that certain businesses are in over-supply; bakeries, pharmacies and especially hair cutting places. I have at least 20 within a 200 meter radius from my apartment in Stuttgart-West. And because of the over-supply there are a lot of discount places like the chain Klier that are known for paying bad wages with lots of work.

But I've known German women who did hair, nails and make-up and made a relaxed side job out of it but they were at no risk to be in violation of visa regulations in addition to the risk of tax problems if they didn't report the income. I of course would NEVER actually suggest one bend the law but yes, such unreported economic activity exists to a degree in every country.  Or one can simply report the income and pay any taxes due if one is legal. If you are unrestricted workwise, (allowed to be self-employed) then I think such a job might be possible. Cutting hair is not exactly brain surgery.

I researched this subject for you in the internet and came up with quite some conflicting opinions. I am not a lawyer or expert in this filed but it seems that one might not need to legally have any training although hygiene would of course be important. Training for such things exists and helps one's chance of getting a job. Like many trades in Germany, one can become a “Meister” (expert ) with a 3 year training.

This WAS required until a few years ago to actually open your own shop, but this has supposedly changed. It is certainly not needed anymore to work in hair cutting places as an employee but to do freelance work is the real question. In the internet, many people claim that one needs a training but this idea is also promoted to get people to either pay for a school or to work as an intern or low paying helper for a time to get training. Schools or such businesses thus have a vested interest to claim such things as do people who have done such training who rather not compete with people who haven't.

Certain “handwork” jobs are given special recognition in Germany including Friseur(in) (someone who cuts hair).  One will have to have done a certified training to call themselves this.  But what if one doesn't use this word, just says they cut hair? Like someone who says they will cut wood without actually calling themselves a carpenter?

I could not find a definitive answer in the internet, so I called the Governmental Unemployment Office (Arbeitsamt) and they also did not know and referred me to the Handwerkskammer (association of handworkers). The person I got on the phone did not know and referred me to someone who specializes in such things but unfortunately, their number was always busy when I tried to call. If I ever get through I will let you know what I find out. Or if you message me I can give you the number of the Stuttgart office. I think such rules will not vary from city to city.

I know some people here will also be skeptical. But I am a self-employed clown and juggler. I am completely legal and did not need any kind of degree, training or license to do my job. Yet, there are “officially recognized” degrees available for performers. But it is not a requirement and nobody in the business cares. Customers want to know your experience and what you can do, not what clown school you might have gone to. Thus I wonder if one can still cut hair freelance as long as they don't say they are a Friseur?

Another factor could be that if you do something from your home they can label it a “place of business”, which might have additional tax consequences. Yet if you are a traveling hair cutter, offering house calls, then this might go around such rules and be attractive to people who for whatever reason can't get out of the house so easily.

Another thing I noticed after writing most of this, and only then looking at your profile, is that you say you are a hairstylist. Even if you did not do a comparable training as offered in Germany, having some years of professional experience might qualify. I am going to direct message you with the number of the Handwerkskammer since you can better give then the details of your situation.  You might want a native speaker to assist since some things might be complicated but fortunately you do speak German. I was going to quite an effort assuming that you, like most new American arrivals, didn't.

I should have assumed that things would get complicated here. I ran my own business in the states doing hair and I am aware of all of the differences here in Germany as far as qualifications. I first of all wasn't asking for money but "donations." I also just started this expat thing a few days ago, so I wasn't sure of the business forum as opposed to the regular forum. Apologies.This suggestion was more so for me getting to know women here, especially international women who are in the same boat as I am. I also tried to go back and delete my post as I don't want to start an uproar over this, but I am having trouble. Any hints on how to delete? Thanks for your help TominStuttgart. I am still getting used to how everything works differently here.Your information was very...well informative. Thanks!

Hey, no big deal. This forum is to respond to such situations and it's a chance for observers to learn something since they might have a similar question. A lot of information I gave and skepticism from others, is due to not knowing more details of your situation, thus the answers get qualified and complex. I found it an interesting thing to go into. And yes, there are often gray areas in the law.

As a performer, I can perform on the street for example. I can collect donations. But if I want to sell anything, like a button, poster or say a musician wants to sell a CD; then it is very different. Sellers need special permits and it gets difficult if not impossible to do so. One will see people making balloon animals in the street. Since they are not allowed to sell them, they can only request donations, even suggesting how much that should be. Some cities accept this as a work around the laws about selling, some not. But in general, accepting gratuities for something is legal…

I would leave the post. I don't see a problem with it but if you want it deleted then contact the site administration. The easiest is to click on the “report this post” button and send them a message about it. Make sure you explain that it is actually your own post, since having posts reported and deleted gives the appearance that one did something wrong, which you didn't. Or I could report it and explain for you…
I see you are also a musician. If you think about doing some busking then message me and I can try to give you some tips about the legality – which is even more complex in ways.

It would be a shame to make this discussion disappear, with all the good information Tom gave and which might be valuable to other readers, too.
Please consider not deleting it!

Hi! My wife is a hairstylist in Columbus GA and I am a shears sharpener and also sell salon shears.
we are moving to Ansbach Germany (Bavaria-Bayern). I work for the US Army as an airfield manager and we will be moving soon.

She wants to work in Germany (preferably not in the base), can you tell us about your experience, licensing issues etc.. Are you allowed to operate in your house or to set up a shop? Your input will be greatly appreciated, Thank You

The ScissorGuy of Columbus GA