Jimdo founder: “For many, self-employment is simply the better lifestyle”

Matthias Henze is co-founder and CEO of Jimdo (a website builder that allows you to create and maintain professional websites and online shops without any programming knowledge), curator of the German Founders' Award, and he likes to position himself as THE voice of solopreneurs and micro-enterprises in Germany. After all, there are more than four million of them – and many more who would like to be. And with his book "You Are the Company," Heinze wants to encourage all of them to take the step into self-employment. Not that he hasn't experienced how hard it can be. He writes about that too: how his company was close to closing, and how to get through the particularly deep valleys.

"You Are the Company" will be published by Murmann Verlag on March 27, 2025. Here is an excerpt from the chapter "You Are the Perseverance" :

The problem for the self-employed is that crises quickly become existential. Most haven't built up extensive reserves, and sometimes their money only lasts for a few months, if that. A lack of customers quickly becomes a problem. And if the overall economic situation is already tense, it can escalate into a crisis.

The data we regularly collect shows that self-employed people feel disproportionately threatened compared to the economy as a whole. Together with the ifo Institute, we publish the Jimdo-ifo Business Climate Index for Self-Employed every month. This reflects the business situation and expectations for the next six months.

We launched the index during the coronavirus crisis because we clearly noticed that self-employed people and micro-enterprises (up to ten employees) were receiving absolutely no media or political attention, and that their situation seemed to be largely unknown. Before launching the index, we conducted several surveys among micro-enterprises and found that some of them assessed their business climate during the coronavirus pandemic quite differently than the larger companies surveyed by the ifo Institute. While the ifo index, for example, rose significantly again in April 2021, the Jimdo index of micro-enterprises was significantly in the red. This was the confirmation for us to launch the index – since there was hardly any data on the self-employed, and we felt it was crucial to underpin this important economic sector with valid data.

The index has now found its place in the media. It is receiving attention, and its consequences are also being discussed. The data now clearly shows that, as a percentage, a higher proportion of self-employed people feel threatened by their existence than larger companies. In the crisis year of 2024, this was the case for 18 percent of solo self-employed people. This translates to 600,000 solo entrepreneurs.

600,000 people who didn't know whether they could continue running their businesses as before – and this amid a worsening economic situation in Germany. The recession, the still-felt effects of the coronavirus and the Ukraine conflict, only gradually declining inflation, and the financial difficulties of industry giants like VW and Bayer are also affecting many self-employed people and small businesses. It's unnecessary for so many to feel threatened.

These 600,000 people (perhaps more or less in 2025) are under extreme pressure, have mental images, and probably sleep deprived. They've built something, they've realized their dream, and now it's at risk. This isn't just a burden for them; their family and friends notice it too. Perhaps they're even putting additional pressure on them or sowing doubts about whether they'll ever get out of this. "You'd better give up. How are you going to get out of this?!" That can be very uncomfortable.

Self-employment means you stand for something. What you do is also an expression of your personality. And when that doesn't work out, it affects you as a person. Crises are not only financial, but above all, mental. How do you deal with them? What's the way out? And how do you keep your emotions in check?

When it feels like everything's going against you, one crucial question can help: Why did you start? Why did you become self-employed?

It's incredibly helpful to remember what motivated you to start—especially because in these existential crises, you inevitably ask yourself, "Shouldn't I just quit?" We've all had that thought a hundred times. We shouldn't have it anymore. "Why did you start?" is the thought you should keep pursuing.

“Do you really want to be the person who closes the family business?”

“Do you want to abandon the women you wanted to empower with your fashion?”

My question when building our company was always: "Do you want to leave the self-employed to their own devices again and not be their cool tech partner?" This question has carried me through many difficult moments over the past few years.

Remember the first chapter, which talked about the importance of having a topic that's meaningful to you? In those moments, having a strong why is essential. The advice of a founder I recently met hits the same note: "If your business isn't doing well, think about your customers and what they would miss if you weren't around anymore."

Incidentally, this was – a brief but important digression – at an event organized by the Association of International Women Entrepreneurs in Germany. More than 200 female founders from 44 nations met in Berlin. This was, so to speak, the future of the German startup scene: a very female future with a very international background. Because people – especially women – with a migrant background often have no choice but to start a business in Germany.

This also leads to the impressively high start-up rate among people with a migration background, significantly higher than that of the native population. The "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor" (GEM), published by the RKW Competence Center together with Leibniz University Hannover, shows that one in five people with a migration background has founded their own company in the past three years.

The so-called start-up rate among migrants (19.9 percent) is thus more than twice as high as that of people without an immigration background (8.3 percent). And, it should be mentioned, starting a business is difficult for migrants; they often have few contacts, and banks are often even more hesitant about loans than for non-migrants. Nevertheless, they seize the opportunity. And indeed, the number of women founders with an international background is growing, contrary to the general trend. Impressive because precisely this group (female, with an immigration background) has to overcome the greatest hurdles – and, what was even more impressive: their strength of will and attitude. One participant said: "We can really make a difference here!" There's no question that they are also used to going through hard times to achieve this goal.

There's a second reason. Why you decided to become self-employed. It wasn't just a career choice—it's a life decision. And it's worth persevering and fighting for. For many people, self-employment is simply the better lifestyle. Giving it up would probably be more disastrous in the long run than getting through the tough times.

There's no life without setbacks. But while being employed can often be a slow, gradual decline ("Twelve years until retirement, I can't wait, I'm so sick of this"), a crisis in self-employment is more of a visceral blow – one that, if you handle it wisely, can benefit you moving forward.

Because there are no excuses. Because you can't hide, because you—and only you—have to face the problem and solve it. Because you have to learn from it quickly, and because you can essentially do something differently tomorrow. Develop a new service, offer a new product, find a new niche. "Sit-out" a problem won't work; it wouldn't be consistent with the self-image of a small business owner.

The creativity of self-employed individuals is often impressive. How they deal with changing circumstances, how they start anew with something else. Because they don't whine, even when it's enough to make you cry. Remembering these whys will help. It also prevents you from playing the victim. You made that decision back then – and now it's up to you to implement changes, even if there's opposition.

We often faced headwinds at Jimdo , and far too often the tide turned against us. Friends often asked me how much longer I actually intended to do this. They had very good reasons for asking. I kept going anyway. Eventually, things got better. It's just like that: If the core is good, things will get better.

Later, when you look back on the time, you'll be proud of what you've achieved: "I got through that!" And you can build on that in the next crisis. It won't make the crisis any better, but you'll know you can handle the pressure.

Another thing that helps cope with a crisis is setting a timeframe. Especially when it comes to financial matters. The stress of not knowing how to cover fixed costs is truly exhausting. Loans, unpaid fees, tax payments, rent, cell phone contracts, food—everything continues to run – despite the crisis. Setting a financial timeframe helps. So, define it precisely:

• How far can you go?
• How long will the money last?

If you have a specific time frame, if you set a date for pulling the ripcord, that can also put your mind at ease. Because you now know exactly how much time you have left – that alone can release energy. Because you're bound to take action. Because you have to come up with something.

By the way, it's advisable to set the time frame in consultation with your tax advisor. They may have a more detailed insight into what's still possible and when a limit should be set.

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