An office, which one of the partners contributed, three laptops, a printer, paper, electricity and 200 RON, the minimum amount for share capital. That is all Cristian Calugaru and his two associates, Tudor Salcudeanu and Paul Aparaschivei needed in order to set up their own political consultancy and marketing firm, FAR Communication. At 24, the three started a business of their own on a market with room for making a name for oneself and where lots of money is changing hands. ”Our principle is to make more money than we did as mere employees. I for one, starting from a 1,000 euro salary, hope to succeed in tripling it in a short time and if things go well maybe even hire two or three people this autumn,” says Cristian Calugaru, manager of FAR Communication and one of its partners.

The same principle made Lucian Barbulescu try his luck as a small entrepreneur. When he decided to set up his own firm, in mid last year, he still did not have all the details about the future business and development plans laid out, but knew one thing: he wanted to move from being an employee to being his own boss as soon as possible. Such businesses, though beginning shyly and having an uncertain future, seem the ideal solution for many, especially now when the life of company employees has become quite difficult.

Or least more difficult than in the past years. ”Until now, on the job performance used to mean not being late, not making any major mistakes or not being absent from the job for too long, although these things are actually normal. It is only now that real performance is being demanded,” says Costea Dumitrescu, managing partner with training and consultancy firm Ascendis. Lately, firms and generally private enterprise have become a way to replace income earned as an employee with a different, higher income.

Those that do not dare take this step have the option of a second job. According to recruitment firms, there are plenty of candidates. Most of the small entrepreneurs are either people who are no longer happy with their current job or have lost it as a result of the redundancies at the companies they worked for. There are also cases when the new firms are set up by young graduates who do not want to become somebody’s employees, but to own their business instead or by the highly experienced well-known managers ”who have no option left to move up the ladder and decide to start their own company, usually a consultancy business,” says Emilian Duca, tax partner of fiscal advisory firm BDO Conti Tax Advisors.

Many people even set up new companies after they have had others in the past, either because they need or want to develop or – more frequently now – in attempt to get rid of non-profitable firms or debts. Consultancy seems to be the business of choice for those starting their own companies now, mainly because it does not require very high costs. Those who would like to make some money quickly, without investing too much at this point, could establish a company specialising in restructuring, the consultancy segment in highest demand at the moment, says Cosmin Alexandru, founder of Erudio training company and shareholder of branding firm Brandivia. Other businesses (such as bars, coffee shops, boarding houses, various EU-funded projects) have potential, too, but the initial investments they require are hardly small.