Business consulting for solo self-employed people

You work for yourself. You just can't live on it.

You are good at what you do. And still you sit there at the end of the month doing sums. I show you the route that turns self-employment into a business that carries you.

Free first call See offers and prices

30 minutes, no obligation

Self-employed since 2018
Certified start-up coach
Düsseldorf, Cologne, Aachen & online

A schematic picture of a typical year without a plan. You know this line better than any statistic.

Draw your own curve →

Sound familiar?

Six sentences. How many of them are true?

One month it runs, the next one almost nothing comes in — and you don't quite know why.
You work more than any employee you know, and earn less.
You have a side job you meant to quit a long time ago.
Clients arrive by chance and referral. There is no plan for how you win them.
You drop your price because you are afraid of losing the job otherwise.
You couldn't say off the top of your head whether you made a profit last quarter.

If you nodded at three or more, you are in the right place. Not because you are doing something wrong — but because nobody has shown you how it works differently.

The actual reason

It isn't your craft. It's the missing system.

Almost everyone who comes to me is genuinely good at their trade. That is never the problem. The problem is that good craft alone doesn't bring clients — and that nobody teaches a self-employed person how skill becomes a business.

What's missing isn't talent. What's missing is a route: a position people understand immediately. An offer that is worth its price and that you can quote without a bad conscience. And a way for enquiries to arrive predictably — including in the weeks when you aren't thinking about it.

That is exactly what we work on. In that order.

The route

Four phases. An order that makes sense.

Not a kit you pick from. Each phase builds on the one before — that is why it works.

01
Clarity
We look at what is actually happening: numbers, where your time goes, which clients carry you and which ones cost you. At the end of this phase you know exactly where you stand for the first time — and for most people that is the most uncomfortable and the most important moment.
02
Positioning
We sharpen what you stand for and who for. An offer that solves one concrete problem instead of doing a little of everything. After that you no longer have to sell yourself on price.
03
Clients
We build your route to clients — concrete, suited to you, and repeatable. Where your clients are, how you approach them, what you say when they ask what it costs. No longer chance, but a procedure.
04
System
We turn self-employment into a business: fixed procedures, clean numbers, prices that hold, and the first tasks that no longer depend on you. This is the point where you can breathe again.

The route is adapted to your situation. The order stays.

Simon Cornehl, business consultant based in Düsseldorf

Simon Cornehl, owner

Who you'll be working with

I learned how clients are won. In the toughest place to learn it.

I'm Simon Cornehl, self-employed since 2018. I started in financial advice, at a large company where success was measured in numbers every single day. As a team leader I was responsible for several million euros in revenue with my team — and learned client acquisition, team building and leadership from the ground up. Not from books.

Since 2022 I have been passing that on. I have accompanied dozens of people into self-employment and, which matters more to me, brought many of them to a level where they can genuinely live on their work.

What I am not: someone who sells you motivational lines. What you get is an honest assessment of your situation and a plan you can start acting on the next morning.

2018: self-employed — running my own business ever since
Mio. €: in revenue managed as a team leader in financial sales
2022: specialised in business consulting
Dozens: of clients accompanied into and through self-employment
AVGS: certified start-up coach, approved through an AZAV-accredited provider

My full story

Two ways to work with me

One of them costs you nothing.

With an AVGS voucher

The Federal Employment Agency pays

If you are registered as looking for work with the Agentur für Arbeit or the Jobcenter, your coaching can be financed in full through an activation and placement voucher (AVGS). There is then no cost to you. The coaching itself runs in English — but the application to the authority has to be in German, because that is the only language they accept. I go through it with you.

Full coverage of costs once approved
Possible even without receiving benefits
Coaching in English, paperwork in German — I help with both

How the AVGS works (in German)

There is no legal entitlement to an AVGS. Your case worker decides. The detailed pages on this route are in German, because the route itself runs in German.

Paying yourself

Numbers check, ongoing support or single hours

Not registered as looking for work, or you would rather not depend on deadlines and approvals? Then I work with you directly — everything in English, including all materials. In the free first call we work out which scope fits your situation, and whether we are a fit at all.

Start without waiting for an approval
Payment in instalments possible
Start with the numbers check for €390

See packages and prices

Client voices

Before working with Simon, I honestly didn't really know how to approach everything. His support quickly gave me clarity and helped me understand the next steps. I found it especially helpful that I could fully concentrate on my own business and didn't have to worry about so many other things. Working with Simon was incredibly pleasant and straightforward. I would highly recommend him to anyone who wants to focus on building their own business and has good support by their side. Thank you, Simon!