17.02.2026
Daniela says that she adopted a cautious approach to self-employment – not for lack of courage, but out of responsibility for her income and home. As the founder of Interiør Butik in Basel, she knows that a nice product range alone is not enough. Structures that reliably support you in the background are crucial.
For many company founders, the initial catalyst is not the desire to be an entrepreneur, but a passion for something. Daniela wanted to create a place that reflected her personality. A product range in which nothing is accidental and in which each item tells its own story.
The start came almost in passing and was not long in the planning. She discovered an advertisement for the shop by chance, applied for it and impressed with her concept. When her application was accepted, she was overwhelmed. Even so, she didn’t simply drop everything overnight. Security was important to her. This is why self-employment didn’t come about overnight, but step by step, with planning and enough breathing space to make calm decisions.
For me, security is a prerequisite for courage. I can only act creatively and entrepreneurially if I’m standing on solid ground.
A key part of this journey: Daniela initially held onto her existing job in parallel. For three years, she worked 30 percent of a full schedule while setting up the shop at the same time. This hybrid approach took pressure out of the initial phase and enabled organic growth without every decision immediately becoming existential.
Anyone starting up a company on their own is CEO, purchasing director, marketing director and CFO all rolled into one. Daniela’s everyday life is constantly changing: purchasing in the morning, sales during the day, and social media and shipping in the evening. And in between: administration. The greatest mental pressure is generated not on the sales floor, but in the background. Accounting, incoming payments, receipts, VAT. Uncertainty costs energy, and mistakes can be expensive. At an early stage, Daniela therefore looked for solutions that would make financial matters simpler and provide her with an overview.
For Daniela, it is important to maintain an overview. She deliberately opted for:
With a reliable financial partner at her side, her head is free to focus on the core business.
Nowadays, the online shop is no longer an add-on, but an important pillar. But even the nicest shop is of little use if the payment process is complicated. Customers expect trust and simplicity. Daniela integrated PostFinance Pay into her shop. For customers, this means secure payment directly via the PostFinance App.
Daniela has a love of detail. Every product should be labelled, its benefits visible, and everything should make sense. At the same time, she has learned that perfection slows you down – especially at the beginning. Many company founders get bogged down in the details (logo, colours, texts) before it is even clear whether the services offered will work on the market.
“It doesn’t always have to be perfect.” 80 percent is enough to get started. Feedback comes from customers. Optimization occurs on the go. Those who wait until everything is perfect often start too late.
One aspect that is often underestimated is psychological strain. Constant decisions, responsibility and uncertainty. Small automation measures act like relief valves. Standing orders, eBill, push notifications for incoming payments: not needing to check constantly allows you to recover energy. That is why modern banking solutions are more than just infrastructure. They reduce stress.
The less you have to connect manually, the calmer your day-to-day work becomes. Daniela consciously opted for a set-up where in-store payments and online payments converge. This saves time and reduces errors – and, above all, mental strain.
Useful to know: one contact person for everything
PostFinance offers payment terminals and payment contracts from a single source. This gives companies a central point of contact for in-store and online payment transactions – significantly reducing the administrative workload.
Daniela’s story shows that entrepreneurship doesn’t need perfection. Cautious growth is possible. The key thing is to lay the right foundations – financially, organizationally and mentally. Starting a business doesn’t mean having to solve everything yourself. Strong partners and simple solutions in the background create freedom. This enables company founders to do what drives them: inspire their customers.
Discover solutions and services from PostFinance to help you embark on your journey to self-employment.
