Entrepreneur Arthur Aragão’s routine starts very early. Before the sun rises, you can find him at Curva da Jurema, in Vitória, guiding the group that will take the first kayak trip of the day. Owner of the company Almar027, he transformed his leisure time into business and became an individual microentrepreneur (MEI).
Arthur is part of a contingent of 298,141 individual microentrepreneurs in the state, according to DataSebrae. “At the beginning of 2023, I started organizing trips on the weekends and promoting them on Instagram. In a few months, the activity gained such a large proportion that I decided to become a professional”, explains the entrepreneur, who gave up a formal CLT job to invest in the new business full time.
For those who, like Arthur, want to formalize, need guidance to manage their own business or have the dream of entrepreneurship, the Support Service for Micro and Small Businesses of Espírito Santo (Sebrae/ES) will offer, throughout the month of May, lectures, courses, workshops and free guidance throughout the state, in the 15th edition of MEI Week.
“This month, we are reinforcing service in the Entrepreneur Rooms, present in 74 municipalities. These are spaces that offer services that facilitate the daily lives of small businesses, such as formalizing and closing the MEI, debt installments, registration changes, issuing invoices, access to credit and much more”, explains Andrea Gama, analyst at Sebrae/ ES.
The Entrepreneur Rooms work in partnership with city halls and the State Agency for the Development of Micro and Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship (Aderes) and their opening was boosted across the state by the Entrepreneurial City program.
National mobilization
Between the 20th and 24th of May, when MEI Week is held across the country, Sebrae/ES will provide a call center, from 9am to 5pm, at its offices in the municipalities of Vitória, Vila Velha, Serra, Cariacica , Aracruz, Colatina, Linhares, Nova Venécia, São Mateus, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Guarapari, Guaçuí, Venda Nova do Imigrante and Iúna. The service will be aimed at both those who want to open their own business and those who are already entrepreneurs.
In addition to specialized services, MEI Week will offer free training in several municipalities in the state, such as Serra, Cariacica, Vila Velha, Vitória, Aracruz, Linhares, Colatina, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim and São Mateus.
Good practices in food handling, content production for social media, photography for entrepreneurs and how to create your company’s profile on Google are some of the topics that will be covered in the workshops, courses and lectures. The schedule, which is being updated, can be seen at the link https://es.loja.sebrae.com.br/semana-do-mei.
Business check-up
For MEI who want to boost the growth of their business without leaving home, it is possible to access, free of charge, a detailed feedback report about the company, as well as indications of solutions that can help the entrepreneur advance in the market. To do this, simply access the website https://es.loja.sebrae.com.br/semana-do-mei.
“The report presents the company’s score and compares this score with that of other enterprises in the same segment, in addition to offering personalized recommendations to improve business management”, explains Andrea.
On the same website, the entrepreneur will find special content with the step-by-step guide to becoming a micro-entrepreneur, and also what needs to be done after formalization, with indications of courses, workshops and consultancies for the development of the MEI.
“MEI can download the Entrepreneur Calendar, which helps plan actions and drive sales throughout the year, editable cards for social networks, planner, ebooks and sales spreadsheets, in addition to issuing tax documents. All this online and free.”
Growth after formalization
It was after opening a CNPJ as an individual micro-entrepreneur, in November 2023, that Arthur managed to create a booking website for kayak tours, insert the company in the Registry of Tourist Service Providers (Cadastur) and expand services. “The website helped me to have a much greater projection in the market. With MEI, I was also able to buy all the equipment, which was previously rented,” he said.
The microentrepreneur also received guidance from Sebrae/ES to complete the brand registration process and create a business plan. “After I became a professional, I managed to organize the company and started working every day. Every month, we take around a thousand people on tours. It’s working so well that I’m going to need to migrate to the micro-enterprise category”, celebrates Arthur.
MEI is a person who works on their own and has a formalized business, with annual revenue of up to R$81 thousand. The cost for formalization is zero. Currently, more than 500 economic activities can be registered as an individual microentrepreneur.
