Czech economy depends on self-employed, small firms - Prague Daily Monitor
Brussels, Oct 16 (CTK) - No other EU economy is more heavily affected by the self-employed and small companies than the Czech Republic, according to data from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.
There is a nice Czech word for the self-employed/home business: živnostník i.e. someone who runs a živnost which in means small business but evokes a subsistence connotation - since it is derived from the Czech word for life život.
There is also a cultural connotation that may be significant. The word živnostník has a certain old-world charm, reminding us of the 'First Republic' (první republika) and old films (shown on TV as 'filmy pro pamětníky'). Of course, the charm is spoiled somewhat by the earthy phrase: 'udělat něco na živnosťák' which means to do something under the authority of the 'živnostenský list' which every small business needs to obtain through a relatively painless registration process (I had two at one point).
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