mandycats

my dear i'm so so sorry for your trauma.  dont forget that your lovely little puss has had the best life you could ever give him and given him so much love, this must be the final and biggest act of love.  if the worst happens dont be afraid  you can hold him in your arms the vet will use a small pair of scissors to cut alittle fur from one leg to allow the needle to be passed properly into a vien.  a very small needle will then be introduced and a lethal amount of aneasthetic will be administered instantly and painlessly stopping your beloved's heart and brain activity, he will painlessly, gently and very quickly slip away to the beyond.  please understand that it will be very quick, sometimes people are aliitle shocked.  dont be.  loads of love to you, be brave

hi. i dont like to be a party pooper but there are an AWFUL lot of equestrians out here hoping to make some cash, but sadly there mostly isnt the money.  from personal experience your market is extremely limited and unless you move very close to a large and prosperous city/town you will find little custom.  we have chosen to live in the depths of rural france and sadly our french allies are alittle basic when it comes to horse care (execpt the more pro people who only use qualifed veterinary therapists).  you may find that like my horse therapist he is a vet diversifiying as even they dont make tons of cash (totally opposite to uk).he traveled for an hour to get to me and obviously the return trip and saw 2 of my horses for 1.5 hours the total cost was 60 euros, not alot for a qualified vet!  you may find the odd english person but possibly not enough to fund the taxes you have no choise but to pay.  you will have to register at the chambre de metier which will set you back around 7 thousand euros per year.  there are some places that can help you waive some of the initial year costs but by year 3 you will be paying it all regardless of turnover.  there is no such thing as a hobby business in france.  i would seriously re consider your options here.  if you are dedicated VERY QUALIFIED and prepared to work near to full time you may make a profit if you can get the clients.  we have so many english horsey friends come and go, with various horse businesses, from livery to holiday, schooling to breeding.  france is over run and over serviced with gites and b&bs, look hard to find the right place and you may get lucky.  the french are very traditional people and although they embrace change they are naturally cautious people and change takes time, time you may not have if you have to pay 7K!  be aware that many of the bills are payable either immediately or within the first three months.  if you buget and think very hard about your income streems and how you can balance it, you can survive here and enjoy it.  i can thoroughly recommend the riding - its so quiet and no fly tipping!  i wish you all the best and i hope that your new life works out well for you. 

hi, i am sure that the person paying you has a limit to the amount of hours they can pay you for.. not really sure but 15 hours springs to mind (per week or month i dont know).  I think your constraint is more the fact that you are only supposed to work a 35 hour week so any infrigements would be noticed by the tax man.  I know this situation is currently changing so maybe worth asking your bank manager - ours seems to know alot about the rules. it is oddly free from red tape on your part - i think the person employing you has more hoops to jump through though!  our side of it was basically providing some details and banking the cheques when they arrive! 

hi, as i understand it (i'm sure there are others more knowledgeable than myself) an EARL is your best chance of earning reasonable income if you have a good turnover.  this is because you must draw a set wage every month (this amount may possibly be limited) but you can then draw dividends on your company every quater (ie pay yourself a lump sum) at a much more reasonable tax rate.  this is effective if you turnover about 100k. under a normal regime you would only be left with about 29% of your turnover (not very much ) with EARL you are free to earn the equivalent of upto 40-65% depending on individuals. an earl you can set up on your own with you being the sole shareholder and the only boss! with a sarl you will need other directors - 2 or more and of course you may then start getting into shareholders etc. very complicated! we have been advised to upgrade from a micro business to an earl when our turnover reaches the 76k limit - which doesnt actually take that long with high value goods (like yours are).  Try and find a local government business advisary service (tourist information or the marie are a good place to start asking - even the assistant social is a good source of information) they are usually free and give you honest unbaised advice - it is ours (and a few of our friends - who are french) experience that accountants are primarily concerned with their own affairs!  but a good one is obviously necessary - its just finding them! as for the chambers you will have to register at the chamber of commerce -  i think ALL business have to be registered there first anyway then the chamber de metiers for other work.  it is expensive - costs are about 7k per annum but you may be paying some of that already.  It may well be worth the expense if you can get a couple of jobs lined up to pay for it in advance.  there is the work if you look for it  - its just how much you pay out before you get pay IN! This information is as i understand it.  i hope this helps and the best of luck with your expansion.

Hi, this is my first post although i have watched this forum for a while.  My husband has been gardening for local people using 'Cheque Employ Service'.  it works very well but be warned that much of what you have said you wish to do isnt allowed on that regime - belive me for the past 6 months we have been trying to find a way around all this red tape.  you are basically confined to gardening - which is ONLY cutting lawns etc, any addition of features ie paths or repairing walls or making flower beds are banned.  this is artisan work and for that you must be registered as a landscape gardener with chamber de meteir (sorry perhaps not spelled that quite right!).  as for roofing - even replacing tiles again....... - painting and decorating is also not available on 'Cheque Employ Service' although you dont need to be an artisan you must be registered with the chamber of commerce (at least thats the cheapest one!). The cheque is basically for house cleaning, hedge cutting grass mowing etc.  it was set up to assist people to return to work by allowing them to have cheap assistance in the home.  it certainly wasnt set up for those of us who just want a nice little business! BUT having said all this, we have been given some great help by our local government agency.  They are honest and unbiased.  most accountants are strictly not to be trusted - people seem to have this thing about asking them for help but they are NEVER going to recommend the micro enterprise because you dont need THEM! Each business is totally individual and really you need to speak to an agency one on one to get as much help as you can.  Our fees for the first year are only 72.50 and that was for registering the business because we used this agency.  the normal fees  for a micro enterprise are 600 euros per year payable quaterly.  if you set up this way it would allow you to do everything listed above - it would be worth doing perhaps in 6 months time after you have enough clients asking you to do things other than those allowed. you have a limit on earnings which stands at 26k for services or 76k if you sell things (someone please correct me if i'm wrong). our agency in the cher is called A.N.N.A.  check them out, you may have a simular place near you.   We have been to several business groups and the general consent within the agencys and in practise is that approximately 29% of all the revenue you bring in (gross) will go to you, the remaining 71% being taxes and outgoings.  This in practise has proved fairly accurate for most service businesses.  There is a VERY good reason that artisans are so expensive - its because they are TAXED steeply. in reality an average electrician - despite charging anything upto 40 euro per hour, receives roughly 10 euro of it. so going into business isnt to be taken lightly it will also take some time.   I am pretty sure you could make a living, maybe not a vast fortune, but it is our experience that there are PLENTY of people who would love your assistance.  just look before you leap.  we have paid for our mistakes i hope i can help you avoid some!  Best wishes i hope it works out well for you.

hi there, more and more people are finding working in france complicated and expensive.  its not as easy as they make out in the magazines!  we were in a simular position to you.  go to the person who did all the paperwork for the RMI.  they have a business adviser.  they will help and they want to help.  the name of the assisting organisation is A.N.N.A. (in our department at least) they do business start ups and help to remedy problems.  we had a business that was set up wrong,  they have closed it and re-opened in another way, they have also helped with the tax etc and it doesnt hurt your RMI it helps!  keep positive. if you dont want to sell up then consider setting up something in another way, the fact that your partner is pregnant can only support your position, she will be entitled to plenty of assistance.  try not to worry.