Help with our dream

[a@jay]

Hi Everyone

We have been reading the site for some time now and this is the first time we have posted a message.

We have been deliberating about trying to move to France for two years now and we are getting closer to the time when we have to make a decision to sell our house and then rent a house so that we can move quickly if we find the right family property (part of which we need to convert to tearoom/cafe), also our son is 7 years old and will adapt to the French Educational system easier( he is learning French at present and ours is only basic).We also have a 2 year old little girl.

I am a chef by profession and my wife and I would run the tearoom together ,offering cakes , sandwiches and light lunches???

We envisage a lot of bureaucracy eg. permission to run a business from home, choosing which taxation scheme to subscribe too, all which seem daunting to say the least !!

Looking on the bright side, we will be able to buy the property outright, so no mortgage or millstone! 

As this would be our only source of income, any thoughts or constructive ideas would be much appreciated to help us achieve our goal and join all you lucky people over there !

[Nick Trollope]

Welcome!

Not much I can say, that has not been covered in the last few days' worth of posting. Suggest that you read through the forum (after they have closed it for maintenance!).

I would suggest that buying a going concern (bar, restaurant, cafe or whatever) may be easier (and cheaper in the long run) than starting from scratch. There are always lots for sale in our local paper - but you should ask yourself why. My local bar has just changed hands; they have added a table football machine & changed the sign, but have done owt to attract new clients, which I suspect is symptomatic of the times.

Best advice; do your research very, very carefully.

Bon chance!

[Val_2]

From seeing a right messup by some brits who bought out in the countryside out here right off the beaten track to do a cafe/tearoom etc I can only say you need to find a good location for passing trade. Its no good buying cheap property in the middle of nowhere,you won't get any customers and remember the locals already have their ways and watering holes and won't easily change. As Nick said, buying an existing established business is probably the safest option, you can always move on at a later date and yes,setting up in business can be very fraught with miles of red tape but if you are determined enough you can do it. Just don't make the mistake that those people I mentioned have done and end up with an expensive white elephant round your neck.

[Logan]

Assume your business will make nothing in the first two years if you start from scratch. Therefore make sure you have sufficient capital to keep yourself for that period. Start your business in an area where there exists established tourist or business traffic for most of the year. The state will demand money from you from day one even in the absence of any profits. Good luck you will need it.

[Will]

I wish you luck with whatever you decide. There's certainly a lot of relevant information on this forum, the most difficult part is tracking it all down.

My only (personal) comment is that somehow the words 'light lunch' and 'France' don't seem to sit all that happily together?

But there's an Englishman near us who seems to be doing rather well with a mobile fish and chip van (ashamed to say I've never tried it though) so maybe English eating habits are becoming trendy here?

[Jigglepin]

[quote]I wish you luck with whatever you decide. There's certainly a lot of relevant information on this forum, the most difficult part is tracking it all down. My only (personal) comment is that somehow th...[/quote]

Fish and Chip van OMG.

Good luck with your move to France and setting up a business here. Make sure you get the best tax advice you can afford before investing any money in a new enterprise and if you business is aimed at tourist look around for grants, some departments have devolopment grant for NEW tourist baised businesses. Help with marketing and red tape to some degree BUT you need a very good USP.

[Richard-R]

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Seem this forum now thinks i'm jigglepin ????. I logged in ok than post and it changed my id?

Richard (Aude) just in case :-)