Setting up a Language School

[Paula]

My friend and I are considering setting up a Language School offering English as a Foreign Language and French to expats in an area where no such school exists at present. We are only at the research stage and looking into the viability of this project. I would be very grateful to hear from anyone else who has set up such a business.

Paula

[Laine]

We came to Avignon 11 years ago and set up a language school, but just offering English lessons. For the last 2 years we have been working from home because in the end it was just not a viable proposition. In fact we still have our language lab for sale - it isn't pratical at home. It is difficult to give advice because every area in France is different, and obviously all situations are different too, but if you have any specific questions I'll try to answer them.

Which area are you thinking of?

Cheers,

Laine

[Paula]

We live North of Bordeaux in the Medoc. This area is quite rural but the main revenues come from the wine industry and tourism. So obviously the need to speak English is quite high. I am interested to know how we go about setting up such a business. Do we register first with the URSSAF or the Chambre de Metiers as is done generally when starting up a business? Can we receive any government grants for such a business?

Regards

Paula

[Laine]

When we came we registered with URSAFF because we chose to be 'profession liberale', it depends what statute you decide to be. I think otherwise it is the Chamber of Commerce rather than Metiers, but I'm not completely sure- there is a good web site in French about the advanatages and disadvantages of each statute, but I'll have to look for it. If you are interested let me know.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Cheers,

Laine