I Started a Business in France: Case Study

For Christine Barnes, 43, the idea of moving to France to start a new life in the sun turned out to be little more than an unrealistic dream. As a self-confessed organisation freak, Christine certainly knows that she did her homework before moving to France, but even so, nothing quite prepared her for the legendary French bureaucracy.

She explained, "I had worked for many years in Bath before I decided to move to the south of France following my divorce. My two young children were excited about the move and I already had a couple of friends and my parents living in France. I had run a successful coffee shop in Bath and was keen to do the same thing, especially as I had learned loads about costs, budgeting and what customers want."

Plenty of Research

Christine continued, "I knew from my friends and parents already living in the south of France that it was an area very popular with expats, and that the coffee shop with internet access culture that was already well established in the UK was slowly creeping in to the more forward thinking French towns and cities in the south."

Christine carefully did all her business plans and figures and, having sold the family home for a great profit, was able to buy a smaller home in France and keep plenty of money in reserve.

She added, "We arrived at our new home and found a vacant unit in the perfect location – just on the high street in a large town popular with both students and tourists. I took a year’s lease and set about getting it ready. Even though I had budgeted carefully and got loads of information in advance, and had the support of my French-speaking family nearby, nothing could have prepared me for the difficulties I faced with the most simple tasks. Getting a phone line put in was a nightmare, and the idea of offering free wifi internet was met with incredulity by the provider! Everything took forever and I found it very hard to get people to help – long holidays, long lunch breaks and short working weeks are not an exaggeration!"

Lots of Problems

Although Christine was more than prepared to put plenty of hard work into her coffee shop, the certificates, inspections and general lack of support meant that she found herself very tempted when a friend offered her a contract working as a relocation agent instead.

She said, "I found myself renegotiating with the landlord to get out of the contract early as I could see that I would just be sinking time and money into a project that had no guarantees of success. The stress of getting it up and running was starting to show and I was snapping at my daughters, so when I was offered another opportunity with a more regular wage and less responsibility for the business side of things, I must admit I leapt at it!"

Although since Christine tried to start her own business in France the auto-entrepreneur scheme has been introduced which has greatly simplified being self-employed in France, many expats still find that the paperwork issues of setting up a business in France is far more involved than the equivalent in the UK – and it’s all in French! Do make sure you get proper advice from experts that know the French and English systems before you make any commitments.