A British friend of mine and her husband rented a car recently with RentACar and had only driven about 15 kms. before the clutch went out. As it turned out, she (the driver) was blamed and the company blocked their credit card for 1000 Euros to cover damages. After speaking with an attorney, they realized that it would cost more to fight the claim. Upon receiving a replacement rental car, she was obligated to demonstrate to the company’s agent that she was capable of driving a stickshift (she has had many years driving experience in France and in the U.K.).
Apparently, this occurs frequently no matter what rental car company is used – read someone’s Hertz car rental experience & solution as Q&A HERE
The bottom line is “any damage to the clutch is considered gross negligence by the renter” so the next time you are renting a car, BEWARE & BE AWARE!
I recently had tapas and a cocktail at a piano bar in Nice, as I enjoy trying out new places.
Being a Friday evening, the jazz band began tuning up and started their first (early) set to add music to the lovely ambiance of the place. My only complaint is the champagne was served in a tulip glass that seemed small (or maybe I just wanted more!) but the cocktails were generous servings, as well as the food.
All in all, Le Kosma is a very nice, cozy place to relax, enjoy a cocktail and tapas while listening to some great music. La vie est belle!
No matter where you are or where your dream destination may be, the one thing we all share is the pursuit of attaining or maintaining our exceptional lifestyles.
Opening up to our authentic selves in a new location or change of direction, also brings to the surface other simmering desires; such as transforming our newly-stimulated creativity into a dream job to accompany our transformation.
From Fantasy to Feasibility
For example, living in France, think how life could be: producing your own olive oil and selling it in local markets, writing the book that has been buried deep within you for so long , holding cooking classes in your new Provencal kitchen, opening your own Bed & Breakfast in the middle of the vineyards and Chateaux, …… the list goes on into the horizon of the setting sun.
The question is, can all this enchantment work financially? Let’s take a look at the 3 main impediments to growing a healthy business. Two of them you have little control over but with one of them you have 100% control over so that is your chance to go for it!
Taxes – Little control
Get a good accountant who may be able to cut some corners for you and get on with growing your business to cover your taxes.
Discouraging Bureaucracy – Little control with more options
Depending on where you live, paperwork has to get done. You can do it yourself but can save a lot of time and frustration by using one of the excellent expat services that can take care of almost anything. On the French Riviera, I recommend LBS (Leonetti Business Services).
Lack of Business Planning – 100% control
This is one of the main reasons why new businesses struggle. Planning ahead is the single most effective action you can take to make your dream job work. Statistics show that a simple plan can have an amazing impact on a small business – increasing chances of financial success by 50%.
Most creative people don’t plan out their businesses because noone has made it easy. Therefore, most prefer to invest their energies into perfecting their product or service and develop relationships with their target market. Sadly, very little time is dedicated to planning how the money will come in.
For expats launching a business in a foreign country, a plan is vital as many are targeting an English speaking clientele. With a simple plan, the entrepreneur can find out what the income potential of that market is and which of his products or services will render the most profit. Only then can he or she choose the best marketing activities.
Today with the explosion of entrepreneurship, it is easier than ever to put a simple plan in place. One of the programs, especially made to motivate the right brainers is called Trilojee (see video & podcast below). For those who want extra guidance in their business growth, there are Entrepreneur Coaches to boost your business progress. Contact info@espritentrepreneurs.com for any global location.
We want your dream business to have every chance of succeeding!
These are the businesses that are promoting Wellness, Culture, Eco living, Cuisine, education, services and creating communities of like-minded people. These small businesses allow so many of us to experience quality of products and services and unexpected delights of living.
So go for it! Yes – a dream job and dream income too!
I would love to hear about your businesses. We want you to succeed as it helps all of us!
Macarons are all the rage in Paris and New York and have become the icon of French pastries. But I am voting for the long-standing iconic pastry of Bordeaux, the canelé.
This now fancy, indeed “haute” pastry began as a thrifty, simple way to use up left-over ingredients in order to feed the poor.
The canelé owes it’s beginnings to the nuns of the Miséricorde convent. They would send novices to the docks to sweep up flour that had spilled out of bags as they were being unloaded from the boats. To this recovered flour they added egg yolks, a leftover from the many vintners who used the egg whites to clarify their wines.
These original pastries, called canelas or camelions, didn’t look like what we see today. The dough was wrapped around sticks, fried and then sold to raise the money needed to feed the poor. According to some…
kms. before the clutch went out. As it turned out, she (the driver) was blamed and the company blocked their credit card for 1000 Euros to cover damages. After speaking with an attorney, they realized that it would cost more to fight the claim. Upon receiving a replacement rental car, she was obligated to demonstrate to the company’s agent that she was capable of driving a stickshift (she has had many years driving experience in France and in the U.K.).
24/7 in FRANCE 