My partner and I are currently in the process of buying a house in Haute-Vienne, Limousin. The house is quite big, the downstairs used to be used for wedding banquets/receptions, so ideally we want to use that space for a business that will support us in France.
I was hoping to open a cafe, as there is only one in the village and its not currently open, but we feel the village is too small to support it. I've also thought about selling jewellery and clothing that I make, as I am quite crafty and have sold jewellery to shops in England.
We've had various other ideas but at the minute we just don't think any of them will support us in France. Although we're buying the house outright we will still need to pay bills and buy food, so we don't require loads just enough to live.
I was hoping some of you that are already out in France, or planning on moving might be able to suggest something that we've not thought of, or if you've been through a similar experience then I'd love to hear from you. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
no problem Antonia - get in touch when you are next in France and maybe we can arrange to meetup with yourselves & Charlotte and anyone else in the area
The village where we are buying our house is just outside Bussiere, so Bellac would be good location. The only problem is I won't be back out in France until we go over to sign the final contract, which is expected to be around 12th July.
My French isn't great but my partner and I will be taking classes before we move. We understand that being able to speak the language is going to be key to our business ventures so we are taking it quite serious.
I'm sorry to hear that you have had a bad experience with sharing your ideas John.
We will have to have a think about some of your suggestions and do some research into what might work best.
I do really like the idea of having a coffee shop/something else, maybe my jewellery and clothing would be the way to go, or as some of you suggested maybe hold classes or meetings of some kind one evening a week.
thats what I was thinking at this stage of information as well.
Antonia, when it is coming to all this French buzz regulations you will be busy for weeks to cut through this jungle ;~0 . It is kind of fun to try the impossible and in a village with one cafe bar there is very little left 2do. It will not be like in the UK, but don't worry.
I am sorry but the last time I did that the person went on to open the business which they sold last year for £4,000,000 and I am still the same poor person I was so any good ideas I will keep to myself from now on.
How about a Salon de the, along with selling books plus your jewellery, Antonia. The idea of coffee and books seems to be successful on a national scale (Waterstone's for instance).
We have a really nice Salon de the nearby us in Minerve. It's a lovely bookshop selling new and antiquarian, plus books on the locality, both French and English. The lady also sells some soft music CDs (We first heard Tracey Kent in her shop, really lovely)
Well welcome to Haute-Vienne, Antonia! I'm sure we've got loads of ideas - we're in Haute-Vienne as well, between Poitiers and Limoges, where is your place? I'm working with a local estate agency on their social media so between that and promoting our own chambre d'hote and cycling businesses, I've got a fair idea of the regional marketplace. We're about to have guests for the rest of the week so I'll be up to my eyes in making blueberry clafoutis (gotta love that!) but very happy to chat about it all by Friday. Can I suggest emailing me at info@thesongbirds.eu and we'll chat later in the week and see how I can help you? In the meantime, many congratulations on your move and your choice of venue, we love it here - the pace and quality of life are just wonderful, and the people have been so friendly, warm and welcoming since we've been here!
wedding venues are in demand for sure but you need to know what you are doing.
I presume that you would provide a reception area and is there a kitchen for the caterer?
Tea rooms and cafes are hard work.
Think about starting something which is irresistible when money is short people need to be tempted.
This topic was brought back into focus only because a new user tried to exploit it for advertising purposes which has now been dealt with behind the scenes and the inappropriate posts removed.
As this has just come back up after my initial post several years ago, I thought I’d share what we actually did.
We opened a small bar, which expanded into a restaurant at the request of the locals. As well as daily dining, we also hold themed nights and music events. The business has now been running for 7 years and is continuing to prove successful.
I am now in the process of buying a building nearby to expand the business to include a wine cave and chambre d’hôtes, as the owner of the current wine cave is retiring next year and approached me to take it over.
I have no regrets over my decision to move and open the business. It has been a great adventure and it’s not over yet!