In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Think about the positives in Italy, I was "lucky" in that I only needed to allow for my wife and I, kids now older than I was when they were born. OK, can you provide an income for the time it will take to establish yourselves, if so, you can take several years to develop your main business, you have the benefit of youth and vigour too. As time goes on, you will see ways of cutting costs using local people to do work for you, for goodness sake, avoid the TV companies like the plague, unless you are prepared to be shown as a totally useless and pathetic person who is unable to budget or deal rationally with problems. You and your kids will enjoy a better standard of life here, can you economise on your purchase at all, or adjust your plans, I love your hobby ceramics idea, lots of people want "value added holidays" these days, and they're prepared to pay, look at some of the holidays on offer at Neal's yard agency for example, there is a way forward, sometimes our eyes are downcast too much to actually see it... :)
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Well,
I could maybe suggest you have a look at our website... we are based in piemonte, but in the Monferrato, where the properties are still a bit cheaper.
Purchasing a cheaper property could be a start...
Paola
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Maria Lucia...
You might be trying to do too much all at once.
Why don't you try scaling down the operation and think about what you really need in order to get going.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Maria Lucia, I read in your profile that your Dad is Italian, from Puglia. How come you have chosen Piemonte instead of going back to Puglia??
I have to say I am really happy you have chosen piemonte, as I am from there and very proud of my region... just wandering!!!
Paola
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[QUOTE=Maria Lucia]We are all set to buy a property, to plant a vineyard, develop 3 holiday apartments and start a small business doing hobby ceramics (ie paint your own pottery). Based on our (reasonably pessamistic) 5 year cost plans, we need another 200K euros :eek: and the property wont be worth what we spend, even if we buy it at a bargain price.[/QUOTE]
We've been going through something similar, setting up multiple businesses, we have our farm, the farmhouse is being renovated, I need a machinery store for the tractor and all it's toys, have to pay for the tractor of course and all the toys. We have started a new business in the UK, and are moving on to set up the supporting businesses in Italy including B&B, upmarket holiday lets and other stuff.
All I can advise is that it's like eating an elephant, one bite at a time. If you try to think and plan for everything it just leads to depression, because it seems obvious that there is never enough money. In truth (we are now into about our sixth start-up business venture) it all sort of works if you do and if you keep an eye on the cash you can decide when to spend and when not to spend. Sequencing the stages carefully, the income from one venture can fund the expansion of the next.
BTW, we've not yet come unstuck, all the businesses have worked. Just be prepared for a five or six period before it's all running smoothly.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Thank you all.
To add to my woes, my two year old has dismantled my spacebar and I am having to BASH it to make it work. Not as good therapy as it sounds!!
I think Mr Joseph and Mr Firth, you have hit the nail on the head once again and the magnitude of our plans is probably the stumbling block, rather than figures which could be tweaked and finance raised.
We are back to the drawing table. Down, but not out.
BTW My next avenue is to consider developing a property with a small vineyard for people to take one year lets. They tend the vines and make the wine (with assistance) which they then take home and get a souvenir of their one year taster slice of La Bella Vita. Does anyone think it would be of interest? What do you think I could charge? “Neals Vineyard Agency?”
Paola, we have chosen Piemonte because it is beautiful, with good food and wine, good weather and the people are more like the English. There are good established air links. Sea and mountains close by. The area is well known to the Germans and Swiss, but still relatively unknown to the Brits. Close to Alba, Bra (worth a postcard home!) and especially to Barolo.
I love my Southern roots but heat and hot headedness are good for a party but not what I am seeking. Also, it is a question of North South economics. As for my Dad’s village, ha ha....... I have pink hair! Can you imagine what people would say about my Grandma? (Having said that, I think a return to a more neutral shade is in order before hitting Piemonte too!)
Thanks all, Plan B…………
Maria Lucia
Well you could start off by thinking that you only need £140ish. :-)
Then go through your various options again and see if there are any opportunities to scale down your costs in Italy, diversify to increase your potential for income streams and/or reduce your UK costs so you can put more money in the piggy bank. The Motley Fool Website: [url]http://www.fool.co.uk/savings/savemore_tab.htm[/url] has loads of advice.
Another idea might be to get one of those TV programmes to do a programme on you. They won't pay you but if your story is interesting enough you may be able to make money on the back of it. Or you could send your kids out to work ;-)