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Courtesy of Alex Roe, Blog From Italy

"How about Starting a Business in Italy?

Instead of waking up to those dull grey mornings which tend to dominate the UK, and one or two other northern countries, how about waking up to blazing sunshine, and taking a dip in your own pool - just to kick things off every morning?

If this appeals, then why not think about starting a business in sunny Itlay? ’No way, I’ve ready your blog!’, you might be heard to utter.  However, you might be surprised to learn that there are plenty of business opportunities in Italy, especiually in the tourism sector.

Why? Well, as you may have gleaned from reading Blog in Italy, the Italian way, is not always the right way, and this provides those with budding entrepreneurial spirit with a veritable mountain of opportunities.  Italians are good business people, this is true, but, despite this, many are not exploiting the full potential of their activities, or the regions of Italy in which they are situated.  And, they don’t know English too well either, which means many simply cannot begin to consider certain little, but potentially lucrative, extras in Italy.  And there is another problem, something which besets business particularly in the south of Italy, and something which leaves a gaping hole.  No more on this for the moment!

I’m painting a rosy picture, I know.  In actual fact, to get a business off the ground in Italy, you will need business advice to help you avoid mistakes, and ensure that the all important first year does not eat up all your funding.

Yes, what I am saying is that you really could benefit from help when starting a business in Italy. The trouble is knowing who to turn to for business advice. Well, how about speaking to people who have already been through the mill. People who run a successful business in Italy.

Others Are Doing It, You Can Too

As you may know from having read the series on expat run bed and breakfasts in Italy, there are a few foreignors who have built themselves lovely business activities in some beautiful areas of Italy.

On such pair of expat small business owners in Italy is David and Pam Bates of Villa Sibilini down in the up and coming Marche region of Italy. They have a very nice looking set up, and I hope to be having a closer look round, along with other half, six year old earthquake and, possibly pesky peeing pooch, soon.

I’ve learnt quite a lot about Pam and David, and even managed to meet up with them the other day when they were up here in Milan on business.

David’s New Business Development Skills

David, it transpires, worked in the UK on new business development projects for a major British motoring organisation known as the AA. As you might expect, he used this experience to help get Villa Sibillini off the ground. David admitted to me that he likes nothing more than whiling away hours drawing up business plans, and then fiddling with them until they look promising. He’s a sensible chap too. One of these disciplined people who creates a five year plan, monitors it closely, and sticks to it. If things do not go according to the business plan, David knows when to pull to plug, and this means saving his company from the unpleasantness of nasty things like bankruptcy. This getting out while the going is still good means that funds should still remain largely intact. Always a good idea.

David also explained to me how he has come to understand how to set up and do business in Italy, and he knows which way to take things to increase chances of success, and which routes will probably lead to fund dissolving dead ends. He is also rather intimate with Italian bureaucracy, which tends to bite at both national and local levels in Italy.

The long and the short of it is that David can use his experience to provide lots of useful advice on both how to start and how to run a company to those looking to own their own business in Italy. He’s a mine of useful business related information, is David bates. The there is Pam, the other half of the Villa Sibillini team.

Pam’s Prime Contacts

Pam has a list of contacts which is far longer than both arms of your average orang-utan. Boy, does she knows some very interesting people too, especially in sectors relating to the tourism, catering, and the restaurant business. She is also a dab hand at events management, and can help set up things like weddings, and fashion and trade shows. Just the person to involve in the creation of promotional and marketing plans. Drawing upon her knowledge and experience would certainly give those setting up a business in Italy a head start.

Actually, those who already own their own businesses in Italy could also benefit from David and Pam’s advice. David and Pam can do a form of ’business audit’ and help the owners of existing businesses identify and exploit new opportunities, as well as keeping the day to day business profitable.

Me!

Yes, I know a thing or two about blogging. And the things I know, can help keep a business visible on the world wide web, which is fast becoming the place people infest when they are thinking about holidays. This is understandable, for the Internet has plenty of useful information which can be used to ensure that a holiday is a memorable experience.

Believe me, those doing business in Italy need something like a blog. Why? Well, blogs are updated frequently, which often helps keeps them at the top of those million or so results people are confronted with when trying to track down information. While having a nice website is great, if it is not updated often, which can be difficult to do, after all, that 5 bedroom country house hotel will, most probably, still have five bedroom five years down the line. And even if you do tinker with the wording from time to time, and you are capable of doing this, it probably will not be enough to catch the attention of great big Google.

On the other hand, write posts on a blog, which is connected to your hotel website, and Google will find you much more attractive, and this greatly increases the chance of it sending you paying customers.

I can help with many aspects relating to setting up, and running a blog, as well as helping ensure that it is found.

Talk is Free

Basically, running a business is the same as adding two to two to make five. If you would like to know how to achieve this and keep risks as low as possible, the why not start by having a chat with David Bates. "