We've been a busy family lately. We're planning our trip to France, making dates to try things out and meet with people who we hope to do business with. We've been celebrating....a certain special someone just turned 6! We've been battling a yucky virus. We've been savouring August and the last weeks of swimming lessons and tennis lessons.
We've also been doing lots of brainstorming and fine-tuning ideas about The Outdoor Enthusiast. We've had some super feedback from friends again...keep it coming.
We'll post soon about new details.
Hope you, too, are enjoying the Summer.
The MacCs
Monday, August 16, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Summary Thus Far
New readers have had some questions, and here are some responses to that feedback:
If you are a new reader, we suggest you start with our first blogs from July of 2010. Blogs archive from the most recent backwards, so if you jump on in at the latest blog, which is the one that shows up on the home page, you may be confused.
First, remember that this is not the business website! This is our family's blog documenting our journey into business-ownership and our move to France. Once we've been on our trip to France in September and we've had a chance to meet in person with all the existing businesses that we've so far only been in touch with via email or through G's Dad, we'll have enough information to launch an official website. We are using the blog to run new ideas by folks we know (especially those who love the outdoors as much as D does). Ever since we started to 'come out' to our friends, we've found that we talk about very little else at social gatherings and we're finding it's easier to just direct people here rather than explain the latest idea to everyone one by one.
Second, here's a quick overview of where we are:
We're in touch with officials in France (for residency, certification, tax and small-business paperwork purposes).
We're in touch with a number of existing businesses in Aveyron with whom we'll establish a business relationship while we get going.
We're headed to France next month (!) to scout all this out in person.
We have some very practical and very useful help in the person of G's Dad, who lives in the area, is fluent in French and who is acting as a business mentor as we get going.
After our trip, we'll put all our numbers together and launch the official website and begin to advertise.
Next June, D will lead two one-week tours (ideally populated by word-of-mouth contacts who will commit to being very frank with us about feedback).
Based on the success of those two trial trips, we'll move to France next August, having advertised as much as we can and, fingers crossed, with most of the rest of the season all filled up.
To read about our goals for the business and what we hope to see it looking like in a few years, read this post from last month. To see what a sample week travelling with us will look like, read this one.
Hope that helps.
The MacCs
If you are a new reader, we suggest you start with our first blogs from July of 2010. Blogs archive from the most recent backwards, so if you jump on in at the latest blog, which is the one that shows up on the home page, you may be confused.
First, remember that this is not the business website! This is our family's blog documenting our journey into business-ownership and our move to France. Once we've been on our trip to France in September and we've had a chance to meet in person with all the existing businesses that we've so far only been in touch with via email or through G's Dad, we'll have enough information to launch an official website. We are using the blog to run new ideas by folks we know (especially those who love the outdoors as much as D does). Ever since we started to 'come out' to our friends, we've found that we talk about very little else at social gatherings and we're finding it's easier to just direct people here rather than explain the latest idea to everyone one by one.
Second, here's a quick overview of where we are:
We're in touch with officials in France (for residency, certification, tax and small-business paperwork purposes).
We're in touch with a number of existing businesses in Aveyron with whom we'll establish a business relationship while we get going.
We're headed to France next month (!) to scout all this out in person.
We have some very practical and very useful help in the person of G's Dad, who lives in the area, is fluent in French and who is acting as a business mentor as we get going.
After our trip, we'll put all our numbers together and launch the official website and begin to advertise.
Next June, D will lead two one-week tours (ideally populated by word-of-mouth contacts who will commit to being very frank with us about feedback).
Based on the success of those two trial trips, we'll move to France next August, having advertised as much as we can and, fingers crossed, with most of the rest of the season all filled up.
To read about our goals for the business and what we hope to see it looking like in a few years, read this post from last month. To see what a sample week travelling with us will look like, read this one.
Hope that helps.
The MacCs
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Haute hiking
We've been brewing another idea generated by yet another friend. We're thinking of offering private week-long adventure packages for a single or a couple (or a few!) people who want to choose their week a la carte and employ D's services privately. There are several very nice hotels nearby where we could lodge folks who want a more luxurious stay.
Chateau de Lunac is one. Mme Revalor speaks 'un peu anglais' and she means it....she offers rooms with 'antics' on her website (!). There is a swimming pool and each room has a fireplace along with French 'antics'. Here's a new-ish hotel that we know nothing about yet, but which we'll investigate in September.
I can't wait to do our investigative visit to France and finally be able to put numbers to all of this. It's been a little frustrating to make an Excel sheet full of items with no numbers to plug in. It will be very satisfying to finally be able to tally everything up and see what a week's adventure will cost.
I was digging around online the other day and I found a similar business to ours in the next town over. They offer a food-based tour in a chateau hotel. The tours are midweek, for only 4 days and you have a chance to spend time with the chef in the kitchen and out at markets and vineyards. Included in their price is a rental car, which I think it a fabulous idea. We were a little uncertain about how we'd manage to pick everyone up each week. This solves that problem and gives our guests some flexibility to spend their evenings doing what they please; visiting local food or music festivals, dinner, a scenic drive.
We got our passports all sorted out yesterday. Baby P has the cutest picture for his and I got out the older boys' ones which are more than three years old. They've changed so much!
We're getting so excited about visiting Aveyron and Grandpa (or Grandpere as we're calling him these days!).
The MacCs
Chateau de Lunac is one. Mme Revalor speaks 'un peu anglais' and she means it....she offers rooms with 'antics' on her website (!). There is a swimming pool and each room has a fireplace along with French 'antics'. Here's a new-ish hotel that we know nothing about yet, but which we'll investigate in September.
I can't wait to do our investigative visit to France and finally be able to put numbers to all of this. It's been a little frustrating to make an Excel sheet full of items with no numbers to plug in. It will be very satisfying to finally be able to tally everything up and see what a week's adventure will cost.
I was digging around online the other day and I found a similar business to ours in the next town over. They offer a food-based tour in a chateau hotel. The tours are midweek, for only 4 days and you have a chance to spend time with the chef in the kitchen and out at markets and vineyards. Included in their price is a rental car, which I think it a fabulous idea. We were a little uncertain about how we'd manage to pick everyone up each week. This solves that problem and gives our guests some flexibility to spend their evenings doing what they please; visiting local food or music festivals, dinner, a scenic drive.
We got our passports all sorted out yesterday. Baby P has the cutest picture for his and I got out the older boys' ones which are more than three years old. They've changed so much!
We're getting so excited about visiting Aveyron and Grandpa (or Grandpere as we're calling him these days!).
The MacCs
Monday, August 2, 2010
Fun and Nonsense
One night recently, while the MacC family was on Summer vacation at the shore, baby P was wakeful and vocal and Dadda D very kindly took him out to the living room to allow Mamma G to sleep a little (thanks, honey). Dadda D spent some time surfing the cable channels, a novelty as we don't have cable at home. He stumbled across a History Channel show about an out-there theory that the Knights Templar had visited New England in the 14th century, leaving an incised stone in Westford, MA, a neighbouring town to ours.
Seriously, read the link, there's folks out there who buy this kind of stuff!
Well, Aveyron just happens to be in Templar Country, as well as near the heart of where the Cathars flourished, were persecuted and eventually wiped out by the Catholic Church. In the wake of 'The DaVinci Code' and other books, these groups and their history have been popularized. We can't wait to explore Cathar strongholds and see where the Templars lived and worked in Aveyron. We're hoping that, along with the draw of the fantastic natural beauty of this place, the alluring history of these peoples will draw visitors to our business and Aveyron. Maybe we ought to start an online book club, reading books about- and set-in Aveyron?
Now, fantasy aside, we like the idea that we're travelling back along the footsteps of the Westford Knight, back to Aveyron.
G
Seriously, read the link, there's folks out there who buy this kind of stuff!
Well, Aveyron just happens to be in Templar Country, as well as near the heart of where the Cathars flourished, were persecuted and eventually wiped out by the Catholic Church. In the wake of 'The DaVinci Code' and other books, these groups and their history have been popularized. We can't wait to explore Cathar strongholds and see where the Templars lived and worked in Aveyron. We're hoping that, along with the draw of the fantastic natural beauty of this place, the alluring history of these peoples will draw visitors to our business and Aveyron. Maybe we ought to start an online book club, reading books about- and set-in Aveyron?
Now, fantasy aside, we like the idea that we're travelling back along the footsteps of the Westford Knight, back to Aveyron.
G
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