Professional advice on running a small business in France

Valerie Lemiere: Start Business in France

Bonjour, I'm Valérie Aston, a French business advisor. I help English speakers create and manage their freelancing or small business in France, so they can concentrate on developing their activity.

Moving to France is exciting: new home, new work, new culture! But having to grasp the business rules can be overwhelming, especially if you don't master the language yet.

How I can help you:

  1. Private forum: Ask me anything about your business for a year. Avoid sleepless nights and get reliable answers. I've answered about 84,935 questions for 3,313 members since 2009!
  2. Power Hour: Book a one-to-one call for advice on your business project. Get up to speed quickly, talk through your options and understand the implications of your choices.
  3. Auto-entrepreneur registration: Let me handle your business registration in France. I'll manage the whole process for you, while sending you a useful factsheet and tips to guide you with the paperwork.
  4. Online courses: How to freelance as a micro-entrepreneur, how to manage your auto-entrepreneur set-up paperwork or how to create a gite in France.
  5. Business administration: Something is wrong with your business set up (taxes, health cover, paperwork) and you are getting in a pickle. Let me find out where the problem comes from and fix it.

Business blog

La Rentrée: back to work and business objectives

After a long break in August, if you have settled with the French way of life, it is time to get back to your objectives and reorganising your daily routine. ...

By Valérie Aston · 2 Sep 2021 · 205 views

France - Business registrations bounce back in 2021

INSEE, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies in France has recorded a strong increase of business registrations from February to April 2021 compared to 2020, with an increase of 71.2%. ...

By Valérie Aston · 16 Jul 2021 · 584 views

How to declare your gite in France

As we hit the summer season, you might have had a couple of bookings already for your French property and just realised that it should be declared in some way. Oops! ...

By Valérie Aston · 15 Jul 2021 · 1188 views

How to register your brand name or trademark in France

You are ready to launch your business in France and you would also like to register your brand or trademark. But where the heck do you start? Let me show you how to do this. ...

By Valérie Aston · 13 Jul 2021 · 840 views

How to write a French invoice

You’ve registered your business, got your SIRET number and are now ready to start working and to invoice your customers. But what should you be adding on your invoices? ...

By Valérie Aston · 14 Jun 2021 · 1484 views

Resources

100 Business ideas to Freelance in France
How to Freelance in France as a Micro Entrepreneur
How to Create a Gite, Chambres or Table d’Hôtes in France
How to Manage your Micro Entrepreneur Set Up Paperwork

Business podcasts

How to set up a health cover and get a carte vitale

This podcast explains how to set up a health cover and how to get a carte vitale for entrepreneurs. Find out how your carte vitale will be issued and answers to popular questions on health cover. ...

By Valérie Aston · 10 May 2011

Adding an APE or NAF code to your business

This podcast discusses the implications of adding an extra APE or NAF activity code to your current business and how to do it. Adding an extra APE activity code can be done for an auto-entrepreneur, an entreprise ...

By Valérie Aston · 10 May 2011

Complete overview of the auto-entrepreneur system

This podcast, which is 44 minutes long, will give you a complete overview of the auto-entrepreneur system. It's perfect if you're starting a business in France as an auto-entrepreneur, or you're registered and want a ...

By Valérie Aston · 6 Sep 2013

Online Courses

Everyone's questions

Adding an activity

Asked by Chris · 18 Oct 2021
Auto-entrepreneur new

Cotisations & impots

Asked by ElecPenarBed · 18 Oct 2021 · 3 replies
Auto-entrepreneur open

Déclaration de chiffre d’affaires question

Asked by krisb · 17 Oct 2021 · 2 replies
Auto-entrepreneur answered

Auto or Micro Entrepreneur

Asked by MDMNH · 16 Oct 2021 · 1 reply
Auto-entrepreneur open

CFE and rental property

Asked by esmel · 15 Oct 2021 · 3 replies
Auto-entrepreneur open

Maternity pay denied?

Asked by StormyA · 13 Oct 2021 · 3 replies
Auto-entrepreneur open

Temporary insurance for a registered carpenter

Asked by esmel · 12 Oct 2021 · 1 reply
General business open

CVAE

Asked by Fj321 · 10 Oct 2021 · 1 reply
Auto-entrepreneur open

registration as artist

Asked by MDC · 8 Oct 2021 · 5 replies
Business registration open

Looking to move to France and set up an agriculture business

Asked by SSB · 3 Oct 2021 · 1 reply
Business registration open

l’Assurance Maladie Paris – spam or legitimate?

Asked by chrisdwells_ · 30 Sep 2021 · 2 replies
Health care and carte vitale answered

No tax return number yet

Asked by JeanneM6 · 30 Sep 2021 · 3 replies
General business open

Working temporarily in the UK

Asked by English Teacher · 28 Sep 2021 · 3 replies
Auto-entrepreneur open

Grants for a micro vineyard

Asked by Imtiaz · 27 Sep 2021 · 2 replies
General business answered

Business funding

Asked by Imtiaz · 27 Sep 2021 · 3 replies
General business open

Personal Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance

Asked by tracey · 27 Sep 2021 · 1 reply
Auto-entrepreneur open

Second Activity

Asked by Fj321 · 26 Sep 2021 · 1 reply
Auto-entrepreneur open

How long is a power of attorney valid

Asked by JeanneM6 · 23 Sep 2021 · 1 reply
Legal structure open

Testimonials

Thanks so much for your advice. I have enough now to get things underway with confidence. I will contact you in due course if I have any other issues. Thanks again for a great idea and a great service!

-Andy