Anyone moved their business abroad?

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beautybyselina

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i would just like abit of advice and opinions, i have always dreamed of moving abroad and i want to finally follow through with my dreams for once and move to greece. have any of you left your business in the uk to move abroad and start there? if so how did you go about it and is there anything that you need different than over here. i was thinking of buying a cheap apartment and maybe renting or working in a salon or even doing massages on the beach. do any of you have any advice that will be greatly appreciated :)
i do beauty, nails, tan and massages and have been doing them for 8 years.
 
i would just like abit of advice and opinions, i have always dreamed of moving abroad and i want to finally follow through with my dreams for once and move to greece. have any of you left your business in the uk to move abroad and start there? if so how did you go about it and is there anything that you need different than over here. i was thinking of buying a cheap apartment and maybe renting or working in a salon or even doing massages on the beach. do any of you have any advice that will be greatly appreciated :)
i do beauty, nails, tan and massages and have been doing them for 8 years.

Hello! I cant speak from experience within beauty but I have moved abroad twice (just not doing beauty tho as I am only studying for it now!) and I would say a big YES, do it! it will make u feel alive and give u amazing experiences. I constantly check beauty job websites in the international jobs section, so either get one before u go or as u say - just go and rent an apartment and then work in hotels, spas etc.. although greece has not exactly the best economy at the moment! perhaps consider other places like cyprus? I know an english lady who just went there to work (in beauty) .. good luck!! x
 
Hi

The first question that springs to mind is "Do you speak Greek"?
Whilst many people enjoy holidays abroad, working in a foreign country can be difficult.
Are you able to get insurance with your UK qualifications?
Are you familiar with local employment laws?
You may find that many of the documents that you will encounter (electricity bills etc) will only be available in the local language.
It's not impossible, but if you are serious about it, start a list of the obsticles that you might encounter and do some research.

Good luck
M x
 
Greece is a hard place to start up for many reasons. I speak from experience as I lived in the Greek side of Cyprus for a couple years. I see many hurdles as mentioned but most importantly for you to consider is:


A. Greeces in a real mess at the moment
B. You need to speak the language and it is a difficult language to learn

It is also blinkin hot and could be a very seasonal business depending on where you end up!

I have lived abroad most of my adult life and as you can see currently operate a business in the USA and although English is (supposed to be) the first language it is difficult dealing with unfamiliar territory. It is very different holidaying somewhere and then living there.

Although maybe not as romantic Spain would probably be a better option imo.
 
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to be honest i know i said greece but im not completely sure where abroad i want to move, its my partner who wants to move there and do his personal training there i have just always dreamed of moving abroad and got excited of the thought of it. i cant speak any other language but i suppose with practice i can pick up the basics. i think its a case of me actually picking a country and visiting it and finiding out all the rules and regulations.
thanks for all your replys guys
 
Greece is a hard place to start up for many reasons. I speak from experience as I lived in the Greek side of Cyprus for a couple years. I see many hurdles as mentioned but most importantly for you to consider is:


A. Greeces in a real mess at the moment
B. You need to speak the language and it is a difficult language to learn

It is also blinkin hot and could be a very seasonal business depending on where you end up!

I have lived abroad most of my adult life and as you can see currently operate a business in the USA and although English is (supposed to be) the first language it is difficult dealing with unfamiliar territory. It is very different holidaying somewhere and then living there.

Although maybe not as romantic Spain would probably be a better option imo.

Hello
Sorry to go from one thing to the other but I would be very interested to hear how you got ypur foot in to the US? are you half american or did you get a business visa/green card? Thats my dream to go there but soooo difficult compared to the EU etc......... Thanks in advance if you dont mind sharing!
 
Hello
Sorry to go from one thing to the other but I would be very interested to hear how you got ypur foot in to the US? are you half american or did you get a business visa/green card? Thats my dream to go there but soooo difficult compared to the EU etc......... Thanks in advance if you dont mind sharing!


Keeping it really short, it isn't for the feint of heart, if no American connections, initially you need mega bucks and I am talking a 6 figure sum, a business visa which isn't always guaranteed and a rock solid business. It isn't like moving within Europe and surrounding where you pack your case and take off.

So if you have lots of cash, can stomach being apart from family and friends, a strong will and good business go for it! The rewards are worth it, its mid 90s today, we can get to the beach every weekend if we want to, if not we just jump in our own pool, BBQ etc. etc. Oh and no snow!
 
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I moved my family to Cyprus last year (although we lived here 4 years ago and both sets of parents live here), I'm just starting up mobile again and I must say it's been fought. It's mainly holiday makers and expats as the locals will use other locals etc. I've managed to get into a few coffee mornings so business is picking up but it's still a struggle. Winters are very long and lonely :cry: many of my ex pats will go home for a couple of months over Xmas so Im expecting to be quite then. The language isn't a problem too much as everyone speaks English but getting supplies is a nightmare, shipping is so expensive so I have relied on people bringing stuff over for me up to now and have just managed (after 10 months) to find local suppliers for everything so that's one thing I'd definitely check out before moving.

On the plus side it's been over 30 degrees today and summer is here to stay, flip flops are out and pedicures and waxing are going crazy. Many people here work long hours (10 a day in peak season) a day during the summer then relax October-may.
 
Keeping it really short, it isn't for the feint of heart, if no American connections, initially you need mega bucks and I am talking a 6 figure sum, a business visa which isn't always guaranteed and a rock solid business. It isn't like moving within Europe and surrounding where you pack your case and take off.

So if you have lots of cash, can stomach being apart from family and friends, a strong will and good business go for it! The rewards are worth it, its mid 90s today, we can get to the beach every weekend if we want to, if not we just jump in our own pool, BBQ etc. etc. Oh and no snow!

yes i know this about how difficult it is and that the only way is buying a business and employing americans etc (I dont have that kinda cash no!) that is why I was asking how you did it, but I am assuming u have family connections there! lucky you! :green::green::green:
 
yes i know this about how difficult it is and that the only way is buying a business and employing americans etc (I dont have that kinda cash no!) that is why I was asking how you did it, but I am assuming u have family connections there! lucky you! :green::green::green:

No, no family here I took the hard way!
 
Oh ok! well done you, hope you're enjoying it! X

It has it moments, but at the minute all I can think about is only an hour til it is time to go home, so guess it is just like any job/business really, up side is the time away from the business is a better quality of life than back home imo.
 
Got to agree Greece a big no no !
I heard its so bad people have abandoned their children cos they cannot afford to feed them ! And the poor animals have no chance :)
I live in Portugal but my business is in u.k best of both worlds cos I can enjoy the sun not having to work much lol
But my dream it to emigrate to oz, it was America but like other ppl have said its too hard to get in.
Lot more opportunity in oz just the distance puts people off but it's still only 24 hrs away !
 
If you move abroad learn the language first.... Seriously! I speak 4 fluently but know my inlaws moved to Spain to retire and basically ended up bankrupt as they were not good enough at Spanish and couldn't articulate what they wanted properly and how to look out for them selves contractually...
 

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