2006 was definitely a big year for Petite Anglaise: "dumped, dooced and outed, but also snagged a book deal" according to her own words.
Petite
Anglaise was blogging under anonymous coverage about her life in Paris,
that she made home 10 years ago, the familiar expat gripes, and
sometime evolving to talk about her relationship and single motherhood,
writing always with talent that was awarded several times by satin pyjamas.
Catherine Sanderson (the English Bridget Jones as she was described by the Daily Telegraph) became even more famous the day when the stupid-old fashion company where she was working in, the now condemned British accountancy firm Dixon Wilson, decided to fire her for gross misconduct [1] (that is the name they gave for having a blog).
As the famous French blogger Loic Le Meur said: "again a firm that completely miss out the point"
and actually in France as in UK, the reactions where very sharp against
the Dixon Wilson (which tempted to back tracked their act) and
attracted more than 8000 articles on on Google: influential Frenchblogs where talking about it and supporting Petite Anglaise, here and there, but also the French and UK mainstreammedia and even International press were giving a lot of exposure to the news. All is well summarized on the blog here.
No surprise (except maybe for the firm) but Dixon Wilson lost and was condamned
for unfair dismissal with a large amount of money to be paid (not even
talking about its reputation as an employer being completely shattered -
look at the 3rd and 4th link here).
But
the year was not going to finish there as in the meantime, recognising
the high value of her writing, the UK publishing company Penguin signed her for
a 2 book deal as it was reveal later on by the Telegraph. The first (link above) is capturing a year
in the life and loves of a young single mother abroad. The second book is likely to be a novel.
[Two minute segment on the French national news, 29 April 2007]
[Catherine Sanderson on BBC Breakfast]
Petite Anglaise has clipped a collection of links talking about the book here.
I definitely recommend!
Petite Anglaise - US Edition available from June 2008
[1] accused of bringing the company into disrepute due to references to her work, tho never mentioning the name of the firm, she described her boss as "very
old school... He wears braces and sock suspenders (although I don't
have any firsthand experience of those), stays in gentlemen's clubs
when in London, and calls secretaries 'typists.'" Shocking indeed
As I was saying on Tuesday the 5th, in the primary held in London by the Democrats Abroad (DA), my personal feeling was well confirmed worldwide: 66% of voters chose Barack Obama against Hillary Clinton in the DA global primary result, representing thousands of ballots submitted by 164 countries and territories between Feb. 5 and Feb. 12.
As explained by the IHT, Americans living abroad had the possibility to vote online, by mail, fax or in person (in some 30 countries). The overseas Democrats allocated a small number of delegates on Thursday: 4.5 (Obama wiining 2.5 and Clinton winning 2). A further 2.5 delegates will be allocated at a DA convention in April 12 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The group also holds 4 superdelegate votes, for a total of 11 votes in the national convention scheduled for late August in Denver.
Born in Hawaii, Obama did particularly well in the Asia-Pacific region, winning 79% of the vote in Japan and 76% in Indonesia. He also did well in Europe, carrying more than 70% of the votes in Switzerland and France. Clinton won in Israel, the Dominican Republic and the Phillipines. her best regional showing was in the Americas, with 44% of the vote.
Republicans do not hold a global primary but they cast votes directly in their home districts (also on option for DA).
Biba has been specializing in networking for years. Her company, Biba4Network, helps business owners to connect to who they need and maximize their networking results.
Focus on Career aims to help Francophones to start their own businesses in the US and facilitate their expatriation.
Company:
Biba4Network, LLC / Focus on Career
City - Country : New York/Miami - USA
On which economic sector are you acting and what is its advantage?
Biba4Network international network for proactive entrepreneurs and small business owners, helps people to maximize their networking results, connecting them to who they need to meet & training them to network more effectively so that they can grow their businesses faster.
Focus on Career, French division of Biba4Network, is a One-Stop-Shop specialized to help Francophones to start their own businesses in the US. From incorporation to immigration, accounting, banking, communication, public relation, launch of products, business development, real estate investment and a lot more.
As a One-Stop-Shop, we save time and money to our clients. As a Francophone network, we speak their language, know their culture and can advise them on the American business culture to avoid the biggest mistake that most foreigners made when they try to start a business on their own.
Can you talk a bit about your company?
Started in 2003 in New York, Biba4Network open a second office in Miami in 2007. Based on networking, our company works with business partners and experts, all specialized on their own field, to serve the clients and facilitate their expatriation . Thanks to our extended network of professionals we can serve 99% of any demand of our clients.
Can you talk about your activity?
The easier way to learn more about of activities, is to read our series articles on how to work, live, and start a business in the US at www.focusoncareer.com/articles.html
Do you offer additional services?
Biba4Network organizes monthly teleclasses on various topics like networking and marketing, and a mastermind group to help entrepreneurs to grow their business.
Learn more at www.biba4Network.com
Focus on Career also helps Francophones and Europeans to invest in real estate in the US, and take advantage of the all the wonderful deals thanks to the down US real estate market and a very strong Euro. Today we can offer condos or houses for –50% to –70% less than there value.
What is the profile of your clients?
Our Biba4Network’s clients are Americans small business owners and solo-entrepreneurs, starting their business or wanted to refocus their business.
Our Focus on Career’ s clients are Europeans and mainly Francophones small business owners, from France, Belgium, Switzerland and Africa. People who already have a business in their own country or want to immigrate with a new project.
What is your first advice to somebody who want to start a business in the US ?
Want to live the American Dream is Great, but you need to be prepare. Too many people think that itw ill be easier than in France, and that they will pay less taxes. If it is your first motivation, forget about it.
Starting a business in the US, will be take longer than you think, will cast you a lot more than you think, and will get a lot more obstacles than you think.
When people come to me at first, I help them to structure their idea. I very often hear “Oh I have a great product and no competition” but when I ask about their strategies to launch the product or their investment available for this project, I have no answer.
The first think I ask my clients, is to have a very clear idea of their business and how they will promote and develop it. Then I ask them to calculate how much it will cost them for the first year, both on the business side and personal side. One third stop there, because they quickly realize that a good idea is not enough, and without a solid business plan and substantial financial investment, there is no viable business.
What are the conditions of success for a business in the US ?
As a foreigner, whatever your nationality is, you need to understand the US market, and the “American way of business”. Even if you have a very successful business in your own country, it is not a guarantee of success in the US. You need to forget almost everything you learned and start again from scratch “thinking US”. Ask help of professional, don’t try to do everything on your own, it may seams to be cheaper at first, but you will pay it ten time later, as far as time and money. If you start on the right track, then motivation and focus are the two ingredients for success.
What services/information/help do you provide to individuals?
Specializing in networking, connecting people together, we always find the right resource for our clients, using our network and creating strategic alliances and partnership on various field related to business and starting a business.
Can you speak about your service/project and the difference regarding competitors?
There is no one offering the same services as a one-stop-shop as we do. When a client come to us, he doesn’t need to look for other contacts, we provide him with everything he needs and all the contacts he needs, in a more effective and efficient way, than other, because they have only one interlocutor to take care of their file instead of wasting time to look for XYZ contacts or solutions.
What is your activity on the Internet?
All our communication is provided via our websites on internet, and most our services provided by phone.
We us a client doesn’t even have to come to the US to start his business or invest in real estate. Thanks to our network everything can be done online, or over the phone.
We also offer products, like books or CD of seminar we recorded live in New York, on the topic of starting a business in the US.
What advantages/discounts could you offer to our readers?
We offer a 30 minutes free consultation to any one who want to start a business, to discuss their project and answer their questions.
On which economic sector are you acting and what is its advantage?
My activity is devoted to Financial Coaching (advice) for individuals. The advantage is that my services are tailor-made.
Can you talk about your activity?
I’m sure that Financial Coaching can be useful for expats since French legislation for real estate (de-fiscalisation), and the French "financial" system itself may be complicated for a person who arrives in France to spend only a few years.
In my opinion, my services enjoy two clear competitive advantages:
I can propose them in English.
I am completely committed to my client: to his/her concerns and ambitions. Together we define a financial strategy in order to meet his/her objectives. Our action plan is based on his/her personal context.
Can you talk a bit about your company?
You can find the description of my services at www.coach-financier.com.
I am a Spanish expat working in the financial sector in Paris, for more than 3 years now. This web was born one year and a half ago, when I decided to buy an apartment in Paris and once I realized that there was no real tailor-made and human financial advice offer in the market. So I joined my professional experience with my personal experience and this activity was born.
Can you tell us something about yourself, about your background?
As I had the opportunity to mention before, I’m Spanish native…
From a professional point of view, I’m Deputy Head of a department of approximately 15 people at an International Bank devoted to lending to big corporates, such as EDF, Bouygues. Once I ended my International MBA in Madrid (part also in Mexico city) 8 years ago, I started to work for companies like PwC and KPMG before joining the banking sector.
I moved to France because I wanted to have a personal experience abroad. Before, I have also been living in Mexico City for some months.
Do you offer additional services?
I’m currently working on developing this activity for enterprises as well. “Financial Coaching to Enterprises” will be available soon. The aim of this new activity is to advice and to support entrepreneurs just building their projects, and to runners of their own business in difficulty.
What is the profile of your clients?
It can vary, but principally, individuals looking for a real estate investment. For example, I was contacted by a French man who wanted to buy an apartment in the center of Paris, but he wanted to be sure that he could afford it. Indeed he needed a second opinion. He needed to get some back-up regarding the decision he was going to take. He was also looking for some other information such as, what the paid-in should represent, how much would represent the related costs (notary, etc). So I analyzed his situation (actually, he could comfortably buy), I explained him the buying process from the beginning to the end, what he should pay special attention to, what he should not forget when negotiating with banks. We also did some calculations about what his monthly repayments would represent under different assumptions.
Other individuals come because they have to take a decision and they need someone to discuss with about. For example, “I am very emotionally attached to an apartment, but something tells me that I should sell now given the current price peak in real estate. What should I do?”.
Some people contact me because they need a strategy to reach a financial objective. For example, “I’m 55. I have made some extra-cash during the last years. I would like to get retired in 3 years. How should I better use this extra-cash in a simple and safe way in order to reach this objective?”
What is the difference between a “financial coach” and a personal “financial consultant”?
A “coach” is not a “financial consultant”. In special for the impossibility of having an expertise in all the financial areas (tax, pension, investing).
In contrast, a financial coach is a professional with a long-track record and successful experience in the financial sector. If needed, the coach will inquire and deepen on the different specificities of the financial system (tax, pension, investment).
The person who comes to a financial coach does not necessarily for the technical knowledge of the coach. He/she does because he/she wants to be accompanied and guided, or simply because he/she needs help to reach a financial objective or wants to get a second opinion about a decision that he/she needs to take. In my opinion everyone has at least one financial objective (to stop working for example??). The individual and the coach define together the strategy to reach this objective according to the context of the individual.
What services/information/help do you provide to other companies/individuals?
As I had the opportunity to mention before coaching to enterprises will be available soon.
Can you speak about your service/project and the difference regarding competitors?
Compared to Anglo-Saxon countries, this is a pretty recent activity. Obviously, there are other experienced financial coaches in the market. My competitive advantage is that I can propose my service in English in France and that I’m an expat myself.
Are all the product offers specific to you company?
I guess that the fact that I also propose the service in English as well as my background makes the service specific. In contrast, it is true that there are other financial coaches in the market.
What is your activity on the Internet?
This is my only activity. A new version of the web will be available soon (hopefully!!)
What advantages/discounts could you offer to our readers?
The first consultation would be 100%-off (with no limit of time).
Threat of reality? According to the UK Daily Telegraph, Inland Revenue is carrying out a crackdown on people evading UK income tax by using offshore bank accounts, i.e. using their credit card to pay for living expenses in the UK.
The American Internal Revenue Service (IRS) carried out its own review on tax evasion through offshore accounts in 2002. Under the IRS rules, American
taxpayers are liable for US tax wherever their income is generated. The rules is slightly different in the UK where the ordinary resident is only taxable on its income generated or spent in the UK (that is likely to change next April).
20-25 inspectors based in Liverpool, with a budget of £66 millions, have been assigned by Gordon Brown to target task fraud from British savers in the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Gibraltar,
Switzerland and elsewhere. A number of banks have already complied with the Revenue's request for co-operation and have forwarded account details to the body.
advertisement. Accountants, financial advisers and credit card companies are likely to follow suit in the near future.
The OECD (Organisation of
Economic Cooperation and Development) and the European Commission, have
put pressure on offshore centres to combat money laundering and tax
evasion and urged banks located in offshore jurisdiction to put in place such anti-laundering processes.
The article of the Daily Telegraph is threatening enough that it could have been written by an Inland Revenue member: "Tax evasion is a crime. Banks who pass depositors' details on to the Revenue would be unable to let the person know they were doing it. It is therefore possible to be under investigation without knowing it." Funny enough, the Telegraph advert on the page is for HSBC's offshore saving account .
The way of choosing the candidate for each party is rather complicated in America, even for insiders.
In
the year of the presidential election (hold in November), political
parties conduct national conventions to choose their candidate. During
those conventions (summer preceding the election), delegates at the
party convention choose the candidate.
Those delegates are
selected at the state level according to rules determined by each
political party (for example, this time, the Democrats - under the
reform of Howard Dean - have decided to run a proportional vote
everywhere, where each candidate is awarded a number
of delegates in proportion to their support in the state caucuses or
the number of primary votes they won). There are two types of
primaries, closed and open. In a closed primary, voters may vote only
in the primary of the political party in which they registered (i.e. a
voter who registered as a Republican can only vote in the Republican
primary). Most states hold closed primaries.
The caucuses
are political meeting where the voters of the party (selected by the
primary election) select the delegates who will be voting for the
presidential candidate of the party at the convention.
So as a summary: American voters SELECT registered supporters for the Party at the state level who SELECT delegates who will go to the national convention to SELECT the presidential candidate of the party.
Super Tuesday
refers to the Tuesday (usually early February or March) where most of
the states will hold caucuses (24 states will be voting today - the
largest super Tuesday to date).
In order to follow closely the election and the selection process in the US, we recommend reading the blog: http://www.pollster.com
And for a more relaxed way to approach the (s)election day, here is the Seesmic video about Caucuses:
Petite Anglaise
29 February, 2008 18:33
Biba has been specializing in networking for years. Her company, Biba4Network, helps business owners to connect to who they need and maximize their networking results.
Focus on Career aims to help Francophones to start their own businesses in the US and facilitate their expatriation.
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