Product Description

Italy is the land of entrepreneurs and small businesses are the backbone of its economy. And because of the unwritten employment laws that dominate the job scene in Italy, setting up your own business can be an excellent alternative to finding employed work. In this book, experts Emma Bird and Mario Berri tell you what it takes to launch a start-up in Italy. Whether its running opera tours, becoming a wedding planner or establishing your own language school, "Starting a Business in Italy" is an essential resource. Packed with information on key figures and institutions, company structure, Italy's infamous red tape, paying taxes, setting up the office, networking, taking on staff, business etiquette, and much more, this is the only guide you'll ever need. If you want to start a business in Italy but are not quite sure how to go about it, where better to learn than from expatriate entrepreneurs already running their own businesses there? This nuts and bolts guide will help you every step of the way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #261348 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 350 pages

From the Author
Buy Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a
successful business in the Bel Paese and join in a free 1-hour Skype chat
with authors Emma Bird and Mario Berri on starting a business in Italy.
Past participants have found networking contacts, mentoring buddies and
lots of support and advice for building their business in Italy. To take
part, simply email us your proof of purchase.

What are you waiting for?

About the Author
Emma Bird is British and living the life of her dreams in Italy. She is a freelance journalist and the co-director of How to Italy, a consulting company helping people find the work they love in Italy. She worked and studied in Abruzzo, Bologna, Naples and Milan before moving to Sardinia. Mario Berri is Italian. He is a chartered accountant and previously gained international experience as a senior manager. Having worked in England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy in the logistics, retail, petroleum, chemicals and fashion and textiles industries, he now specialises in the reorganisation of Italian SMEs and has worked on a number of both expat and Italian start-ups. He is the co-director of How to Italy and also teaches in-house on finance and management. He lives in Sardinia.

Customer Reviews

A fab find!
What a fabulous find! No other book on moving to Italy focuses on setting up a business and this one is brimming with information. Emma Bird and Mario Berri, the authors recently moved to Sardinia where they set up their own business, helping others to do just that in Italy. British Bird is a trained journalist and has lived, studied and worked all over Italy. Meanwhile, Italian Berri, knows the ropes, the language and the culture, there could be no better combination of brains.

This book is full of indispensable information. Yet, rather than being a dry old tome, it is peppered with case studies, interviews, illustrations, facts, figures and lots and lots of lovely resources. This is an authentic publication that combines vital business know-how with heart. Find out how Emma and her boyfriend Mario did it and be inspired by their success to do it too.

Lifting the veil on the Real Italy
I thought I knew Italy pretty well already but this book is a revelation! Packed with up-to-the-minute facts and entertaining to boot, it is essential reading for lovers of Italian culture and entrepreneurs alike. Indeed anyone wanting or needing to know what makes Italy and Italians tick. I was especially impressed by Emma and Mario's ability to make the baffling business of Italian bureaucracy so readable - and comprehensible. The writers' attention to detail is striking and I love the way they simply refuse to sugar-coat the facts while remaining upbeat all the way. The chapters on Culture clash and Women in business pull no punches either with inside tips on everything from how to hold your fork at a business lunch to the etiquette of wet hair in the office! Highly recommended.

Your priceless Italian passport to establishing a business in Italy

Relocating to Italy to establish a business is daunting enough without wading through reams of complicated paperwork pertaining to tax and law and lifestyle and culture. Anyone who has spent extended time in Italy or moved to Italy to create a new life knows that the system can be frustrating, daunting and tiring. `Starting a Business in Italy', tells you how to do it the smart way, retain your enthusiasm and dispel the myths.

We have all read novels where a person landed their dream job, established a brilliant business overnight and relocated to Italy with simple effortless ease and many it would appear, achieved this without the legal know how. Those in the know, understand that the reality is far more distinct. 'Starting a Business in Italy' encourages the aspirational business operator to take the plunge and make things happen!

`Starting a Business in Italy' defines the business process from a local perspective, painting a real picture of what to expect and providing effective ways to make your business transition easier with more promise of success. `Starting a Business in Italy' highlights the critical issues of the social and cultural divide and provides in-depth insight into the ways Italian's conduct business right down to the importance of the `Bella Figura'. Mastering the social art of appropriate professionalism, etiquette and interaction with Italian's within the business forum and establishing networks are showcased in the book as pivotal to the impending success of your start-up. The information is valuable and pertinent, especially to those who are seriously considering the `dolce vita' and have had little or no previous exposure to the Italian lifestyle and business arena other than on a brief holiday.

'Starting a Business in Italy' advises of the components of various business structures from Lavaratore Autonomo and Ditta Individuale to complicated company structures, the Italian banking system, tax obligations, your responsibilities and accountabilities so that the reader can recognise the best way to set up the correct prospective business and maximize results. Particularly useful is advice of astute ways to navigate the endless red tape and bureaucracy that is synonymous with Italy. The advice will invariably save you time, money and patience and no doubt create a better opportunity for budding businesses to realise their potential.

Quite simply `Starting a Business in Italy' makes the start up process easier to understand and assists to identify the best way for the reader to tackle a new business venture in Italy without fear factor.

Personally, I found the point raised regarding Internet connections and access throughout Italy really valuable, after all, what is the point of setting up your dream business in your ideal Italian location without reliable access, especially if you are seeking to establish a portable career! It was something I had never considered, as obvious as it may seem, with every other challenge a new business operator is facing in a foreign location, this point is really valuable to know and can impede or change your decision to locate to a specific location within Italy.

Equally helpful were the descriptions of the Italian towns and cities, highlighting what to expect and defining the characteristics of each place. Obviously current residents and business operators living in Italy like Emma and Mario are in a better position to provide a genuine perspective without the romanticised surprises.

Making an effort to learn the language, is drummed home throughout the book and makes prospective business operators think about partaking in this investment, even before they leave home to cross the other side of the world.

Perhaps more important to me was the inspiration the book provided through the case studies of successful and challenged business enterprise. These stories showcased the aspects of how to do it right the first time. It was exciting and encouraging to learn how others had achieved success with their dreams and aspirations. Website links and references of ways to seek additional information regarding your business venture were also really helpful, assisting the reader on the path of how to make things happen.

All in all, I found this book a fantastic read and really unique. I am seeking to operate my own business in Italy and 'Starting a Business in Italy' provides me with the foundation, resources, encouragement and inspiration I was seeking to start planning. The effort the authors have gone into and the detail covered especially with technical information would be difficult to source elsewhere. `Starting a Business in Italy' is the journey readers need to start their new life in the Bel Paese.