With an enviable reputation for its high quality of life, it’s no wonder so many people dream of starting a business in France. But starting a business anywhere is tough, and France presents its own unique set of challenges. From navigating the paperwork to understanding a different business culture and language, it’s a journey that requires planning, consideration, and ample commitment.
A well-crafted business plan is an entrepreneur’s best friend, guiding your business from the ground up. While the process of writing one, especially in French, might seem daunting, it’s an investment in your venture’s success. A strong business plan will not only help you secure funding, but also serve as a blueprint for everything you do going forward: forming the foundation of your future French business empire.
Understanding the French business landscape
Before we dive into the specifics of your business plan, it's important to undertake it with a strong understanding of the French business environment. More so than many other countries, your business plan plays a tangible role in the formation process, demonstrating your long-term planning and financial stability. Understanding the market you’re going into is always a good idea, but it isn’t enough to do a cursory bit of brushing up; if you don’t know what you’re getting into, it will be obvious in your business plan. (For more information on setting up a business in France, take a look at our article Start a Business in France in 8 Steps.)
Your business plan will also need to be written in French. This is a non-negotiable requirement for most interactions with French authorities, banks, and potential investors, and another aspect of adaptation that’s an acid test for the success of your business. You don’t need to learn French to have your business plan translated, but it is a sign of the work you’ll need to do to integrate yourself into French society, and truly be embraced as a local business.
Defining your French business
Your business plan should begin with a clear articulation of your mission, vision, and values, known as a mission statement. This should be a concise outline of your business's purpose, explaining what it is you intend to do, and what you want your business to achieve. This is more than just a description of the products or services you aim to sell, but what you hope to contribute by selling them, and how they will stand out in the existing market.
You may also want to include a vision statement. This describes your long-term goals and ambitions, and ties into your mission statement. This can then tie into your value, the core principles that will guide your business. Make sure your values are genuine and tie into what you are offering, rather than just being generic, positive-sounding adjectives.
If you’re offering organic products or services that address climate change, then these are values you will want to integrate into your vision and mission statement.
Outlining your operations
The operational section of your business plan should detail how your business will function. This will include your:
Business model
This section should clearly explain how your business will generate revenue. You should outline what you will be selling here, whether that is products, services, or a combination of both. This does not need to be a complex costing of your whole supply chain, but should make a case as to why your business will be profitable and successful, and give an idea of your credentials and competency in running it.
Market analysis
This section should identify your target market, their needs, and how your products or services address those needs. This is particularly important as a foreign entrepreneur entering the French market, as you will need to demonstrate that you have researched and understand the local market, and can make a case for why they will choose your products or services over domestic competitors.
Marketing and sales strategy
It’s one thing to demonstrate that you understand your audience, but quite another to be able to reach them. Your marketing and sales strategy should outline your plans for reaching and acquiring customers in France, and how these will improve the viability of your business.
This strategy should be realistic, and ideally involve both local or traditional marketing as well as online methods. Stating that you will gain huge social media traction due to the innovative nature of your marketing or products is unlikely to convince people, given how difficult this virality is to achieve. For more information, take a look at our article How to Market your Business in France.
Team structure
Lastly, you’ll want to describe the roles and responsibilities of any team members you might have. This includes any business partners, as well as any staff you will be bringing in from the start of the business. The experience and qualifications of both parties will contribute to the perception of how viable your business is, so try to include anything that’s relevant to France, or to the industry you are starting up in.
Projecting your finances
Much like a Dragon’s Den pitch, your financial projections can make or break a business plan. Demonstrating a strong grasp on costings and financial projections will lend credibility to your business plan, and reassure investors and French banks that your business has a chance to succeed. This should be bespoke to France, and not based on your local currency or understanding of your native market.
Your financial projections should cover basic startup costs, including the investment required to set up your business, including facilities, stock and equipment. It should also project your revenue as accurately as possible over at least a three-year period, along with operational costs, and how these will tally with your income. This will give you an idea of profitability—and potentially some food for thought when it comes to the rest of your business plan, if the figures aren’t as good as you’d like!
All of this information in turn will give you a projection of your cash flow over time, and determine how quickly you expect to turn a profit, and what this profit is likely to be. This will only ever be an estimate, so there should be some room for error. It’s advisable to factor this in through best and worst-case scenarios, and to include options that could be taken if costs turn out to be higher or profits lower than expected. For more information, take a look at our posts on how to pay VAT in France and also deal with your French payroll system.
Investment and experience
A key aspect of your financial projections will be how much money you are starting out with. Any investors and lenders you bring on board will want to know about your financial commitments and experience, and will use your business plan as a point of reference. A section on the investments of yourself and your partners will help to demonstrate the capital available, where it is coming from, and the extent to which those initial investments can be trusted.
As well as detailing what funding you will receive, you should also outline how you intend to spend it. This will obviously factor into your financial predictions, but it’s important to justify here why the investment is necessary, and how it factors into your business plan. Investment is only meaningful if it is targeted, and used in a way that will reap benefits. In other words, you’ll need to demonstrate that you can survive without the investment once it goes away.
Law and administration
France has specific legal requirements for businesses. The first and most obvious is that you’ll need to choose a legal structure for your business. Each type of structure has its own requirements and limitations, meaning that choosing the right structure is extremely important. You can learn more about the options in our article about French business structures here, which include:
- SARL (limited company)
- SAS (joint venture)
- SA (public limited company)
- EURL (sole trader)
- ME/AE (micro business)
As well as detailing your business structure, you should also demonstrate an understanding of the permits and licences you will need to operate your business, which will vary depending on which sector you are operating in. You will also need to be aware of your tax obligations, and factor these into your financial projections, as well as legal obligations towards employees, such as termination protections and maternity or paternity leave.
Harnessing your French business plan
While not necessary to include in your business plan, you should be aware that starting a business in France can differ substantially from other countries. Starting and managing your business will involve reporting to multiple different national and local authorities, something we can help with.
France is also well-known for the strength of its labour laws and worker protections. While it can be argued that these reap their own benefits in terms of employee happiness and productivity, they can also be challenging for foreign entrepreneurs to get to terms with. There are also cultural differences to consider, although many of these are more fiction than fact as we outline in our post about Five Frustrating Myths about French Business Culture.
Ultimately, you should bear in mind that your business plan is a living document, not something to be rubber stamped and sealed away. It’s something you’ll want to return and refer to throughout your journey, and which should be regularly reviewed and updated as your business evolves. Give it the weight and attention it deserves, and you’ll be well prepared for your journey to startup success.
Photo by Firmbee.com on Unsplash
