Ashley: We were really very lucky because after one of our first lunches for a group of Italians – a woman in the group wrote in to
Donna Moderna – the longest running weekly women's magazine in Italy and wrote that the food was fabulous and the farmhouse idyllic. After that, our phone rang off the hook for the entire summer!
Thus our 1st year we had about 90% Italians – a big shock to us since we never expected Italians to visit a farmhouse and agriturismo run by Americans. We had very few Americans our first season – mainly because Americans tend to book six months plus in advance and our web history was not as established. We had a nice mix of Europeans – a few British, Dutch, German, Belgium and a great French family. We love having the Italians as guests though because they know exactly what to expect at an agriturismo.
This year, the tables have turned completely and we have many, many more reservations from the States – thanks to our blog,
tripadvisor reviews, Rick Steve's message board posts, Slow Trav, etc. Our area is such a little secret that after reading our blog and understanding all the wonderful day trips, activities and food you can enjoy right here, it helps the client make the decision to book – that combined with our wonderful reviews.
In regards to dining – lunches and dinners – Italians are our main customer. We tend to serve 'festival' lunches – for big holidays and get–togethers – as Italians love to eat together in big groups of family and friends.
Expat Women: What have you learned about setting up a business abroad and in particular, setting up a business in Italy?
Ashley: It is difficult! There is the language barrier and associated confusion at times, the crazy amount of paperwork (and everything must be stamped a million times) and understanding/adapting to a different set of rules to running a business. And of course the stresses of money... But all said, I love it–we both do!
Oh and it is not necessarily normal for the business to be in the woman's name as ours is. So that was funny having our business manager explain to me that I must tell Jason that my name is first and I own the majority of our business and that I must be transparent with him–as if he did not know! Jason did not care at all whose name the business was in, just as long as we got started. In Italy there are also more government grants available to businesses (especially agriculture–related) that are run by women.
On an early trip out to look at properties, we met an Italian couple in San Marino with their own successful business. We told them our story, they wished us luck, offered any help they could, but it was the last thing that the wife said that stuck in our heads–"find a shark.... You need someone to be cunning, smart, quick and resourceful to help navigate you through the red tape of Italy"... we found our shark–and our saint–Fabio Centurioni Santo Fabio. He has not only become our friend but also our commercialista (accountant, business advisor, and more). He was the main reason we got our visas when there was a problem at the consulate. Not a small accomplishment. When we first arrived to our agriturismo just a few days before Christmas, the pipes were frozen and the tank was out GPL (gas). We just made this life changing move and we could not even stay the first night in our new place, so Fabio offered up his family's country house until we could move in. His family took us in for the holidays and helped us feel at home.
Before we moved, we found information at the Italian Tourism Board in New York City, we lived online searching websites, forums and especially expat sites such as
http://www.expatsinitaly.com – it really helped us answer so many questions. The
International Culinary Tourism Association was a great resource as well.
