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June 24, 2008

Global Business

Inc. Goes To France

Posted by Eric Schine at 1:59 PM

In a few days I’ll be traveling to Paris to co-moderate the French American Conference of Entrepreneurs. Some big entrepreneurial names will be in attendance from the American side, including Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist and Reid Hoffman, the founder of Linkedin.

There will also be some big names from the French side, but most Americans aren’t familiar with these French companies. Two of the more prominent French entrepreneurs that are planning to attend are Fabrice Sargent of cellfish.com, a mobile phone media company and Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet , founder of Priceminister.com, a hugely popular site that sells new and used merchandise online, including cars.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the French have their own great entrepreneurs. The word “entrepreneur,” of course, is a French word. The truth is the French are great inventors and innovators and always have been. We can thank France for a lot more than just great wine, bread and cheese, although we can certainly thank them for that as well. France is the country that has given the world such marvels as the bicycle, the gyroscope, the parachute, and the hot air balloon. Let’s not forget Jaques Cousteau's invention of the “acqua-lung,” the first ever SCUBA gear. And, depending on whom you talk to, there’s also a strong case to be made for the French inventing the airplane and the movies, or at least movie projectors.

What’s so amazing to me is the strength and depth of entrepreneurialism in France today despite labor laws and an overall business culture that is often hostile to starting and building businesses. Despite the efforts of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to bring reforms, France remains one tough place to build a business. It’s a place where government bureaucrats can fine business owners if their employees put in more than 35 hours of work a week. And it's a country where it’s so hard and expensive to fire workers, that many small companies decide not to hire more help when they could really use it, thus crushing their chances for real growth.

Yet even with all those obstacles, the French manage to create and grow fabulous companies. One of my favorite stories of French entrepreneurialism is that of Francis Holder, founder of Maison Paul, a fabulously successful chain of boulangeries that have multiplied across France and can now be found in England, the Middle East, Asia and, in the U.S., in Florida. All told, there are nearly 300 Paul boulangeries across the globe. Yet Francis Holder started life with none of the connections and elite schooling that so often are requirements for success in France. Holder learned the virtue of hard work waking up at 4:00 AM to help his dad prepare and bake the daily dough. Then he'd help out his mother in the storefront after school. What a great success story. If Francis Holder had built his business in the U.S., we’d surely be writing about him in Inc.

Over the course of the next several days, I’ll be blogging about some of the French entrepreneurs I’ll be meeting at the FACE Conference. I suspect I’ll come across some fascinating companies and I look forward to sharing with you the best of what I find. So stay tuned!

1 Comment

Posted by: Tony Gallina at August 23, 2008 10:02 PM

I just wanted to pass my story along to you and hope it interests and entertains others. Thanks! Tony

Make Green By Going Green.
I had to write this article to let other entrepreneurs know what exciting possibilities there are out there in this new ‘Green” world. If you haven’t been paying attention there is a world wide phenomenon going on that is called Green or Eco-friendly. If you are not steering your business that way or if you are not looking to get into this green business juggernaut you are missing out on a huge pay day and/or a long time rewarding business experience.
Not only will you help reduce your own carbon foot print but you will attract more customers because people are looking for eco friendly businesses. By going green, my business in just over one year, went from $7,000 per month to $75,000 per month. I went from 30 customers to well over 300 customers with more climbing on the green wagon every day.
I have even been approached to franchise my concept all over the world. Going green apparently rewards you with more green.

It is truly amazing how my life has changed this past year. I got involved with starting an eco-friendly cleaning company and as a result of going green I have watched in awe as my revenue grows month after month. It has not only changed my life financially but it has positively impacted the health and lives of thousands of people as well. I went into this business, not having a lot of money to invest, but wanting to do something that was good for the environment as well as good for the planet and other people. I know that cleaning homes and businesses with non hazardous chemicals will help add years to the lives of our customers, their children and pets, our workers and help heal the environment too.
The Green Mop (my business) afforded me the opportunity to move from a cramped apartment, where I also ran the business, to a beautiful new 4700 square foot home that last year was priced at $1.1 million (got it for $800,000 in this current market environment). I also bought a brand new SUV Hybrid with cash and I see no end in sight for the growth and expansion of my eco-friendly green enterprise.
What I did you can do too by steering your existing or new business in a green direction.
I have seen the proof that if you do right for people, the environment, and yourself by focusing on being good stewards of the earth, the floodgates of green prosperity will open up to you.

So, lesson your foot print, enrich the lives of others, steer your business green and watch your prosperity grow.

The Green Mop, Inc
Tony Gallina, President
www.thegreenmop.com
(703) 508-8082

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