background
THIS DESIGN IS IN PROGRESS AND SO THIS NARRATIVE IS YET TO BE COMPLETED. BE WARNED!!!
IT IS HEAVY ON TEXT, AS ALL OF THE UNDERLYING RATIONALE IS INCLUDED FOR THE BENEFIT OF DIPLOMA APPRENTICES:
It is January 2017 and we have been resident in France now for two years. At the outset, we anticipated that we would have little financial income for the first two years and budgeted for this eventuality.
We have completed some initial renovation and simple development work on our home and although there is much more that we wish to do, we are able to satisfy our basic human needs and live relatively comfortably. We have a vegetable garden, an orchard, and a shared food forest outside. Within our home, we have hot water, wood fired central heating and an approved sanitation system. At this point, we have sufficient funds to cover our basic living costs for the next two years, provided that we do not invest further in our projects at this stage and do not have any emergencies.
Therefore, we have already taken a few steps to protect this position whilst we design for our right livelihood:
Client Relationships
Although I have responsibility for this design, both my husband and I have equal roles as clients. This design must work equally well for us both.
Outputs of this process will need to include: a picture of our potential client base; and a clearer understanding of their needs.
Key Definitions
I am not a practising Buddhist and am not affiliated to any particular religion. However, the idea of 'right livelihood' resonates with me and it ties in well with the ethics and principles of Permaculture design. The Buddhist Centre defines 'right livelihood' as follows:
'Right livelihood is an important aspect of the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha encouraged his disciples to make their living in a way that does not cause harm and ideally that is ethically positive... Given that almost everyone's life includes an economic dimension, work and career need to be integrated into life as a Buddhist. Most of us spend the majority of their waking lives at work, so it is important to assess how our work affects our mind and heart. How can work become meaningful? How can it be a support, not a hindrance to spiritual practice- a place to deepen our awareness and kindness?
Start-Point Objectives
The initial objectives for this design are recorded below. They are not specific enough at the moment and so the process will need to reveal the information required to modify them.
Process Selection
I have decided to use OBRADIMET (Observation-Boundaries-Resources-Analysis-Design-Implement-Maintain-Evaluate-Tweak) as the process for this design. This is because I have used it successfully in the past for another ethical business design and also because I have experimented using a mind map and found the ideas flowed logically and readily.
IT IS HEAVY ON TEXT, AS ALL OF THE UNDERLYING RATIONALE IS INCLUDED FOR THE BENEFIT OF DIPLOMA APPRENTICES:
It is January 2017 and we have been resident in France now for two years. At the outset, we anticipated that we would have little financial income for the first two years and budgeted for this eventuality.
We have completed some initial renovation and simple development work on our home and although there is much more that we wish to do, we are able to satisfy our basic human needs and live relatively comfortably. We have a vegetable garden, an orchard, and a shared food forest outside. Within our home, we have hot water, wood fired central heating and an approved sanitation system. At this point, we have sufficient funds to cover our basic living costs for the next two years, provided that we do not invest further in our projects at this stage and do not have any emergencies.
Therefore, we have already taken a few steps to protect this position whilst we design for our right livelihood:
- We have paused further expenditure on our projects until we are able to generate an income.
- We have re-planned our pensions, so that we will be able to have some access to a retirement income from 2021. This means that we need to generate a sustainable income for the next five years, with a little money behind us in acknowledgement of the fact that it will take time to grow.
- We have safeguarded against the cost of medical emergencies by joining the 'RSI' state health care system via the self-employment route and by taking out a basic level of private health care 'top-up' insurance.
Client Relationships
Although I have responsibility for this design, both my husband and I have equal roles as clients. This design must work equally well for us both.
Outputs of this process will need to include: a picture of our potential client base; and a clearer understanding of their needs.
Key Definitions
I am not a practising Buddhist and am not affiliated to any particular religion. However, the idea of 'right livelihood' resonates with me and it ties in well with the ethics and principles of Permaculture design. The Buddhist Centre defines 'right livelihood' as follows:
'Right livelihood is an important aspect of the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha encouraged his disciples to make their living in a way that does not cause harm and ideally that is ethically positive... Given that almost everyone's life includes an economic dimension, work and career need to be integrated into life as a Buddhist. Most of us spend the majority of their waking lives at work, so it is important to assess how our work affects our mind and heart. How can work become meaningful? How can it be a support, not a hindrance to spiritual practice- a place to deepen our awareness and kindness?
Start-Point Objectives
The initial objectives for this design are recorded below. They are not specific enough at the moment and so the process will need to reveal the information required to modify them.
- To generate sufficient income to sustain us until late 2021 and/or the levels of income necessary to enable us to remain in France, according to the post-Brexit rules of permanent residency, whichever is the greater.
- This income should be generated in accordance with our personal ethics, those of Permaculture and of Veganism.
- To utilise the skills, experience and talents that we have in a professional capacity and so generate personal fulfilment and growth as non-monetary yields.
- To utilise the other resources that we have available to us on site to contribute to its fixed running costs.
- To examine further income generation options post 2021, after which point we should be able to further invest in our projects.
Process Selection
I have decided to use OBRADIMET (Observation-Boundaries-Resources-Analysis-Design-Implement-Maintain-Evaluate-Tweak) as the process for this design. This is because I have used it successfully in the past for another ethical business design and also because I have experimented using a mind map and found the ideas flowed logically and readily.
observation
The following extract is taken from the 'XMind' mind map created at the design planning stage and it depicts the various strands of activity involved at the 'Observation' stage.
The narrative below summarises the observation outputs, which resulted from:
- A meeting with our Accountant
- A meeting with our insurers
- Visits to other Permaculture sites locally
- Reviewing advertising in ex-pat magazines and other local publications
- A meeting at the local employment office
- A short-term post supply teaching at a local college
- Volunteering as part of a team at another local college, supporting English conversational skills
- Discussions between ourselves and with peers
The narrative is structured to match the headings in the mind map above.
Our Points of Difference
We discussed this quite early on, as we needed to be clearer on our earning strategies prior to meeting with our Accountant. Why would someone choose to pay us? What do we have to offer?
Financial
There are some aspects here that we prefer to remain confidential. However, the approach that we took was to record our monthly expenditure for a two year period. This revealed how much we need to earn to maintain our current spending patterns. Whilst we anticipate that our earning needs will reduce as the food yields from our land increase, we also recognise that we have a core of fixed costs, such as property taxes, insurance, telephone and internet charges.
Brexit impacts are as yet unknown. However, if we should be required to apply for permanent residency status, or French nationality in order to stay, then our Accountant believes that we would need to show that we are generating an annual household income of between €12,000 and €15,000 depending on the level of our savings at the time. We would also need to have private health care. These amounts exceed our actual needs and so, are the target figures that we will need to work towards.
We obtained quotes for various levels of health care 'top-up' cover. These ranged from €32 to €90 per month, depending on whether we included eye care and dentistry.
We have been through a separate pension review process. Again, we prefer the outputs to remain confidential and so they are not recorded here.
There are some aspects here that we prefer to remain confidential. However, the approach that we took was to record our monthly expenditure for a two year period. This revealed how much we need to earn to maintain our current spending patterns. Whilst we anticipate that our earning needs will reduce as the food yields from our land increase, we also recognise that we have a core of fixed costs, such as property taxes, insurance, telephone and internet charges.
Brexit impacts are as yet unknown. However, if we should be required to apply for permanent residency status, or French nationality in order to stay, then our Accountant believes that we would need to show that we are generating an annual household income of between €12,000 and €15,000 depending on the level of our savings at the time. We would also need to have private health care. These amounts exceed our actual needs and so, are the target figures that we will need to work towards.
We obtained quotes for various levels of health care 'top-up' cover. These ranged from €32 to €90 per month, depending on whether we included eye care and dentistry.
We have been through a separate pension review process. Again, we prefer the outputs to remain confidential and so they are not recorded here.
Business Frameworks
We presented our Accountant with a picture of the potential income generation methods that we had identified. We were guided towards the 'auto-entrepreneur' regime, which is the nearest equivalent to operating as a sole trader in the U.K.
We discussed the classification of services within the French system and found that the majority of our ideas could be grouped together under the heading of 'formation' or 'training.' This could include Permaculture teaching, tutoring, consultancy and also any self-employed work teaching English as a foreign language. Formation comes under activity code reference '8559A' continuing adult training. R.S.I. (Régime Social des Indépendants) is charged at a rate of 23% on the entire income from the business. This is the French equivalent of national insurance for the self-employed and once registered into this system, it covers up to 70% of many health care expenses at the published state rates. Health care 'top-up' insurance is required for the balance and some things that are not covered at all under R.S.I.
Any gardening work would require setting up a separate business and there is a different taxation regime, which added to our existing doubts (see 'other businesses' and 'limiting factors' below) about taking this path in France and at our time of life.
The ideas that we had about performing music in public to generate guitar teaching work proved to be inappropriate due to the rules in France. Teaching music from home could be an option. However, there is a tax to pay for using your home as business premises. This ranges from €210 to €510 per year, depending on your local commune and has to be paid for EACH business. So, if we were to set up a second business for Tim, we would incur this charge twice, even though we would be sharing the same teaching space. The charge is not applied in the first year, is applied at a rate of 50% in the second year and 100% from year three onwards. Our habitation tax would probably be reduced a little, but this is unlikely to be by the equivalent amount. This is something that we will need to factor into our analysis.
Should we decide to use our gardening skills indirectly to generate an income from the surplus yield from our land, then we would need to be careful not to fall under the 'agricultural' classification as this would increase our costs. Usually, 1.5 hectares+ is classified as a farm rather than a garden and we have 1 hectare here. Fruit farming on the other hand has some incentives attached to it and this could be something to consider once we have returned our trees to good health and further developed the land.
Tax is charged on top of the 23% R.S.I. for 'formation' businesses, but a 36% cost allowance is factored into the calculations.
If only one of us sets up a business, then the other can be a beneficiary of the R.S.I. cover.
It is obligatory to set up a separate bank account for business income. However, you can pay for business related items from any account. If paid in £sterling, as I am for Diploma tutoring work, then I can choose the euro exchange rate that I apply, provided that I can justify my choice. Invoicing must be in French, although English translations are permitted. There are strict guidelines to adhere to. All emails and other written correspondence must clearly state hourly rates.
It is possible to mix employment with self-employment and this kind of 'poly-income' is not unusual in France.
We presented our Accountant with a picture of the potential income generation methods that we had identified. We were guided towards the 'auto-entrepreneur' regime, which is the nearest equivalent to operating as a sole trader in the U.K.
We discussed the classification of services within the French system and found that the majority of our ideas could be grouped together under the heading of 'formation' or 'training.' This could include Permaculture teaching, tutoring, consultancy and also any self-employed work teaching English as a foreign language. Formation comes under activity code reference '8559A' continuing adult training. R.S.I. (Régime Social des Indépendants) is charged at a rate of 23% on the entire income from the business. This is the French equivalent of national insurance for the self-employed and once registered into this system, it covers up to 70% of many health care expenses at the published state rates. Health care 'top-up' insurance is required for the balance and some things that are not covered at all under R.S.I.
Any gardening work would require setting up a separate business and there is a different taxation regime, which added to our existing doubts (see 'other businesses' and 'limiting factors' below) about taking this path in France and at our time of life.
The ideas that we had about performing music in public to generate guitar teaching work proved to be inappropriate due to the rules in France. Teaching music from home could be an option. However, there is a tax to pay for using your home as business premises. This ranges from €210 to €510 per year, depending on your local commune and has to be paid for EACH business. So, if we were to set up a second business for Tim, we would incur this charge twice, even though we would be sharing the same teaching space. The charge is not applied in the first year, is applied at a rate of 50% in the second year and 100% from year three onwards. Our habitation tax would probably be reduced a little, but this is unlikely to be by the equivalent amount. This is something that we will need to factor into our analysis.
Should we decide to use our gardening skills indirectly to generate an income from the surplus yield from our land, then we would need to be careful not to fall under the 'agricultural' classification as this would increase our costs. Usually, 1.5 hectares+ is classified as a farm rather than a garden and we have 1 hectare here. Fruit farming on the other hand has some incentives attached to it and this could be something to consider once we have returned our trees to good health and further developed the land.
Tax is charged on top of the 23% R.S.I. for 'formation' businesses, but a 36% cost allowance is factored into the calculations.
If only one of us sets up a business, then the other can be a beneficiary of the R.S.I. cover.
It is obligatory to set up a separate bank account for business income. However, you can pay for business related items from any account. If paid in £sterling, as I am for Diploma tutoring work, then I can choose the euro exchange rate that I apply, provided that I can justify my choice. Invoicing must be in French, although English translations are permitted. There are strict guidelines to adhere to. All emails and other written correspondence must clearly state hourly rates.
It is possible to mix employment with self-employment and this kind of 'poly-income' is not unusual in France.
Client Survey (Us)
We live on a little farm in rural France. This is our dream and really, we would both like to occupy ourselves full-time with all that that entails. This should be possible from 2021, but until then one or both of us needs to generate an income. It is a little early to fast forward to the 'design' stage, but already it seems that one business would make more sense than two.
Our home demands attention all year round and this equates to more than one person's full-time job. With regards to renovation works, it makes sense financially to do as much of the work as we can ourselves. So, this design will also need to identify how we balance this or intertwine it with income generation.
In surveying ourselves, we returned to the wild dreaming outputs that led to the purchase of our place, our individual visions of the lives that we wanted to lead and also we considered our skills, experience, talents and limiting factors to try to re-organise our respective roles within our life partnership throughout this moment in time.
It seems to make sense that one of us takes responsibility for earning money, whilst the other manages the farm and our home and in so doing, saves us money. So, what information is relevant to making this particular design decision? We then thought about the skills, experience and talents required for both our potential livelihood activities and the requirements of our home and farm to see who was the best fit in each case.
The results were not entirely clear cut, as there are areas where we are both skilled, experienced and qualified. The graphs above show the results of the analysis that we performed a little later on and demonstrate that I am a slightly closer fit for the livelihood role and Tim is a slightly closer fit for the farm role, if we exclude guitar teaching from our livelihood model for the moment. Additionally, I have some physical 'limiting factors' which mean that there are certain roles on the farm that I am unable to perform unaided. These further support this polarisation.
Potential Client Base
If we look at our skills and experience, it seems logical at this point that we/I will be offering teaching and tutoring services. My points of difference suggest that the subjects will be Permaculture and English language and Tim's points of difference suggest potential for teaching guitar at a later date. Therefore, our clients are likely to be those who wish to learn or build on skills in these areas.
The mind map below shows our initial thoughts on who our clients might be:
I then began to think about the types of services that these potential clients might need and what I am in a position to offer. The mind map below shows how this initial thinking developed:
At this stage, the mind map content is based on assumptions and so I have sought clarity by creating and issuing a 'survey' document to those that I know to be on the 'edge' of the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design.
This is because despite the popularity of Permaculture Design Courses, there is currently insufficient demand for my services as a Diploma (the next step from the P.D.C.) Tutor and so this work does not generate sufficient financial yield to cover the costs of maintaining my qualifications. However, I really enjoy the time that I spend with Apprentices, learn a huge amount from them and take inspiration from their projects. In motivating them, I motivate myself. So, I am considering whether to expand on the range of services that I offer in order to support other post-P.D.C. needs and in so doing increase the demand for my knowledge, skills and experience. Maybe in turn this will offer some a 'connecting bridge' between P.D.C. and Diploma.
This is because despite the popularity of Permaculture Design Courses, there is currently insufficient demand for my services as a Diploma (the next step from the P.D.C.) Tutor and so this work does not generate sufficient financial yield to cover the costs of maintaining my qualifications. However, I really enjoy the time that I spend with Apprentices, learn a huge amount from them and take inspiration from their projects. In motivating them, I motivate myself. So, I am considering whether to expand on the range of services that I offer in order to support other post-P.D.C. needs and in so doing increase the demand for my knowledge, skills and experience. Maybe in turn this will offer some a 'connecting bridge' between P.D.C. and Diploma.
Other Businesses
Organic Gardening:
When looking into the potential for offering organic garden maintenance services, we found that we would have competition in the form of folks working for €10 per hour. It would be absolutely impossible to make a living wage at these rates, especially as the larger scale gardens of France require heavier equipment than typical gardens in the U.K. Equipment is extremely expensive and requires servicing at a rate of around €36 per hour. We have encountered similar competition issues when working in the U.K., where lower rates of R.S.I. and tax apply and so, even at this early stage, we are eliminating gardening services from the scope of our right livelihood model.
Permaculture:
We visited other Permaculture sites in France and Portugal. Many of these sites are well established and so able to offer a good standard of accommodation and nourishment to course delegates, alongside other connected activities such as yoga, sweat lodges etc. We don't feel that we or our site is ready for this yet.
There are however, few Diploma holders in France listed as Accrediting Tutors for PDC courses certificated via the Permaculture Association (GB). So, there is potential here to connect and collaborate to bring all the necessary elements together and this could prove to be my niche.
We have made new friends within the Permaculture community in France and have benefited hugely from the experience and kindness of Pascal Depienne and his family. The French Permaculture diploma and the associated tutor role differs to that of the U.K. and so this has helped me to eliminate working as a tutor on the French system from the scope of this design. There are many other reasons to remain connected, to share and learn from each other though!
English Language:
I have private French lessons in our local commune village. My teacher also teaches English language privately to French clients. Therefore, I need to find a different niche for this work. My points of difference are: my experience of working for for large businesses in the UK and my experience of offering tutor services over the internet.
Some of the people that I have met through 'le coq et la rose' association previously worked as teachers in France and they have helped by providing valuable insights into the French education system and in particular information regarding after school English language clubs, facilitated by self-employed teachers and funded at mairie (parish council) level. This could provide further integration opportunities and a more efficient financial yield than that of supply teaching.
Employment
In France, there is a network of 'Pole-Emploi' offices which serve as a kind of cross between a job centre and an employment agency. Once registered with the 'Pole-Emploi' you may also find that you are entitled to some free training. I attempted to register with this network, but was unable to, as at the time I did not have a 'carte-vitale' (this is another long story). However, I am able to access all vacancies posted on their website and I do this every Monday. These observations have inspired me to create a range of tailored C.V.s in French, for roles in the following professions: teaching English as a foreign language; horticulture; working in florists' shops. There seems to be little work, even of a seasonal nature in the areas of horticulture and floristry, but I have been lucky enough to have several weeks cover teaching work in a local lycée. The pay scale did not take account of the preparation that is required and so, I learned from this that it would be better to teach privately, if I can secure the clients.
I have also been actively looking for U.K. based roles that can be performed using the internet. I still have some contacts in the area of data analysis, fraud management and obviously Permaculture and feel that it would be great to have a level of stable income derived in this way. Again, I have to consider my 'point of difference'- why employ me rather than someone else? These are the areas where I have specialist skills, experience and qualifications.
So, all of these outputs from the 'Observation' stage combine to form the base map at this moment in time.