 Poster: A snowHead
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I have a little equity in the house and may sell and move to the mountains if I can convince my fiancee.
What are good business opportunities in the alps.
I currently work in wine and wonder if it is a good idea to buy a small warehouse in lyon and supply vino to the hotels/restaurants and chalets. This though seems like very competitive and wonder if life is easier buyign a bar or something similar!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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plectrum, I like your wine idea - we are always looking for reasonably priced good wine for our chalet!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Quote: |
I currently work in wine
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You wouldn't believe the visions that conjures up 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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yah I was thinking actually to hit the chalet's up rather than the established hotels/restaurants. It is damn hard work tho warehousing and delivering to chalets!
The Alps is actually a fantastic place for wine-close to Italy, Burgundy, Alsace, Champagne also not too far from Bordeaux. Maybe I will have a quick look at bonded warehousing in Lyon/Grenoble/Geneva now!
Is it easy to get a list of all the chalet's, restaurants, hotels in the alps? Do I just contact the tourist office?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Megamum, If you stay in to long you do turn purple, we have our own red sea!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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plectrum, tourist office should have lots of the chalets listed, but it's also worth doing internet searches as well.
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plectrum, Given the number of potential 'wine' customers in the Alps even in the all too short season perhaps you should narrow the field down a little, to just UK based independents, establish a base and expand from there. 
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Any idea what you may need in the form of licensing?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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boredsurfin, do u mean uk based independent chalet owners or business in general? Also are you saying the potential customer base is big or small. Also how much summer business down the chalet trade do?
Also feel free anyone to discuss any other business I am very interested in the possibility of moving as I am 28 and me and the fiancee both love the mountains and we have no kids ..... yet.
P.S. is anyone seriously into hydrology here as this is the fiancee's field and we were wondering last night who is managing the ...er .... slight overuse of reservoir problem caused by artificial snowmaking. This could be a wicked job for her!
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petemillis, to sell alcohol you dont need a license. You only need a license if you are selling for consumption on premise.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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plectrum, other idea - how about putting together boxes of organic produce for chalets and self-catering places. I'm sure there are chalet owners who would rather have fresh organic produce delivered to the door rather than having to go a traipse around the supermarket. Perhaps combine the fresh produce with the wine.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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plectrum, My was thinking was that as there are so many chalets etc it is best to narrow the field and concentrate on one area at first. Many of the medimum size operator's have centralised purchasing and menu planning at head office which leads to tie in's to a few suppliers. The small owner operated chalets offer you the chance to speak direct to descision makers and have the flexibility to change suppliers with little notice, your risk/exposure to one company going bust or defaulting on their debt to you is also minimised.
petemillis's, organic idea is a good one although the practicalties and logistics of supply chain is possibly insurmountable.
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petemillis, hmm interesting for that tho I'd need a business partner with experience in fresh produce .... good thing my father works in fresh produce with the french!
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You know it makes sense.
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petemillis, only problem with fresh produce is this. It goes off, the quality that you are supplied with can vary and french hypermarkets like champion in moutiers are generally superb
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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plectrum, I was sort of thinking that it might be worth getting in with some local suppliers/farm types. We've got a farm shop near us who always stock good stuff. I'm sure if I felt inclined it wouldn't be too much bother to collect orders from a load of locals, price them up including a delivery charge and "shopping" charge, get a bit of discount from the supplier and bingo. The supplier does ok as sells more, I do alright as I get my few quid, and the customer is happy as they get a weekly or whatever box of veg for probably no more cost than going to the supermarket, with none of the hassle of having to go buying it. I'd have no storage problems as I woudn't hold any stock.
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Poster: A snowHead
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petemillis, I can see the attraction for the chalet owners but it is also a highly bespoke service and such may not be widely uptaken.
But this was kinda the point to the post as I'm sure there are lots of interesting and diverse business's that can work but I wonder if it wouldnt be easier to buy a bar and employ ski bums who want free food and accomodation for the season to run the place whilst you sit back and do er not very much!
On a slightly bigger scale, is there a business acting as a wireless internet provide for the major resorts, i.e tapping into the fat pipes that run from major cities like Geneva, Grenoble, Lyon and footprinting the resorts.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It would then be possible to maybe include free internet as a mandatory part of the local charges or as part of the lift pass or something of that nature, alternatively you could buy passes from the tourist office and the residences for the week?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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plectrum, May be worth spending some time searching on Natives forum, before I discovered snowHeads I use to lurk there a bit and occaisionally people were floating business ideas. www.natives.co.uk
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boredsurfin, I will try but natives gives me a bit of a headache in it's layout
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brian
brian
Guest
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plectrum, start a ski storage business out of GVA. There's got to be loads of folk handing over £30 to easyjet on a regular basis.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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brian, what a great idea! 
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| plectrum wrote: |
| boredsurfin, I will try but natives gives me a bit of a headache in it's layout |
A headache?
Want me to have words with the forum admin? 
http://www.natives.co.uk/phpbb/
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brian, Oh so we store peoples equipment for them throughout the year? Interesting but what happens when they are skiing different resorts like Davos or in Austria. I think this set up would need set ups at multiple airports and then as long as you give a weeks notice to the company it can transfer your equipment to the relevant airport.
I did look into coach service from grenoble, buying 1 luxury 60 seater costs 295,000 euro! damn! even the basic one is about 240k! It is also such a massive project that I would need a backer preferably an airline like ryan air.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Wear The Fox Hat, yah keep speaking to yourself!
It si not the bb it is the main site I find difficult to navigate it is a bit like walking into TKMAX!
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brian, Also why are you still flying EasyJet it is poo-poo!
Fly Swiss ! great service just about edible lunch, generally good pricing flys from good airports even City Airport which is awesome in terms of queues and is not that much more expensive than Easyjet once you take into account the ski charge, the taxes and fuel surcharge, and the difficulty and cost to get to Stansted.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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plectrum, some of us live in Scotland. Easyjet fly direct from Glasgow and Edinburgh in the winter.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Anyway to be honest I was going to start a pimp circuit in Courcheval, lots of Eastern european girls! 
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ianmacd, Sorry Ian I am so introverted down in London sometimes I forget there is anything outside! Doh!
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You know it makes sense.
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No problem I wish I had the option of more carriers.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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plectrum, on similar lines to the ski storage, how about car storage. I would like to leave a car somewhere near Geneva airport, have it delivered to one of the airport car parks to order. The Swiss side is all rather plush and expensive seeming, but the French town of Ferney-Voltaire seems much more ordinary and might provide cheaper premises (and, being EU, fewer snags for a Brit to start a business?)
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Poster: A snowHead
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brian, Oi, that one was my idea, I'm just waiting for the lottery win for the funding.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| plectrum wrote: |
| boredsurfin, I will try but natives gives me a bit of a headache in it's layout |
Me too, that's why I visit so rarely these day's but I suspect I may be 'sheltering' there next week [/u]
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brian
brian
Guest
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brian, I am ashamed of my pompous big city self, it was only 7 years back that I was kicking the streets of Edinburgh, where people found it strange that I would walk from my house in Broughton to my friend's in Comley Bank, to me it was just about as far as a walk down Oxford Street!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Seriously though what are people's view on total resort wireless internet. This is not a difficult thing to achieve actually. You need a main hub at the entrance to the resort which is linked into the main telephone hub and then you need booster transmitters stategically placed around the resort to create a global footprint of overlapping signal areas. This will then provide complete internet services which can be password protected or alternatively free to all but charges are subtley included into other charges of the resort.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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brian, Also a massive benefit is that Easyjet flies from your local airport and it is a dirt cheap busride from St Andrew's Square.
In London to get to Stansted is very expensive about £30 return and the cheap easy jet flights are so ealry that you need to be up during the twilight hours! Also Stansted is miles out of London.
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| Quote: |
why are you still flying EasyJet it is poo-poo!
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I disagree. In many years flying many different ways to many different places I actually reckon easyJet do a good job. And if you turn up late and miss a flight, they'll try to get you on another, without stupid charges. Try that with British Airways. And their website is light years better than any of the others. And you can change flights, online, for a reasonable charge.
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brian, Helen Beaumont,
Spoke with Katie my fiancee and she has had a brain wave. Whilst you leave you ski's with our super storage we also service them professionally so when you pick 'em up they are waxed edged and ready to rock and roll.
Also there is a benefit in not having all my crap at home although when I get lonely and KT is working away i do like to let the ski's in the bed with me! But i'm a little eccentric! 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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pam w, and may of us can no longer fly with BA, as they have cancelled our flights or stopped going to the desired aiport. Easyjet have always been fine when we have used them, although they too have cancelled our GVa flight for the summer. Swiss Air used to fly from NCL but that stopped too.
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Maybe we could start a SnowHeads ski and boot storage franchise? Depots near all major Alpine airports. Ski service if required.
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