The Great Escape - Riviera

Our season finale is a bumper show with a lot packed in! We find out;

How confinement has grown business for Sarah Smith in Monaco [03:30]

Richard Stokes from Panoramic Cleaning shares what he learned from the last recession that will get him through the one coming [11:40]

Holly Grattan unveils her website for parents searching for great things to do with their kids [22:30]

Therapist Lousie Vaughan Arbuckle shares how patients are reacting to sessions in the ‘new normal’ [30:25]

Photographer Paul Oatway gives the honest reality on how business has been hit but also how it’s crawling back out of a hole. [39:20]

 

About this weeks guests;

Sarah Smith moved to Monaco to follow a dream where she could get that sunny lifestyle we all love and for work help health and fitness trainers to grow their businesses worldwide. We chat about;

Dreams that come true

How her business has grown in the last few weeks

Getting technophobes online

How to grow organically without a need for pay advertising

com

 

Richard Stokes has been on the Riviera five years with a successful growing business ‘Panoramic Cleaning’.  We chat about;

How the restrictions impacted his business

What he learned from the last recession that will get him through the one coming

What kind of customer service pays off

Why Whatsapp is a winner for his website

panoramic-cleaning.com

 

Holly Grattan is a serial entrepreneur and a small business owner who’s new venture is a special website for parents searching for great things to do with their kids here on the Riviera. We chat about;

Her background in recruitment and finance

How to win when interviewing on Skype

A brilliant tip for Zoom

How the idea for her new venture came about

Additional resources for parents on the Cote d’Azur

enfantsdazur.com

 

Louise Vaughan Arbuckle is a holistic therapist who trained in London before moving to Paris for eight very successful years. Eventually the Riviera called and she is now firmly established in Antibes continuing her work as a reflexologist, as well as massage, Reiki and sound healing. We chat about;

Adapting to the ‘new world’

Are patients hesitant or accepting of the new situation

Not so obvious reasons facemasks could be a problem

holistic-approaches.com

 

Paul Oatway is one of the most-well known professional photographers on the Riviera with over 25 years’ experience shooting beauty, fashion, people and products. We chat about;

The honest reality on how business has been hit

Projects he’s worked on during confinement

Drones

The Mirror Mirror project

Shows that will go ahead this year

 

Our podcast is brought to you by Share Riviera connecting people with recommended English speaking trades and services right here on the Riviera. If you’re interested in quality contacts to your business, you can sign up for the rest of the year for free, with no obligation, right how at shareriviera.com

Rachael Dickens talks about Patient Zero walking into her English Osteopath clinic [02:35]

Andy Colgan is full on for a summer recovery with moonlight movies [11:55]

Tricia Teo says finding new client leads online will be easier [16:00]

 

About this weeks guests;

Rachael Dickens is a super self-starting entrepreneur. In 2001 she packed a suitcase, got the hell out of the UK and moved to the South of France  without the safety net of friends !  But she made it work, and in the years since, she has become the most famous osteopath on the coast, working in Antibes and Monaco.   We chat about;

Lockdown Lowdown

How Monaco’s patient zero walked into her clinic

www.englishosteopath.com

 

Andy Colgan came from Perth Australia to become a master brewer of beer!  After he opened his own craft brewery in Mouans-Sartoux he moved on to the perfect business to go with that .. his own pub which is The Duke in Antibes. We chat about;

The night of lockdown and why the timing was particularly bad

Plans for the summer

The return of moonlight cinema in Valbonnne

The Duke Facebook

 

Tricia Teo  is an ex-pat who moved from Singapore to live on the Riviera. She is a project manager at Deveo in Nice who organise contact leads and meetings for people attending Telco and Broadcast industry events worldwide.  We chat about;

How the conference industry has been affected

What new opportunities it has brought

Her growing English Speakers on the Riviera Facebook group and website

Deveo

Facebook Group

English Speaker Website

 

Our podcast is brought to you by Share Riviera connecting people with recommended English speaking trades and services right here on the Riviera. If you’re interested in quality contacts to your business, you can sign up for the rest of the year for free, with no obligation, right how at shareriviera.com

Dusty shares why now is the best time of all to advertise your business and why you will win doing that. [01:00]

The challenges of re-opening with Jacqui Walker at MBS Academie in Mougins [03:50]

Riviera Radio reveal a special scheme for small business with director Edouard Huillet which shocks us [12:35]

How Dusty’s advertising advice to therapist Gavin Sharpe can help your business get back on its feet [20:10]

 

About this weeks guests;

Jacqui Walker is very well known across the Riviera after launching the brand new holistic wellness centre in Mougins called Mind Body Soul MBS Academie. The centre is a community of therapists, yoga and pilates instructors, meditation teachers and fitness coaches, who provide a range of services including physiotherapy, pilates, yoga, nutrition, life coaching, martial arts, psychotherapy, counselling and much more. We chat about;

The challenge of re-opening and keeping clients safe

How she developed her excellent new interactive website

www.mbsacademie.com

 

Edouard Huillet has had huge media experience across France. Over the last 20 years he has worked with TF1, JC Decaux, NRJ and Metro News and now he is successfully expanding Riviera Radio from a radio station to a full multi-media resource. We chat about;

Keeping the station on-air with no studio access

A special scheme for small business entreprise

Email Edouard directly; [email protected]

 

Gavin Sharpe has gone from being a qualified lawyer and entrepreneur in the City of London to being a therapist and executive coach in Monaco.  You may have heard of him from his radio ads promoting sexual addiction. We chat about;

How Covid changed counselling

Staying confidential in a digital world

Advice from Dusty that paid off when Gavin launched his business

www.rivierawellbeing.com

 

Our podcast is brought to you by Share Riviera connecting people with recommended English speaking trades and services right here on the Riviera. If you’re interested in quality contacts to your business, you can sign up for the rest of the year for free, with no obligation, right how at shareriviera.com

Adapt is the word most used by our guests and how they are doing just that to stay in business.

We find out whats on the menu with Waka Bar’s Ciara Swan [01:00]

how the yachting industry is testing for a virus free summer with Ulf Sydbeck from Riviera Yacht Suppport [12:15]

and how the entertainment industry is has been coping with Blah Blah lead singer Alan Roberts [23:30]

 

About this weeks guests;

Ciara Swan and husband Garth arrived in Nice in 2016 to start their own bar which has turned into a thriving success. Waka Bar is a favourite with locals and tourists for sunset drinks on the the prom and a very solid food menu as well. Part of their success is the consistently good marketing and stream of fresh ideas from co-owner Ciara. We chat about;

What they are doing to keep Waka Bar open for business

What’s temporarily replaced alcohol as a best seller

What you can do to get positive change out of disaster

Her predicion for summer 2020

Waka Bar Facebook

 

Ulf Sydbeck is synonymous with the yachting industy and a famously positive person. At the helm of Riviera Yacht Support he has the pulse on every port from St Remo to St Tropez. We chat about;

How has the virus affected the yachting industry

New travel rules for yachts and crew

Virus testing kits for crew

Golf Bonana – will it go ahead?

www.RivieraYachtSupport.com

 

Alan Roberts is the lead singer of Blah Blah universally acclaimed as the Riviera’s best rock band by far. We chat about;

Run in’s and accolades from another Riviera resident band called U2!

The reality of music entertainment here this summer

How he nearly died from a virus in Hong Kong

His surpising way of surviving musically

Why he is confident all will work out

 

Our podcast is brought to you by Share Riviera connecting people with recommended English speaking trades and services right here on the Riviera. If you’re interested in quality contacts to your business, you can sign up for the rest of the year for free, with no obligation, right how at shareriviera.com

The word ‘recession’ should not scare you says financial advisor Rob Kay [02:05]

Discover the one essential plan you must have in place for de-confinement with businesswoman Antonia Beau-Brown [10:50]

Should you be afraid to fly ? Regular commuter John Clarkin shares why he has no fears [23:40]

 

About this weeks guests;

Rob Kay is one of the most respected and well-known financial people on the Riviera.   Originally from Manchester, he worked in the Middle East before setting up the first Blevins Franks office on the Cote d’Azur and then the office in Monaco.  Of course we all know him from his weekly broadcasts each Sunday on Riviera Radio.

Topics discussed;

Adapting to ‘the cloud’

A calming look at recession

A brief chat on Brexit (remember that!)

Older people are very tech savvy

www.blevinfranks.com

 

Antonia Beau Brown is one of the leading business people in our community. In addition to running her highly successful Kidooland School, she is the host of the Riviera Firefly podcast, which for the last four years has spoken to entrepreneurs about running businesses here. She’s also the lady behind the hugely popular Facebook group Cote d’Azur Living, South of France.

Topics discussed;

Coping with Covid

Remote Teaching

Entrepreneurs going online

Positives of confinement

Why ex-pats have an edge

The plan everyone must have this year

www.kidooland.com

www.rivierafirefly.com

 

John Clarkin is a really good golfer, and could have turned pro. But when he was coming up the ranks, and playing against Padraig Harrington, he thought I’ll never be that good … so instead he turned to another area of golf … running a world leading golf course consultancy firm called TurfGrass. Living near Nice John travels extensively to work with over 150 courses across Europe and the world.

Topics discussed;

Flying for work

Positives of confinement

Adapting is growing the business

The insider view on golf this year

www.turfgrass.ie

 

Our podcast is brought to you by Share Riviera connecting people with recommended English speaking trades and services right here on the Riviera. If you’re interested in quality contacts to your business, you can sign up for the rest of the year for free, with no obligation, right how at shareriviera.com

More great stories from people running businesses on the Riviera and coping with the exit from lockdown.

Thady Nolan (02:25) speaks frankly about problems facing Ma Nolans and if or when bars will reopen on the Riviera – www.ma-nolans.com

Nicolas Coulette (12:10) who helps many micro-entreprise on the Côte reveals why working with ex-pats on French admin is easy – www.avotreservice-riviera.com

Beverly Holt (20:55) the Riviera’s most connected networker says lockdown has had at least one positive effect on their meetings.

www.beherenowladies.com

www.holisticinfo.directory

 

About this weeks guests;

Thady Nolan is the man behind one of the most famous international names on the Riviera Ma Nolan’s bars in Nice & Cannes. Taxi drivers and locals alike recommend the bars to tourists all the time for good pints, great food and glorious large screens for sport! Sadly, we couldn’t get Ma Nolan, so instead we have her favourite son!

Nicolas Coullette is a man who knows the French system, understands all its little grey areas and ways of thinking, and can help you cut through red-tape like a magic human scissors! Originally from the northern part of the country, after business school he travelled the world working in tech and admin everywhere from here to Australia and back.  In the last 18 months, he’s started his own company help English speakers easily set up and deal with micro-entreprise and of admin issues.

Beverly Holt is the best connected person we know on the Riviera !!! Originally a medical professional from Wales, her journey brought her to Australia where she discovered Holistic Health and Reiki and worked with the Australian Rugby team among many other achievements. When she arrived in France it was her networking skills which came to the fore. Her most recent project connects ladies across the Cote d’Azur and is called ‘Be Here Now Ladies’

Our podcast is brought to you by Share Riviera connecting people with recommended English speaking trades and services right here on the Riviera. If you’re interested in quality contacts to your business, you can sign up for the rest of the year for free, with no obligation, right how at shareriviera.com

Welcome to the first Great Escape Podcast. Stories of people running businesses on the Riviera, coping with the exit from virus lockdown.

Our podcast premiere includes three people with one thing in common. They have managed to succeed in the most difficult of situations. How? They share their secrets.

Mark Tasker (02:45) a television director running a full tv show in Manchester from his kitchen on the Cote d’Azur

Roland Schaller (15:50) who had just started his new company 24 hours before France went into lockdown – www.malatovi.com

Bradley Mitton (28:30) who helped us to continue enjoying fine wine and dining throughout confinement – www.mittonwines.com

 

 

 

 

How are people like ourselves, running businesses here on the Riviera, going to cope with the fallout of the virus? That’s what this podcast The Great Escape is all about!

It’s been an interesting seven or eight weeks … life was ticking along as normal, a lot of us looking at 2020 as a significant year, then in March – boom – lockdown.

Although I found it scary, it was a little reassuring watching President Marcon looking us straight in the eye saying ‘no French business will be allowed to fail’.  Deals on mortgages, rents, staff salaries and partial chomage made it all a little easier.  Or did it ??

For some, shuttering up was a welcome break to enjoy a particularly nice spring.  Walks, time with family, kids (for some 1st two weeks with kids!)   A lot of us said it would be a good few weeks to learn … but if you’re like me, despite best intentions, it didn’t happen as I imagined. For others, the last few weeks have seen a rapid re-organisation of their business as they try to cope and keep the boat afloat … sometimes literally!

However, we are beginning to escape from lockdown.  A lot of business owners from single person micro entreprise to full blown companies are wondering what’s next ??  How will the ‘new normal’ look?

Maybe you’re one of these business people?  If you are, you’re not alone.  On this new podcast, we’re going to chat to business leaders across the Riviera .. everyone from some of the most successful hospitality businesses, to yoga and health practitioners, to the super yacht and super car industries.   How do they feel lockdown has affected business, how does it compare to past recessions and what can we expect for the rest of 2020.   It will be a very interesting and relevant conversation.

This is an invitation to join in with our podcast which will be out every Monday and Thursday in May. The first one goes out as lockdown ends this Monday 11th of May which is why we’re calling it The Great Escape.   Listen in whenever you like with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your podcasts.