How to Italy

New Year Italian style

Wow.

What a way to start the New Year.

No, I'm not talking about the humungous fact that yesterday our book Starting a Business in Italy was at number 9 in the Bestsellers on Amazon in the starting a biz category. Though, needless to say, that put a smile on my face.

I'm talking about the celebrations for l'ultimo dell'anno which saw Mario and I cut the party short to go to bed at 5am. I'm still recovering now.

It wasn't the sheer amount of food and drink that made me stop and gasp. After six years in Italy, I'm used to 10-course meals washed down with never-ending jugs of red wine.

Neither was it the cacophony of noise coming from our table alone and the babies sleeping quietly through it - even mums who had given birth the week before had brought the newborns along for the occasion.

No, it was the mass singalong. Forget the linking of arms to Auld lang Syne. Every single person in the room bar me (I don't know the words) was singing their lungs out to songs about making love everywhere in Italy and about a policewoman only interested in chatting up the men rather than doing her job.

No wonder Italians enjoy life.

Buy a copy of our book for only £7.50

Our book Starting a Business in Italy is still in the Amazon bestseller list for the Starting a Business category.

And, coincidentally, that also ties in with me having finally got a stack of books delivered. It's currently being sold at by Amazon.co.uk at £8.44. But I can sell it to you for £7.50 plus P&P if you request it before Wednesday 5pm, UK time.

I'll also be bringing 10 copies of the book with me to Italy. So, if you're in Italy and having problems getting hold of the book, I can post it out in Italy with posta prioritaria on Thursday afternoon as soon as I land at Olbia airport.

Just email me at howtoitaly@googlemail.com for more details.

Off to England

I'm about to catch my flight to England.

This time around, I don't have a pile of books to keep me busy. Instead, I've decided I'm going to use the time to continue writing our next book.

I might even give you a sneak preview when I'm back.

Btw, I'll be in England for business (got several clients to meet to further their Move-to-Italy mission) not pleasure, though I'll be making time for that, too. But I'll have access to internet every morning so I'll still be blogging here. But I will be checking email only once a day.

Portable careers - being able to travel anywhere - are really rather fabulous. I wonder what took me so long to discover them?

Update on our book Starting a Business in Italy

Today I'm the bearer of good news.

Our book Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese is now available in Italy.

You can buy it online at Hoepli.

And if you want to to have a sneak preview before you buy, you can now do that, too. Through Amazon.co.uk, you can search inside, see the list of contents and read a sample chapter. Click here to start reading.

Oh, and next month ExpatWomen will be interviewing me, reviewing our book and giving you the chance to win a copy.

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Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese by Emma Bird & Mario Berri is published by How to Books. ISBN: 1-84528-128-4. Available from lots of bookshops in the UK and online from Borders, Amazon, Hoepli.

My holiday reading

Ever since I decided to take the next five weeks off, I realised it was a good chance to catch up on my reading. And you should have seen the rate at which I speed-ordered off Amazon.

There are loads of Italian-language books I want to read, but in the interests of getting my English up to speed I'm ignoring them for the time being.

I've gone for 12 books. Five weeks means 1 business book + 1 'fun' book per week, plus an extra two because I'll simply have time to read more. But, crikey, was it difficult to make the choice. Browsing Amazon, there were hundreds I wanted to pick.

Without further ado, here's the list I've plumped for:

1. The Jelly Effect: How to Make Your Communication Stick by Andy Bounds

2. Raving Fans: Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service (One Minute Manager) by Kenneth H. Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

3. A Chateau of One's Own: Restoration Misadventures in France by Sam Juneau

4. A Lizard in My Luggage: Mayfair to Mallorca in One Easy Move by Anna Nicholas

5. Around the World in 80 Dates by Jennifer Cox

6. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss

7. Au Revoir: Running Away from Home at Fifty by Mary Moody

8. Are You Dave Gorman? by Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace

9. A Parrot in the Pepper Tree: A Sort of Sequel to "Driving Over Lemons" by Chris Stewart

10. It's Not about the Tapas: A Spanish Adventure on Two Wheels by Polly Evans

11. Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography by Sir Richard Branson

12. Your Ethical Business: How to Plan, Start and Succeed in a Company with a Conscience by Paul Allen

As you can tell, I'm having a bit of a travel writing moment :-)

But before I start, I need to finish:

1. The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living by Randy Komisar and Kent L Lineback

2. The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford (note to Mum: I'm almost there! Only one more chapter to go)

A Lesson in never giving up on your dream

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Italy is a country where determination counts more than anything in achieving your dream and getting ahead.

A case in point is the highly successful Italian author Federico Moccia. He wrote the bestseller Tre Metri Sopra Il Cielo and the follow up Ho Voglia di Te. This year his third book, Scusa Ma Ti Chiamo Amore, was published.

The reason why Moccia is worth blogging about in my opinion is this:

Common traits of successful expats in Italy

When we were at the beach yesterday, Mario, Laura and I got talking about How to Italy clients and what marks out the ones likely to succeed.

Flexibility, focus and positivity are the traits that they share and here's why.

Flexibility: In a perfect world, we'd all be living in the Italian location of our dreams, doing the job of our dreams. In real life, though, it just doesn't work like that. For example, I know I live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. I also know that living by the beach here means it's pretty impossible to find work as a staff journalist on a newspaper. But I'm happy to compromise and do something else. That's because for me, living on the coast is more important to me than continuing to work as a staff writer on a magazine. But if you want to work in corporate marketing for a big multinational, you really need to discount living in that quaint little Italian village in Calabria. It's just not going to happen. What's more important? Working in corporate marketing or living in the quaint little Italian village?Write down what is most important to you in your move to Italy. It will help you see where you can compromise.

Focus: You are not going to get to Italy if you don't focus. It takes lots and lots of planning. If you move, hoping to wing it then you are going to be disappointed. You need to plan down to the last detail so you've got all bases covered. With M, our client from Dorset, we've been working through weekly checklists of goals. By working on the Move-to-Italy project on a daily basis, it's amazing how much ground he's covered and how much clarity he's gained. May 1 is D-Day - Departure for Italy day. W hat are you doing to focus on your Move-to-Italy project? Where have you written down your goals? How often do you look at them and work towards them?

Turn your life in Italy into a book

Most expats dream of following in the footsteps of Tim Parks, Annie Hawes or Isabella Dusi and turning their exploits in Italy into a bestselling novel.

It's said that everyone has a book inside of them. So why not start writing yours? if you're successful, you can write where you want: be that on the beach, in the olive groves, or Under the Tuscan Sun like Frances Mayes.

Starting a Business in Italy - amazing book reviews

I've just realised I haven't ever posted the reviews of our book Starting a Business in Italy: how to set up and run a successful business in the Bel Paese on here. So, excuse me for a while, but I'm just going to blow our own trumpet for a bit:

Last week I decided to buy your book. What can I say...?? I can't put it down!! I wish I would have had it a couple of years ago when I began some business projects...which at the end never really worked out. I don't know you, but reading your book is like having a friend talk to me about the real situation here in Italy...it's fantastic. At the moment I'm not working, but your book is helping me clear my mind of what I would like to do in the near future. - Martina Criscaut, Grado, IT

It is estimated that 1,000 new businesses are launched in Italy every day: but be warned it is also estimated that at least all new businesses fold within a year. This book will provide a good starting point to ensure that you are not one of the casualties. In this essential reference book for all budding Italian entrepreneurs, the authors offer clear, honest and practical advice with lots of personal experience detailed as well as a plethora of real life case studies. This is a well-written, well-structured guide to the subject.- Italy Magazine

And there's more. Find out what everyone else is saying.

Expat casestudies for new book

Are you successfully living and working in Italy?

Do you want to inspire others, showcase your business or simply get known for what you do?

Are you willing to share your story?