[jools]

Hi Nikki,

I have only just read your post & I too must agree with Kris & Essem. Setting up a business anywhere is difficult & it can take you the best part of 2-3 years before you even see a good return, infact you are lucky if you break even in the very first year, which can be a very trying time. Its hard work & the hours must be put in 24/7 in order to see any form of return, but if you are trying to set up a business not in your own home country, but in a foreign country, with two foreigners that you barely know, I would say no & walk away now, while you still have the chance, & before you do something that you may regret at a later stage, & more to the point, it could cost you dearly!
Business should never really be mixed with friends, & in my experience you end up finishing the friendship because of disagreements over the business/money side of things!! Infact, you usually find many people, like distant friends & relatives start coming out of the woodwork looking for jobs, simply because you have now started your own business/company & it can become very irriatiating indeed. It is like you now have a licence or some sort of duty to employ them, simply because you are related to them, its crazy but it happens & you do have to be very decisive & say a firm, but a polite, NO!!!

To me this sounds a very shady deal & if I have to be honest with you I have heard many stories like yours in Tunisia, & probably will continue to do so. Sadly a majority of them were not legitimate businessess, infact in most cases a business was never ever intended, it was purely for the money. You must tread very carefully & check & re-check everything if this is what you want to do. What about investing in property or if you like the idea of setting up your own business, set it up for yourself, but do your homework & if that works out, then get a lawyer (a good one) to make sure that you have covered every legal area known to man, because from country to country the legal side of contracts etc does vary considerably, & never assume anything, not in business. I know some lawyers can be expensive but when you weigh up what they legally draw up for you, & what you could lose if they didn't, they are worth their weight in gold.

I am so sorry if I sound negative to your venture, I don't mean to, but I have read & seen this type of situation time & time again & it really annoys me when people end up losing their hard earned money because someone else sees them as easy pickings, please be careful!

jools.