Trailing Spouses

Resource for diplomats and "trailing spouses"

2009-05-12T11:10:00.001+02:00

The website of the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) is an excellent resource for diplomats - not only American ones. In particular, it provides many resources for the "trailing spouses" who want to find a job abroad. It also deals with critical issues, like diplomats who are separated from their family or returning home (impatriation).

Starting a Business Overseas: a free ebook by Jo Parfitt

2009-02-10T18:23:00.002+01:00

I read again the ebook by Jo Parfitt Starting a Business Overseas today. It is quite interesting either for expats, who want for example to stay in their new country and become self-employed, or for expat spouses, who want to become self-employed and to create a home-business. In fact, you can find there all the substance of Jo parfitt's book The Expat Entrepreneur, but without all the examples of entrepreneurs (which are not always ideally chosen) and lists of resources.

I like in particular the checklists that can help you reflect about your potentiel as an entrepreneur (do you have what it takes?) and develop original business ideas. But, as I mentioned on this blog in my book review of The Expat Entrepreneur, I think the "entrepreneur" title is not quite appropriate, as it focusses solely on self-employed activities that are done from home and paid by the hour, quite often on a part-time basis.

Despite these restrictions, those expats or "trailing spouses" who want to develop a self-employment idea and haven't had any business experience yet will find the book quite useful. You can download it by clicking on the title of this article.

NEW!!! Group coaching for the "trailing spouses" of expats or diplomats

2008-12-11T12:59:00.038+01:00

NEW!!! Group coaching

for the "trailing spouses"

of expatriates or diplomats

Research about the situation of expatriates, over the last 2 decades, has shown that the dissatisfaction of the accompanying spouse is often the main cause of the failure of an expat assignment - which is very costly for the company that employs the expat, and for the expatriates themselves in term of career advancement.

One of the key issues for this kind of problems of the accompanying spouse is that, nowadays, a vast majority of the "trailing wives" are used to lead a very busy life with have their own job, or even a challenging career of their own, and they are not satisfied any more with being "only" a stay-at-home mother and care-giver. On the other hand, pursuing their personal career in a foreign country, and language, and first of all finding the appropriate job (while juggling all the expatriation and integration hurdles at the same time for themselves, their spouse and their children) can be extremely daunting.

Nowadays, more often than not, the expatriate or diplomat that is sent abroad is a woman. Thus, an unprecedented phenomenon has appeared in the last years: the male accompanying spouse or "trailing husband".

A new phenomenon: the trailing husband

Although the issues they face are often similar to those of accompanying wives, they also face very specific, important, and somewhat controversial challenges, particularly in countries with traditional role models.

If the wife is the accompanying spouse and doesn't work, it is considered as normal anywhere in the world - but this is not true for a husband who follows his wife and doesn't work.

In particular, it is almost impossible for these "trailing husbands" to find local support groups. The existing ones are mostly women's clubs. On the other hand, the "expat clubs" tend to focus a lot on male expatriates who are career- or business-oriented and to look down at "stay-at-home dads".

The solution: A brand-new, customized coaching group specifically for the accompanying spouses of expatriates or diplomats

The goal of the coaching group for the "trailing spouses" (female or male) of expatriates or diplomats is to provide support and information in the following areas:

Generally speaking, coaching is a way to discuss current challenges and obstacles, to provide support and infrastructures for change, to allow shifts to take place, and to provide a sounding board for new ideas.
The coaching group is an open discussion group (with teleconferences PLUS a closed online discussion forum) where the "trailing spouses" can express their frustrations and difficulties. They also receive support and new ideas, not only from the coach, but also from the other participants.
They receive support and information if they want to find an appropriate job locally. Quite often, they are not aware of the intercultural differences, for example in the ways to present a résumé or a cover letter, or how job interviews take place in their new culture. If they are in a new place, they don't even know where to search and how.
In some cases, working free-lance or as a "tele-commuter" is the best option. In the group, we discuss the possibilities to leverage the Internet and the NTIC (New Technologies of Information and Communication) to do so. We also discuss how to market yourself as an independant professional or solopreneur.
If they can't find an suitable job in the new location, the goal of the coaching group is to support them in order to find a meaningful long-term occupation, like going back to college, starting new virtual studies through long-distance learning, or starting a fund-raising or humanitarian project.
Instead of being left by themselves to face their challenges, the coachees are also accountable for the strategies and action plans that they devised for themselves, which in turn creates momentum and allows them to achieve new goals more easily. Like individual coaching, group coaching makes the participants accountable for what they intend to do, after clear, realistic and time-bound goals have been set. This is usually a major factor that allows at the same time for quick results and long-term, sustainable success.
Like every expatriate, they live in environments that are often difficult to understand or master, while being cut away from their networks of friends, colleagues, associates and acquaintances. This is particularly true for those who don't master the local language well. Networking and mastering emotional and cultural intelligence are important skills in order to be successful as an expat or expat spouses (making friends) and in order to find a job or other meaningful occupations. We deal with networking techniques this in the group. Simultaneously, the networking that takes place between the members of the group is usually very nurturing and supportive.
We also deal with techniques that help them learn the new language most quickly and efficiently, according to the learning styles of the participants.
Group coaching on a telephone bridge, with a closed discussion board between the virtual meetings, is the most cost-effective way to bring together a group of people with common interests and challenges - even if they are scattered all over the world!

Group coaching outline

The agenda is co-created with the group.
The coach takes care that the group provides a creative, open, secure and interactive environment.
Each participant benefits from the advantages of coaching at a fraction of the cost of individual coaching.
Each member can experience being coached (by the coach and others) and also coaching others
On top of that, he/she benefits also from the encouragements, synergies, networking opportunities, resources and creative ideas from the other group participants.

About the coach

Pascale Cotton has been a professional coach for expatriate executives, diplomats, the spouses of expats or diplomats, and international or mobile entrepreneurs, since 2002.
Before that, she has been a translator, conference interpreter, entrepreneur - and expat - since the age of 24.
She studied a total of 8 languages, including Japanese, translation, linguistics, political science, economics and literature at the best universities of 5 European countries up to PhD level.
After her training as a Master Practitioner in NLP, she has been trained as a coach at Coachville, USA, the biggest coach training institute in the world.
She coaches her clients on five continents in English, French or German.
She combines the American optimistic, success- and results-oriented approach to coaching with the more challenging and questioning European mindset.

Practical information

The group size is limited to 10 participants only in order to achieve extraordinary success.

The live coaching sessions take place through a telephone bridge with a phone number in the USA. The sessions are recorded. The recordings are made available to the participants only.

The program includes:

Three 60' group coaching calls per month, maximum 10 participants .
Assessments, questionnaires, documents, recommended readings and resources are privided, as appropriate, during the coaching program
Email exchange with the coach between sessions (up to 2 emails/week)
Closed forum for an unlimited exchange between the participants
Closed vault where the coach and the participants put written or audio documents at the disposal of the participants
Unlimited access to the recordings of the coaching sessions

The goal of coaching is not to provide quick fixes but to provide and maintain long-term results. For this reason, and although the participants can cancel their participation any time with a 1 month notice, they are expected to invest time and efforts into the coaching program for at least six months.

New participants can be admitted to the group every month until it reaches 10 participants. After that, new groups can be created.

The payment takes place in advance through Paypal, until the end of one month, for the coaching of the following month. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted.

A complimentory individual interview (15' to 20') before joining the coaching group is mandatory. Please contact me at office@aplusb-coaching.info for an appointment.

The group coaching sessions take place every 1st , 2nd and 3rd Tuesday of every month at 2 pm, Central European time (8 AM EST).

Costs: 87 € (approx. 113 US$) per month, everything included (see above. The payment takes place with the Paypal button below. It is a recurrent monthly payment until you cancel.

What are the next steps if you want to be coached by me?

2008-11-21T08:14:00.000+01:00

I spend a lot of time answering inquiries about my coaching services, usually with more or less the same questions. Therefore I attempt here to summarize the most usual answers that I provide to these questions.

Where have you been trained as a coach?
What is your academic and professional background?

You'll find (almost) everything on my Linkedin profile.

What kinds of clients do you coach, and in which format?

I coach specifically these target groups:

Expatriate executives or diplomats (individual coaching / group coaching / teleclass programs).
The accompanying spouses of expats or diplomats (group coaching / teleclass programs). Please note that I provide individual coaching to a trailing spouse only if he/she is an expat executive or an entrepreneur.
Multicultural teams, who can also be virtual teams at the same time.
International entrepreneurs / solopreneurs / infopreneurs - mostly in the various areas of information and knowledge transfer: coaches, trainers, writers, speakers, therapists, etc. The coaching takes place in the form of individual coaching. Teleclass programs and coaching groups will be launched in 2009.

Please note that I don't coach persons who don't belong to these categories, but I can sometimes provide a referral to another coach.

You can find information about my coaching groups and teleclass programs on every specific blog. The list of all my blogs can be found at the bottom of every blog, like this one.

Can you send names and contact information of clients and explain on which projects or in which areas you are coaching them, or which results they achieved thanks to the coaching?

Absolutely not!

First of all, I take the ethics in my profession extremely seriously. Therefore I never provide the names and contact information of my clients to anybody for whatever reason. This applies to current and past clients alike. I never talk to anybody either about the individual projects or issues that my clients deal with through my coaching, as they are alsmost always very personal or business sensitive ones. I never do any exception with these ethical principles - otherwise it wouldn't deserve to be called ethics.

Coaching is a very individual process and a coach can be a good fit for one person and not for another one, or for a person dealing with an issue in which the coach is not specialized or knowledgeable enough. On the other hand, I also choose my clients. For example, I don't accept clients whom I consider as not coachable, who deal with issues that are of a therapeutic kind, or who have unrealistic expectations. That is why I request that potentiel clients have 3 individual coaching sessions with me before we sign a coaching contract together (see below). These 3 sessions gives also the potential client the opportunity to test if they like my coaching.

In order to be "coachable", you must be able to set up your own mind as a self-sufficient human being, recognize and accept your own feelings fully, and deal accordingly. This is also another reason why I don't provide the names of my clients. I want to work only with people who don't need external advice to act and move forward.

Coaching is about finding your own solutions, not copying what other people do.

Anyway, as I only want to work with satisfied clients, any client who wants to cancel a coaching or teleclass subscription can do this anytime (see below).

In which languages does the coaching take place?

I totally trilingual French / English / German. I coach my clients mostly in English or French, but I am glad about any new client in German!

Do you provide free coaching sessions or free interviews?

Absolutely not, for many reasons:

I don't need to prove that I am a good coach, as my clients and partners confirm this everyday.
My time is very valuable and I am not interested in spending it with people who cannot afford individual coaching (they can participate in my group programs anyway) or who are not motivated enough to pay for 1, 2 or 3 individual sessions first.
I provide a lot of added value already in the first individual coaching sessions.
I am not desperate to find new individual clients. I want only very few individual clients - but only extremely motivated and competent ones. The rest of my business is focussed on the creation of group programs, e-learning and ebooks.
People who want to get acquainted with me as a coach can read all my 18 blogs and websites and subscribe to my newsletters.
If, after that, they want to experience my coaching "live", they can participate in my free teleconferences, my coaching groups or my teleclass programs.

But if I want to test your individual coaching, what can I do?

It is normal for potential clients to want to test my coaching and if they feel that I am a good fit for them.

At the same time, I select my clients and choose to work only with those who are extremely competent and highly motivated, as I want to work only with people who have the potential to achieve outstanding and long-lasting results quickly.

For all these reasons, I ask the interested persons to subscribe to one invidual coaching session, using the "Buy Now" button on the right of each blog. If both parties, the client and I, are interested in continuing to work together after this initial session, I ask the potential client to subscribe to 2 further individual sessions. At the end of the 3rd session, I'll propose a contract to the person or not, and this person will be free to sign up or not. It is a bidirectional testing process.

Another way to get acquainted with me as a coach, and as an expert in expatriation, intercultural communication and the various aspects of entrepreneurship and marketing, you have the possibility to participate in my teleclasses (for free or for a fee) and coaching groups first.

In the future, as the number of my teleclasses, coaching groups and e-learning programs will grow, I intend not to accept individual clients any more who haven't taken at least one of my group programs first.

How does the coaching take place?

The individual coaching takes place through the telephone, the Internet and an exchange of emails and electronic documents (assessments, questionnaires, ebooks, articles, and various other resources).

The client can choose between the coaching with a webcam, which is particularly useful for people who are very visual or kinesthesic (feelings oriented), and the coaching through a teleconference bridge, which allows to record all the sessions. The clients receives the recordings in MP3 quality a few hours after the session, without any additional cost. This is particularly useful for auditory people, or for clients with very challenging issues (for ex. entrepreneurs), who want to hear the sessions again in order to get all the "juice" out of the sessions.

Coaching is not about quick fixes, but a way to achieve deep and long-lasting results, even if the first positive results usually appear within the first weeks. Therefore I can accept only clients who, from the beginning, are willing to invest in at least 6 to 12 months of coaching. The coaching contract is on a subscription basis and not limited in time. The client and the coach can cancel any time though (see below).

What does the coaching cost?

I provide a few 1-hour teleclasses or "Ask the Expat Coach" teleconferences for free. They are announced on my blogs.

Group coaching and teleclass programs are usually paid on a monthly subscription basis. The fees are always announced together with the program.

The fees for the initial individual sessions can be checked by clicking on the "Buy Now" button on the right side of the relevant blog. They are higher for entrepreneur (see my Expat Entrepreneurs blog).

Individual coaching above the 3 initial sessions is paid on a subcription basis. The monthly fees can be seen by clicking once on the "Payment Plan" button on the right side of each blog.

The fees for the coaching of entrepreneurs are higher than my fees for expatriates and diplomats. It can be found on my Expat Entrepreneurs blog.

Please don't subscribe to a payment plan for individual long-term coaching before the end of the 3rd initial session and before we have agreed upon a contract together!!!

All the coaching fees are paid exclusively per credit card on Paypal, which is a totally secured, international payment system. Paypal also manages the monthly payments on a subscription basis.

Please note that different conditions apply to the coaching for corporations (coaching of expatriates and multicultural virtual teams).

Can I cancel before the end once I signed up a coaching contract, or subscribed to a group coaching or teleclass program?

Absolutely, because I want to work exclusively with extremely motivated and highly satisfied clients anyway. You can cancel your coaching subscription on PayPal anytime. Please note that if you recently paid for a month in advance, I'll provide the remaining paid sessions if you want them. Otherwise, they cannot be reimbursed.

This cancelling policy applies not only to invididual coaching subscriptions, but also to teleclass or group coaching programs.

I am eager to start individual coaching with you as soon as possible. I have read everything above. Now, what are the next steps?

If you belong to the target categories of clients that I mentioned, the next step is to subscribe to your first initial test session using the 'Buy Now" button on the relevant blog.

I also ask test clients to send, prior to the initial session, an email to me answering these questions:

What are the 3 main goals that you want to reach within the next 1 or 2 years, or the 3 key areas of your life that you are currently trying to develop or improve? If you have more than 3, please choose the 3 that would make the most difference in your life or in your business once you have reached a positive outcome.
Which steps or actions are you already undertaking in order to achieve these results?
In which areas or for which specific steps (among the above) are you stuck or do you think you need my coaching most urgently?
Once you have reached these 3 main goals or objectives, or improved these 3 areas, which difference will it make in your life or business? What will you see, how will you feel, what will you do?

Please send your résumé, links to your websites or blogs, and an electronic picture, together with your answers to these questions.

Please note that this article applies to invididual clients, not to organizations or corporations who want to hire me as a coach.

What kinds of results do my coaching clients achieve through my coaching?

2008-07-24T18:24:00.013+02:00

I have different types of clients:

expatriates, diplomats and their trailing spouse
international or mobile entrepreneurs (who are often expats wanting to become self-employed in their new country, or expat spouses).

I have helped my expatriate or diplomat clients achieve consistently the following results over the years:

prepare for and manage the physical and psychological aspects of the relocation, the transition into a new culture (culture shock) and the integration process - together with their family
become immediately efficient at work in the crucial but stressful first 100 days
master the challenges of intercultural communication and leadership
lead multicultural and remote (virtual) teams successfully
learn the new language quickly and efficiently by using their own learning styles and NLP techniques
master the hurdles of intercultural communication at work (colleagues and team) and in private
create and develop new professional and social networks, make friends quickly with local people & maintain long-distance relationships (private and professional ones)
maintain a solid personal foundation despite the stress of coping with new environments, a new lifestyle, new relationships and a foreign culture
develop a good work/life balance an, in particular, find the time to discover the new country and culture
master the different phases of culture shock and integration
plan the next steps of their international career
find a new job abroad or at home
manage the often ignored difficulties of impatriation.

My entrepreneurial clients are mostly self-employed service professionals who are creating, or have already created, their own business based on their specific expertise, in the area of information management and knowledge transfer. They are trainers, consultants, coaches, writers, speakers, etc. Although working usually from their home-office, they develop their business internationally, based on the Internet, e-marketing and the NTIC (New Technologies of Information and Communication).

I help them

make the shift from being self-employed and trading their time for money, to being successful business owners
develop their business around their own values, their vision and their mission
identify their unique expertise and specialities
define 1 or 2 specific niches in which they become the absolute experts and which bring high revenues
create and develop programs and info-products, for ex. ebooks, teleclasses or teleconferences, audio and video recordings, seminars and events, etc.
identify and apply systematically the marketing methods that are the most appropriate to sell their products and services, and fit their personality
leverage everything they do in order to develop multiple streams of income
multiply their revenues through residual (recurring) income and even through passive income
develop their business as a "portable business" that can be run from anywhere in the world
automate, delegate or delete, in order to bring their business to the next level - so that it can ultimately be run and provide revenues even without them
use strategic partnerships to develop their business
develop an international strategy in order to leverage what they do in different languages.

I strongly believe that a service business can be successful only if it is based on excellence in the following areas:

skills and expertise of the business owner
management (even a home-business requires strong management skills)
technique (Internet, organization of virtual trainings and events, use of software, etc.)
marketing (including all the new methods of marketing that are constantly being created, like social networks).

Too many service professionals make the mistake to believe that their personal skills and expertise are sufficient to become successful in areas where they don't event need to make investments, as they already own a computer, a telephone, a printer and a broadband Internet access. My coaching aims at developing fully the potential of the 3 other crucial elements: management, technique and marketing.

Last but not least, having an excellent work/life balance and sound personal foundations is also crucial for success as an entrepreneur. I also help my entrepreneur clients achieve this through my coaching.

Generally speaking, my clients also report a number of untangible and not measurable benefits as the result of the coaching: balance and fitness, concentration and focus on their goals, self-esteem, physical and mental dynamics, replacement of limiting beliefs by supporting ones, improvement of personal and business relationships and communication, just to name a few.

Interactive dialogue with the readers

2008-06-18T14:51:00.000+02:00

For the last few months, I have been spending quite a lot of time creating this blog and writing articles. But a blog is also an interactive too. Therefore, all my readers are kindly invited to use the "comment" function on this blog, below this article, in order to express their impressions, wishes, etc. Are there in particular any specific subjects that you would like to be covered or developed?

Thanks a lot and "see" you soon on this blog!

What is a "portable business"?

2008-05-10T10:32:00.000+02:00

I published recently an article about "What is a "portable business"?" on my blog Expat & Mobile Entrepreneurs. You can read the article here...

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

2008-03-17T19:21:00.002+01:00

I just published an article on my other blog, "Expat Coaching", about EFT or the Emotional Freedom Technique. You can read the article here.

Telework, virtual work and virtual businesses: new trends in the 21st century - and great opportunities for expat spouses

2008-03-11T14:22:00.002+01:00

I participated recently in a teleclass about "The Virtual Work Life", which gave me a few interesting insights and generated further thoughts on my part about the subject.

This virtual work life can have different aspects:

Being a "telecommuter", i.e. working from home instead of driving to the company every day. This can be done for 1 or several days a week, or even permanently. Telecommuting is practiced by a growing number of companies, in particular in the areas of information technology (IBM, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, just to name a few) and consulting (Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young).
Working from home as a self-employed "solopreneur" (solo-entrepreneur). This has been done for quite a long time by consultants and other professionals that deal with the transfer of information and knowledge. In this case, it is also possible to work partly at the client's office and/or to be employed for several months in a row by a single client.
Therefore, the borderline between being employed and self-employed (i.e. small business owner) is getting more and more unclear as new ways of collaboration appear, that are often appreciated by young and mobile executives. This is particularly possible in countries with a very flexible market place, like the USA or Switzerland, and still difficult in other countries that have a heavy system that aims at the protection of employees, like France.
Another aspect of the virtual work life is that, if you are a solopreneur or small business owner, you can live in a country and do business with clients in another country. There is a strong trend nowadays in favor of ourtsourcing services, in particular if they are provided at a lower cost than in your own countries. Therefore, American or European business people can have their website designed in China for only a few dollars, and hire an English-speaking virtual assistant in India. Americans are discovering this kind of international collaboration now, but it has been practiced already for ages between European countries, and long before the opening of the borders within the European Union.
This kind of outsourcing is spreading very quickly nowadays because of the development of computers and the NTIC (New Technologies of Information and Communication).
The development of international projects requires very often the creation of virtual teams that are spread across several countries. Virtual teams are a new way to work together that could only appear as a result of the development of email and teleconferences. Quite often, they make it superfluous to send executives as expatriates on a short- or long-term expat assignment.

What do these trends mean for the spouses of expatriates?

Telecommuting on a permanent basis, for one or several years, can be considered as a serious opportunity to keep your job while being abroad. But it may require that you fly home quite often, for example once a month. It also requires to be able to manage your time and your work, to be technologically fit, to invest in various kinds of technical devices, etc. You might find after some time that you have all the disadvantages of being employed (pressure to finish projects, lack of independence) while having none of the advantages (the lack of exchange with colleagues being usually considered as the main one).
It has never been so easy to work from home as a solopreneur. But, in order to be successful, you need to be highly qualified and experienced in a specific area with a specific client base. Otherwise, you are more than before a small fish in a big pound - competing also with people from low-cost countries. Despite this restriction, expat spouses can create their own "portable business" from home, just using their computer and Internet connection.

I'll write more in the future about the home-business or solopreneur opportunities for "trailing spouses", and also about the various aspects of running your own "portable business".

In the meantime, here are a few interesting resources about telecommuting:

The Telework Coalition is an association of teleworkers or telecommuters.
"Working from Home: It is in the Details" is a special report that was published last week (February 12th) by Business Week. There is also a Virtual Workplace Podcast. Unfortunately, the other links that are mentioned don't work.

New and original expat survey

2008-03-01T15:19:00.003+01:00

I invite all my expatriate readers to participate in the survey that is mentioned below. The article is written by Kate Goggin, writer and editor, whose website is here.

Participate in our survey: At Home Abroad: How Design and Architecture Influence Overseas Living in association with the Interchange Institute.

Do you live overseas currently? Does your international home measure up to your expectations? Whether you live in a castle, a cottage, a hut or a hovel, I am interested in your story - how you made a home in a faraway land and how it affects your work, your family and your life.

Take part in this exciting new survey by The Interchange Institute.

The results will help us:

Document the importance of home environments to overseas living.

Examine the relationship between housing choices and expat assignment success.

Desired participants:

Anyone who is currently living outside his/her passport country for either his/her work or education, or for a spouse's/partner's work/education is eligible.

We encourage both spouses/partners to complete the survey if possible. They will need different computers to do so, however.

Help us understand:

How you chose and settled into your home.

Whether and how your home affects your overall expatriate experience.

How the layout, design, and/or furnishings of your home affect your family’s interaction.

The survey takes about 20 minutes. To show our appreciation, we will award a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate to one participant for every 50 people who complete the entire survey.

Questions? Contact: Dr. Anne Copeland, The Interchange Institute, copeland@interchangeinstitute.org (617) 566-2227 (USA) or Kate Goggin, kate@kategoggin.com.

Photo submissions are encouraged. Please contact me for more details.

View home-related clips on international housing and antiquing in Europe.

Survey about the relocation issues of expatriate families

2008-02-20T12:53:00.004+01:00

Robin Pascoe, "the Expat Expert" who published several books about expatriates, created a survey about the relocation issues of expat families and the support that they received.

I can only encourage you to take the survey, as it will provide valuable insights from the perspective of the families.

I quote 2 paragraphs from the web page about the survey:

"There are numerous relocation surveys that examine the challenges of relocation in order to help companies and sponsoring organizations to better develop relocation policies. But, with very few exceptions, they neglect to go straight to the source—the family—for input.

Family Matters! will fill this gap by sampling only the accompanying spouse, the working partner in his/her capacity as spouse or parent, and any high school children in the family. The entire family can do this survey with lots of room provided to give us your opinions. As we are only offering one survey (instead of multiple surveys depending on where you fit in the family) do keep in mind that some questions may not apply to you. Just skip them.

In recognition of your contribution to this important exercise, after we have collected all the responses, we will be making a donation of $2.00 CDN for each survey to a very well-respected Canadian organization which helps families in Africa called The Stephen Lewis Foundation which can be found at www.stephenlewisfoundation.org."

at any time to do the survey

The Evolution of the Relocating Spouse/Partner

2008-02-11T12:08:00.000+01:00

Worldwide ERC, the Workforce Mobility Association, publishes this month a new article about expat partners. Although it is a bit long, I reproduce it below. The original article can be found here. It describes in a very detailed manner the evolution of the issues of the "trailing spouses" or partners of expatriates, particularly since the 80s. It also provides interesting perspectives about the future "Gen Y" expats, or the next generation of expatriate executives. Unfortunately, the authors don't describe how the support of the trailing spouses or partner can and should be provided, in particular in the form of specific individual or group coaching programs that are tailored to their needs. It also focusses mostly on the issues of expat wives although, nowadays, the "trailing spouse" is more often than not a trailing husband.

"The Evolution of the Relocating Spouse/Partner

MOBILITY Magazine, February 2008

The role of the accompanying partner in a relocation has metamorphosed into a factor that can be ignored only at an organization’s peril. Bello and Tinder explore the changing face of the relocating spouse/partner during the last three decades and the trends that will determine partner relocation assistance in the future: continued globalization and the proliferation of Generation Y in the workforce.

By Lorraine Bello, GMS, and Galen Tinder

In the torrid world of corporate recruiting and hiring, gaining, and retaining talent, and moving human resources around the globe in the quest for a competitive edge, the question of how companies can assist the partners and families of these movable resources does not necessarily preoccupy corporate chieftains. And yet, companies concerned about what has been characterized as everything from a war to a tug for talent would be well-advised to consider the value of partner career assistance in the context of global human resource efforts.

Whether we are right now in the midst of a talent war is not the huge question of the moment that some find it to be, for the plain fact is that no company can have too much talent, ever. Even in our globetrotting economy, one in which, it should be noted, distributed work is still struggling to find purchase, the acquisition and global disbursement of talent means relocating people.

For a number of years, surveys and studies have demonstrated that the employee’s family, whether a spouse or a spouse and children, has a major effect on the success of a move and, therefore, on the employee’s performance in his new position. By way of illustration, note some data from the “2007 Emerging Trends in Global Mobility: Policy and Practices Survey,” by Cartus, Viejo, CA:

family concerns most often derail assignments;
among the top three reasons why employees turn down assignments, family or personal circumstances (e.g., spouse’s career) was cited almost twice as often (90 percent of respondents) as concern with employee’s career (48 percent) or compensation (46 percent);
family adjustment is one of the key factors behind assignment acceptance and success; and
because companies report that talent management and developing global competencies are among their greatest challenges, corporate mobility policies must be flexible enough to address the specific needs of families in global transition so that companies can attract and retain the workforce they need to compete.

Other surveys have confirmed that the problem of spouse/partner adjustment both deters employees from accepting global relocations and, for those who go, leads to premature departures for home.

Not all of these situations are rooted in spouse/partner issues, but enough are that companies realize the need to improve services in this area.

While we have heard much beating on the recruiting-for-talent war drums during the last year, companies are realizing that employee retention is as important as the recruiting function. Talent acquired is talent squandered if it is not retained. When we address the potential effect of Generation Y on global employment patterns, we will see that retention issues can grow only more pressing as we close out this decade.

The history of the so-called “trailing spouse” encompasses a brief period near the end of the 20th century. Thirty years ago, company executives took little notice of the fate of the spouse in relocation. For one thing, the relocation industry as we know it today did not exist—there were no relocation departments. On good days, the entirety of a company’s relocation plan might reach its pinnacle when a human resource (HR) representative would unceremoniously hand the departing transferee a few hundred dollars to help with “getting there and getting set up.” By the same token, not many spouses were clamoring for help.

The Face of the Partner/Spouse Since 1980

The early 1980s. Relocation practices began to acquire substance in the early 1980s as they emerged from the primitive days when the term “relocation industry” was more projective than descriptive. So, the history of the spouse, as she was called in these early days, begins here.

In the early ’80s, relocations were less frequent than they are today, and the “face” of the average spouse bore scant resemblance to her present day counterpart. Here is the outline of the spouse portrait:

The “trailing spouse” was always a woman.
Most spouses were not working at this time. If they were, their jobs usually were part-time and not part of a career; their function was to give the family budget a little room to breathe or to supply “pin money” for the spouse.
Most women accepted relocation as part of being married to an up-and-coming success.

This does not mean that women in relocation were idle observers. They were responsible for most relocation logistics including the packing, transportation, and unpacking of family belongings. The men had their marching orders—tackle the new job with fervor, and the women theirs—take care of the homefront, including any children, and create an oasis of nurturing calm to which the employee returned at the end of a grueling day.

This orderly and idyllic scene was not so placid below the surface. Whether relocations should be taken was rarely debated and the husband’s professional interests were in the driver’s seat. This did not mean that all relocated spouses were eager to move when the necessity arose. Leaving friends and familiar locales before getting connected with new friends and supports could be emotionally wrenching, but these feelings were rarely given a public airing. The calm before the storm, one might say.

The mid- and late 1980s. The key engine for change in this decade was the women’s movement. By the mid-1980s, the ground-breaking book “The Feminine Mystique,” penned by one-time conventional housewife Betty Friedan, had been out for 20 years and helping to stoke what would later be characterized as the first wave of feminism. The first wave focused on the basic right of American women to be free of gender-based violence and mistreatment of all sorts.

The second wave of feminism emphasized the rights of women to enjoy the same access to opportunities that men have, especially in the areas of employment and compensation. As women entered the workforce and gained positions of authority, they became less amenable to trailing silently along in the wake of their husbands’ careers. This perspective had an effect on companies when they discovered that unhappy or maladjusted spouses could—even unintentionally—sandbag a husband’s transfer either before or after the relocation. Some HR managers recognized that the rough edges of a spouse’s emotional adjustment to a new area could be exacerbated beyond recovery by vocational and work issues.

In response to this changing profile of the (still) trailing spouse, a number of companies greeted the turn of the decade by incorporating spousal career programming into their package of relocation benefits.

The 1990s. During the last decade of the 20th century the profile of the spouse continued to evolve out of changes rooted in the ’80s. By the dawn of the new millennium, most women worked at least part-time and many were in full-time positions. More companies inaugurated spousal relocation programs as they realized that for a comparatively tiny sum, they could increase the success rate of their transferees substantially. In addition to this awakening, there were other factors contributing to the growth of spousal benefits.

In the 1980s, relocated employees were nearly always the beneficiaries of a promotion, which helped to soften the hardship suffered by family members. With the onset of company restructurings, promotions became less of a reason for moving. Instead, people had to move to retain their job and existing salary. This inclined the accompanying spouses to focus more on the potentially negative effects of relocation on their own lives and the lives of their children.
The average length of job tenure dropped, partially as the result of an erosion, begun in the prior decade, of the employer-employee relationship. By the end of the decade, individuals could exercise options in the world of free agency or move to another company with relative ease.
“Spouses” no longer were just spouses and the term “trailing”—always inaccurate—became unfashionable, as well. As women rose in managerial and professional status, men entered the mix of spouses on the move, as did partners, both gay and straight. The pejorative term “trailing” slowly was replaced by the more dignified “accompanying,” and the designation of “partner” entered the vocabularies of relocation professionals who wanted their terminology to reflect their programs’ inclusiveness.
In the 1990s, the global economy began to take definite shape, causing a steady increase in overseas relocations. At the same time, it became evident that even overseas moves did not necessarily enhance the employee’s value to his or her own company, while often exacerbating both quality of life and financial concerns. This further accented the need for partner relocation services.
More corporate and HR managers made the connection between the well-adjusted partner and the employee’s smooth transition to a new position.
The rise of the dual-income family was accompanied by the evolution of the work-life balance movement. In this context, the partner became an advocate for healthy lifestyles. Once again, the corporate mission was enlarged beyond the mere provision of remunerative employment. Companies also needed to be attentive to the effect of work on the life of the employee and their families. Thus, the work-life movement subtlety reinforced the belief by partners that companies bore at least some responsibility for the quality of life enjoyed by the employee and his or her family.

The New Millennium’s First Decade and Beyond

During the first decade of the 21st century, the evolution of the partner’s profile continued along its 1990s trajectory. Today, partner relocation assistance is an established benefit in many companies. One question that those responsible for designing retention programs soon will confront is whether the need for partner career assistance is likely to grow or diminish and, if the former, how it will need to adapt to changing realities in the workplace. To answer this question we need to look at how the profile of the relocating partner will change in coming years.

The world of work in the 21st century will continue to feel the effects of two mega-trends—globalization and Internet development. Because they will help shape our workplace in key ways, these trends also will affect the partner’s profile during the next couple of decades.

The first of these mega-trends is globalization, about which little remains unsaid. Its relevance to our present topic is simply that the globe’s increasing need for economic interconnectedness guarantees a large number of global relocations, meaning the need for partner relocation benefits will be increasing.

The second mega-trend is generational. For a number of years, the generation following the Baby Boomers—Generation X—has received lavish attention from sociologists and the press. However, it now appears that this generation quickly will yield center stage to the larger and more distinctive Generation Y, whose members also are called “Millennials.” Generation Y encompasses those born between 1977 and 1998, give or take a couple years at either end. This means that their leading edge has been filtering into the workforce for several years now and that well-trained and educated Gen Yers will be moving into positions of responsibility during the next 20 to 30 years.

Generation Y has several defining characteristics. We should preface this with a couple of caveats. First, broad-based characterizations of any group of 70 to 80 million souls will not apply equally to all members and, to some, not at all. Second, we have seen a recent and understandable backlash from indignant Gen Yers who protest smug descriptions of them as self-indulgent, cocky, finicky, and undisciplined. So, with care, let us examine four Gen-Y trends that are both grounded in empirical studies and attested to by Gen Yers themselves, while noting their likely effect on partner relocation career programs.

First, Gen Y’s most distinctive trait is being the first generation to have grown up with the Internet and other high-tech paraphernalia. Gen Yers use technology as their primary means of communication. In their 2007 book, “Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know about Today’s College Students,” Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa surveyed more than 7,000 college students and found:

97 percent own a computer;
94 percent own a cell phone;
76 percent use some form of instant messaging; and
69 percent have a Facebook account.

High-tech is fully integrated into the world of Gen Y, and the members of this cohort will be in the forefront of adopting, if not designing, new developments. To quote Dr. Larry Rosen, author of the “Mental Health Technology Bible,” “Technology just is for them. It’s part of every aspect of their lives, unlike a lot of the people they will be coming to work for.”

Gen Yers will have no patience for corporate-sponsored programs that are not technologically up-to-date. Career services change every year by new applications of technology and no supplier of such services can afford to lag behind in using them for client benefit.

In addition, Gen Yers have been conditioned by the Internet to appreciate conciseness in written documents. Few of them will wade through 20 pages on interview preparation; they will look instead for a three-page summary, dipping into the longer version only as necessary.

Those who seek to label Gen Yers as self-obsessed are wide of the mark. It is more accurate to say they will not tolerate unsatisfactory situations for as long as the preceding generations. Gen Yers have grown up with choices and are not inclined to accept what they find at first blush. From the Internet, and often from their parents, they have learned to look for options.

In designing programs for Gen Yers, it is important to offer an array of standard options while also being willing to draw outside the lines now and then. For some relocation providers, this will mean offering a menu of services from which Gen Ys can choose what is appropriate to them and to their liking. Without this variety and customization, Gen Yers quickly will look elsewhere.

Also, in Generation Y, we are seeing the final reverberations of the layoffs of the 1980s, coupled with a skepticism about the moral compass of large institutions and their claims on employee loyalty. Gen Yers will hesitate to make long-term commitments to any institutions, and they will outdo every previous generation in the brevity of their job tenures. At present, they are changing jobs every 18 months. HR departments already should be working on methods to retain these employees.

At this rate of job mobility, Gen Yers are not staying in place long enough to be relocated. Although average job tenures likely are to lengthen as Gen Yers mature, partner relocation programs may see a greater percentage of new hires in proportion to transfers.

Gen Ys also will match—and then outdo—previous generations in their need for flexible work arrangements that allow them to integrate work and the rest of life in the quest for that ever-elusive nirvana of balance. When Gen Yers encounter a bothersome policy, they will question its purpose. Responses such as, “Because that’s the way we have always done it” and vague rationalizations such as “It just works out best that way” will carry no persuasive force for Gen Yers. When companies try to make their employees hew to traditional structures, such as the 9-to-5, five-day-week-work schedule, Gen-Y employees will forcefully lobby for flexible scheduling. When their efforts are met with intransigence, they will depart for greener pastures of more agreeable companies.

This points again to the resistance of Gen Yers to what they find and are given. Sometimes they will look to customize simply on principle. Gen-Y service providers not only need to offer options, but be prepared to explain their utility. Gen Yers with family will be expecting and looking for partner relocation services. If they find nothing to their liking, a good number will not merely decline the transfer but look for a job change.

Finally, despite having grown up “Interneted,” or perhaps because of it, Gen Yers will value both single and group relationships. They may embody more than any previous generation the well-known maxim—high-tech high-touch—coined by futurist John Naisbitt. Two decades ago, Naisbitt predicted that as human communication relied more on technology, we would need to stay grounded in personal, face-to-face relationships. Some service providers may be duped into thinking that offering high-tech solutions will satisfy Gen Yers, but this will not be enough—they also will be looking for real connections with real people in real time.

Judging from the trends of the last 15 years, and what we know about globalization and about the style and mores of Generation Y, we can predict a continuing and even accelerating need for career and life/transition support for the relocating spouse and partner. The successful providers of such services will not wait long before developing programming customized by the coming flood of Gen Yers."

Lorraine Bello, GMS, is president of Ricklin-Echikson Associates, Inc. (REA), Millburn, NJ, and a member of the MOBILITY Editorial Advisory Committee. She can be reached at +1 973 376 2020 or e-mail lbello@eclipse.net.

Galen Tinder is senior consultant and manager for Ricklin-Echikson Associates, Inc. (REA), Millburn, NJ. He can be reached at +1 973 376 2020 or e-mail galentinder@gmail.com.

Foreign Service spouses and entrepreneurship

2008-01-20T17:17:00.000+01:00

This article is one of the most interesting that I have read for quite a long time about the spouses of expats and diplomats. Focussed on the spouses of the US Foreign Service diplomats, it presents the new opportunities that arise from the Internet and the NTIC (New Technologies of Information and Communication). Nowdays, highly qualified spouses of expatriates and diplomats can work remotely from the country where they are based. They also provide a competitive advantage due to their knowledge of foreign countries and languages. There is in fact nothing new here, as the employment opportunities that are described here cover in fact the very general area of professional services, in particular consulting. Also, being qualified plus international doesn't mean that you are going to be successful as a consultant. I have seen too many examples here in Geneva of trailing spouses hanging around and giving away their business card, who didn't understand that there are already a few hundreds here just like them - eventually, this can end up with a big depression or a costly break of the spouse assignment in order to return home. The combination of professional qualification and communication techniques is a great start, but in order to lead to succes, much more is needed: the mastery of the "old" and "new marketing skills, a huge network, and a strong support from a coach, among others. Although the article is a bit too optimistic in this respect, I like it because it really motivates the spouses to start their own high-qualified business or service. It also provides a small database of professional spouses.

For expatriate spouses who want to become entrepreneurs in Switzerland (in or near Geneva)

2008-01-15T12:42:00.000+01:00

If you are an expat spouses, live in Switzerland in or near Geneva, speak French... and want to become an entrepreneur and to create your own "portable business", then the article that I published on my other blog, "Expat & mobile entrepreneurs", is interesting for you.

A list of resources for trailing spouses, by Expat Women

2008-01-09T15:05:00.000+01:00

I already put a banner with a direct link to the Expat Women website (on the right of this blog) because it provides a number of great resources for female expatriates. For expat spouses specificically, there is a full page of resources with articles and links that I invite you to check.

Books for expats & trailing spouses

2007-11-30T12:31:00.000+01:00

I added recently a few books which are particularly useful for expats and trailing spouses. Each book that is presented has a direct link to www.amazon.com. Please have a look at the column on the right side of this blog! Some of them could even be the perfect present for your expat friends (or yourself?).

Kindle, a new electronic reader for e-books and magazines

2007-11-26T11:44:00.000+01:00

Amazon just launched its new electronic reader, with which you can download and read e-books and American and international newspapers and magazines. This is certainly a very interesting device for expats who want to subscribe to their newspapers from home without any delay, and to read the latest books without having to pack a whole library in their suitcases...

A new breed of professional expat spouse: the entrepreneur

2007-10-25T22:08:00.000+02:00

This article was published originally on http://www.expats.org.uk/. It presents the book "The Expat Entrepreneur" by Jo Parfitt. You can click on the link above to order the book on Amazon.com.

"Jo Parfitt looks at a new breed of professional expat spouse - the entrepreneur.

I have been running my own business for longer than I have been an expat wife. In fact, my first opportunity to leave '9-5' arose when I was just 25 years old. A year later I was living in Dubai, so working for myself seemed an obvious choice. Since then I have created and maintained what I call a 'shifting portfolio of portable careers'. Most have had something to do with writing, and so, during my 18 years abroad I have been a copywriter, journalist, CV writer, author, publisher and writing teacher and now help others to write their books. But I am also passionate about the concept of portable careers in general and have developed a range of books and workshops that focus on this topic too. Oh, and I have sold Dorling Kindersley books, made and sold date chutney and even framed my mother's watercolours of Oman to sell at Muscat craft fairs. Perhaps I am just a 'serial entrepreneur'?

You may not be comfortable describing yourself as an entrepreneur. It may be a term that makes you think of Bill Gates, Richard Branson or Anita Roddick. If you are happier to consider that you are 'freelance', 'self-employed', 'work for yourself' or 'run your own business', that's fine. It's the same thing.

For many expatriate partners, like you, working for yourself is the solution to the dual career problem. Running a business of some kind that can move when you do is the best way to retain a professional identity and even sanity while on the move. Work, for me, is a necessary constant amidst all that change.

Do you have what it takes?
So, could you be an expat entrepreneur? Ivan Gould recently conducted a survey to ascertain whether women or men were more cut out to run their own businesses. He found that sex had nothing to do with it. Both required the same five traits, which are:

Desire for control
Strong self-motivation
Problem-solving abilities
Flexibility and lateral thinking
Willingness to take risk

Look around you, at the proactive spouses in your community, whether they are working for wages or not, and you will see that they possess similar traits to those above.

Meet the expat entrepreneurs
Emma Bird first went to Milan to work as a journalist but before long had tired of the long hours. With a desire to be more in control, which also demonstrated her flexible thinking, she trained as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), took a risk and changed career. When she met Mario, Emma took another risk and moved to Sardinia with him. Here she found few work and networking opportunities solved the problem by deciding to start her own network, at www.weaveweb.it . Now that she has been self-employed for several years, yet still in her 20's, Emma's self-motivation can be seen in the fact that she has continued to add more skills to her portfolio and to spot opportunities. She still works as a freelance journalist, is writing a book on living in Italy for How To Books and now runs a second website offering advice to those who are thinking of coming to live in Italy, at www.howtoitaly.com .

Emma is perfect illustration of the kind of expatriate, female, entrepreneur that we are seeing these days. Over in Dubai, Maria McMahon began life in marketing, moved into business services and has now jumped on the recruitment band-wagon, where she runs Elite HR Services from her own villa. Debbie Jenkins was determined to create a business that moved when she did. Now based in a cave in Spain, she runs the virtual publishing company, Bookshaker.com with her brother, Joe, who is based in the UK. In April their book 'And Death Came Third' reached number 2 on Amazon.

Susanna Reay is an expat spouse based in Switzerland. She has just conducted research for a dissertation on the networking habits of female expatriate entrepreneurs, which highlights 'the emergence of a new breed of entrepreneur - 'the expatriate female entrepreneur [EFE]'.

Reay has discovered that while not all expatriate female entrepreneurs are also 'trailing spouses' their motivation to start a business shows that they are, indeed, natural entrepreneurs and do not follow this path simply through necessity.

'She [the EFE] is an 'idealistic sustainer', wanting to fulfil her business dream whilst maintaining a healthy work/life balance. This is made possible by being an astute businesswoman, with a clear vision and a business plan that is portable for possible future life-changes. She is generally aged between 31 and 50, multi-lingual, confidant, highly motivated, and a conscious and proactive networker,' writes Reay.

Having just had the privilege of attending the Shell Outpost Global Conference in Houston, I have been overwhelmed by the passion, drive, determination and problem-solving ability that was to be seen in each of the 88 Shell spouses who were there. The majority of them were working as volunteers, helping to run a range of settling in services for other Shell spouses, wherever they were living in the world. Interestingly, Reay considers the desire to be part of a large network as intrinsic to this expat entrepreneur, continuing:

'The EFE's sociability is core to her success and motivation in networking, along with a willingness to adapt and change with different locations. She builds a strong, supportive network of close family and peers to provide inspiration, motivation, emotional support, and tangible or informational resources when required. The EFE affiliates herself with several formal networks to help establish herself into the community as a serious business person [. . . ] Her strength lies in spotting niche markets that need to be met with an international yet personal touch to the business offering.'

Whether you have ambitions to be the next Gates or Roddick, to do business from your kitchen table or just to hang onto your professional identity you can do it. You are an expatriate spouse. You are a born entrepreneur.

Jo Parfitt is an expatriate partner, who has lived and worked overseas for almost 20 years, in five different countries. She makes her living from writing, speaking and teaching about what she has learned along the way. Find out more at her websites www.career-in-your-suitcase.com and www.summertimepublishing.com, where you can sign up for her free ezine, The Inspirer.

Susanna Reay is a British expatriate, currently residing in Basel, Switzerland. This research was completed for the final part of achieving an MBA with Brunel University, UK. Susanna currently works as a freelance consultant to small companies, helping them to develop an integrated business, marketing and design strategy for future growth.
Contact: susereay @ hotmail.com

Expat Entrepreneurs Indulge a Wanderlust

2007-07-31T20:20:00.000+02:00

Mark Abouzeid always dreamed of retiring in Italy, where he'd lived as a child before growing up in America and becoming an investment banker. In 1994, Abouzeid quit banking, started a dot-com venture and, a year after that, moved his wife and two children from Florida to Italy.

MARK HENRICKS

By 1991, he was living in a century-old villa in a medieval Tuscan town, consulting to other dot-co, trading in real estate and making olive oil from his own trees.

For Americans attracted by the promise of living in another culture -- or simply bored with life in the U.S. -- overseas entrepreneurship can allow them to earn a living in another country while avoiding work-visa rules that make regular employment difficult.

Many succeed, to some degree at least. According to the Internal Revenue Service, in 2004 more than 15,600 individual tax returns reported foreign-earned business or professional income.

Most expatriate entrepreneurs fly under the radar, running home-based businesses that escape official notice.

"It's the ultimate daydream," says Robin Pascoe, a North Vancouver, British Columbia, author and publisher of books about expatriates. "Pick a country you want to live in and find something to do that will support a lifestyle."

Entrepreneurs who start overseas lifestyle businesses tend to be middle-aged people who have been successful in their careers, according to Pascoe. They typically start service businesses, such as inns or English-language tutoring, although Internet retailing has recently become another option.

Beyond neighbouring nations such as Canada and Mexico, and alluring European countries, the Central American country of Belize has been a hot spot for expats recently, Pascoe says.

Obstacles to making it as an expat entrepreneur include language, loneliness, bureaucracy, corruption and business practices that are sometimes incomprehensible to an American.

"It always depends on the country," Pascoe says. Some are "desperate for foreign investment in U.S. dollars. Others will be suspicious of whether you're taking business away from locals."

Many expats start businesses that cater to other expats. Jill Lengré grew up in Los Angeles and spent nine years in France before moving to Mexico City with her husband, a French pharmaceutical executive, in 2003. Lengré is starting a Web portal for expat women with partner Andrea Martins, another trailing spouse, as they are sometimes called. The two opted for entrepreneurship because they wanted flexibility to care for children, portability for the inevitable day when one or both spouses were transferred, and the opportunity to earn money without a work visa.

In getting the site up and running, the partners have encountered the same hurdles entrepreneurs find in any country, Lengré says. But they added complexity when by choosing to set up an offshore corporation run through an Australian trust that will allow them to keep the business going when one or both left Mexico.

"It just happened that we were in Mexico," says Lengré. "We could have been in Zimbabwe."

Even if an expat entrepreneur succeeds in with an under-the-radar Web business, other kinds of local regulations can trip them up.

Abouzeid says a divorce forced him to sell his villa and convey to his former spouse the online travel business they'd started. The divorce process exacted a considerable toll, thanks to Italian law requiring a three-year legal separation that itself took over a year to arrange.

Today, he mostly works as a free-lance photographer for real-estate and travel publications. Although he earned far more as an investment banker, he doesn't miss the long hours or the glittering lifestyle of his former career.

"All the things I used to buy to distract myself are no longer necessary," he says. "I walk outside the door, I have a view that Michelangelo painted. I have a restaurant down the street that cooks some of the best truffle pasta in the world."

Published in Business Day - The Voice of Business on May 7th, 2007

Coaching the Trailing Spouse: A Model for Relocation Success

2007-07-31T16:27:00.000+02:00

In the July edition of Relocation Today, there is an interesting article about the need for coaching the accompanying partner or trailing spouse, and how coaching can improve the whole ajustment process. It is rather obvious that the author comes more from the therapeutic than the coaching field, and I regret that only a few aspects of expat coaching are mentioned, like organizing the move and networking. A lot more is involved in reality, like reinventing yourself in a foreign setting, developing meaningful activities, finding a new job or creating a business, etc. But sentences like the following one are really music to my expat coach ears: "Typically, relocation packages do not include coaching to support family transition. An employer who views a new hire as part of a family unit and includes services for the emotional and development needs of the family communicates the business's balanced values of family, work and community."

10 Ways to a Killer Blog

2007-07-11T13:50:00.000+02:00

The Trailing Spouse Survey

2007-06-25T20:21:00.001+02:00

The Trailing Spouse Survey, by Yvonne McNulty, is the result of 4 years of research about the issues of accompanying spouses around the world. For more information, please click here.

Resource for trailing husbands

2007-06-20T18:52:00.000+02:00

"Trailing husbands" or male trailing partners of expatriates, diplomats or international civil servants are a new phenomenon and their numbers are increasing. Apart from several issues that they they have to deal with, that are exactly the same as in the case of expat wifes, they also encounter specific situations and problems. For example, the clubs and networking opportunities for expat spouses are mainly female. Stay-at-home dads are largely mistunderstood in many cultures. Even if a trailing husband welcomes at first the opportunity of taking 2 or 3 sabbatical years, the "hole" that appears afterwards on the résumé can be dangerous for the further development of his career.

I just created a new mailing list on Yahoogroups specifically for trailing husbands who want to discuss these issues and situations.

In order to register, please click here.
or use the Yahoogroups function above.

Stay-at-Home Dad Handbook

2007-05-18T19:08:00.001+02:00

If you want to see the content of the Stay-at-Home Dad Handbook, click here.

"Written by a stay-at-home dad for other stay-at-home dads, this handbook addresses the particular parenting issues men face when they become the primary caregivers. This "man-friendly" resource offers practical solutions to such challenges as living well on one income, understanding the wife's breadwinner status, cleaning the house without feeling overwhelmed, and networking in a female-oriented community. Creative anecdotes offer supportive and effective advice to help stay-at-home dads successfully deal with the psychological issues, as well as the everyday details, that make this parenting situation different. This advice-oriented guide also offers a special section of newsletters, online chat groups, playgroups around the country, and stay-at-home dad organizations.

Peter Baylies has been a stay-at-home dad for his two sons for over 10 years. He writes the At-Home Dad Newsletter and he is the founder of The At-Home Dad Network, a stay-at-home dad online community. His work has been featured or mentioned in the Boston Globe, the Christian Science Monitor, Men's Health, O, The Oprah Magazine, Parents, USA Today, and Woman's Day. Jessica Toonkel is the managing editor for Fund Marketing Alert/Fund Action. She has been a reporter and editor covering international business and finance for publications such as American Banker, American Lawyer, and Financial Net Alert."

Globalization in the 21st Century

2007-04-30T22:43:00.001+02:00

Trailing spouses and entrepreneurship

2007-04-22T21:39:00.000+02:00

Amazingly enough, some expat spouses move to a foreign country without enquiring properly beforehand if they are entitled to work at all once they arrive in the foreign country, and under which conditions.

In countries like Switzerland, for example, an expat couple usually gets a B permit. Therefore, only a spouse who comes from a country of the European Union may get a work permit, provided that they find a job - which means that they must prove that they are more qualified and competent than all the other Swiss candidates for a given job. If the spouse is not a member of a country of the European Union, she (or he) is not entitled to work at all. But this only means that this person cannot be hired by a local corporation and receive a work permit.

Under some circumstances, which depend from your host country, your nationality and various aspects, it is possible to work as an expat or trailing spouse, if you create what I call your "portable business" or virtual company. You can for example create a company in your host country. Or you can create an individual company or a micro-business in your home country, with its own office address and website, and then work from there. You can also create a business from a third country. When your husband or wife moves to another country, you can usually pursue your business from there too.

In any case, I wouldn't advise any "trailing spouse" to consider creating their own portable or virtual business in the first months after the move to another country. It is rather obvious that, 1st of all, you need time to adjust to everyday life, explore the new country and - last but not least - learn the local language in order to speak itfluently. Too many English-speaking spouses assume that they can do business anywhere in the world in English. This is not true, at least not if you want to be really successful. On top of that, learning the local language is also a way to adjust to the intercultural differences, which are an essential factor of success in business. It is also a key factor for networking locally, and for dealing with administrations, which are both essential for the creation and development of a business.

Another mistake that many trailing spouses make is assuming that becoming self-employed is just a nice part-time occupation from home. You need to have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, to run your business and to market your products or services - and all of this in an international context, and with much less support than you would have in your own country.

Therefore, first things first:

Take the necessary time and steps to adjust to the new country (learn the language, travel, read, network...). Don't consider creating a new business in the first adjustment phase, which lasts typically between 6 months and 1 year. You would have too much on your plate.
Hire an experienced coach in order to find out if being an expat entrepeneur is for you, and to help you with the creation of a business plan, the administrative steps (host and home country), etc. The role of an international business coach is also to help you avoid the costly pitfalls.
Create and develop your virtual business, including a website and other electronic marketing systems, with the ongoing support of your coach.