Gary, 57, and Joyce, 56, Thompson (pictured) run Alba Yarns in the village of Gensac in the Gironde.
They sell quality knitting yarns, patterns and accessories worldwide via the internet.
They have their own website www.albayarns.com and also an Ebay shop.
Most of their customers are in the UK or USA but they have sent orders to countries as diverse as Taiwan and Latvia.
How long have you been in business?
The business was registered in France as a micro-enterprise from July 1, 2007; we had been trading in Scotland since March 2006.
Why did you choose to do it?
Having holidayed in France for many years, we had always longed to make the great escape and live here permanently.
In 2002, we bought our piece of French soil from the local mairie, found a local architect and proceeded to build our own home.
For nearly three years we used the house as a holiday home, every time we visited it made us want to be here even more.
Well paid but increasingly unfulfilling jobs and our 14- year-old Tonkinese cat were the ties that bound us to Inverness in Scotland. Being a few years from retirement, we knew that we could not survive with no income.
We needed a business to provide this and keep us occupied.
Over the winter in 2005, I spent hours acquiring wool on the internet to knit a superb throw for the French house. One morning in early March, I had a true 'eureka' moment and the idea for Alba Yarns online shop was born.
There were lots more knitters who found it difficult to buy quality yarn. An internet based business can be run from anywhere - in theory.
My poor husband didn't get any peace for his breakfast that day but he couldn't find any fault with my business idea either, thankfully.
I was fortunate that my employers let me move to working three days a week instead of full time, when the business first started in Scotland.
Sales soon took off and in the summer of 2006 we put our house on the market and moved to France along with the now established business in April 2007.
How much did it cost to set up?
Initial stock, graphic designs and marketing cost in the region of £10k.
What was your expected income?
Our goals are modest; to pay our cotisations and tax - not be dot com millionaires.
What were the hurdles?
The normal bureaucracy and French language difficulties.
Everything just takes longer than you expect. For example, I gave up on trying to get a quote from a French printer for business cards and publicity material and went back to the printer I had used before in the UK.
The main challenge on a daily basis is the French postal system - it is more expensive, more complex and on the whole less efficient that the UK.
Internet and mail order businesses in France will be held back unless it is overhauled or competition is introduced to force change.
For Alba Yarns, this has mainly affected my customers in the UK - they were used to next day delivery at minimal cost.
Customers in the US, Canada and further afield notice little difference in cost or speed of delivery.
However, I have nothing but praise for the staff in my local Post Office, who have been very helpful.
Apart from the normal French language, I have the additional challenge of trying to fathom out French knitting language! But knitters are very determined folk and somehow we manage.
What would you have done differently?
Not a lot really. In an ideal world we would have arranged to extend the house in France before we arrived, to have a purpose built office and wool store.
Work to plan this is now underway.
There has been an element of re-building the business as my customer base has changed at bit, mainly due to the increased costs of postage from France to the UK.
However I am beginning to have quite a number of new French customers, who love he range of mostly natural fibre yarns I stock and customers in the USA and Canada are keen on my French manufactured yarn and patterns.
I have advertised in The Connexion and have had a number of contacts from that too. I also have a number of local customers and plan to start a 'knit n'natter' group for them to meet up and chat.
