Florida Subsidiary

Florida is the Tropics.
It's also the 3rd-largest economy in the US.

Florida is an excellent gateway to the North and South American markets. A unique legislative, regulatory, tax, and social framework — with its own culture, one worth understanding well. Here in particular, it will rarely be the law that protects you, but the contracts, the way you negotiate, pay, verify, and control.

Florida

A serious market. Numbers that speak for themselves.

Behind the clichés, one of the most dynamic economies in the Western world — and one of the most favorable environments for a foreign company looking to establish a presence in the United States.

$1.4T
GDP — 3rd in the US,
ahead of New York
+400,000
new residents per year —
record population growth
0%
state personal
income tax
22M+
residents — a market
in continuous expansion

World-class hubs, in sectors that go well beyond tourism:

⚓ Maritime & Logistics — Port of Miami, world's #1 cruise port
💊 Life Sciences & Pharma
🚀 Aerospace & Defense — Space Coast, NASA ecosystem, New Space
🏦 International Finance — Miami, banking capital of the Americas
🌐 Tech — Tampa, Miami, Orlando in strong growth
🌴 Tourism — $100Bn+/year, 130M visitors
Miami is one of the rare cities in the world to be simultaneously a North American metropolis and a gateway to 650 million Latin American consumers. Dozens of multinationals have set up their LATAM headquarters there.
Your project

Why open a subsidiary in Florida?

Expanding your addressable market into the US is often the primary goal. But there can be other primary or secondary motives — a few examples:

🏪
Commercial Hub

Open up the US market

Create a US legal entity to sign contracts under US law, hire a local sales force, respond to RFPs, and build credibility with clients who prefer dealing with an American company.

🌎
LATAM Hub

Miami as a bridgehead into the Americas

A pool of trilingual talent, banking infrastructure built for inter-American flows, a time zone covering the whole continent, direct flights to 30 capitals. Natural access to 650 million consumers — from a secure hub on US soil.

🏭
Production & Logistics

An industrial base in the United States

Industrial real estate costs well below the Northeast. Ports of Miami and Tampa for import-export. A fast-growing workforce. Access to the US market with no intra-American tariffs. To produce, assemble, or distribute from Florida across the continent.

🧠
Center of Expertise

Attract talent you can't hire in France

Tech, R&D, engineering, finance. Tampa, Miami, and Orlando are seeing significant talent migration from California, New York, and the EU, drawn by cost and quality of life. That's where they want to live — meet them there or miss out.

🏦
Holding Structure

Tax and wealth optimization

Zero state personal income tax, a favorable French-American tax treaty, flexible LLC and Corp structures. For an internationally mobile executive or a group structuring its long-term US presence. Worth comparing seriously against Delaware.

🧪
Test Market

Validate before a national rollout

Florida is an ideal laboratory: diverse demographics, high density, a services-dominated economy, critical mass of consumers. What works in Florida gives a reliable read on US potential — before committing to the rest of the country.

The process

How we build this together.

Four phases, one optional module depending on your situation. The framework is structured — the reality of each engagement is different.

0

Strategic Diagnostic

1–2 weeks

What we explore together

  • What's the goal — commercial, industrial, tax, talent?
  • Which location in Florida: Miami, Tampa, Orlando, elsewhere?
  • Which legal structure: LLC, C-Corp, GP/LP — Florida or Delaware?
  • Tax implications on the French side — double-tax treaty, transfer pricing, FATCA
  • Staffing approach: local hiring, transferring an existing employee (L-1), or the executive relocating personally?
  • Greenfield or acquiring an existing business? Comparative assessment
  • Launch and operating budget — realistic framing

Deliverable

Written diagnostic memo: recommended structure, tax implications, location, staffing, timeline, projected budget. Documented Go / No Go for what follows.

Greenfield — Build from scratch
  • Full control of the structure from day one
  • 3–6 months before becoming operational
  • Lower initial investment
  • No customers or revenue on day one
Acquisition — Take over an existing business
  • Customers, team, and revenue from closing
  • 2–4 months (due diligence + closing)
  • Higher entry price
  • Rigorous due diligence essential
1

Entity Formation

2–4 weeks

What I coordinate

  • Entity formation with the business attorney (operating agreement, articles of organization)
  • Obtaining the EIN (federal tax number)
  • Opening the commercial bank account — a tricky topic for non-residents; I work with banks that understand foreign structures
  • Registered agent in Florida
  • Initial tax filings and registrations with the French-American CPA
  • Required insurance coverage in place before any activity begins

Deliverable

Entity formed, EIN obtained, bank account opened, registered agent in place, insurance active. The US company exists and can operate.

2

Operational Setup

2–6 weeks depending on scope

What I put in place

  • Premises if needed: search, visits, analysis and negotiation of the commercial lease (Realtor — commission paid by landlord's side)
  • Sector-specific licenses depending on activity
  • Initial US hires if needed — salary levels, local practices, sourcing
  • Basic systems: US accounting, payroll, CRM depending on scope
  • Setting up reporting back to the French parent company
  • Coordination of fund transfers and intragroup flows

Deliverable

Operational entity: premises if applicable, team if applicable, systems in place, active reporting. Ready to start operations.

3

Launch & Ongoing Support

Ongoing

What I bring

  • Introductions to local professional networks — vendors, industry associations, service partners
  • Post-launch adjustments — the things you only see once you're operational
  • Structuring reporting and communication with leadership in France
  • Ongoing strategic and tactical support — same framework as leadership coaching

To avoid any misunderstanding

I'm not a salesperson and I don't act as one. I don't have a pipeline of potential clients to hand you, and I'm a poor prospect hunter. My role is to organize the conditions under which your business can grow.

Transition

From launch onward, support shifts to the coaching model — hourly packs or a project-lead engagement. See the Leadership Coaching page →

Optional Module — L-1 Visa
L-1

Transferring an Existing Employee

If applicable

When it's relevant

  • You want to send to the US an employee already in place in France for at least 1 year
  • L-1A: managerial or executive role — country director, US VP, country manager
  • L-1B: holder of specific, non-generic expertise — proprietary technology, exclusive processes, business system architecture
  • If the CEO themself is relocating: governance arrangements need to be made so the French company continues to operate credibly
  • Initial duration 1 year (new office), renewable if the US entity is operational and the role is genuinely managerial

What I coordinate

Eligibility assessment starting in Phase 0. File preparation with the immigration attorney. French governance arrangements if the CEO relocates. The immigration attorney's fees are billed directly to your company — I take no margin.

Partner fees — attorney, CPA, immigration attorney — are billed directly by each provider. I take no margin on their services. I recommend, coordinate, and negotiate on your behalf — you pay them directly, and know the amounts in advance.
Why Me

What I do differently.

For a French CEO opening a subsidiary in Florida, the right partner is a peer who knows — and lives in — the market you're entering.

📍

On the ground — not from Paris

I live and work in Florida. I visit premises in person, I meet vendors face to face, I can show up the same day if needed. I know the Florida market from the inside, day to day.

🤝

A cultural bridge in both directions

I understand what you expect — governance, reporting, French-style formalism. And I navigate the reality of American business: direct, contract-driven, fast. It's not just a language issue. It's a question of codes.

🏗️

International management

I've opened, run, or overseen operations in France, Belgium, Florida, Romania, India, Chile, and Singapore. The interplay between universal methods and local cultures is a constant source of insight — and continuous learning.

🏢

Realtor — also here for the premises

For a commercial hub, a showroom, or a production center: I search, visit, and negotiate your commercial lease. The buyer's agent commission is covered by the landlord's side — no second agent for you to recruit.

🗺️

An operating network, not a contact list

Business attorneys, French-American CPAs, bankers who understand foreign structures, immigration attorneys. A trusted network built over time.

📊

Acquisition as an alternative to greenfield

Buying an existing business can be faster and less risky than building from scratch. I can assess both options with the same expertise — and lead the acquisition if it's the right choice for you.

Fees

What this costs

A two-stage engagement: a diagnostic to lay the groundwork, a retainer to execute. Transparent from the start.

Strategic Diagnostic
Fixed fee
$2,000
Written recommendation memo — structure, tax, location, staffing, timeline, projected budget
Credited against the setup retainer if we work together within 60 days. A no-risk starting point — for you and for me.
Setup Retainer — Phases 1 & 2
Range depending on scope
$8,000 — $12,000
In 1 or 2 installments — covers entity formation + operational setup
  • Entity formation, EIN, bank account, insurance
  • Premises if applicable — lease negotiated in my capacity as Realtor
  • L-1 coordination included if applicable
Ongoing Support — Phase 3 and beyond
Hourly
$195/hr
10-Hour Pack
valid 4 months
$1,750
$175/hr
30-Hour Pack
valid 12 months
$4,500
$150/hr
Partners — Attorney, CPA, Immigration Attorney
Billed directly to your company. No margin on my part. I recommend, coordinate, and negotiate on your behalf — you pay directly and know the amounts in advance.
The $2,000 diagnostic is the right starting point: it gives you a clear picture of what the subsidiary represents — real cost, honest timeline, risks identified. Without it, the rest of the project moves forward blind.

Your subsidiary project deserves a conversation.

30 minutes to see whether Florida is the right market, whether the timing is right — and how I can be concretely useful.

Book a Conversation