Start an online business in Spain

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As  a back up plan when you open a Spanish bar.

"Open a bar in Spain and live the good life" Really???

 Running a bar in Spain sounds like a lot of fun but for many British people who sell up every thing in the UK, to open their dream bar in Sunny Spain, the dream soon becomes a nightmare. They underestimate the amount of hard work and long hours involved. The business of running a bar is very different in Spain compared to running a pub in the UK, the major obstacle being the language. So many British open bars in Spain without knowing how to speak Spanish.

 Even the daily tasks like ordering stock and dealing with the paper work is a major problem if you can’t converse with the locals and using the telephone is almost impossible. Even if the area is well populated with English speaking customers, there are the local trade’s people and Spanish customers to attend to and if you are thinking of only dealing with English speaking customers then your dream business will die slowly. Having worked as a carpenter in Spain for 10 years refurbishing bars for new British owners, I have seen many come and go.

The idea is nearly always the same, open the bar about 11am and once your hired help has served the first few customers, pop out to the beach or do a bit of shopping and have lunch out. Well this is a path to disaster and although you may make some money to start with, trade will soon drop off. There are a few steps to take until your Spanish is adequate.

1) Many new bar owners have found a way around the language problem by hiring a local Spanish waiter who is bilingual.

2) There is nearly always an English resident who can speak Spanish and who is looking for some part time work.

3) In most small Spanish towns, there are a few small, mostly one man companies that offer help with paper work and small legal matters, they can go with you when you need an M.O.T. on the car (in Spain it’s an I.T.V.) or applying for owners papers and signing documents at the notary.

 4) The local British community will help to but you need to make sure you get the facts as most British residents will disagree with each other over what is the best route to take.

5) Pay for some private Spanish lessons with a Spanish language school and they will also give you some great help and advice.

6) Get a good accountant, this is the best road to go down. Above all if you really want to have a successful business, you will have to learn Spanish. Its all well and good being able to say hello and thank you in Spanish but once you can have a conversation on the telephone in Spanish, you will be more comfortable and enjoy the life style, plus you will not need to pay for extra staff to translate for you and that will be a great saving.

 

Even though the weather in Spain is great most of the year, the bar trade in Spain is very sensitive to the tourist season. Although in Spain, many British bars fail to cater for the Spanish, they are here all year round and if looked after will bring in regular income to get you through the quieter months, try to offer different things in your bar as the Spanish like to try out new bars but also do lay on the tapas and local dishes because they will expect it and if they can’t get it at your bar they will go a few doors down the road.

 Most of the British owned bars in Spain fail in the first 2 years but if you work as hard as the Spanish to get your bar running like clockwork and try an integrate with the Spanish as much as possible, you will have the time and money to enjoy the real Spanish life style.

 If you are dreaming of running a bar in Spain and living the good life, then think hard and take a deep breath before you dive into the unknown. See why most British bars fail in the first 2 years and avoid their mistakes.
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