steviedeluxe

Well when I read HBG's description I immediately thought it may have been her. Still, no doubt a few people here have now clicked on to her site, so it's probably effective marketing!

JLFS

In Spain easypeasy, you take yourself off to the dole office, put on the best"hang dog" expression, slouch your shoulders, drag your feet, go the desk, tell the clerk your tale of how rising costs and falling profits have meant that you cannot hack it anymore.

He/she will look you straight in the eye "next

steviedeluxe

Is this all a marketing campaign by the fashion group NEXT ??

Domino

No, JLFS would never fall as low as to start plugging a commercial concern on this forum
Maybe he is trying to make some point ??

licinius

I lived in Tenerife for 2 years & have seen too many people lose too much money on bar ventures there. Why do people who have no bar experience whatsoever want to embark on the venture?

The normal scenario is a couple make some money over years, not from business success but from a bit of luck moving & selling houses at the right time & accruing a substantial amount of equity in the process. They are mortgage free & having brought up 4 kids know how to cook so decide to sell up & plough all their savings into their dream bar.

Having bought the bar you have to pay rent for the premises, meaning most people in the current climate are actually losing money. Once your savings have run out & you can't afford to pay the rent anymore, the landlord evicts you & you lose your investment.

Homeless & without a job in Tenerife you then return to the UK where you share with relatives or get a council flat. Leaving the UK to returning back again skint normally takes about 12 months.

I'm sure you'll embark on this venture anyway because you know better than me, but in a years time when you're cramped into your brothers spare bedroom, think back to all the prople that tried to talk you out of it.

p.s. once you get there & you find an empty bar that has been up for sale for 12 months, take a look & ask yourself why it's been up for sale so long...........

Domino

too many times I have seen it in the Uk, many pubs are run by couples who have independently divorced, perhaps because of the relationship they had in a pub, relationships can be difficult at the best of times, but continually in the limelight and public eye the strain is enormous. And it gets worse as the money problems get worse.

Even the Spaniards are changing their drinking habits, giving up the bars and buying to drink at home. My local Al Campo has a huge turnover of wines, spirits, beers. I have seen a couple of chinese girls who had a trolley full of whiskey, accompanied by a trolley full of vodka and other miscellaneous drinks. All with a couple of packets of crisps on the top. Supermarkets are cheaper than trade, leading bar owners, managers, to start taking shortcuts.

HBG

Christ, Steve, that could well have been the lady. The hair was darker and shorter and I didn't see her smile because she never looked up from her screen.

Looking at the link you sent, makes it even more likely. I spotted her on the terrace of the old casino on Torrevieja sea front, the best place for people watching in town, and a place mentioned in all the local tourist brochures.

It's also the best place for tapas and cakes, which is why we were there.

JLFS

It is a bit of a joke, I was telling the story of somone I know who went to the dole, his employer had not paid the SS so he was not entitled any help, then we asked him what the admin clerk said, the clerks reply was "NEXT"

Funny and tragic.

HBG

Running a bar in Spain is a very common British dream and it's a very hard dream to break. Most people who follow that dream go skint in the sun after a couple of years or so.

I've come across hundreds of people to whom that has happened, and only know a very few who have succeeded, and they have succeeded because they've gone into business, properly, with a business plan that involved them never actually going behind a bar unless it was to empty the overflowing till on a regular basis.

To have an overflowing till you need large premises, in the right place, providing entertainment for masses of people, and discouraging potless tourists who want breakfast for two Euros, and happy hours.

I was in the business and my happy hour was at 4am every morning when I started counting money.

jdr

Last couple that asked on here and ignored the advice lasted 3 months and went home 60'000 €`s lighter.

JLFS

One thing I have noticed about British bars, that their wine glasses are always full to the brim, that does not happen in Spanish bars.

They get a lot less glasses to the bottle, and if a lot of wine is sold,profits must get eaten into.

JLFS

Great post

Domino

drunk ?

JLFS

I have had a few, but no, are you?

Domino

only orange juice since yesterday evening

I know what you posted was grammatically correct just doesnt seem right to eat into a liquid asset