JC09

Hi, thinking of having a business in spain, anyone got any tips, such as what EXpats lack etc.

thanks
jon

Hillybilly

oooh there's a leading question.
Many of them lack business experience and acumen, fail to plan sufficiently or carry out market research, many lack adequate financial resources, a plan B, a working knowledge of the Spanish language...

(or is that not what you meant? )

JC09

thanks for your reply, thats helpfull, i was also wondering if there was a lack of specific service etc

thanks!

spainboy

I know where Iam (Benidorm) all bases are covered and there are tons of people thinking of ideas like you.
If there is money to be made here you can guarantee it's already been done.

Also bear in mind it isn't an ideal time to start any business. Spain is in recession.

sensationalfrog

buy a bar you will do well...........lol

AdrianTO

What kind of background do you have in terms of experience? Industries you have worked, types of jobs you have had etc..

Casa Santo Estevo

To be honest these soorts of questions are just too vague to answer. To get some better responces you really need to write more about what you services you have in mind and what area you intend to settle in.
Imagine we asked the same question in your home country. Maybe you can now see the difficulty in answering your questions.

pete_l

A better question would be to ask what people (incl. expats) are willing to pay for.
The answer is (sadly) not a lot. It seems to me that there are two types of expat in Spain: those with money and those with jobs. There aren't many with both, as jobs in Spain don't pay very well and those with neither are all going "home" - back to the UK if they can. Even those with money are feeling the pinch, as most of them still get a lot of their income from a Sterling account, so are not as flush as they used to be.

added later.
OK, here are a few ideas, in no particular order.

* Portrait photographer. Go to people's houses and take good-quality photos. Include a good quality lighting rig, backdrops and all the other paraphernalia. Supply the photos in nice "ready to hang" frames. Obviously you have to be a professional photographer to get into this business and speaking Spanish is a given (as there are more spaniards than brits, so they'll be the majority of your customers).

* Baker. I'd probably pay 1.5 euro for a decent, 800gm white unsliced farmhouse loaf and I daresay some others would, too. Do a few varieties of british "traditional" breads, plus some german, dutch, scandanavian breads too. Sell them through the local bakers' shops, rather setting up you own.

* House dresser. When I was house-shopping, I was surprised by the state of some of the properites I viewed. Even the ones that were inhabited seemed to be in a pretty sad state. No effort had been made to tart them up for prospective buyers to see their "potential". The benefit is that you'd be paid for the work done, not when the place sells.

* Party caterer. While most people have a barbie and can slap a few burgers on it, not many can provide a full-service package for a 50+ party (incl. food, drinks, glasses, setup,. take-down, tidy-up). If you can do this for 10 euro a head, you might (just) get a few bookings. Maybe branch out into weddings etc. too. Again you'd need good spanish as they'd form most of your clientele.

* Toy boy. Including general fetch & carry. Get the shopping, clean the pool, do the gardening and in the evening ...
cook the dinner. You'd need to be able to do all these things, plus find a rich person (people ???) who'd be willing to pay for it. Again, with the language to "buffer" your employer from day to day details.

* Holiday-let dogsbody. For people with villas, who aren't resident but still want to let them out. This is a rather crowded market, but if you can come up with a USP, there might be a niche. Prepare the place between guests, buy their groceries, do their laundry, gardening, general maintenance, check the inventory when people leave. Also provide consierge type services for the guests (where can I get a ..., book us a taxi for ..., we've been arrested ... etc).

The thing is, any of these could be a success, or a failure - it depends on you, your location, your skills, the effort you put into it and mostly the amount of luck you have. However, when you make your millions remember who gave you the idea!

zel

My biggest tip is if you do start a business get the advice of at least 2 different accountants on :

1> The setup costs and will they do it for you (don't attempt it yourself unless you a fluent in Spanish)

2> How the taxation of whatever business you start up will work as there are quite a few different ways ones business can be taxed in Spain.

And also be prepared to actually pay in percentage terms more tax in Spain than in the UK as it's quite possible you will...

---

On a different note don't let people put you down for trying with all this talk of recession and what not. Some of the richest people in Europe made their money in times like this.

It just all depends on the business idea!

AdrianTO

Maybe there should be a 'Starting a businnes in Spain" thread sticky at the top of the forum where people can come and ask questions and brainstorm ideas. This question comes up again and again, and many good business ideas get lost in older threads.

spainboy

I tell you what people lack (according to the missus)
Asda,morrisons,Sainsburys or Tescos (iceland has been a godsend)
Starbucks coffee(although Major cities like Madrid and barca have them)
More Primarks
Wimpy
Greggs (pasties)

Take your pick!!

Infact the Greggs idea isn't a bad idea at all. Even in this recession I reckon if someone opened a franchaise especially in Benidorm they would do very well.
Greggs in the UK always has people in and do get extremely busy.

cavecritter

tbh you need to look at and research the area you are thinking of having your business, check out the competition and see what you can do better or what gaps if any exist in the market.

digdug

theres 6 more primarks coming to spain shortly, read it in an irish online rag t'other day.

noelrosie

Starbucks are quite cut-throat when it comes to franchises ... they let multiple coffee shops open in the same neighbourhood and fight it out amongst themselves for customers ...
For example in Reading town centre (UK) they currently have 4 outlets within several hundred yards of each other and in Sevilla (Spain), there are 3 in the shadow of the Giralda alone...

AdrianTO

I don't think they are franchises, they are all company owned stores. Starbucks doesn't offer franchises, unless you are an airport, university or large retail location or something.