Every time we have a few fiestas back to back, people start to wonder what day or week it is. And the good people at Remote Work Spain were naturally wondering where their regular fortnightly email was.
I could blame Easter and tell you I was too busy eating chocolate, but the truth is I had flu and couldn't manage it. This is the occasional hard-edged reality of solopreneurship, when the buck stops with you… if you can't work, everything stops.
So, this was meant to be podcast week, for regular Future is Freelance listeners, while I was a week late for those expecting to hear about Spain. What a dilemma - the only way I could make things right was to create a special episode of the Future is Freelance podcast, all about freelancing in Spain 🇪🇸
Who says multitasking is a not a thing?
For me, it was a valuable opportunity to reflect on how much Spain has changed since I started working here, well over a decade ago.
It's easy to get hung up on the practical shifts, like the existence of reliable broadband. But there are so many infrastructure shifts as well, from the Ley de Startups to digital transformation. As Hemingway said, ‘gradually, then suddenly’ - Spain is becoming a better place to do business.
As regular readers will know I live a business life divided between Spain and Estonia, and of course it's easy to judge one in the light of the other. But when it comes to technology in Spain, we should measure it against the Spain of 10 years ago, not the Estonia of today, and appreciate how far things have come.
Not only was our internet connectivity delivered one electron at at a time by an elderly burro back then, the sheer practicalities of getting things done, and the endless pieces of paper... Photocopies of your ID scattered in every phone shop, carrying around a little ink stamp with your details to help other businesses create you a compliant factura for each purchase. A notary appointment each time you wanted to change the mailing address for your tiny company 🤦🏻♀️
Even if you were here, it's hard to believe what we had to put up with.
Back then, working remotely (never mind for yourself) was barely a thing, but that's yet another thing which has changed forever.
Today we are definitely the other side of the remote work revolution, and at the end of the month, I am off to a gathering which would have been simply unthinkable a decade ago:
Bringing together hundreds of speakers and networkers from businesses all over the world who are engaged with and supporting remote work opportunities, readers of this blog get 20% off in person or virtual passes - so if you're serious about your remote work future - as a freelancer, expat, or employee then take a look!
