have a own business it has never been easy. Today, the difficulty of moving it forward is compounded by external factors such as the consequence of the pandemic, the rise in the price of electricity, gas, fuel, and the quota for the self-employed. For this reason, a few days ago, rallies were set up in different parts of the country to protest against the Government’s quotation project by installments. A proposal that involves an increase in the quota for more than 4 million self-employed.
However, despite the difficulties, Spain has closed the year 2021 with 57,000 more self-employed workers. In fact, together with SMEs, they account for no less than 95% of the companies in the country. Taking into account this relevance in the Spanish economy and the difficulties that the group is going through, the insurtech specialized in insurance for SMEs and the self-employed, SingularCover, presents the ‘Real Stories’ campaign, the testimonies of three real freelancers that explain their professional experience.
“Our goal is to give visibility to the self-employed and SMEs, understanding that they are an essential part of the economy and trying to give them the place they deserve at the center of all our decisions. For this we must always keep in mind that they are real people, with their good and bad moments, like all of us “explains Andrea Franco, Chief Marketing Officer of SingularCover.
EdwardFinancial Advisor, lorrainehairdresser, and Thomas, hotelier, are the protagonists of these videos in which they answer unusual questions about their experience of being self-employed from their workplaces. “The goal of Real Stories is to give freelancers a voice without retouching or changing their reality. We wanted to convey their fears, their struggle and the path that led them to put together their own story, being faithful to their way of telling it with unfiltered storytelling. To enhance the concept of reality, we decided to incorporate a battery of disruptive questions that were impossible to prepare. This is how we achieved 3 pieces that connect freelancers with freelancers, sharing their experience and generating a feeling of community”, explains Jordi Roura.
Three protagonists who, despite the effort, the difficulties and the rise in production costs, they find reasons why they remain autonomous.
Eduardo, 48 years old, financial advisor
Eduardo was always clear that he wanted to make his own decisions. That was one of the main reasons why he became self-employed and set out to create his own consultancy despite the difficulties: “When you start a business, if you do it with few resources like in my case, you have no choice but to be a one-man band and do everything. Over time is when you begin to create a portfolio of clients and in my case I even managed to combine working at home with office hours in a coworking space in Malasaña, Madrid”Edward says.
The man from Cádiz remarks that one of the advantages What he values most about being autonomous is freedom, flexibility and daily learning. “Being your own boss teaches you very important values of fighting, overcoming, resilience and trust,” he adds.
Lorena, 43 years old, hairdresser in a coworking
Lorena’s is one of many careers that begin working for someone else, in her case when she was only 16 years old, until her family and friends motivate her to take the step of becoming self-employed and riding your own hair salon in the Madrid neighborhood of Salamanca.
“Running a business on your own involves many expenses and requires total dedication. Many times I don’t see my family as much as I would like, but being autonomous also has many advantages”explains Lorraine.
Setting up your own business has allowed you apply all your technique and creativity, his way of understanding the business, placing the customer at the center and making him live the best possible experience. As an autonomous, she defines herself as a fighter, brave and hardworking.
Tomás, 28 years old, owner of Los Molinos Bar
From soccer referee for 14 years to running his own bar in a horse-riding center in the Sierra de Madrid. This is the story of Tomás, a 28-year-old who became self-employed when his professional career took a turn for personal reasons.
He was presented with the opportunity to run this bar in 2021, at the height of the pandemic and, although he had previously only worked as a waiter at specific times, he did not think twice. “I have wanted to be self-employed for a long time and when this opportunity presented itself I said go for it!”. Tomás is convinced that the most important thing to be autonomous is the attitude and the desire to do so. In his case, this is what has led him to maintain the business despite having had a hard time due to the epidemiological situation and achieving a portfolio of between 200 and 350 clients on the best days.
“Another reason to become autonomous can be the frustration of not being able to decide for yourself. Many see this route as a window to show their ideas in an autonomous and personal way”he reflects.
The post Why is it worth being self-employed? They tell us themselves is original from MuyPymes
