Paula Ordovás and other successful entrepreneurs: "I felt like I had sold my soul for a payroll"

• The controversy of the educational reform: the September most feared by parents is approaching

• The women who fight against the threat of empty Spain: "We must end the myth that we have to go full of mud"

Foreword.

I ask my contacts on Facebook if anyone knows a

to be.

"It's easier to find the door to Narnia," Gonzalo tells me;

"That does not exist," says Espe;

«hahaha», without more, three or four acquaintances.

Until Isabel puts the note of color in this informal survey: «We are never happy with what we have.

And although when I was self-employed I wanted a stable salary, I was happier than now and I didn't have so many rules or people conditioning my life.

Jolín, there are days that I think that I have sold my soul for a payroll ».

Well, I'm going to stay with this "I was happier" as the starting point for this report.

Because I have persevered in finding the happy door of Narnia, no matter how much every time you search for freelancers on Google almost everything you find is a field strewn with bad news: that if the money from European funds does not arrive;

that if they anticipate thousands of business closures due to the rise in prices... But there must be something good about independence when

Spanish adults (according to data from the Spaces company) have ever considered

What satisfaction do the

find in their work (two, if we stick to what the Ministry of Labor and Social Security strictly considers self-employed) who have to put up with what is often the worst boss in the world, come on , oneself?

Because yes, “sometimes the self-employed are the worst bosses.

Or the strictest.

And it has more to do with the intimate relationship that one has with work than with the accounts that one has to give outside," says

make-up artist, hairdresser and businessman, founder of One Off Artists, an artist representation agency, production of fashion, advertising and events based in Madrid.

When to undertake is to be happy

Perhaps that is as good, neither more nor less, than

in person.

"I'm happy.

I'll be a weirdo, or a unicorn, hahaha... But I really love being

Knowing that if I work hard and don't let obstacles get me down, I can continue dedicating myself to something that I'm passionate about and that fills me with life every day,” says

creator of La Paisajista, a landscaping and garden design studio.

Like her, and although 70% of the Spanish self-employed are so out of necessity, 50.45% of them claim to be happier since they are self-employed, according to a recent report by

and

.

And whether it is or not, the aspiration is there: "It sounds a bit like Mr. Wonderful, but what I aspire to is to be happy," corroborates Iván Gómez.

And it is not precisely because of the pasta (in fact, 67% of the self-employed have a net income below the minimum interprofessional salary);

It is because of having

as the main attractions of being self-employed .

"For me, clearly, it is being the owner of your time," corroborates Iván Gómez.

Perhaps it is a matter of “having no limits other than your own.

Having the opportunity to give everything, to give the best of yourself", as

pilot and founder of Machi & The Jets, a

who adds: "My work makes me very happy, I live making myself happy!"

She was an investment broker when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Not even 24 hours had passed since the confinement began, on March 15, 2020, and she was already, she says, "climbing the walls."

In view of the situation, she recalls her, «I started to do projects.

It was clear to me that at that time

(private jets) was going to experience a

So I decided to throw myself into it, combining my technical part as a pilot with my business part, since I had previously founded and invested in different companies”.

Machi Martín's vision was providential.

The shortage of flights and destinations that was upon us due to the crisis in the sector due to the covid encouraged those who could afford it to fly by private jet.

It worked.

What does the 'special pasta' of the self-employed consist of?

She believes, and she is not exactly the only one, that you have to be of a special type to be autonomous.

That would explain, at least in part, why, according to the data handled by the

(UPTA), the

rate of new self-employed businesses is 80% in the first two years.

Whether what she could with them was the accounts or the

is not clear.

But it is true that the latter is as notable a charge on the liabilities of any balance sheet as the worst of the debts contracted with a bank. How to manage this uncertainty?

«With a lot of confidence in yourself.

Knowing that you will leave.

Holding position with serenity, in aeronautical slang”, Machi Martín believes.

It is a bird?

It is a plane?

Not!

He is a freelancer!

Iván Gómez and Machi MartínLUIS MALIBRÁN

"If we had more support and they didn't squeak so much, we wouldn't have to be so brave or stubborn," says Monique Briones.

But of course you have to

Because if not, you collapse easily.

There are many obstacles and tests to overcome and that requires a high level of perseverance.

Of course: it is wonderful to observe your own evolution and that of your project, day by day ».

basically agrees with this idea ,

vice-president of the Association of Self-Employed Workers, for whom the best thing that independence brings to a professional is "the satisfaction of taking an idea forward, starting a business for oneself and achieving it, feeling useful by contributing something to society and responding to a existing need”.

And this despite the fact that, for the moment, being autonomous in Spain is still a journey where one basically fights against the elements.

In fact, explains Guerrero, "we have a long way to go before being autonomous in Spain is not something heroic."

Paula Ordovás, from trainee journalist to successful multi-businesswoman

The germ of the heroics of the journalist, influencer (551,000 followers on Instagram), businesswoman (Mypeeptoes Shop, Peeptoes Comunicación, Better Naked Club, Casa Manuela...)

must be found in her second year of Journalism at the Complutense University of Madrid .

An internship at Vogue México made it clear to her that the fashion press was not her thing, she returned to Spain and entered

as an intern .

A few years later, she wore the

then Madrid's fashion week.

She was also a fashion blogger (if not the first, then one of the first) and had set up her own business.

«When I started, I was not sure if I wanted to work for a company or not, but as I began, I realized that she was

that I loved challenges and constantly evolving ».

She was alone for three years, until she involved her brother in the project.

Today she manages

that emerged, she says, in a very organic, natural way, a reflection of her own professional evolution.

Where is the secret of that flow, if there is one?

«I think you have to have

, especially within a chaos like mine, because they are four very different companies, which also implies leading very different lives, sometimes you are at a photocall, other times taking photos, other times traveling. .. It is key

Of course it is essential to surround yourself with a good team.

The vertigo of being your own boss

Many times a

is needed to overcome what Machi Martín considers "the vertigo of being your own boss."

Come on, like when in another time our parents would throw us by surprise into the pool so that we could learn to swim by sudden immersion.

For Monique Briones, that little push was a bad boss, "a company in Barcelona where I think they saw the passion I gave off for my work and the desire I had to return to landscaping and they made the decision to take advantage of it."

He was, he explains, almost a year with them, without charging more than a few small commissions, “but basically doing all the work.

From the visit to the client, the project and design, the budgets, closing the sale, the construction management, everything”.

The foregoing, added to a business model and a work system that she considered disastrous, led her -despite the fact that they offered her a permanent contract- to set it up on her own, "because I saw that I alone managed almost everything in the company , and that the only thing I was missing was the way to attract clients.

So I looked for a good domain, I made a website and I launched.

For his part, Iván Gómez began as an employee in a hairdressing salon in Murcia, at the age of 16, then tried his luck outside of Spain and trained in Barcelona as a make-up artist.

He worked for

and for

, among others, and at the age of 27 it became clear to him that if he wanted to achieve his goal, which was the

he had to become independent.

He ended up being among the most sought after.

«Three years later things started to go well, I had a lot of workload and I was passing issues all day to colleagues and acquaintances in the profession, so I said: why not make it profitable and create an agency?».

He did it with a partner, from whom he ended up separating three years later, and founded the current one, One-Off Artists, on his own.

think endlessly

«With illusions something happens to me;

they grow like a flame inside me and go in crescendo.

Little by little I am feeding them, and if I don't finish executing them they end up hurting me.

I am a constant brainstormer.

There are things that fade, but those that last are a sign that tells me: 'Iván, you have to continue, because if you don't you won't be able to be happy'”, explains the businessman.

Something very similar happens to Paula Ordovás.

"I am constantly thinking.

They had told me that as my birthday went by I would calm down, but no, I'm going to more.

I like to challenge myself and achieve new goals,” she says.

She, she explains, could not function with a schedule from nine to eight, "I would feel like my wings were being clipped, I am not made of that stuff."

In her case, the engine is running, she says, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, almost inevitably embraced by her personal life, sometimes it is difficult to distinguish where one begins and the other ends.

Monique Briones and Paula OrdovásLUIS MALIBRÁN

His latest project, in fact,

began as the renovation of a holiday home in Marbella and has ended up becoming his next business venture, "a

with a focus on sustainability, art, design, concepts that characterize my personal brand.

It will only be accessible by invitation », he explains.

The house, designed by

is, we could say, an architectural version of Paula Ordovás herself, a place full of photographable corners that exude her style, “but also surprising, as I expressly asked the architect.

A place to dedicate time to you, with everything that for me is the new luxury ».

In the end, we are talking about a

because "the feeling that saying 'I created this myself' produces is brutal", says the businesswoman, and each one in their own way, all those interviewed corroborate.

And if in the end the adventure goes wrong? «Without a doubt I would be an employee again.

If I see that work doesn't flow, the phone doesn't ring, they don't remember me... I'd rather burn all cartridges, because I prefer to work for myself and manage my money and my energy.

I would wither a little by working for someone else, but I have no doubt that I would”, concedes Iván Gómez.

Whether that moment will come or not nobody knows.

What we do know is that for now, like Paula, Machi, and Monique, Ivan is going to go on just as richly in Narnia.

Alone or in the company of others

The

sector experienced a growth of 39% in 2021, with Barcelona, ​​Madrid and Valencia leading the provinces with the most spaces for professionals and freelancers, according to the State of Coworking in Spain 2021-2022 report by CoworkingSpain.

In Madrid, the latest space of this type to arrive, which far transcends the conventional, is The Social Hub, where the photos for this report have been taken and which combines a hotel, coliving spaces, coworking, restaurant under a single umbrella. , gym, leisure spaces... When speaking with

its director of Marketing and Culture, we asked if the model of

is a response to the freelancer's need for connection: «Indeed, it is an essential part of our philosophy!

We offer a unified and inclusive experience for everyone with the goal of inspiring connections.

For this we have a calendar of entertainment and programming that encourages us to meet and grow by betting on diversity, from educational programming (sign language classes, languages, exchange talks), well-being (yoga and meditation), through our programming digital with talks about NFTs, coding classes, cloud management... This programming is included in our membership, and our guests also have access ».

The new listing system and other mysteries

For

executive vice president of the

(ATA), these are currently facing very profound regulatory changes that will also mean a structural and cultural change in their work, "such as the

based on

that modifies completely the way in which from January 1, 2023 they will be quoted.

If, on the one hand, the reform was necessary to increase their protection and assimilate it to that of wage-earners, the truth is that it is a very complex system that will require careful attention to ensure that the contribution adjusts to income, which, being uncertain , are difficult to determine in advance.

Another huge challenge will be

and

since in less than three years they will have to invoice electronically and work with software capable of communicating with the

"In addition, we may be on the verge of a total reform of the self-employed tax framework, with the implementation of the franchise VAT regime (VAT exemption up to 85,000 euros) that will end quarterly declarations but will require more information and transparency with the AEAT », Ferrero points out.

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