A post from Julia this week:
My best job has been being a mother and housewife. I was my own boss. I’ve have learned more, running my family, than in any other work place.
For a lot of business women, this might sound old fashion, but I’m the living proof that a family is the most complex and hard thing to run. If you do this successfully any other project becomes relatively easy.
I have worked for others for twenty years of my life, thirteen years for an optical company in Spain, then I became a housewife, moved to England, lived there for eight years and I worked for the Social Services in Sussex, then we move back to Spain (twenty years ago) and I worked five years for a mobile telephone company.
For twenty five years I was the typical Spanish housewife and mother that takes control of everything and everybody’s needs (physical, economical, emotional). I did enjoy it very much.
Running my family taught me everything I know about spending and saving, cooking and diets, talking and listening, laughing and crying, agreements and disagreements.
My husband,Paddy, left his job three years ago and we thought that we could start something together, using his excellent work experience and my Spanish personality.
Now we have a beautiful project called “The Spanish Thyme Traveller” which is a small friendly travel company that organizes trips in reduced groups to discover the food, wine and culture of interior of Valencia and Teruel and I use the same philosophy to run the company that I have used to run my family.
The part of the business that I like the most is being with the customers because then I only have to be myself. I like people, and feel very happy when I see them enjoying themselves and having fun.
When I’m with customers I feel as though I’m on holiday and I enjoy every winery visit, every restaurant, every walk or any other activity we do as if it was the first time. To see them happy makes me feel that I’m doing something good.
My motto in life is “Happiness”. I like to laugh a lot and I like people to do the same. It’s very nice when somebody smiles at me because I smile at everybody (even to the Spanish Civil Servants when they drive me mad with legal paperwork).
The Spanish Thyme Traveller organise trips on which you can experience the amazing food and culture of the beautiful interior of Valencia and Teruel.Check out our webpage by clicking on this logo:
Hola Julia! Te he encontrado en WABAS. Me llamo Pilar, vivo en Valencia y tengo una experiencia similar a la tuya pero yo sola (soy soltera, pero tengo una hija maravillosa que adopte en china hace 4 años). He trabajado mchos años en empresas y ahora estoy levantando una empresa yo sola. No se si podriamos colaborar. Yo me dedico al alquiler vacacional: http://www.heavenonearth.es
Ya me dices si te parece que podemos hacer algo conjuntamente.
Saludos
Pilar
PS: asistiras al meeting de WABAS a finales de Noviembre? podemos conocernos alli .. ya me dices
Dear Julia,
My name is Laura and I’m from Valencia. I lived in England for 8 years and nearly three in Greece.
I can see we have many things in common concerning personality, outlook in life and the activity your travelling project with your husband.
You can visit the blog that Javier and I created last year to be travel “guides” with small groups around the Greek island we know very well: Crete, Santorini and Milos. It wasn’t successful and because I’m very busy with my jobs I had to quit.
Javier is still working for the project together with a friend from Crete, Rodanthi.
These are some links about it:
http://egeoparaiso.blogspot.com.es/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/EGEO-PARA%CE%99SO-GRIEGO-AEGEAN-GREEK-PARADISE/150827528318127?ref=ts&fref=ts
Happy to read your post.
All the best,
Laura
I’m sure you make your customers feel very welcome and comfortable. Your smile is contageous.
What a lovely, inspiring post. Thanks for sharing Julia!