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Author: Georgina

Join us for networking in Manilva 19/11

This Wednesday, is our November networking event in Manilva from 18.30-20.00 at the Wine Museum. This is becoming a very popular event in the local community and attendees have already got business from it, as well as making personal and professional contacts in their local...

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Trial shows that style sells houses

Before and after Nordica's styling trial

Before and after Nordica’s styling trial

We are all looking at the Costa del Sol property market with interest and are pleased to see that there are definite signs of recovery, particularly with buyers coming from Scandinavia with money to spend. I recently spoke to the team from Nordica, a Real Estate Agency specialising in sales and rentals in the Nueva Andalucia area, with over 20 years’ experience about their experiences to see if we could learn anything about the market and the way it’s responding.

They noticed that even with the improving market there were properties in good locations, with attractive features but which were not selling, so started to look at the influence of design and property dressing and how they could increase the chance of a sale with a few simple design changes. They undertook a trial with one of these problem properties, offering the owner a free furniture package and makeover to help it sell, rather than dropping the price. This property had been on the market for one year, but following the styling, there were three buyers competing for the property and it sold in just one week at full asking price.

This compelling evidence made Nordica decide to expand their service and launch Nordica Interior Design Group and open a dedicated office in Aloha Gardens. They believe that with this service they can style properties to sell, help sellers get the price the property deserves and create a home which buyers will love to live in.

Fashion show MC Cafe 14/11

This Friday there's a fantastic fashion show and delicious lunch being held at MC Cafe from 13.00, with the fashion show starting at 14.00. These lunches are very popular and a great way to combine socializing, delicious food and viewing (and buying) the latest trends. This month...

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Join Specsavers Opticas on World Diabetes Day

Diabetic testing Specsavers FuengirolaTo support World Diabetes Day on the 14th of November and raise awareness of the issues related to diabetes and blindness, Specsavers Opticas is joining forces with local diabetes associations to offer customers free healthy snacks and information about diabetes and how it affects the eye. They are also offering free eye tests throughout November, which are able to detect the signs of Diabetic Retinopathy. This condition affects vision when the blood vessels in the retina are damaged by the changes in blood sugar levels and can cause permanent sight loss. If these signs are identified during an eye test, patients are referred to a doctor for further tests and treatment.

Specsavers in Fuengirola will be holding a free diabetes screening event in store on 14th November from 10am to 1:30pm, in association with La Cala de Mijas Lions Diabetics Support Group. This is open to all and totally free of charge. During the event, a qualified nurse will be conducting a simple finger prick test to detect the signs of diabetes and an appointment is not necessary. Results will be given immediately and if positive, patients will be referred for medical advice.

Small Business Resources – Andalucia Lab

Cafe Lab is open to everyone for meetings or to use the wifi and get some peace and quiet

Cafe Lab is open to everyone for meetings or to use the wifi and get some peace and quiet

We were at Andalucia Lab again yesterday for our Marketing Planning workshop (look out for our webinar coming soon) and once again I was amazed by the fantastic facilities, the incredible prices and the lack of people taking up the opportunity! There must be thousands of small businesses around the Costa del Sol who would like to get out of working from home and have a modern office space, with printer, photocopier, high speed internet and meeting rooms, but most can’t afford it. At Andalucia Lab you get all of this for a crazy 30€ per month, yet there are loads of empty desks, which doesn’t make sense to me at all.

Costa del Sol Media watch – Mi Marbella

Marbella Town Hall's radio network RTV Marbella launched its first English language radio programme "Mi Marbella" back in June to share invaluable information on local laws, legalities, news and events for residents and tourists of all nationalities. There are weekly interviews with Jose Luis Hernández, the...

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How to survive in business before, during and after a crisis

presentation coverIn 2014 I gave a speech at the Costa Women International Women’s Networking event. Based on this presentation, here are my tips for protecting yourself and your business during hard times and how to take full advantage when things pick up as I believe they now are.

Reducing Risk & Capitalizing on Your Skills

  • Seek free professional advice – CADE, Andalucia Lab and others are there to help
  • Research, research, research – make sure you know your stuff before you commit yourself to a decision
  • Build a network – online and offline, this is a very low cost and direct form of marketing
  • Think about what you can do yourselves to reduce costs – make the most of the skills you have
  • Learn – There are many tools out there to allow you to do things yourselves and you can learn to do a lot more than you think when you have the time early on
  • Be clever with where you put your money – investment is required but can be minimized and managed
  • Trade – Can you exchange skills with another business?
  • Profile build and have a strong presence online with social media, blogging and offline with PR such as articles and events
  • Help others – Support other businesses and be generous with your time and they will help you, consider supporting a charity or community organization to generate PR and goodwill

Plan & Grow