The Bootstrapping Book, The Secrets To Working And Making A Living In Spain Review
A full 329 pages available for instant download is what you get when you buy "The Bootstrapping Book, The Secrets To Working And Making A Living In Spain", though there are a lot of images, at least one for every page, and that helps add interest in a book that promises to show expatriate residents in Spain how to earn an income while living away from their natural comfort zone.
If you live in Spain, or if you plan to live in Spain this guide written by Nick Snelling and Graham Hunt, who are acknowledged experts in helping expats adjust to life here, then you really need to buy this ebook for instant download. Instantly start reading about making money in Spain, subsidising your pension in Spain, or earning a living in Spain.
The Bootstrapping Book, The Secrets To Working And Making A Living In Spain is a comprehensive guide to the various ways to ensure an income while living in Spain, and includes chapters on getting started, what you need to know, and then covers my specialty, making money in the new economy, specifically using the Internet to build websites, and then either sell them or continue earning an income from them. The third section of the book covers old economy, or more traditional work such as teaching english, becoming a real estate agent or generally helping other expats who move here.
Purpose of the Book
Very simply, the authors know that most people who move to Spain are ill-equipped to deal with living and working in Spain, and their guide, which they jokingly call the Bootstrapping Book, is fully intended to cover most of the questions people have when they attempt to earn an income here.
Nick Snelling and Graham Hunt between them really know how to get by in Spain, Nick is a successful journalist who has researched and written three previous books about the law and living in Spain, whilst Graham is a successful real estate agent and Internet Marketer in Valencia. Both have seen numerous expatriate residents come and go, and are completely familiar with the problems faced by foreigners, so they know the advice to give before difficulties arise.
Of course you shouldn't take my word as to why buying the Bootstrapping Book is a good investment, instead take the advice of EuroWeekly News, Expatica, Costa News, Eye on Spain, or Notes from Spain, all of which are the biggest publishers of news and information of interest to expatriate residents who all endorse and recommend Nick and Graham's book because it condenses decades of experience into a single volume that is easy to read and well structured.
Each chapter is tightly focused, well written for those of us who are easily bored by lists of facts, in fact, it is quite simply a good read. More importantly, the book is a reference that can be picked up whenever it is needed, and put away again when it isn't. This isn't a book that needs to be read from cover to cover, though if you choose to follow the new economy entrepreneur section you'll probably want to create a plan and to do list.
My Review of The Bootstrapping Book, Secrets to Living and Working in Spain
When I first moved to Spain three years ago (early 2008) I didn't know a word of the language, but I'd coped in Germany and France, so just assumed Spain wouldn't be too different. I was wrong. Spain is a wonderful country, the people are friendly, but the Mediterranean, and especially the Latin culture, is different from Northern Europe. Things I assumed would be the same just weren't.
That doesn't make Spaniards wrong, they choose to prioritise different things, not least of which is the idea that work is a means to an end, not a duty that comes before family, friends, and other responsibilities. The joke that all Spaniards treat all work as something that can be done mañana is not far from the truth, but once you live here for a while according to their rules, believe me you'll quickly adjust.
The biggest challenge to life in Spain however, is not the living part, it is the working part. With very high unemployment, and a culture of offering work to friends and family first, you can be assured that unless you work for a major corporation finding work is going to be difficult.
This is why I appreciate the efforts expended by Nick and Graham in putting together this book. You get the feeling they've taken to the time to ask questions, what challenges have people faced, what did they want to achieve, how did they eventually get around their weaknesses etc. The answers to these sorts of questions have allowed them to create a comprehensive and succinct guide to working in Spain for the rest of us.
I think the book is especially strong in its content for people who aren't retired. I know a lot of retirees also want to earn a few extra Euros per month, and certainly the opportunities and techniques discussed in the book are relevant to that age group, but the real thrust of the book is to give motivated individuals the information they need to build a successful business in Spain, though generally some capital is required.
The sections on using the Internet to create an income is particularly welcome, too many 'experts' focus on traditional ideas such as gardening or homecare services, teaching English and translation services, running a hotel or B&B, or selling advertising in a local magazine, and to be fair some people can be successful in those industries, but if everyone did it, well let's just say the market isn't big enough to support us all.
On the other hand, the Internet phenomenon is still relatively new, and there are huge untapped markets just waiting to be exploited so it is refreshing to see other expat advisors starting to explore ideas. To give a few examples, domain name flipping which has become a huge industry with some domain names selling for millions of Euros, yet the majority of people have never heard of it, or understand that you can earn an income from blogging.
Regarding conventional work, like teaching English which almost all of us have done to help make ends meet, the authors are quite blunt and honest. Yes you can make a good income from teaching English, but success comes from hard work and professionalism, and knowing exactly what you need to do to attract and then keep students.
As far as it goes this is an excellent addition to the small number of books that have been published on living and working in Spain, and if you're serious about making a long term life here I'd recommend having a read.
Outcomes from Reading The Bootstrapping Book
This isn't a book that gives you tasks to complete, instead this is a book that promises to put information in your hands to make it easy for you to choose the path you'll adopt as you discover what works for you.
I would treat the Bootstrapping Guide the first step to your long term success, and not as a complete encyclopedia. The intention is to provide sufficient information to get you started and making money. Once you start making money however you are going to need to develop a network of contacts who can help you grow your income.
Why Do I Promote this Book
Before leaving the corporate world to do my own thing I worked in sales, specifically in sales training and management, and one of the things I discovered early in my career is that networking with other people is the single best way of building your income.
I use the same approach working from home, I network with others, and my income steadily increases month on month. If you buy this ebook I do get part of the profits, however I also increase my network, and this is where we can both help each other out.
After you've started implementing the strategies and advice given in the book I would very much like to hear from you. I'm not going to try and sell you anything, networking is about making friends. Some become firm friends you choose to socialise with, others become business contacts, but as expatriate residents in Spain most of us don't have the advantage that Spaniards have. We don't have a large network of family and school friends to support us. So don't be afraid to add me. We can all help each other to be successful in Spain. You can find me on Facebook.
