Groupe: Costa del Sol Business Club

Hi everybody,
I landed in Marbella, by accident, meaning, for urgent family matters.
And now that all is arranged, the question is: should I stay or should I go?
But, wooow, how the world and Marbella have changed in the past 8 years or so. A global crisis, a clean-me-up- Marbella, and a real change in social behavior.
When I say social behavior, I mean that the "Me, myself and I" or "The individualistic narcisist pervert type" (named by the french psicologist Marie France Hirigoyen), is coming to an end, due mainly to the crisis. It is slowly but gradually being replaced by "indvidualistic collectives", and words like ethics, respect and morality are coming back.
Anyways, I have an M.B.A. in international business Management for Dallas university, more than 12 years experience in managing troubled units: human conflicts, poor productivity into nice working ambience and profitability. Fluent in English, Spanish and French.
Wishing the best for the group, Cris.

Was interested to read your take on the changing face of Marbella business.

You are so right. I have been here for 23 years now (OMG!) and I, too, have noticed a trend underlying the obvious cosmetic changes surrounding the Coast.

Whilst many of the less stable businesses (for want of a better description) have disappeared as a result of the crisis, they will return like moths to a flame as soon as there are signs of improvement. Others will spring up from nothing. And yet others will simply change their name to walk away from their past and start afresh,

As a result, those of us who have seen this before are ever more reluctant to work with this kind of company. This undoubtedly makes things harder for the start up business - you need to earn your stripes. But that is how it is in more established marketplaces. It's hard to start up in London or Madrid, it takes a time and hard work. On the Coast, in the past, money has been enough. you set up a business in impressive offices, plenty of staff, new computers and there you are, playing with the big boys.

Not quite so anymore. Track record is ever more important. References are sought.

We should welcome this. It makes integrity and professionalism more important. It allows clients to make more informed choices. It means the market is maturing.

So stay. We're just getting started.