Navigating the Spanish Market: Experiences & Pitfalls – Part. 3
Thank you to everyone who joined the third session of our webinar series! We had a warm and practical conversation about what it really takes to build a business in Spain. If you missed it or want to revisit the key takeaways, here is a summary of the lessons shared by Juha Reima, business advisor and our board member who established Nokia Mobile Phones in Spain, and Hannu Junkkaala and Anna-Stina Wiklund, owners and hosts of the boutique hotel Castell de la Solana in Alcalalí, Alicante.
Navigating the Spanish Market: Eight Lessons from an accomplished CEO and Boutique Hotel owners in Alicante
Our guests came to Spain from very different directions.
Juha came to Spain to bring Nokia mobile phones to a market where the brand was barely known compared to competitors such as Motorola and Ericsson who were already well established. He led the operation to market leadership. Years later, he returned to Spain to set up a Spanish subsidiary for the RFID technology company Nordic ID, close to some of the world's leading retail players. Today, he advises companies and management teams.
Hannu and Anna-Stina's story is more recent. Hannu is a long-time entrepreneur, while Anna-Stina, who comes from an entrepreneurial family in Kokkola, has a background in banking. They had long dreamed of living somewhere warm, and when Hannu's business transactions in 2024 gave him the chance to spend more time abroad, they came to explore Spain. Visiting hotels in the Jalón Valley, they knew immediately that they wanted to offer the peace and wellbeing of the region to busy people. Today, they run Castell de la Solana, a boutique hotel with a spa near the village of Alcalalí, home to around 1,300 people.
Although their paths were very different, many of their lessons turned out to be the same.
Nothing Moves Before Personal Contact
In Spain, relationships come before business. Juha emphasized that it is essential to get to know people before any significant deal, and that the most important conversations often happen outside the office, over dinner or maeby on the golf course.
The payoff is a snowball effect: good relationships are passed on, and a satisfied partner will recommend you to others. Hannu and Anna-Stina have noticed the same in their local community: showing up in person to handle matters builds trust in a way that digital channels cannot.
2. Language Is the Key to the Culture
All three speakers agreed that language is the single most important investment. In a small village, you cannot get by in English. Every practical matter has to be handled in Spanish.
The good news is that Spaniards are forgiving. They appreciate the effort, and trying to speak the language earns respect. The key is to dare to make mistakes.
3. Spain Is One Country with Many Cultures
Spain has several regional languages and business cultures, and the dynamics can vary significantly between regions. Juha recalled a client in Catalonia involving the regional administration, where documentation in Spanish was not accepted: English was preferred, and Catalan even more so. Learning just a few words of Catalan or Basque for example can go a long way in building goodwill in these regions.
4. Buying a Company Can Be Smarter Than Buying a Property
Hannu and Anna-Stina were advised to buy only the property, but they ended up acquiring the entire company, a Spanish S.L., and it proved to be a good decision. Along with the company came the hotel licences, permits to live on the property, an olive grove, a restaurant, an accountant and a bank account, some of which would not have transferred with the building alone.
It can also make a significant tax difference. A direct property purchase is subject to a transfer tax of around 10% in the region, whereas the transfer of company shares is, as a rule, exempt. There is an anti-avoidance exception for companies whose assets consist mainly of real estate not used in a business activity, and buying a company also means taking on its history and liabilities. That is exactly why thorough due diligence and expert advice are essential.
5. Bureaucracy Is Paper-Based, So Get Things Right the First Time
Hannu and Anna-Stina started with almost no Spanish at all, and all notary and sale documents were in Spanish, so a bilingual Finnish-Spanish lawyer based in the Málaga area was invaluable. Some steps were surprising: they even had to visit the police to obtain permission to open the hotel.
The notary system can feel rigid because everything is done on paper, which makes mistakes hard to correct. Even though the hotel was purchased through a Finnish company, a personal NIE number was still required. At the notary, a temporary identification number was registered by mistake, which caused problems with online banking credentials, among other things. It took a year and a half to get the correct NIE updated in all documents.
6. Face to Face rather than Digital
Digital solutions are less widely implemented in Spain than in the Nordics. Many matters are still handled in person at offices, opening hours differ from Finland, and mornings are usually the best time to get things done.
The same applies to customers. Where Finns tend to send a message or search online, most bookings and enquiries at the hotel arrive by phone, and customer service works best face to face.
7. Adapt to the Local Rhythm
You cannot reshape local ways of working to suit your own preferences. A good rule of thumb from the hotel hosts: one big thing a day. Not everything can be done at once, and life in the countryside brings its own challenges, as electricity, water and sewage are not as straightforward as in the city.
Spanish customers also have their own rhythm. They eat very late, which restaurants need to plan for. At the same time, they are open, curious and warm. Many are interested in Finland, a surprising number have visited, and they tend to be easy, uncomplicated guests. The hotel also welcomes many guests from Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, and Belgium.
8. Build Your Network Actively
Spaniards are welcoming, but you need to be active and seek out opportunities yourself, through entrepreneur networks, hobbies and local community life. A strong network is also what helps you find reliable local services when you need them, and Hannu and Anna-Stina have deliberately chosen to work with local people when possible.
Practical Advice for Future Entrepreneurs in Spain
From Juha:
Make sure your product fits the market.
Ensure you have enough cash to operate until the business becomes profitable.
Prepare carefully for permits, licences and taxation, and get help. Professional advice costs money, but mistakes cost more.
Choose your location carefully and consider how it serves your business.
From Hannu and Anna-Stina:
Language is everything. Even the basics will take you a long way.
Accept that you cannot change the culture. You must adapt to it.
Take steps toward your dreams now rather than later.
Summary
Spain offers great opportunities for Finnish companies and entrepreneurs, but success rarely comes from the business plan alone. Based on our guests' experiences, the most important success factors are:
Building personal relationships and trust before doing business.
Learning the language and respecting regional differences.
Careful legal and tax preparation with the help of local experts.
Being present in person rather than relying only on digital channels.
Patience and a willingness to adapt to the local rhythm.
An active approach to building a local network.
Thank you to Juha, Hannu and Anna-Stina for sharing their stories so openly, and to everyone who joined us. Stay tuned for the next session of our webinar series!
Missed the session or want to watch it again? You can find the full recording here: https://youtu.be/lZ6ZVjxLfg0