Introduction
Bara-Ka.com is an online marketplace dedicated exclusively to design exclusive hand furniture for design passionates in Spain.
Its aim is to become the leader in Spain of the design second hand market by promoting a sustainability movement (an environmentally-friendly market) and connecting (design-conscious) shoppers with professionals in antiques, vintage boutiques and fairs.
We wanted to create a more appealing option and give the best design, character, individuality that the design second hand furniture and decoration can offer you.
A bit of history
Céline Maingé is a french Interior Designer (designer and interiorist) who worked for years in design studios in London before moving to Barcelona in 2019. Her passion for home design and more recently her concern about global environmental issues lead her to think about her work in a different way. “With the climate change, there is an emergency for the planet and WE, as a community, should start acting in a more responsible way, especially when it comes to the purchasing of goods”.
The needs
This is why the idea of a design second hand furniture marketplace started to grow in her mind. But, as she says, “with a touch of style”.
Moving from the idea to the reality means a huge workload: market study, business model, investment needs, ROI and margin calculation, transport solutions, marketing spendings… These are only some of the aspects that needs to be considered.
And of course, if legal aspects related to the company creation are also important, there are not at the top of mind for any young entrepreneur.
The challenge
After a first step of brainstorming and in depth studies about whether the concept should be launched in the Spanish market, the decision was taken : “Let’s go for it!”
A new set of questions then emerged from this decision, purely related to opening a company in Barcelona:
- How should the company be created, what are the legal options and their implication in order to find the right business structure
- Which status, remuneration, contract and personal liability should I have in the company, as the owner
- What are the steps to open a business in Spain
- What should I take into account from a labour and social security standpoint
- How long does it take to open a business in Spain
- How much does it costs
On top of that, managing the business requires also taking care of more practical aspects:
- How should the suppliers be paid, as Bara-ka.com is a acting as an intermediate in the relation between the buyer and the supplier
- Who should issue the invoice for the furniture
- Which type of VAT apply to the business
- How should I edit the general conditions of sale, the cookies or the privacity policies
- Do the national or local government grant economical support for entrepreneurs
And I would say “and many more” …
The solution
In my point of view, there are few solutions to these questions. In fact, only 2:
Either you do it all on your own, having to learn all the local rules, legislation, try to find help in blogs, articles or public entities. You may save some money but certainly not the time! You will find out that all theses tasks are so time consuming for unexperimented person that it ends up being much more expensive. And in case of mistake in legal, fiscal or labour aspects, the consequences are often dramatic. You may also want to outsource some part of the company creation process and transfer only part of the responsibility to others. But to be honest, a full service is finally much more efficient.
Shouldn’t entrepreneurs focus more on their core business, rather than on administrative tasks?
Céline Maingé
The other option is to look for real professionals that give you all necessary information, guidance and advice on each and every aspect of the business management. I have found in Laver a team of experts that could help me whenever I had a question, but also, and this is one the the most important thing, warned me about what I had to take into account to create and run my type of business in Spain.
Impact
Thanks to Laver’s implication in setting up my business, I have been able to save a great amount of time, create the right structure and gain confidence regarding all legal, fiscal and labour aspects of Bara-ka.com
