When my partner told me we should move to Valencia from London 4 years ago I was full of doubts. Now it's 2 years since we opened Colores Hair Salon and I can say that was the best thing that ever happened to me!
I fell in love with Valencia the first time we visited here. It's a great place to be, with the food, weather, culture, architecture, and the whole ambience. The only question was, is it good to open a business here considering the weak Spanish economy, our basic knowledge of the language and the country's culture. We are the outsiders diving into the unknown future, sometimes though we have to take the risk. When the pandemic started I thought our dreams grows further from us but weirdly it made our plans even easier. We have a lot of free time before moving to Valencia to think through the whole concept of the salon. Coming here in January 2021 during the lockdown when there were a lot of restrictions in place with the plan to open a new hair salon in Valencia seemed crazy. Turned out that there were a lot of empty shops, so it made it easier to find our perfect location. Friends told us it should be Ruzafa, the coolest neighbourhood, with lots of art galleries, restaurants, bars, boutiques and hair salons, so here we are. Going through the labyrinth of Spanish beaurocracy is not easy, but the fact that no one is opening new businesses during the pandemic helps to speed up the process. We decided to market ourselves as an English-speaking hair salon till we learn more Spanish and that nich made us unique and helped us grow the clientele very quickly. Valencia has been now 2 years in a row announced as the best city to live in the World, so there are a lot of expats moving in.
I'm not surprised at all; this city is that happy middle, not too big not too small, has a lot to offer and everybody comes here for the same reason: better life quality.
In the end Valencia it's perfect to open a new business, why? It is the right time and the right place, the city is growing and evolving now a lot. More and more people and companies are moving here every year. Where in London it was difficult to make anything seemed special and different, Valencia gives you the space and inspiration to create something new.
London was tough, with lots of ambitious people you have to compete with, but all the experiences working in five-star salons, with celebrities, on photo shoots and tv sets made us grow and we learned a lot. That knowledge is paying off now, that was the key to success.
We managed to create a place whose strength is the quality of work, positive relaxing atmosphere and the highest quality products. Starting a collaboration with Balmain Hair Couture was again a good decision, with many of amazing and talented people behind the brand.
We achieved the perfect balance, everybody dreams about, we live in a beautiful place and make enough money to support that lifestyle.