The freelance life
It is pretty nerve-wracking to become a freelancer here, and may take an initial leap of faith. There will be taxes and expenses to meet each month, and the freelance life is often one of feast or famine—it can be hard to budget very far ahead. Nevertheless, a life is a long time to spend working for someone else and, despite the crisis, from the back alleys of the Raval to the avenues of l’Eixample there are studios, flats and offices full of DIY-ers with a dream—locals and foreigners alike, becoming masters of their own destiny, taking the plunge, becoming autónomos.
People like Monica Nanti, an Italian who has lived in the city for eight years—she designs and makes clothes, and sells them in her own shop (Cotoners 12, Carrer Cotoners 12). She said her business is helped by the city’s creative atmosphere—colourful streets, a relaxing ocean and a mixture of cultures. There’s also a spirit of rebellion that dates back to the Franco years when Barcelona was one of the last pockets of resistance, attracting bohemians and artists from across Spain. “Barcelona is a city where you can be what you want to be,” she said. “Catalans are hippies at heart.”
For Nanti, the crisis meant she had to to roll with the punches, a skill she deems indispensable for a freelancer. She noted that shoppers have less disposable cash, but that they don’t want to stop spending. The answer? Focus on more affordable options—give customers the opportunity to buy a €5 wallet if they can no longer afford the €40 skirts. But never, never sacrifice the standard of your work. As a result, she said that for her and her partner business is on the up. She stressed that freelancers’ pride in their products, whether it’s a silk scarf, a new band or a 10-foot origami swan, is the essence of success.
Two more Italians, Andrea Civettini and Andrea Capodivacca are set to open a shop and bar specialising in Italian produce in Poblenou (Melocomo, Pujades 188). They stand in the space that they are slowly turning from a mattress shop into a flamboyant eatery, and they beam with pride. They have personally sourced produce from various regions throughout Italy, and the mozzarella that they will be offering is from Civettini’s father-in-law’s farm in Brescia. “We want to make mozzarella Barcelona’s new drug,” said Capodivacca with a glint in his eye. They have something good to offer and they know it.
Barcelona’s autónomos come from all over the world. Wanda (www.wandabarcelona.com) consists of two high-energy Colombians who create atmospheric architectural spaces for the likes of Bread & Butter, Diesel and Lladró. Inti Velez Bolero and Daniel Mancini have lived here for four and five years, respectively. They have worked at numerous jobs from ice cream sellers in Plaça Catalunya to door-to-door sales for Jazztel before finally finding themselves in a position to go full-time with their business. For a year they have had their own light, bright and beautifully chaotic studio in the Raval—a magical world where sofas are piled with coloured balls, cardboard chandeliers hang from the ceiling and a three-legged dog snaps at your ankles. “We didn’t find anywhere to express what we had to say, our creativity needed its own way, and that’s why we created Wanda,” said Velez.
For a lot of freelancers, it seems, a job simply wasn’t there for them in Barcelona, so they decided to make one up themselves. Get Your Acts Together are a four-strong international booking agency whose members come from France, England and Australia. For two years they have been building a reputation and now have the likes of Nouvelle Vague and Phoebe Killdear on their books. All of them arrived in Barcelona with no Catalan and only basic Castilian. They decided they had no chance of breaking into the music scene, so their only option was to go it alone. They did find some things in their favour, however. “It’s cheap to live here—there are less career opportunities for foreigners, but a better lifestyle,” said one of the group, Christophe Quemin.
This is a common thread that can be noted amongst freelancers in the city. There is a quality of life and affordability to Barcelona that make the initial risks less daunting. There may not be a market here for what a freelancer is offering, but this is not necessarily an impediment to living in Barcelona. Many of the city’s freelancers use the city as their base and travel to work elsewhere.
Miss Van, from France, is a well-established street artist who has lived in Barcelona for six years. She did not want to be linked to big brands, always having to satisfy the wishes of others, so she is currently setting up her own clothing label with local designer Anaoana (www.missvan-anaoana.com). She said that there are a lot of artists, designers and photographers in the city with not enough work to go around and she advised freelancers here to make the most of Barcelona as a base whilst maintaining contacts abroad and travelling as much as possible. “I feel lucky as I am not working here properly—I show my work in the rest of Europe and America.”
In Spain’s current financial climate, becoming a freelancer can seem like a daunting prospect. There are a substantial number of bureaucratic hoops to jump through and the outcome is never certain. But, for some, freelancing might just prove to be the perfect answer to an employment crisis. Barcelona’s autónomos are a varied group but they share one thing in common—a dogged spirit of independence and a minor obsession with deciding for themselves what time they get out of bed.
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Six steps to being an autónomo, according to Roger Brumwell from TAX Accountants (www.tax.es) in Barcelona:
1. Get your Número de Identidad de Extranjeros (NIE), if you don’t already have one, from the Ministry of the Interior (www.mir.es).
2. Register at your local tax office (Delegación de Hacienda); find your nearest office on the web of the Agencia Tributaria (www.aeat.es). There is a list of all the professions—find which fits you best. You will be IVA (VAT) registered and your NIE number will be your IVA number.
3. Register at your local social security office (www.seg-social.es). You will need your passport, NIE and tax office register form.
4. To invoice you’ll need your full details on your invoices (name, address,
NIE number).
5. File your taxes quarterly in January, April, July and October. You will have to file your IVA returns and withholding tax on your personal income tax.
6. Your full-year personal income tax (IRPF) has to be filed in April of the following year.