Many months ago, I penned a piece right here, entitled ‘Portugal: Great place to live, difficult place to run a business’, in which I said: “Even if the government is not helping us do this in any obviously helpful way, making it unnecessarily hard and punishing when you digress from their obscure framework, I say let’s push on, get help and create great enterprises anyway.”
“Wish me luck as I become a true Portuguese business,” I continued, somewhat crestfallen and sorry for myself in those days after many negative experiences, adding “why not join me in starting your own entrepreneurial venture in Portugal – generating profit and adding value to the Portuguese economy and society?”
Well, I’m delighted to share this week the news that my and my wife Louisa’s efforts to create a company together in Portugal have finally come to fruition. ‘Good Morning Portugal LDA’ has indeed risen from the well-raked ashes of my earlier consternation and stresses, and we will soon trade officially as a firm rather than self-employed individuals issuing the country’s ancient ‘green receipts’.
It’s not a secret to say that whilst I love my work, as does my better half, who is an international astrological consultant, neither of us have found running a business – from an administrative and governmental perspective – a pleasant process, to put it mildly. I am sure we are not alone in this, and our response to the soul-sucking bureaucratic complexity was to actually double-down on our corporate unease, rather than to suffer indefinitely, or quit.
You may recall that enlisting some professional insight and expertise from someone we now call a friend – Raquel Batista of Lighthouse Consulting – was the difference that made a difference. And it was she who hand-held and baby-stepped us to this remarkable milestone of incorporation, as well as changing our attitude towards our business activities and how we are now choosing to approach them.
It has taken us just over a year to really get our ‘ducks in a row’, figure out the right structure and adjust our sights on long-term business development, instead of just bumbling along, month-to-month. One of the big realisations we’ve had along the way is how Portugal does business, certainly at our level, where the family firm has an identity and form of its own, which serves the family who invest their time and entrepreneurial efforts into it.
This is not, I would suggest, naturally a ‘start-up’ culture where it’s all hands to the company pump, growing an endeavour fast and furiously, with the intention of a quick sell-off to salivating investors and shareholders. And whilst Lisbon has endeavoured to be a hub of such febrile business development, with ‘unicorns’ (a privately held startup company with a valuation exceeding $1 billion) being the be-all and end-all of entrepreneurial aspiration, I say Portugal is home, traditionally, to a different mythical creature – the dinosaur.
Often when ‘dinosaur’ is used to describe someone or something, it tends to mean dated, inflexible and destined for extinction. However, in my new appreciation for, and understanding of, Portuguese business models, I reclaim and use the word to mean “steady, sturdy and built for long-term ups and downs. From this tradition, Portugal has many long-established, often family-run companies, ‘institutions’ almost, who enjoy trans-generational brand awareness and deep loyalty.
The country’s postal service CTT notably dates back to 1520, and some say there are letters from that first year that have still to be delivered! Joking aside, a recent KPMG report that surveyed around 2,700 family businesses globally, a hundred of them Portuguese, found that around two-thirds of Portuguese family businesses are managed by the second and third generations of the family with 20% led by the fourth generation. It’s not just Mom and Pop, it’s the grandparents and grandkids too.
This recent business baptism and entrepreneurial enlightenment has stopped my moaning, birthing an all-together more constructive and positive approach to my work life that is no longer a headache-inducing drudge, and more about long-term vision that my descendants might one day join and benefit from. Portuguese business, it seems, is not get-rich-quick; it’s slow and steady in race terms; certainly, a marathon mindset and not a sprint.
That’s not to say that life will be problem-free for us as the Good Morning Portugal LDA. Starting and running a business is notoriously challenging, with many, even most, failing wherever they operate in the world. Yet finally, we have the support, structure and sensibility here in Portugal to give this our best shot, minimising drag, maximising benefits, and getting on – as freely as possible – with the work we love to do, helping others create great lives.
What’s more, I have a great sense that the most turgid and stifling aspects of the ‘old way’ are being tempered and lightened by a new breed of young entrepreneurs and a more supportive environment (to give the new government some credit here too). And my associates seem to agree with this analysis …
“The more I look around, the more I see a drive and passion from young people to start and grow their businesses, often through cooperation and interdependence,” says Vitor Costa who, with his wife Maria, started and runs Portugal Door, a full-service agency for clients seeking a new home or business in Portugal, especially the north of the country. “The future looks bright for entrepreneurship, and I expect to see business knowledge and attitudes to become more commonplace in the following generations,” he adds.
Steven Whyte of Home Miners, the property development company that focuses on Central Portugal, is also upbeat about the country’s current state of opportunity: “Right now, the world is experiencing a large transfer of wealth. You need to figure out a way to adapt or you will get left behind.”
“Find a gap in the market, supply the demand. There’s 101 ways to make money in Portugal, but it’s up to you to figure out how to monetise from it!” he says, preferring Portugal to his native UK and former home, Canada.
Sarah Davie of Spartan FX, who convert global currencies for business owners and their clients in Portugal (incidentally recently moved herself to the country, after helping countless others to do so), says: “Portugal’s stable economy presents numerous business opportunities. The country’s growing startup ecosystem, supportive government policies, and skilled workforce make it an attractive destination for entrepreneurs. Additionally, the Portuguese are known for their hospitality and openness to international business, fostering a collaborative environment that can benefit newcomers such as myself.”
“There is a growing spirit of entrepreneurialism here,” says my namesake Carl Hyde who works with high-end real estate firm The Agency in Lisbon, pushing for more support: “However, I do feel that the government needs to do more to encourage new business, the barrier for entry should be as low as possible, you need to allow people to fail without fear of punishment.”
Expat or native, please join us. Something is in the entrepreneurial air and I reckon we can have a lot of fun starting passion-based businesses that add value to the culture we love and that has welcomed us.
By Carl Munson
Carl Munson is host of the Good Morning Portugal! show every weekday on YouTube and creator of www.learnaboutportugal.com, where you can learn something new about Portugal every day!
