Eight things to check in your home insurance

Do you know what’s covered by your home insurance? The most common mistake when taking out insurance is not checking the details of the policy. To avoid unpleasant surprises at the last minute, we detail some points of the contract that you should look out for.

Building cover covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home in the event of a disaster. To differentiate it from the contents, a very graphic formula is to imagine that we can turn our home upside down. Everything that would fall down would be the contents, while what would not fall down would be the building.

Keep in mind that the value of the building coverage does not represent the purchase price or market value of your home. Nor should it include the value of the land on which the house or building was built. In reality, it is the amount that would be needed to rebuild the home back to the way it was. This value is known as the “reconstruction cost”.

Home insurance also includes a section dedicated to your “contents”, or your things (TV, clothes, computer, bicycle, etc.). The amount that appears in that section is the amount that the insurance will pay you as a maximum if something happens to your things, so it should more or less correspond to their real value.

The clauses of the policy, under scrutiny

Here are some elements that you should take into account so that you don’t overpay and so that the insurance doesn’t underpay you in the event of a claim:

• Avoid duplication. If your building has insurance, check its coverage, as you will be able to exclude from your policy the elements of the building that are already included in the community insurance. Bear in mind that, in the event of a claim, if an element is covered by both the community insurance and your private insurance, you will not be paid twice.
• Make sure the valuation of the building is correct. If the sums insured are much higher than the value of your home, you are paying for protection that you do not need, as, in the event of a claim, the insurance will only pay for reconstruction, nothing else. On the other hand, if the reconstruction value of your home is higher than the insured sums, the insurer will only pay up to the insured sums, leaving you with a shortfall in your recovery. Therefore, you should adjust your policy to be slightly above the value of your home, but without paying for unnecessary cover. As a guideline, bear in mind that the valuation should range from around 800 euros per square metre for normal flats to 1,300 euros for a detached house.
• Check that the valuation of the contents is adequate. Be aware that insurers impose limits on the individual value of the personal things they cover by default. Normally, your valuables will need additional cover. You need to register them or your insurance will only reimburse you up to the individual limit you have by default in your policy. We recommend that you take photos (or a video) of all your things. To estimate their value, first, make a list of the valuable items and calculate their cost, and then estimate the figure for less valuable items such as clothes and kitchen utensils and round up their value.
• Keep an eye on how glass cover reflects. Glass cover includes everything from windows to mirrors. You should make sure that windows are included among the building covers, while mirrors are included in the contents. Sometimes insurers use this separation to exclude part of the windows from the coverage, so check if they are all covered.
• Consider coverage for aesthetic damage and sanitary ware. Toilets, countertops and other items should be protected by these coverages. Some insurers include these elements as part of the contents, which can be detrimental if the insured capital is lower than the real one. In addition, it can lead to bathrooms and kitchens being excluded from specific coverage, such as aesthetic damage if only building damage is covered and bathrooms and kitchens are considered as contents. You should check that the coverage for aesthetic damage covers the necessary repairs to maintain the aesthetic uniformity of your home after an incident, as insurers play a lot with the limitations of this coverage, especially in bathrooms and kitchens. Make sure that your insurance covers sanitary ware as a building and does not have hidden exclusions. Neither does the clauses regarding aesthetic damage, which must cover a minimum capital of 2,000 euros.
• Make sure that the insurance covers the replacement value of the contents. The actual value is the value that most insurers calculate to replace your stolen or damaged items. It is calculated on the basis of what the same item would cost today (the replacement value) minus the loss of value due to age, wear and tear (depreciation). Hence the importance of the insurance not covering the actual value, but the replacement value, which is the price for which your item (of the same maker and model) could be bought today if it were new. In short, the replacement value is the market price. If your insurance uses the actual value, you will probably want to look for insurance with a similar price but using the replacement value.
• Check that the policy includes legal defence. Without such coverage, your insurance will not offer you the support of a lawyer in the event of a legal dispute. This is one of the first coverages that insurers tend to cut back on in order to offer lower prices.
• Check if the price reflects security features. The fact of installing a security door makes most insurers lower the price of coverage related to burglary. The same applies to security measures such as alarms or grilles. Also, elements such as smoke or water sensors should help you reduce the price of water-related and fire-related coverages. Make sure that these modifiers are included in your insurance if you have them.

We can highlight that it is essential you review the insured capitals and adjust them to the characteristics of your home; check that all the limits are adequate and cover what you expect, and that your insurance includes some modifiers in the price to adjust what you pay each year to the changes you make to your home.

If you want to discover fair insurance for your home and for society, check 11Onze Segurs.

Are you convinced that your financial decisions are always guided by reason? We are sorry to disappoint you. Some 180 biases have been identified that can condition our analysis of reality and our choices. From 11Onze, we present eleven of the most common ones.

Although we all like to think that we are rational and that our logic is infallible, the truth is that our decisions are constantly exposed to the influence of cognitive biases and some mental shortcuts that distort the analysis of reality. Their impact can condition the choices we make every day if we are unaware of their importance, including in the financial arena.

The scientific literature has already identified some 180 traps in our minds that can lead us to make wrong judgements. Some are quite obvious and you may recognise them in yourself or others. But others are so subtle that they are almost impossible to detect. 

Keep in mind that attention is a limited resource, so we cannot evaluate all the details and possibilities when making a decision. As a result, we often get carried away by emotions and subjective opinions, or resort to mental shortcuts that speed up our ability to make judgements and can lead us into error. From 11Onze, we present eleven of these traps and how to avoid them.

• Confirmation

This bias means that we tend to pay more attention to information that confirms our beliefs than to information that questions them. Who doesn’t like to be proved right? Overvaluing data that confirms our biases inhibits our critical capacity and prevents us from considering all facts logically and rationally.

So if we think that investing in a particular asset might be a good investment or that switching electricity companies will help us save money, we should not just look for information to support that decision. It is always good to listen to critical voices. Only by comparing the data for and against and weighing them objectively can we make a well-informed decision. 

• Anchoring

We are prone to be overly influenced by the initial information we receive, which we take as a point of reference. Thus, the first figure that appears in a price negotiation often becomes an anchor point for subsequent negotiations. It has been shown that even hearing a random figure can influence our estimates on a completely unrelated subject.

This is a bias to bear in mind when, for example, we negotiate the price of a house. If we are asked for a very high price and we manage to lower it a little, we may end up accepting the deal with the feeling that we have negotiated well even though the final amount is still above the market price. In reality, however, our counteroffer was probably heavily conditioned by the first price we asked for. Hence the importance of being well informed and avoiding rushing into a decision.

• Availability

This mental shortcut is designed to save us time when trying to determine risk. It leads us to estimate the probability of something happening based too much on the most accessible information in our brain, such as the number of examples that come to mind.

We tend to overestimate the likelihood of something happening based on how easily we remember something similar happening. This means that, for example, we often decide whether or not to take out home insurance based on whether one of our acquaintances recently suffered a serious domestic mishap. For this reason, it is always advisable to expand our information with external and more global data, which give a more realistic picture of the probability of something happening.

• Familiarity

This bias, which is closely linked to the availability bias, is summed up in the saying “better the bad you know than the good you don’t know”. We tend to trust the familiar and distrust the unfamiliar.

This is one of the main reasons why many people prefer to invest in domestic assets rather than foreign ones, even though the returns on the latter may be considerably higher.

• Exaggerated optimism

We tend to overestimate our capabilities and the likelihood of good things happening to us, while underestimating the likelihood of negative things happening to us. This bias is rooted in the availability shortcut, as we tend to accumulate more memories of the negative things that happen to other people and the good things that we experience ourselves. Hence, we find it more likely that negative events will affect others.

The good thing about this tendency towards optimism is that it motivates us to pursue our goals, but we should be humble and not relativise the risks we take. If the economic situation around us worsens, it is foolhardy to turn our backs on saving, thinking only that we will not be affected by the crisis.

• Representativeness

We think that two things are more likely to happen when they are similar or similar to each other. Our prejudices lead us to create stereotypes that serve as a basis for judgement. If we have had good experiences with expensive products, it is easy for us to assume that a product is of good quality simply because it has a high price, and this is not always the case. It never hurts to listen to the opinion of other users before purchasing.

• Halo effect

The initial impression we get of a person influences what we think of them in general. This is why we tend to believe that attractive people are also smarter, nicer and funnier. And, financially, that products marketed by such people are also more valuable.

One factor that can influence the halo effect is our tendency to want to get it right. If our initial impression of someone was positive, we will tend to look for evidence to confirm our first impression. Hence the importance of always maintaining a critical spirit. 

• Hindsight bias

This bias leads us to see events, even random ones, as more predictable than they really are. Yes, it is the typical “I knew it already” bias whereby so many people claim to have seen a crisis coming when they are already in the midst of it. It happens for a combination of reasons, including our ability to “misremember” previous predictions and the tendency to see events as inevitable.

The truth is that we make predictions all the time, so some of them are bound to come true. Our poor memory of the ones we fail to remember makes it easy for us to become overconfident about our predictions. And this can sometimes lead us to take unwise risks. The antidotes are prudence and humility.

• Gambler’s fallacy

This false belief describes our tendency to think that something will happen because it hasn’t happened yet. For example, if we play roulette and the last few times the ball has landed on red, we might mistakenly assume that the probability that the next outcome will be black is higher. However, these events are independent of each other, so there is no relationship between the probability of the two outcomes. This is something we should bear in mind when chaining bad investments together. Each must be accompanied by a specific analysis.

• Framework effect

As explained in another article, this cognitive bias means that the same information, presented in different ways, can lead to different conclusions. For example, you are more likely to agree to a financial transaction if you are told that there is a 60% chance that it will go well than if you are warned that there is a 40% chance that it will go badly.

This is a very important bias when making decisions that affect your finances. You should carefully assess the information they give you about any proposal they make to you, as it is probably designed to achieve their objectives, and rephrase the data so that it is as aseptic as possible.

• Loss aversion

Our fear of losing is often stronger than the pleasure we experience when we win. When we lose an amount of money, our sense of disappointment is greater than the joy we feel when we win the same amount of money. That is why, when faced with similar probabilities of success or failure, we tend to choose the conservative option.

Ground rules against biases

As the list of cognitive biases is very long, it is useful to apply four basic rules that will help you avoid most of them:

Reflect on past decisions. If you have been in a similar situation before, reflect on the outcomes of the decisions you made to avoid repeating certain biases. For example, because we tend to underestimate the amount of money we need, you can track your spending over the past few months to see how much money you need to budget.

Challenge your point of view. Try to see the weaknesses in your logic, however inconsequential they may seem to you, which is helped by lists of pros and cons. You may be more convinced of your decision if it stands up to serious and critical scrutiny.

Don’t make decisions under pressure. Haste is not a good companion. Although it may not seem like it, very few cases require immediate decisions. 

Include outside viewpoints. A second opinion is never a bad thing, so consult someone who is objective and has no stake in the decision. They can provide different points of view, challenge your opinions and detect your cognitive biases.

If you want your business to make a giant leap, use 11Onze Business. Our business and freelancer account is now available. Find out more!

We have carried out a study of the costs of home insurance through a survey on the members of our community who are homeowners, with the aim of analysing the competitiveness of the product that we offer through 11Onze Segurs.

The survey was conducted by 11Onze through our Telegram channel with the participation of 279 users who responded to the question: “How much do you pay for your home insurance each year? They were given the option to choose from a range of prices ranging from €60 per year to more than €400.

The final data shows that 56% of users pay between €200 and €400 per year for their home insurance, while 22% spend between €100 and €200 per year. In addition, 18% pay more than €400 per year. These results are in line with the average annual price of home insurance in Spain, which is around €301 per year.

How much do you pay for your home insurance?

A more competitive alternative

At 11Onze Segurs we believe that you can reduce the cost of home insurance by optimising processes and personalising coverage. That’s why we have a completely digitalised platform, where we do away with paper contracts, physical agencies, management fees, cancellation and contract change fees, which is already a considerable saving, but we also let you modify and adapt the coverages to your needs at any time, before and after signing the contract.

In this way, we can offer you home insurance from €5 per month. Our policy is designed so that you do not pay more for your insurance, offering a monthly or annual fee, without permanence, between 15%-20% cheaper than with traditional insurers. What is the monthly cost of your current home insurance? Do you want to know how much you could save? Try our price simulator by entering some basic data, and you’ll get your no-obligation quote instantly.

If you want to discover fair insurance for your home and for society, check 11Onze Segurs.

No, not everything has been invented, but it is true that it seems increasingly difficult to come up with an innovative idea that can be turned into a profitable business. Sílvia Granado, 11Onze agent, details the advantages and disadvantages of creating innovative businesses.

Entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation are essential to developing new technologies and products that meet our needs. In the current economic context, where many businesses have to compete in an ever-changing globalised market, and where it has been proven that nothing lasts forever, the innovation that brings value to consumers is the key to survival.

Selling or producing a product that is already established in the market, as well as providing a service for which there is a lot of competition, often means tiny margins and unsustainable growth over time. However, getting ahead of the competition with disruptive business ideas is not easy, and carries certain risks that need to be taken into account.

As Granado explains, by creating innovative products “you can stay ahead of your competition and attract investors more easily“, but we must not forget that “new ideas take longer to come to light, and you have to work very hard”.

On the other hand, it is important to distinguish between an innovative company in which innovation is central to its raison d’être, and a company that innovates a product or service on an ad hoc basis according to the needs of the moment. But whatever the criteria behind a disruptive idea, “it is a source of pride to create a project from scratch, and to see how your competitors use you as an example“, says Granado.

If you want your business to make a giant leap, use 11Onze Business. Our business and freelancer account is now available. Find out more!

What will the job of the future look like and what skills will we need to succeed? To answer these two questions, the McKinsey Global Institute has conducted extensive research and concluded that we will need to master at least 56 skills to secure a job, higher wages and greater well-being at work.

The institute has classified these 56 skills in the study into four broad blocks: manual and physical skills, which will be of decreasing interest; and high-value technological, social and cognitive skills, which are gaining in importance. The McKinsey Global Institute surveyed more than 18,000 people in 15 countries and aims to get governments and companies to prioritise work teams that meet these requirements.

For starters, the institute points out in the report that, while there will continue to be many skilled jobs, the new technological revolution we are heading towards, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, will increasingly require more dynamic, creative and digital people. It will therefore be essential to add value to the automated and artificially intelligent systems that are taking hold in many companies. It will also be necessary to adapt and train constantly in the digital environment, achieving new skills. For this reason, they believe that governments need to start promoting new educational plans to prepare adults and young people for the new scenario.

Cognitive skills: creativity and adaptability

1. Solving problems in a structured way.
2. Control logical reasoning.
3. Understanding differential features.
4. Knowing how to search for relevant information.
5. Organise a work plan.
6. Prioritise tasks within a given time.
7. Agility of thought.
8. Ease of learning.
9. Good public speaking skills.
10. To get the right questions right.
11. Synthesising messages.
12. Listening skills.
13. Imagination and creativity.
14. Transferring knowledge to different contexts.
15. Adopting different perspectives.
16. Adaptability

Interpersonal skills: empathy and collaboration

1. Modifying the role when necessary.
2. Reaching consensus.
3. Always having an inspiring vision.
4. Organisational awareness.
5. Demonstrate empathy.
6. Inspire trust.
7. Maintain humility.
8. Be sociable.
9. Encourage diversity.
10. Motivate emotional situations.
11. Resolving conflicts.
12. Collaborate.
13. Helping.
14. Empower

Leadership skills: integrity and motivation

1. Understanding the emotions of others.
2. Having self-control.
3. Knowing one’s own strengths.
4. Integrity.
5. Knowing how to motivate oneself.
6. Self-confidence.
7. Taking risky decisions.
8. Leading change and innovation.
9. Energy, passion and optimism.
10. Break the mould.
11. decisiveness
12. Clear direction.
13. Persistence and perseverance.
14. Accepting uncertainty.
15. Striving for emancipation.

Technology skills: cybersecurity and ethics

1. More digital literacy.
2. Expanding digital knowledge.
3. Knowledge of digital collaboration networks.
4. Digital ethics.
5. Learn programming.
6. Know how to analyse data and statistics.
7. Have algorithmic thinking.
8. Be trained in Big Data.
9. Know about cybersecurity.
10. Be up to date in intelligent systems.
11. Know how to translate technology into useful actions.

If you want your business to make a giant leap, use 11Onze Business. Our business and freelancer account is now available. Find out more!

The reasoning is simple and powerful at the same time: the most important and profitable asset of any company is its workers. So what could be better than keeping the most important asset of the organization in its natural state, which is where its full potential shows?

This reasoning, however, does not apply exclusively to the workplace. Its connotations are paramount, as all people are workers, at least in potential, whether in the active workplace, post-work field, academic field, or in any other situation. It is clear, then, that happiness transcends all this, and ends up with a common denominator: the human being.

The scientific pursuit of happiness

Talking about happiness is nothing new: Aristotle was already giving deep dissertations on it in the 4th century BC. But in recent years, the concept of positive psychology has gained strength. Positive psychology is a current in psychology that studies the foundations of psychological well-being and happiness, as well as human strengths and virtues. The difference with respect to other close currents of psychology and with its historical precedents is that it is based on the scientific method. The psychologist Martin Seligman laid its foundations in the late 1990s, and other authors, such as Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, have made it grow with their contributions. 

At first glance, the purpose of positive psychology may sound too arrogant. Now science seeks to tell us what happiness is? But there are many dissident voices that consider that happiness is much more than just processing a simple set of measurable values in the field of psychology.

Debates aside, we all know, without having to learn it, when we feel good, and most of all, when we feel bad. It is something innate. Our body goes like clockwork with well-being, whereas it begins to give warning signals when we experiment discomfort. 

What do the experts say?

Since companies are mostly sets of people, it may seem basic to ensure the well-being and satisfaction of workers. However, in the business logic linked to the Industrial Revolution (still very much present everywhere), the general paradigm has been quite the opposite: to make them work to the maximum to obtain greater profits. A vision where their personal well-being is far from the concern of the company.

Studies on this topic conclude that the experience of workers who feel comfortable in their organization is much more valuable than even the material goods they can receive as gratification. And this is because this experience has no expiration; it can always be evoked and enjoyed again.

Workers’ happiness as a barometer of business health

So now it is no longer a matter of focusing only on the famous customer experience (CX): the employee experience also plays a key role in the success of the organization, both from the company’s point of view (because a happy, creative, or empathetic employee is synonymous with a more productive worker) and from the point of view of the worker (because we spend almost a third of our lives at work).

A good example of the consolidation of this trend is the emergence of various indices, such as the Global Job Happiness Index, which measure happiness in the workplace. Likewise, the figure known as Chief Happiness Officer consolidates in those organizations that are committed to the value of people and the profitability of a happy employee.

Dissemination achieves awareness and involvement

People and companies are a strange mix. People are tangible beings who act moved by gratification; we put our efforts into what rewards us, in whatever form. However, companies are in themselves intangible, although at the same time they are made up of people, and have as their purpose either their own benefit, social benefit (non-profit), or a combination of the two, which provides a sustainable benefit for society.  

A strange mix and, at the same time, what a fruitful synergy when the focus of the organization is on people!

At 11Onze, we have believed in this fundamental value from the very beginning, which is shared by all the people who make up our community. And it’s working! 

If you want your business to make a giant leap, use 11Onze Business. Our business and freelancer account is now available. Find out more!

Sometimes it is not easy to find the terms “ethics” and “business” together. It is popularly believed that the essence of one eliminates the other and in this we justify the lack of a network of companies that are truly committed to guaranteeing conditions, but society has changed and needs the working environment to change as well. A paradigm shift where company dynamics put in place fairer structures for all, for example, could be one of the ways to change the working environment.

When we talk about ethics in business, we basically concentrate on the ethical “choice” between possible options for a concrete and defined problem. We like to think that when faced with a problem, there are several options, and we can rank them from very unethical to very unethical. Therefore, it all boils down to using ethical criteria, ranking the options, and choosing the most ethical of the possible options. Thinking that this is possible and trying to deal with business ethics in this way gives us peace of mind, but it is a false security. It implicitly leads to the conclusion that all problems have ethical and unethical solutions, and that the simple fact of choosing the right decision criteria will lead us unequivocally to choose options from the group of ethical solutions.

Ethics as an isolated subject

The worst thing comes when we want to do business’ ethics training thinking this way, then the mess can be monumental, as well as the frustration afterwards. And if we look at most business training, ethics is a simple “little pill” that is given outside the core subjects, as if the manager can separate the decisions that need “ethics” from those that do not. In highly technical decisions, this may be possible, but in most decisions the ethical part is inseparable from the unethical part.

But in management training there is a tendency towards a curious specialisation. Ethics courses are held separately and many managers believe that they will receive the basic prescriptions that will enable them to make ethical choices from a range of possible options. The very fact of taking a business ethics course leads to the simple thought that there is an ethical painting page that automatically transforms solutions into ethical solutions. The manager may think that in this specialised training he or she will learn to paint any decision in a rosy colour. In reality it is the way one approaches the problem and the justification behind it, if the options are exhaustive, that the real ethics lie.

Working on empathy also with employees

Thus, ethics is not only to be found in any given choice between several options, but also in the very definition of the existing business problem. And also in which options we consider as a possible solution to the specific problem. For example, let us imagine that we have considered that we have two options: to dismiss or not to dismiss an employee. What we should do is to take a step back and look at what we want to dismiss. We define the problem and we see we have a member of staff who is always late. But we have to go one step further and find out why he is late, and somehow do something to compensate for his lateness. Also the implications of the fact that he is late: does it hurt anyone, does it affect the smooth running of the company? And once the problem has been defined, we should look at the possible options to solve it (not simply to fire or not to fire). It does not seem that dismissal is the only option. A change of working hours, a reprimand, a warning that being late affects productivity, and a long list of other options could also be considered.

It seems quite clear that the ethical component of managerial action is crucial to the whole process: how we define the problem, what possible solutions we propose, and how we choose the most appropriate one. Ethics cannot be reductionist and go straight to the choice. But it must also be transversal and permeate all business management disciplines. Reducing ethics to a mere ethical choice strips the manager’s task bare. It makes the manager less complete and his or her task is not shown in all its importance. It dwarfs him or her and also dwarfs the result of good management: the common good in capital letters.

If you want your business to make a giant leap, use 11Onze Business. Our business and freelancer account is now available. Find out more!

The economic analysis of the results of a company’s operations is essential to know whether it makes or loses money with its activity. Oriol Tafanell, Financial and Human Resources Director of 11Onze, explains the basic concepts that we need to understand in order to be able to interpret the annual accounts of a company.

Any businessman, entrepreneur or investor must have a minimum of economic and business notions that will help him in the analysis for the appropriate decision-making about an investment, financing needs or the financial health of a business. Decisions that will be based on correctly interpreting the company’s annual accounts.

Before calculating the profit or loss of a company based on the difference between income and expenses, we must have a good understanding of the calculation method to be followed and the different concepts. As Tafanell explains, “the first thing we have to ask ourselves when we read a company’s results is, are they talking about operating profit, before tax or after tax”.

The operating result “is what tells us if the company is well managed”, says the Financial Director of 11Onze. Essentially, it is derived from the activity to which the company is dedicated and is calculated by the difference between income and operating expenses during the reference period.

If you want your business to make a giant leap, use 11Onze Business. Our business and freelancer account is now available. Find out more!

Surely you’ve heard the word start-up more than once. But what does it mean? What skills do you need to work at one?

A start-up is an emerging, newly-created company, with high growth potential, linked to new technologies or innovative business models, and with a high rate of return.

To work at one, you need to have a passion for your project, motivation to bring it to fruition, flexibility to dedicate hours to it and do the tasks that must be carried out, and commitment to the company. But if you do what you love, can it be considered work? 

5 key skills to work at a start-up

• Proactivity: these types of companies do not just look for people in search of work, but want professionals that offer them services and believe in the idea. 
• Positive attitude and professionalism. Not only do they look at resumes, but they also value the energy that candidates exude. Attitude will be key.
• Adaptation: people who adapt to everything and are willing to pursue their passion, who are disruptive, too, and don’t settle for everything. 
• Differentiation: they look for passion rather than talent, people who believe in the project, who share the values of the start-up. You have to be different and creative.
• Flexibility: versatile people with autonomy.

Focused on work by goals 

You can already say goodbye to schedules: the traditional office workday has no place in a start-up, and priority is given to the project and delivery times. You have to be careful, because this becomes a double-edged sword: it favours the flexibility of workers’ schedules, but at the same time you can work too many hours if you do not manage this properly. 

In most cases, it will be indifferent whether you prefer to work in the morning, in the afternoon, or on Sunday night: what matters is that the task is delivered when it has to. Everyone needs to be organized in the way that is most productive for them. Generally, specialized people are sought, but, taking into account the work methodology, it is equally important that they are flexible, open-minded, good team workers, good learners, and quickly adaptable to change.

Dismantling myths about start-ups

The flexibility and constant change of start-ups implies, even if it seems the opposite, more organization than in conventional companies. If you have not been selected as a candidate, the best thing you can do is keep in touch, as there may be a place for you in the future. It is also not true that it is limited to young people: they need experienced people and, contrary to popular belief, if the company has good future prospects, salaries are usually competitive.

The selection process is also not usually traditional, as personal and professional characteristics that go beyond the curriculum are valued. The preparation for the interview will be key: find out what they do and how they work, and look for aspects of the project in which you can contribute. And, above all, be different. Any HR person is used to seeing hundreds of resumes a day. Do not miss the opportunity, and take out your best weapons to attract attention. Get away from the conventional. It is a good idea to achieve other skills apart from the current one, to train in other skills such as Excel, HTML, or WordPress. Note that most start-ups revolve around technology, and sooner or later you will have to use them. 

Proactivity and emotional intelligence: the combination of success

Working at a start-up will be an adventure where nothing is permanent. Even your position may change, and you may end up in a different department. Remember the skills above, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Proactivity will be your best ally.

Lastly, you need to have knowledge of emotional intelligence, to manage behaviour, relationships, and decisions. For everything that happens to bring you to fruition, you must reduce negative emotions, know how to manage stress, be more assertive, stay proactive, and bounce back to adversity. Paying close attention to the emotions of oneself and others, especially in difficult times or of a certain intensity, will help us a lot.

What matters in a start-up is the will to improve, to do whatever it takes, and to have the passion to do it.

If you want your business to make a giant leap, use 11Onze Business. Our business and freelancer account is now available. Find out more!

Innovative ideas are vital for the evolution of a country’s economy. These ideas are also essential for start-ups’ growth, but obtaining money to develop them is not always easy for entrepreneurs. That is why we give you three tips to get started.

When we think of setting up a business, the first thing we think about is that we have to ask for money from a financial institution. Even so, obtaining the initial financing to start up a business from scratch can be a real hassle. They may tell us that we lack guarantees to repay the loan or credit we have requested and, in addition, they are going to demand a very elaborated project and a market study that defends our viability.

If we are talking about financing for companies, we may think of the ICO lines, promoted by the State, but applied by financial institutions, which have a limit on the funds to be granted. Once the money allocated to us for a specific period runs out, they cannot give us any more loans. Furthermore, this type of aid is not specifically aimed at entrepreneurs.

First tip: look for programmes for entrepreneurship

The public sector, aware of emerging companies’ difficulties, has lately been implementing different aids and programmes for those wanting to start up in the business world. These aids emphasize groups that are more vulnerable or have more obstacles to achieving their objectives, such as women and young people.

As with any procedure involving the public administration, it turns long and complicated to try to apply for these programmes that help us to start up our business. But, if we are very clear about the project, we must seek the funding we need by all available means. Nowadays, there are grants of all kinds. So we will only have to look for one that fits us like a glove.

Second tip: separate the wheat from the chaff and ask for help

However, separating the wheat from the chaff in these grants can be a complex exercise, because our ideas cannot always be categorized in the pre-established classifications. But surely some programme will be close enough to what we hope for, and we will be able to present our project. In any case, in the administrations there are advisory services, such as Barcelona Activa or Creacció, which have a specific programme for entrepreneurship, although it is only a support.

We must bear in mind that there are programmes that select projects on a competitive basis, such as the INNOTEC programme, which co-finances research and development (R&D) projects up to 70%. There are others that simply help us with tax issues, to reduce costs. They can be very useful, even though paying less tax probably is not going to help us get the project we have in mind off the ground. The important thing is that there is a wide range of options, especially if our fields are innovation and environmental improvement.

On the other hand, the European Union has also developed programmes such as the EU Recovery Plan, within which we find the European funds for digital and ecological transformation, and, more specifically, an exceptional instrument to finance European reactivation after the pandemic. It is the so-called Next Generation EU, endowed with 750,000 million euros, and divided into different calls that include more specific objectives, such as female entrepreneurship.

Because women undertake almost 50% of the initiatives in Spain, according to the GEM Spain 2018-2019 report, which shows that the rate of female entrepreneurial activity has not stopped growing, thus narrowing the gender gap. For this reason, we can find aid and incentive plans exclusively for women, such as Emprenedores Digitals.

Third tip: the key is perseverance

Within this complex world of financing for start-ups, there are initiatives such as the Esmorzars de Finançament, promoted by the Agència per la Competitivitat de l’Empresa (ACCIÓ), which aim to put entrepreneurs in contact with potential investors, the so-called “angel investors”.

To start up a business, a revolutionary idea, it has always been necessary to have a patron who believes in the project, as much or more than we do ourselves. But if it has not yet appeared, we cannot give up. Remember: if the best-known inventors in human history had not persevered, we would not have achieved the breakthroughs and milestones we have collectively achieved. As the famous illustrator Walt Disney said: “All dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them“.

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