#ChooseToChallenge – Ali Mallett
Ali moved to Spain in 2017 and started her wellness business which includes Pilates and Yoga classes, nutrition and weight loss coaching and holidays, short breaks and retreats all located in Andalusia. Ali soon realized Spain was going to be a challenge in terms of running a business as the bureaucracy involved in starting and running a business can be overwhelming for someone arriving in Spain. Having to navigate these challenges along with marketing and promoting a new business can be exhausting and many people give up in the early years, but not Ali. Having overcome all of the challenges presented to her Ali was looking forward to a good year in 2020, bookings were strong for her wellness retreats and class numbers were also steady, however, a new challenge was on the horizon, one which was to be felt across the globe Covid-19.
For those that do not know, Spain completely locked down it’s population from 14th March 2020 until 21st June 2020. From June until October a small window of travel was allowed however airlines cancelled flights and advice was that you should not travel. During these few months Ali was able to restart her classes but also took part in filming for “A New Life in the Sun”, a documentary following expats in Spain and telling their stories. Then a second lockdown came along on 21st October 2020 and then a series of measures designed to avoid a total lockdown but limited travel inside Andalusia and prohibited travelers coming for holidays and Ali was left again with very little bookings or ability to hold classes. To say she has survived all of this and is currently extremely busy with dealing with bookings for 2022 is a complete testament to her strength.
At Sterling Rees we wanted to tell the stories of some women who have overcome the odds to run a successful business following their passion to celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, Ali is exactly that. Our team are also working alongside women who are following their passion into a business in the UK, Spain and also Gibraltar. We work with each individual and support them in their business with bookkeeping, tax and strategic planning throughout their journey.