Transcript
00:00:00
Veronica: My name is Veronica. I’m from Tropical Astral and I’m here to talk to you about your business. So can you tell me who you are and what is your business? Sure.
00:00:11
Daniel: So my name is Daniel Dos Reyes in Portuguese, Daniel Dos Reis. And my business is called digital.com. It’s a business that does web design and marketing coaching.
00:00:23
Veronica: What is your home country and your native language?
00:00:25
Daniel: I’m born in South Africa. Native language. English.
00:00:30
Veronica: What was your professional studies before you started your own business?
00:00:34
Daniel: I’ve got a postgrad. In business and I’ve got a degree in music production and guitar.
00:00:42
Veronica: Tell me about your product or service and why did you choose to offer this?
00:00:48
Daniel: So my main service is coaching entrepreneurs and internal marketing teams to to handle their own marketing digital marketing autonomously. Secondary service is web design because I believe that any business and every business today needs to move into the digital world. Whoever doesn’t move to digital is left behind.
00:01:09
Veronica:: Do you find that it’s a different part or a different niche in Portugal?
00:01:13
Daniel: Yes.Portugal is moving forward into the digital space quite nicely, but there’s still a lot of room for growth. And especially on the Web design side, a lot of companies still don’t have a presence online.
00:01:27
Veronica:: Why did you decide to start a business in this new country and how long have you been here?
00:01:32
Daniel: So I moved to Portugal from South Africa just over two years ago. I started the business in South Africa in preparation to move here, and the reason was so that I could work online, making an income from various countries in the world while living and enjoying the lifestyle of Portugal.
00:01:51
Veronica:: Describe the difference between working hours and free time, comparing when you first started the business to after I became profitable.
00:01:58
Daniel: Yes. So in the beginning I put a lot of work in to build my own presence online, to reach out to new clients, etcetera. Since my business model is mainly retainer based, my time is leveraged at the moment. I’ve expanded and I’ve hired some staff, so I’ve got a lot more free time. I’m able to travel a lot more work completely online remotely from any country in the world. Last year I worked from five different countries and I didn’t work more than 20 hours a week.
00:02:27
Veronica:: Which countries did you work from?
00:02:29
Daniel: Portugal. Isle of Man, England, Bulgaria, Greece and Spain, I think as well.
00:02:34
Veronica: Amazing. How did the idea of your business change from start to finish?
00:02:40
Daniel: In the beginning I was implementing a whole online presence for companies, specifically in the manufacturing industry, because I saw a big niche in that. Over time, because of my connections and network, I ventured into professional services, helping them get their online presence up to scratch and other industries. So how has it changed? I’m I’m I’m implementing websites in the beginning stages and then using the internal staff as well underutilized staff and resources and upskilling them to become the internal digital marketers. So that’s how it’s changed. Website First, upskilling and knowledge transfer to leverage their resources better in the form of coaching.
00:03:24
Veronica: That sounds very good. Did you use any inspiration or knowledge from your home country to come up with your business idea?
00:03:31
Daniel: Absolutely. I started my own journey in digital marketing many years ago. As I saw, South Africa was slowly adopting the digital environment. I saw an opportunity in Portugal to do the same because I saw them as about ten years behind what I was seeing in in South Africa. So I thought, if I can get here, I know how to speak English really well. I know how to speak Portuguese really well. I can leverage both of those languages and the language of digital marketing and make a good return with the local Portuguese markets while enjoying the lifestyle of Portugal and the access of Europe. So yeah, the culture of South Africa and the work ethic of being South African has definitely helped me grow to where I am today.
00:04:16
Veronica: So it sounds like you have the best of two worlds.
00:04:19
Daniel: Absolutely. The blood from. Portugal and the and the Buddha maca plant is a common word in a common phrase in South Africa. It’s like it basically means that a South African will always find a solution to any problem. And it’s very true. And that’s how I live my life.
00:04:37
Veronica Do you have any tips for someone who is just starting out with entrepreneurship and or a business?
00:04:44
Daniel: Yes. Um, if you have a dream, go for it. If there’s a problem, find a solution. If it’s taking you too long, don’t be afraid to ask somebody for help. Somebody that knows, um, you know, how to get there or ask somebody that’s been there before. Don’t be afraid of cost. It costs you less to get the answer quickly, so go for it.
00:05:06
Veronica: What is the one lesson from your experience that a migrant entrepreneur can learn from?
00:05:13
Daniel: Enjoy the lifestyle of Portugal, but open up and unlock multiple revenue streams using the digital environment so that you can bring in money from all around the world.
00:05:25
Veronica: That’s wonderful. So you’re a very busy person. Thank you for your time. Do you have any last words for the people who will read this?
00:05:33
Speaker 2: If you’re not in the digital world, you’ll be left behind. No regrets.
00:05:37
Veronica: Thank you.