81. Four Years, One Dream: Building an Off-Grid Glamping Resort in Rural Spain

Speaker A: Imagine buying your kid a toy only to find the batteries aren't included. Or buying furniture but it's missing the tools to build it. Frustrating, right? Now, imagine that exact same feeling, but you're paying way more. That is what buying business software usually feels like. Fragmented, disconnected and incredibly expensive. Odoo, uh, completely changes that. Odoo is a complete, fully integrated business suite where all your apps actually talk to each other. We're talking automated lead routing for your sales team, seamless AI integration, and an intuitive point and click website builder. It's everything your business needs to scale, saving you time, headaches and money. Stop piecing your software together. Go to odoo.com that's o d o o.com to learn more.

Speaker B: What would you do if the dream business you'd poured your heart and savings and future into still hadn't opened four years later? Most people would have walked away. When architect Danny left a successful career in London, cycled across North America into Mexico and eventually settled in the wild landscapes Galicia in northern Spain, he thought he was embarking on an exciting new chapter. His vision was bold. Transform an abandoned granite quarry into a unique off grid glamping retreat immersed in nature. What he didn't anticipate was a four year battle with bureaucracy, environmental approvals, delays and uncertainty. And the constant question every entrepreneur, uh, dreads. Was this the right decision? But this isn't a story about failure. It's a story about patience, resilience and discovering that sometimes the greatest value isn't found in reaching the destination. It's found in the person you're becoming along the way. In this fascinating conversation, Danny shares the realities of creating a nature based hospitality business from scratch. Why he chose the harder path when easier options existed, and how an abandoned quarry ended up teaching him lessons about business life and success that no business plan ever could. If you've ever faced setbacks, questioned your decisions, or felt frustrated that your dreams aren't moving as quickly as you'd hoped, this episode is for you. Glamping and unique holiday rentals are surging in popularity. With the growing desire of customers to book holidays that deliver experience, they are also the new business of choice for those wanting to improve their work life balance. So how do you build a strong business like this that gives you the life you need and a great investment? I'm Sarah Riley and I want to share what I've discovered after being immersed in this industry for over 20 years to inspire you to find out more about what's going on. Welcome. This is the business of Glamping and unique holiday rentals.

Speaker C: Foreign.

Speaker B: I want to share something with you. For years I've been guiding people to launch and grow their own unique glamping businesses and transformational retreat events. And honestly, I've lost count of the number of times someone said to me, this is great, but can you just do it for me? For a long time my answer has been no, but not anymore. Now I've built a team, a hand picked collective of trusted creative experts who understand our industry. We've come together to offer done for you marketing and um, business support. So you can stop carrying it all on your own and start focusing on what you love most, creating beautiful experiences and lifelong memories for your guests. Because let's be honest, until now your team has been you. And that's just not enough. You wear all the hats, manage all the customers, and still need to figure out the ever changing world of marketing bookings, dip algorithms, uh, shift. Competition gets fierce, you become less visible

Speaker D: and it feels like you're carrying the

Speaker B: world on your shoulders. But now you can expand your team

Speaker D: without having to expand your payroll and

Speaker B: finally get the help you need to take the pressure off and move forward. To find out more about the team you've always wanted but never had, head over to inspiredcourses.com team and learn about what inspired collective offers. And let's get some of those to do's off your plate.

Speaker D: But be aware that we only have

Speaker B: capacity to work with a handful of people. So if you're interested, be sure to get in touch. All right, back to the episode.

Speaker D: Dani, it's so wonderful to have you here for many reasons, but for the fact that you were a member of my club for years and we followed your journey. But let's start at the very beginning of this and where you started originally as an architect in the UK and everything changed around the time of COVID and the pandemic and various other things. Let's start there. Talk a little bit about what you do, what you did and your original skills and then when you went traveling and what happened as a result of that, for sure.

Speaker E: Sarah, thank you for having me on. First of all, I appreciate that my journey doesn't fall exactly into sort of typical owner, uh, a business success story yet. But I think it's worth mentioning, mentioned that at the start I've been building something that doesn't exist yet and in most, most places people haven't heard of in Galicia. And to give you some background, obviously I'm an interior architect by training. I did my Studies and training in London. Nearly two decades of working partner of an architecture studio, uh, working in London and beyond. Work that I was proud of. But by 2019 I needed a reset. I felt that the work has become a little bit stagnating. Clients are asking to do the same and yeah, so I needed something different. And my partner and I, Sylvia go on our bikes and as one does. And we cycled from Seattle in the US all the way to Mexico, which was an amazing, amazing experience. Obviously hearing about the date and Covid arrived and we were stocked in uh, our trucks literally in Mexico. And before we left we packed all of our stuff, we put everything in storage, all of our belongings. We, we. And obviously being locked down meant that we couldn't just go back. Just there was nothing to go back to obviously at the time to find a place and get back to work. So we had to stay. And we passed Covid in, in Oaxaca in Mexico, which was, which was nice until it wasn't and it was time to go. But what felt like a pause really became a decision because it gave us a lot of time to think whether I want to go back to London, I want to get this high position, high power job again, 60 hours a week. And uh, obviously with my partner being Galician, for me that was a catalyst and a destination really became a leap forward. And that we decided obviously we were able to go back to the uk. We went back for a couple of months, packed up all of our stuff and moved to, to Spain. Just obviously for anyone who doesn't know where Galicia is, because it's not a place you hear or uh, associate with Spain automatically, it's the north northwest corner of Spain, the bit above Portugal on the Atlantic coast. Rugged granite mountains, ancient oak forest, rainfall in, in some places more than the uk. Not that it feels like this at the moment. So warm, um, Celtic in history. So there's a lot of references to places in, in Wales and in Cornwall. So it's very similar to. Some places on the coast are very similar to Cornwall, which I liked that connection. And largely undiscovered, away from the hustle and bustle and the crowds. Uh, although it can get quite busy in July and August, which is, which is good for the tourism season. But just generally it's quite, it's quite pleasant. And uh, personally I think it's Spain's best kept secret. Hopefully we don't tell too many people about it.

Speaker D: I might have a problem with that,

Speaker E: of course.

Speaker D: However, I absolutely agree with you. I've seen Galicia and when you said to me, do you know what? You can go to a beach that faces any direction that you want it to face, so you can get the sun, you can get the wind direction that you want, you can get the surf that you want. Because there's so many different options. You can just travel from place to place along the coast, but also inland you've got all of these people who are still farming their land and they're still growing vegetables and everything for themselves. There's a lot of self sufficiency that goes on in the countryside of Glycia. And I thought that was really beautiful, that there are still those places slightly forgotten, but still connected to Mother Nature and the earth. And so that really rang true to me and I could understand why you'd almost fallen in love with it so much to be able to want to consider, uh, setting up a business there and to do that based on land. So a land based business. So tell me a bit about that and your ideas.

Speaker E: Yeah, I totally connect to what you're saying about rural living, slow living, slow tourism. There's very much, quite a lot here. Parts of Galicia is still considered, they have this term, um, empty Spain. There are places in Spain that are completely being abandoned. You can buy a village for X amount of money or it's not really a village, it's a collection of a few houses. But that's how it's been sold. So I very much so understand that connection to the land because it's what rural Galicia is, is about for me personally. After working in real estate, working with real estate developers and clients for years, I wanted to build on, uh, that experience and combine two of my passions, design and love of nature, change the pace slightly and build something, did something in my own hands. We all seen those TV shows with Ben Fogel and Grand Designs and all the rest of them. And that kind of obviously stirred my juices, creative juices and imagination of wanting to do something like that myself. So obviously when I moved here, the first thing I've done is research what kind of business I wanted, where it's going to be. And it's really forming that vision. And in 2021 I bought a piece of land, eight acres. I found a former granite quarry in, in Galicia, which has basically been abandoned, uh, we think during the financial crisis in 2007, 2008, and obviously been left alone for, for over a decade. It wasn't the obvious choice. Many people, you're mad. What are you buying there? You should by something along the Caminos. Obviously people Knowing Galicia will know it by the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim route that people can do from France or from the south of Spain, and which ends up in Santiago de Compostela in the church, which attracts about 2 million people a year. So many rural hospitality businesses have been built along those routes. There are about five or six different official routes. And most of the sort of tourism on the season is based on, based on that or obviously by the coast where you've got, you've got obviously the summer season attractions. But I wanted to do something different. I wanted to be more connected to the land rather than connected to an existing attraction in, in Galicia. And as I said, it wasn't the obvious choice, but I saw the potential away from, like I said, away from the crowded coastline overlooking the Atlantic coast. Uh, so it's about 380 meters above sea level elevation. So close enough to the coast, but distance enough rural, alongside a couple of rivers, foothills of the mountains and surrounded by forests. The plan is to create a nature based, off grid glamping destination, rehabilitate the scars that the quarry operation had left, I'd left on the land and rewild. So planting new native trees and create a Galician forest escape around 10km away from the beach, complement the amazing coastline that exists here in Galicia. The idea in my head, and that's obviously what we've applied for in, in the planning commission, was to open with 15 camping plots and 10, 10 glamping plots, glamping tent plots, and then to add cabins in year two, three and four on, on top of that. And the idea is that the resort will be set around the centerpiece, which is a natural swimming pool, which is located in the heart of the resorts inside the quarries. It's like a natural amphitheater, granite amphitheater that was created obviously by, by the quarry operation. So yeah, that's the idea. And obviously immersive experiences, being connected to nature and having. Having somewhere to experience Galicia that is slightly different businesses that operate in, in and around the areas.

Speaker D: It's really interesting because you talk about it being an old quarry and that people. Why are you buying that? What's that all about? And one of the things you said there, but because this isn't a model that is brand new, there are other very successful businesses that have managed to develop a quarry. And the quarries are very good because they are ex industry and so they often don't look particularly great anymore because they've been changed by man significantly because of the industry. And so when someone comes in and then they start to create something very beautiful around this space and help it go back to nature because it's a nature based business. Local businesses, local authorities tend to say this is fantastic. We're really pleased that this piece of land that has been scarred by industry in the past is going to have something much better put in its place and be used for good reason. And so at least that's what we've experienced in the past. And to name a few, one being Kudva, uh, in the uk they are also based in an old quarry and the all you're talking about there, you know, it's a forest escape. It's got this natural swimming pool. I believe you've got a fountain or you've got a little waterfall as well

Speaker E: that goes in winter. Yeah, in winter when water accumulates there is a little bit of a waterfall created which the idea is obviously recreate because even a natural swimming pool needs some movement of water. So that, that's part of the vision is to maybe recreate somehow artificially so you can feed in the pond.

Speaker D: So what went into your thinking about why you were going to put those structures in that you decided upon, what fueled that?

Speaker E: I think even though the, the planning law is very, is very simple. So the, the um, process is quite straightforward because it's a rural land. It's a straightforward process, but it's also the challenge. So obviously being a rural forest land away from the local villages comes with many challenges, but it's also an amazing usp. It's quiet and sustainable. One of the biggest challenges through the planning process was that no construction is allowed on this rural land for good reasons. But there are certain uses that even though you're not changing the use, you still keep it as forest land. There are certain uses that are allowed and glamping tourism, glamping campsites falls directly into that category. And I thought that was the opportunity to do that uh, as well as taking, like you said, taking a piece of land that basically been abandoned and bring it back to nature, bring it back to life even though nature is taking care of itself. And there's areas where obviously you can see that nature is becoming live again and new trees are being planted. There are still many scars that would, that we will need more of uh, an intensive planting procedures to, to hide or to cover some of those of the scars. But that's also a very, it's very interesting landscape opportunity for me. I quite like that sort of play on something that was man made and, and I can then put my own mark on similarly to the work that I've done in the uk, refurbishing old buildings and bring them back to life. I see the similarities in that process, but as I said, in terms of challenging. So even though the tourism law, which is the first layer, was very simple to overcome, because the site, the nature of the site, the size of the site, what I'm trying to do, comply with that law, and I've received approval from the tourism department quite quickly and then from the local council because it's, as I said, it's rural land, it's not urbanistic land. They don't have a lot of say in approving it. They're more of an, uh, administrator of the process rather than, yes, you can build this or you can build that. As long as you comply with a certain regulation and you provide certain amount of documentation that is needed through the process, they will approve it. And the local mayor was very supportive. I met with him a few times and he's been very supportive of the project, of the process. Obviously, although it's quite a large council in Square Midridge, it's one of the least populated in the area, so they see that as a positive engine for development in their council. So they've been very supportive. The specific challenge obviously come because the site is away from population, so connecting to the grid and connecting to the local systems was basically impossible. It was not viable financially. So going off grid, which was my initial reaction at the beginning, was not only a decision that I had to, I had to take. It was. There was not much choice. But with that comes the complication of getting the Environmental office and the water regulation through the process. And I've been waiting for over two years to get, to get that through the, through the channels. And in March I got the environmental approval, which was quite, quite pleasing after a number of rounds and changes that they required and details that they required in terms of the environmental protections that are, uh, required on the land. And we're basically waiting for the last hurdle. And the last hurdle is the, the water regulation in terms of our drainage system, our waste system and how we discharge any wastewater back into n. And that's just been challenging. Bureaucratically, it's been very challenging and we've been going through that at the moment.

Speaker D: So how long has that been since you've purchased the land to putting in your first request for permission and still now waiting?

Speaker E: It's been almost four years. Almost four years. And it's been. That was the biggest challenge. Personally. I came here from the uk, where the process, as much as we like to think that it's a complicated process and it takes a long time, the process really works. And yes, there are challenging moments and there are challenges application because of locations and the projects, and that's, that's understandable. But like I said, I came here full of drive and aspiration, thinking that the project would move in a similar timescale to what my projects in the UK have, have, have worked on, especially coming from commercial side. And the longer the process took, the more I felt momentum is being lost and I became more and more disillusioned and, and frustrated, which was quite, quite challenging, quite difficult to, to accept, but with comes the learning. And that acceptance was one of the biggest revelations to me personally. Developing, Developing this land became not something that I thought through a, uh, developer's hat, a commercial hat. Yes, it's a business, but it's also something I would like to do quite on a personal level. And I know it sounds a bit like listening to the land, the land was, was the drive rather than myself and how successful it's going to be and, and all of that. And that's, that's been a real revelation to me. I've started writing short stories about the process, being involved in, uh, building a community here, connecting with the land, connecting generally with amazing people here. And that's been the sort of the antidote to feeling that nothing is going on and nothing is working out and a sense of healing and how I've been able to cope with the challenges that I was facing. It felt like on my own. So, yeah, even though it feels quite distant because of the amount of years, I feel that I'm almost at the end of the process, at least the bureaucratic, the statutory process. And there's still a long way to go. But although there's no date yet, I'm still hoping it will soon.

Speaker D: I think this is one of the things that so many people say to me, which is, how long until I get my permission? How long until. How long is it going to take? Probably a year, Is that right? A year, Maybe six months. The planning officer told me six months. And I always say to them, do your due diligence. You'll definitely be closer to a year, two years. But then yours was an exceptional situation that was way beyond that. Four years is a really long time for you to have agreement from the tourist office in your area and the mayor and everyone else. And yet you're still waiting for this other element, which is bureaucratically slow. And I know that it's really important for the environmental element to be watertight, for them to make sure you're not going to be a detriment to the land and to the local area. And that's absolutely correct. But for it to take that much time and for it to mainly be the bureaucracy that's taken that long, there must have been a bit soul destroying.

Speaker E: It was very difficult and something I certainly didn't appreciate at the start. I can't blame anyone. It's a decision that I've taken. Most of the comparable businesses have gone the other way. They wanted to basically open as cookie as possible. So they've chosen the path of least resistance. So they negated all of the. What I would perceive as the uh, as the unique perspectives and they decided to open businesses in, in villages. So basically buying a piece of land inside the nuclear of a village, maybe a ruined or a piece of farmland, it's within the planning law of that community, which means that you're connected to services, you can build as long as you're beyond above 5,000 square meters, which is the minimum for the tourism properties. You be basically, you'll be able to build quite quickly because you don't need to have all of the other permissions. But uh, with that comes that you have a relatively small piece of land, because pieces of land in rural areas, in urbanistic rural areas are quite small. You're by a road, you've got neighbors, you will have noise, you will have dog barking, you will have people cleaning their own patch of land almost every weekend. And I did not see that as something that would create the type of. The type of experience, the type of place that people would want to return. There are many amazing cabin sites in Galicia, uh, but I see them as a sort of, as a one off, your birthday, your anniversary or something like that. You go in for a couple of nights, you experience the unique, the unique hospitality that you might not have experienced before because you're. I know you're used to campsites or you're used to hotels, but then you open the windows and you sit in the hot tub or Jacuzzi, and then you've got your neighbors coming out and putting their laundry or tending to their vegetable patch or walking the door. And yes, it's great, it's a type of business, but it's not the one I, I wanted. And I just wanted something a little bit different. And so life created that complications for myself. And I think part of the challenge that we in the business need to realize, and I don't think it's been talked enough is because when you're thinking about the business, what's the first thing that people tell you? You need a business plan? Um, what's a business plan? Business plan is, okay, how much is going to cost and how much are you going to make you think you're going to make and how quickly you can start doing that. So that date of opening, that date that people are talking about, mostly it's two things. How long are you going to get your planning permission and how long it's going to take you to construct. And those two are, uh, wild estimates. Best in most cases, best case. But we're so focused on business plan. When are you going to open, how much money you're going to make, how I'm going to make it. Then we forget the process. We forget what we're. I think we forget what we're trying to create. And I was a bit like this at the beginning. Uh, even though my intentions were quite clear and my intentions were good towards getting something and that's why I purchased this particular land, I almost forgot, I almost forgot that I created that complications for a reason. And then I got frustrated when I didn't get the approval quickly or where the whole process just basically ran out, run away from me as, as, as, as the months and years have progressed. And I think recently, obviously I felt like coming back to that original feeling of the land and what it is and almost leave the date aside. And it's, it relates to the finance, the financial process as well. Because I was thinking, okay, you buy the land, you go and get a loan and you start the project, basically get financing, you start the project where obviously I realized through the process that it's all in reverse. The first thing you need to do is get, uh, all the permission line up and with those permission, you can start talking to people about finances. And I just. Obviously through that learning process, it's, it's been, it's been quite, uh, quite an experience. And, and I'm glad I've gone through it and realized that the way we imagine things in our head is not necessarily the way they will, uh, materialize.

Speaker D: So I suppose then I have to ask that question. Knowing what you know now, do you wish you'd done things slightly easier for yourself and made a different choice?

Speaker E: Oh, it's a very, it's a very, it's a very interesting and fair question. I don't think I will because, yes, maybe I would have been open by now, but it would have been a different project. It would have been a different business, a different design. And if I just wanted to build a cabin and obviously I can do it almost anywhere. And that wasn't the goal. The goal was to create something that is slightly different, similar to obviously what I feel. My, my personality is not always going through the conventional process. And I think if and when I finally be able to open thinking Alicia, I think it will be quite a unique. Quite, uh, A unique place, quite unique result. Not one that will be similar to others. And I think that will be an achievement in its. On its own.

Speaker D: And I do think that, like the finest wines, the finest whiskies, it takes a really long time to mature and age and to get that perfection in the final flavour. So it's almost the same with your business. You're working hard, you're unable to actually see anything at the moment. It's all on paper, it's all permissions, it's all working on the foundations of it. But you know that eventually, after a long period of time, you're going to have something very unique, very delicious and something that no one else has got, because they all want everything so fast. And you've got something that's very much the finest wine, the finest whiskey, or to think of something else, something that very few people are able to say they have because they haven't managed to invest the time in it.

Speaker E: I, uh, think it's a very good analogy because if you want, if you want, if you want something quick, then it needs to fit the box. Basically there is a process in the bureaucratic process, in the planning process, in the investment process that basically is a, uh, ticking box, exercises. And if you want that very quick and you want to get it done and you want to do it as. With as little challenges as possible, basically you need to tick all the boxes. What you get is a box. Basically it is what it is because you had to fit yourself to all these regulations and all these elements. And because I knew that I wanted something different, I took the risk. And it is a risk. And I think the reward when it happens, it will be. It will be double than what what I imagine. I think it also tied into, to the flexibility of the space. So again, if you're fixing yourself to something that is based on getting it open as quickly as possible, then you're fixing yourself to, to be one thing. You know, there's not a lot of movement as to what else you can do. And the season here in Galicia is very. Is very short. So the traditional season in generally Northern Spain is July and August, the summer season, summer holidays. And it means that you have to think creatively. If you're thinking about the business, you have to think creatively beyond the accommodation, beyond the uh, okay, I'm just going to open my doors and that's it. And yes it would be full in July and August, but what happens on the rest of the year it might be completely open. The average occupancy in Galicia is around 47% at the moment.

Speaker A: Which is.

Speaker E: It's good but it can be better. And what we do as business owner in the shoulder season and beyond is quite important, especially for someone like me who is going to do an off grid site. And the investment on the infrastructure is out of balance. The proportion of investment in the initial infrastructure means that you only operating in two months or three months of the year is not viable. So I had to think about it in a more creative space and having a uh, relatively large site because it's quite unique. If you go online and you look at Galicia, having eight acres is quite unique in its own. Most of the sites are relatively uh, small. So having that allows me the flexibility to add on and create other activities in, in the site. And creating this, the swimming pool in as a sort of centerpiece allows me to think about creating a creative hub. So 10km away from Punta Vedra so people can come in for meetings in nature, which is I think amazing day guests, co working in nature events, classes, community engagements, all for me at least are critical business avenues that I'm keen to integrate into the result beyond the accommodation. And if I had gone the other way to something very traditional and fixed, I would have had five, six cabins. But that's it. Nothing else, nothing else around. It could have been because developing those activities means that you're most likely not going to be within this nuclear urbanistic areas and you had to go rural and then you basically go through the same, the same process. And rural co living is really an established concept here in Galicia. But even them normally when digital nomads and trying to find a community to work and stay, even them naturally are fixed within a village. So it goes back to something that is different from the concept of fiki. Galicia is, is the sort of rural houses, rural uh, villages and I wanted to have something more contemporary that appeals to my design aesthetics and having a very light touch. So we're not allowed to build in concrete, we're not allowed to build anything that is fixed. So all of the structures, the showers, the barbecue area, uh, the cabins, all of them will be on, on ground screws and all the structures will be made out of other wood so it can all be taken out and removed if and when the, the result will be, uh, finished if he ever does, and basically return the site back to nature, which is a very different concept than building in a village that can basically last for hundreds and thousands of years. So yeah, that's, that's the plan.

Speaker D: And I think as well it's got a really beautiful ethos about it as well, that you're really being very sympathetic to the land and you're understanding nature and you're working with it rather than using it. And that's a really nice thing. And I think the other thing that you mentioned there is about all the different elements you're going to add to your offering, partly because of a business perspective, because that's really important to be able to make a profit. But also actually since COVID pandemic and the way things have evolved and developed since then, wellness is increasing so much, people are starting to pay attention to their mental health, their physical health and everything else is also something that corporations are thinking of now that since the pandemic, people are now working in different offices and separately from each other. So to have a corporate team event where everyone comes together every now and again to work as a team and to catch up on each other and do that kind of stuff, businesses are now putting budgets to those activities and these are the things that you're going to be able to offer out of season. And the other thing that's really interesting is that low season travel is starting to get quite popular. And this is where in certain countries, and it's being fueled by various campaigns, people are starting to understand that there's some really amazing things to do out of season in certain areas in fact, so amazing because you don't have the usual tourist crowds, you don't have the immensely hot time of the year, you don't have the schools out. And so people are able to travel and enjoy the facilities which are probably cheaper because the main tourist season isn't on the go yet. So they're not charging their top tier prices and things like that. So these are all things that have only really started evolving in the past four or five years, which is the time you've been working on your business. So it's almost that period of pause that you've had to have through no choice of your own is allowing you also to think through and develop your ideas. So much more to be in sympathy with the Land, but also to be more in touch with the times that we now find ourselves in. And I think that's incredibly interesting that you were so ahead of your time in making the choice of this particular piece of land that you now find yourself in a perfect position, even though it's been an absolute struggle to get here, because it hasn't gone as you hoped. And so it's been quite difficult. So, uh, I find that really interesting. And just as the land has helped heal you in that delay and in your disappointment with the business not moving as quickly as you'd hoped it would, it's also going to be a very restorative place for other people who are seeking an escape to get away from their issues in life or their disappointments or their health concerns or whatever it might be and to find something a bit different. Tell me a little bit about that, because I know that when you were working on the land and you were, uh, actually developing the land, you were very hands on, you were doing it all yourself. And it seemed to me that the land was healing you in a way.

Speaker E: I find that the best part of the story. Because I was trying to drive the project and I was trying to drive the land and I was trying to drive everything. And it feels like I was trying to push the process as I used to, because you work, when you work to, for your clients, basically you're trying to move all those different parts to get the results, to get your planning, to start the project, to finish the project, and then so, and so on. So I came with that mentality where in reality the land is now driving me. So the time, the pause in the project allowed me to listen to the land, to observe the seasons, to see where water goes in discharge and flow through the season, to see where trees, uh, are growing faster than in other places, to rethink about which are the areas that I would like to develop and which areas I would like to keep wild to think about all of the various processes, such as we're going to have solar panels, you have to think about not over shading those panels. You have to think about where to plant. So all of those things where there's too many things to think about at the onset of the project that you're not really able to consider if you're only focusing on opening as quickly as possible as a business perspective, from a business point of view. And that pause allowed me to grow through those, through those decisions. And I'm sure if I did things quickly, I would have regretted positioning something on a particular area and not thinking through that point at this point. And I know that's natural in, in business and you learn through that and there's always a way to correct some of the mistakes if they are the arena mistakes. But that process really, really changed me in, in the drive to, to create a slightly different kind of business and with that a slightly different kind of life for myself. Not so much driven by the success as a uh, as the point to achieve, but the process. Obviously we all want to succeed. We all want to realize our dreams and to realize what we're putting um, blood, sweat and tears into that become successful. But I realized that shouldn't be the drive that, that should be part of the process and, and I think that's the beauty that Akinji realized through, through the passing years.

Speaker D: So what's next for you Danny?

Speaker E: I hope to have the final piece of paperwork soon. I don't want to put any time on it because every time I speak to people say okay, so when are you going to open? I'm like, I don't want, I can't tell you because I used to, I said uh, we're going to open April this year and we're going to open April that next year. Ah, and then again that would just be, it's just unrealistic. So next is literally that one step at a time we're going to get that piece of paper which I hope we're going to get soon. And with that the idea is to launch a mini investment round. Not quite crowdfunding publicly because I want to have it a little bit, a little bit different. So micro, micro financing to individuals that want to take part and be part of the business. And I think that's quite, quite an interesting different approach because at the beginning I was thinking about let's get one or two partners. And it evolves in a different way. I think sharing the business with like minded individuals I think would be quite, quite an opportunity in of itself and yeah, and then starts thinking about how to construct it and then decisions can, can move into when and when it open and launch runways and, and, and more detailed marketing and all sorts of operational levels. But uh, at the moment I'm thinking about one step at a time. I'm spending a lot of time writing about the process and that is a healing process of, of itself which, which allows me to I guess again accept the process as it is. I'm not thinking I'm going to get the final piece of paper in two weeks or in three weeks or in four Weeks or in front. I'm just thinking that uh, when it will happen, we're going to move to the next stage. So I remove that element of stress, try to remove the element of stress, of timetable from, from the process. If I open it in five years time, I'll open it in five years time. I hope not, but I'm accepting it.

Speaker D: I wish you all the best, Danny, I really do. And if anybody relates to what you've been talking about, maybe they found themselves in the same situation, maybe they are planning a similar area or somewhere in Spain and they just want to reach out and have a chat with you or just read your story and read what you've written so far. Is there anywhere they can go to find out more about you?

Speaker E: Yes, obviously the Peter Galise has got a website and uh, Instagram account and my newsletters are on Beehive. So yeah, I'm sure we can share those links in, in podcast notes. But yeah, in www.com is the website where you can find all the details. And as you and part of the group, we all here to support each other. So if anyone wants to comment or approach me and hear more about the story and if I can help in any way, I'm happy to, I'm happy to share.

Speaker D: All I can tell you is that, uh, I'm just incredibly happy that you haven't brought this to an end, that you have maintained your determination to work through these unfortunate delays and you are still thinking positively about the whole project. And I'm also really happy that the land has helped you as much as you are hoping to help the land at some point in the future when you are allowed. And just to spell that out again, Finca Gillicia is F I N C A G dash A L I C I a dot com. So if anybody wants to go and find you there, I'm um, sure that they will. And yeah, it's been so wonderful hanging out with you, Danny.

Speaker E: Thank you, Sarah. Thank you. You've been really helpful through the process. So it's been a pleasure speaking to you about it.

Speaker D: Absolutely. And I'm really hoping that we're going to do another of these conversations in the, uh, not too distant future and it will be a very different kind of situation. It will be about, okay, what's next in your development, what are you doing next and what's happening and it'll be very much more practical and what's happening on the land rather than, or even potentially just raising funds. And how are you raising funds and how are you going about it. It'd be really interesting to follow your journey in a kind of a series from. In a way, you've been summarizing your disappointments and the delays which so often happen for other people. But then the next stage will be the funding, and then the next stage will be the development and so on. So be really nice if you could come back and share as, as and when it happens.

Speaker E: I would be delighted to.

Speaker D: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Danny. I, um, will speak to you soon.

Speaker E: Cheers. Thank you.

Speaker D: Bye.

Speaker C: Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, uh, you're not managing one building, you're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog H Vac on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and, uh, 24. 7 support. Call 1-800-grainger click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.