Picking up my cold glass of Spanish draft beer, I took a sip and smiled at the bright Canary sun before returning to my laptop – just another day in a flooring salesman’s office. As I was writing this by the pool of a lovely Lanzarote hotel, I made a deal on some flooring, sold it, sent the invoice and got paid. But I don’t live the life of luxury. In fact, I would argue that I save money by doing this. It all started 25 years ago. I started coming on holiday to Lanzarote with my ex-wife and daughter, Francesca. We loved the weather, the friendly people and the warm welcome. But we only came for one week a year and it always flew by. Then it’s back to wet, gray Essex for another miserable 51 weeks of the year. “There must be more to life than this,” I thought. More to life than dreaming about my next break while going to the office, day in, day out. Every morning, I would get up, get dressed and go to work. It was like Groundhog Day. In 2009, I lost a business due to ill health and separated from my wife of 10 years. It took two years of regular hospital appointments to restore my physical health. I then went to a life coach, who helped me focus on my mental health and life goals. It really made me see things from a different perspective. Over time, I met Lissa, now 53, and together in 2012, we started our flooring company, Apple Flooring. This time, we worked from home. I always worked in sales and Lissa, who worked part-time as a bank teller and was an Excel wizard, took care of the accounts and payments. By now, the internet, phones and computers had taken off. So after a discussion about going on holiday again and how it would affect the business, we joined a hotel club based in Spain which meant you got discounts on your stays and started visiting Lanzarote regularly. It was only a four-hour flight with no layover, so if there were ever any problems with work, they were easy to deal with. And it got easier every year as smartphones became more popular and more hotels invested in WiFi. There’s more to life than working from your cramped dining room, trust me So in October 2013, I packed my diary, notebook, notebook and laptop with me and decided to work for the whole week there. I couldn’t believe how straight he was. Customers could call or WhatsApp me, I could send photos, arrange for samples to be shipped and even take payments – all while sitting at the bar with a cold one. My clients would laugh when I told them where I was. Then I realized that with good internet and phone connections, a decent computer and a cloud to store information, I could do exactly the same work I was doing at home. “Why don’t we continue to work, but from vacation, rather than from home?” I suggested it to Lisa. Since then, Lisa and I started going to Lanzarote more and more. At first we went twice a year, then four times. Soon we were going every other month, sometimes staying anywhere from a week to three weeks. While other people are splashing in the pool, I set up my “office” by the pool bar. It works perfectly. I spent my days sitting in the sun. I’ll break for lunch, then have the odd beer in the afternoon, before finishing at 4pm to go play water polo with the other guests. Then before I go to dinner, I’ll check emails one last time at 7pm. with a G&T. Of course, I get the odd funny look when I pull out my laptop at the pool bar and some people find it weird when I tell them I’m on holiday and working at the same time. But once I explain, they usually agree that it sounds like the best work-life balance they’ve heard. If there is a special occasion like my daughter’s birthday or a work emergency like a placement that goes wrong and I have to go home. But getting a flight is often cheaper than getting an Oyster card from Essex to London. I once had to fly back for a work emergency and the flight only cost me £10. During the pandemic, we stayed open, working with NHS trusts to floor the Nightingale Hospital. I wanted to lock up the showroom completely and go live in the sun for a year, but Lisa said no. Now, we come back here whenever we can, flying from whichever airport has the best flight deals. With the prices of everything going up at home, especially gas and electricity, and inflation on the rise, it’s definitely cheaper for us to work overseas. We worked the last 10 day trip for everything, flights, fast track, in and out and taxi transfers and all inclusive at the hotel was £148 per night for two adults. If you go to Center Parcs for a week it can cost you over a thousand pounds.
More: Travels
Now, I’m writing this from the pool bar in Lanzarote. It’s a beautiful temperature of 29 degrees with a cool breeze and cold Estrella in Lanzarote Gardens. We will be back again at Christmas. With more and more of us self-employed or starting businesses post-Covid, the world of work is opening up. There’s more to life than working from your cramped dining room, trust me. If you want a master class, come meet me by the pool and I’ll explain everything to you in the sun. As told to Julie Cook Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected] Share your views in the comments below. MORE: Man accidentally finds his doppelgänger on vacation MORE: Irina Shayk and ex Bradley Cooper spark romance rumors with idyllic new vacation snaps MORE: Giant turtle tries to drag tourist underwater and attacks her at resort
