Rebeca Pacheco: “We’ve lost a sense of the value of time”

Rebeca is the alma mater of Quilter- life solutions, a company providing services of Personal Concierge & Lifestyle Management based in Barcelona. She tries to make people’s life easier. We love Quilter motto: your time is for you.

Age: nearly 37

Profession: Architect (by profession) and Personal Concierge (at heart)

Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English, Catalan and Italian (very basic level)

The Interview: We know Rebeca from MeetBCN. Yes, she is also part of this big family. After having lunch together and talked extensively about her project, which we find really interesting, we asked if she would like to be part of our blog. So, here you are.

First of all, to give our readers some background, how would you define yourself?

That’s a trick question!! I would say I’m brave, kind, reserved and generous. I like a challenge, exotic foods, faraway countries. I like family, giving presents, getting love. I like silence, solitude, metropolises. I think I’m a bit complicated and difficult to understand but deep down I’m a good person.

We know you’ve just started a new project. Tell us about Quilter and what you do every day.

Quilter is a company designed to solve the problems busy people face. We all have tasks that we always leave for later and with the dizzying speed of modern live, it all piles up. We offer Life Solutions. Personalized solutions to give busy people more free time for the truly important things.

I don’t follow a designated routine. Every day is different; some are calm and others not so much so. I’m always available and ready. That’s Quilter’s strong point, being ready and willing to do whatever necessary to make sure our clients are always smiling.

What made you start up this attractive new project?

Quilter is my dream. When the time comes to reinvent yourself, you realize who you really are and what your true skills and passions are. I’ve discovered mine recently, through a process of self-help to discover a new path for my life. That was when I realized that what motivates me is planning, managing and anticipating problems. And if that can be my profession, great!

Do you think we give time the importance it deserves in our society?

No, I don’t. We’ve lost a sense of the value of time. We’re always overstressed and many times we only realize how many beautiful things we’re missing out on along the way after it’s too late.

You went from working in a German multinational corporation to being your own boss. What are the main changes?

I really can’t complain. In the last company where I worked I learned the importance of autonomy and being responsible for my own acts. I had total freedom to work in my own way and even to make my own hours. This really helps increase professional self-esteem and makes you value your own work, which intrinsically improves your relationship with the company and its bottom line.

Have you noticed any differences between dealing with Germans and Spaniards? Does the lifestyle differ from one country to the other?

Of course the Germans are very different from the Spanish. In general they are much more disciplined, serious and rigorous in many aspects. But they are somewhat lacking in flexibility and…

In Brazil, where I’m from, we say, and others say of us, that we are “all terrain”. In reality, due to the economic difficulties and the American mentality there, people with possibilities are very well prepared, with degrees, masters… In general we adapt very well to different situations.

As a professional, have you ever used a translation agency, translator or interpreter, etc.?

I have turned to translators on some occasions in my personal life, mainly when I first came to Spain and had to translate all my paperwork.

As a professional, many times you think you know a language well, even your native language, but if you want the job done well it’s always better to turn to a professional. For my Quilter website I was lucky enough to get help from Ontranslation. Now I know it’s well written and puts across the message I want.

Can you tell us a linguistic anecdote you’ve experienced in your time here?

Some years ago I was looking for a cocktail shaker for some friends, one of the typical metallic ones to make cocktails. I looked all over, El Corte Ingles, kitchen shops… until I had no other choice than to go into a Chinese shop.
As we all know, most of the time it takes quite a bit of creativity and patience to communicate with the staff in these shops. I started off explaining with words, “to make cocktails”, “metallic glass with a lid” and the shopkeeper just kept shaking his head saying he didn’t understand. That was when I decided to use my hands and mimed grabbing the cocktail shaker and moving it up and down. For some dirty minds, including the Chinese shopkeeper, it looked like something totally different!!! He blushed and told me that they didn’t do that there. I ran out totally embarrassed. And without the cocktail shaker!