51 years old, after losing her job and spending months sending out resumes, taking courses, and reinventing herself, Tatiana Cocsarova found an opportunity where she least expected it: in a fabric store in downtown Zaragoza. Today, she is the new owner of Montiel Decor, a curtain and textile decoration store with a fifteen-year history. It is one of the businesses that have managed to continue their operations thanks to the business transition program and support for entrepreneurship promoted by the Office for the Promotion of Self-Employment of the Zaragoza City Council.
When Tatiana Cocsarova talks about her business, she does so with the same passion with which she describes a well-dressed home. For her, curtains, bedspreads, or upholstery are not just decorative elements: they are the details that turn a residence into a home.
Just a year ago, her reality was very different. At 51, this seamstress originally from Moldova, who has lived in Zaragoza for two decades, was looking for work after leaving a job that no longer allowed her to balance her professional and personal life. “I needed a change. The job I had was physically and mentally exhausting me. I wanted to improve my financial situation and my quality of life,” she recalls.
She came to Spain for love 20 years ago, recently married to a Zaragoza native. Although she has training as a seamstress and as a footwear technician, job opportunities in her field did not always align with her family life. For years, she worked for well-known Zaragoza tailoring and textile alteration stores, gaining experience and perfecting a trade she has always been passionate about and with which she earned a comfortable living in Moldova. I met my husband -a Zaragoza native- on a trip, and shortly after, we started dating. We got married, and I moved to Zaragoza.
When she decided to pivot her career, she began an exhaustive job search. She updated her resume, registered on LinkedIn, visited stores delivering applications, and participated in numerous training courses organized by the Women’s House, the Chamber of Commerce, and other organizations.
“I didn’t stop for two months. I took Excel courses, entrepreneurship courses, marketing courses, job search courses. I thought that the more I learned, the more opportunities I would have,” she explains. This phase not only allowed her to acquire new skills. It also broadened her horizons. “The courses help you meet people, listen to other experiences, and realize that there are more paths than you imagined,” she states.
A Coincidence That Changed the Course
The opportunity appeared unexpectedly. One day, while walking with her husband through downtown Zaragoza, they saw a transfer sign at an establishment on Doctor Cerrada Street, just a few meters from Gran Vía. “My husband said to me, ‘Let’s go in just to get some information.’ We walked in, and from the very first moment, we connected with the owner,” she recalls.
The store was Montiel Decor, a shop specializing in curtains, sheer fabrics, upholstery, and textile decoration for the home with a long history in the city. The owner, nearing retirement, showed them all the business documentation with complete transparency. “They gained our trust from the very beginning. We saw that it was a serious business, with an established clientele and a great reputation,” she explains.
The store had accumulated over fifteen years of history and a portfolio of more than 2,000 clients, built on quality and personalized attention. A circumstance that the previous owner had already highlighted when announcing the transfer of the establishment.
But Tatiana did not immediately dive in. She decided to learn first. For almost two months, she worked alongside the outgoing owner to learn all the details of the business. “I knew how to sew, create, and advise on fabrics, but there are also mechanisms, installations, and many technical aspects here that I was unaware of. I didn’t want to take over the business without first learning how everything worked.” «And especially – she emphasizes- I wanted to learn customer service.”
From Labor Advice to Entrepreneurship
While she was doing those internships, she continued to search for employment and sought various municipal services to improve her job prospects. Initially, she turned to the employment orientation services of Zaragoza Dinámica to enhance her resume and strengthen her job search.
One of the technicians suggested that perhaps her experience and background could fit better in another path. “He told me: ‘Why don’t you talk to a colleague at the Office for the Promotion of Self-Employment?” That suggestion changed the course of her story.
The Office for the Promotion of Self-Employment, established by the Zaragoza City Council in May 2025, was created specifically to support individuals who want to start a business or take over existing ones. In its first year, it has supported 44 business projects, of which 24 have been transfers of already established businesses, thus preventing their closure. Additionally, it has provided 338 personalized consultations on matters such as accounting, taxation, marketing, or legal issues.
Tatiana made an appointment. “I came with many questions. I had researched on my own, even using artificial intelligence to inform myself about grants, subsidies, and procedures, but I needed to confirm what was real and what steps I should take.”
The response came thanks to the technical team at the office. “We were in constant contact. They explained the entire process to me and referred me to legal and tax advice.”
That assistance proved crucial. The technicians reviewed the transfer and rental contracts, analyzed the terms of the agreement, and offered recommendations to safeguard her interests. “For someone who has never managed their own business, having that support is incredibly reassuring.”
A Transition to Keep the Lights On
The story of Montiel Decor is also the story of many small businesses facing the challenge of generational change.
“Many times a business doesn’t close because it’s doing poorly. It closes because retirement arrives and there’s no one to continue,” the mayor of Zaragoza recently recalled during the review of the first year of the Office for Self-Employment’s operations.
For Tatiana, taking over Montiel Decor meant much more than opening a store. “It was continuing a story.” Today, the establishment continues to offer custom-made curtains, sheer fabrics, bedspreads, upholstery, and all types of textile solutions for the home. “We do practically anything related to decorative textiles. From dressing a window to renewing a sofa or customizing an entire room,” she assures.
What surprises her most is that she has discovered a side of herself she didn’t know existed. “I thought I liked sewing. What I didn’t know was how much I would enjoy interacting with people.” Her philosophy is simple: listen before selling. “Every customer has a different need. My job is to understand it and offer the most suitable solution. I never try to sell something that isn’t needed.”
Entrepreneurship After 50
Tatiana acknowledges that age influenced her decision. “When you are over
