Helen Cummins Reflects on 2025, Purpose and What Comes Next

Transcript

Introduction: Helen Swaps Seats for a Year-End Reflection

Hello, I’m Helen Cumins and this is Mallorca Living, a space dedicated to those who are dreaming of making Mallorca their home. Today is a special day. As we come to the end of 2025, we thought for a special edition you’re going to actually hear more about me and my life in Mallorca. I’ve invited Izzy Newman, a good friend, to come and be the presenter here today.
Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy it. So, thank you so much for being here. It’s an honor. Thank you, Izzy.

Describing 2025 in One Word: Abundance & Validation

How does it feel now you’re in the hot seat? A little bit different, but nice. I’m excited, actually. But it’s a perfect moment, isn’t it, to stop, reflect, and pause on 2025. How would you describe it in one word? How was your year?
It was difficult to come up with one word, to be honest, because so many things have happened this year. But I would say “abundant” would be a very good word. Another word I could use is “validation,” I think, from a business perspective. But if I look at everything in total, I think abundance is a good word.

What has the whole feeling of 2025 been for you? Fast, actually. Although I’m promoting a slow life here in Mallorca, I think like many people it’s just been a very fast year. We’re here at the end of the year already and it feels almost like it was too fast.

Evolving the Business: From Print to Digital & New Services

There’s been a major transformation, hasn’t there? What has transformed since, basically, the pandemic?
A lot. We have actually changed the business model of ABC Mallorca and Helen Cumins a lot. It was actually even before the pandemic that we were looking at a lot of things, wondering really how do we stay relevant in a business sector that’s actually globally changing and transforming. How will we maintain this business? Because the media business and information portals like ABC Mallorca—the whole world is changing, and even now faster than ever with AI. Of course, you can’t ignore all of these things.

What happened was, even in January 2020 before the pandemic, we already realized that there was a shift in the market away from print and going more towards digital, which is fine for us because we’re very strong in both platforms. But I also felt that maybe to secure our future in the long term, we needed to diversify into other sectors. So it was really a case of evaluating our competencies, looking at the market, and thinking: what are the problems of clients that we potentially could solve? That’s where the whole idea started really.

Because you reduced the amount of magazines. Is that right? That’s right. In 2018 and 2019, they were the biggest years of ABC Mallorca. Although I am delighted to say, in 2024 and 2025, we’ve actually surpassed those figures that we achieved in 2018 and 2019 in terms of our revenue and profit, which is fantastic. But needless to say, you always have to look at where your business is going for the long term. That’s why I decided to focus less on print and focus more on digital.

The other point was to actually offer a new service to the market, which was the property buyer’s agency service. So yes, it was a big change away from print, much more focused on the digital, and then launching this new service.

Launching the Property Buyers Agency & Long-Term Vision

What was the biggest risk and what was the biggest reward out of that change?
Like everything in life, when you’re used to swimming in your comfortable zone, surrounded by what you know and have the confidence that you’re very competent at that, it’s very easy to stay there. But if you leave those safe waters and transition to a new place that you don’t know, you’re much more at risk of making a mistake, of not being accepted. You don’t know what you don’t know. So there are all sorts of possibilities that you make the wrong decisions.

How has that affected your day-to-day work schedule then? Has it completely transformed it? Has it been an easy transformation?

I think I’ve had to be incredibly patient. So I would say that this launch of the Helen Cumins Mallorca Living property buyer’s agency was a project I started back in 2018. So you can imagine, really, that’s why I say “validation.” This was the first year that it was actually, in terms of validation, working incredibly well. So I’ve had to really take a long-term perspective on it.

I remember even in 2021 when we had a million visitors to the website, I was still very slow in accepting clients who wanted to advertise on the platform because I just felt it was a long-term vision I have. We want to offer something that was unique and different in the real estate market. The property buyer’s agency service doesn’t exist; many clients don’t even understand what it is. So therefore there was a long period of educating people: why would you use this service? What are the benefits? So I had to be very slow and strategic, I would say, about how we would enter the market and what we offer.

Stepping into Leadership & Aligning the Team

And of course you have a team. Yes. How has that affected them? How do you collaborate with them to make this success?
Yeah, I mean it’s like steering a ship, isn’t it? Being the leader. I think I’m much more in a leadership role since the pandemic rather than being in a more operational part. It was really about creating a vision for my team that they could understand and that they bought into, because at the core of everything we do is Mallorca. We promote the best of what Mallorca has to offer, whether you’re coming here on holidays or planning to live here. So it was really important for me that my team understand what we’re doing and why we’re changing, why there’s a need to move and reinvent ourselves.

They were excited because that also brings along opportunities for them to learn new skills and move into new territory. So together we have learned a huge amount and had a lot of fun while we’re doing it.

But what about your clients? Your loyal clients, how have they been affected and how have they received your changes?

The Synergies Between the Advertising Clients and Property Buying Clients

Well, our clients for ABC Mallorca are advertising clients; we work business to business. So our shift into the property buyer’s agency was a direct move from serving our clients who would be buying a property. There’s a huge amount of synergy between our advertising clients and now our end-user clients who are the buyers of properties, because many of our clients are connected with providing services related to buying a property in Mallorca. We work with construction companies, interior designers, furniture stores, lawyers who specialize in property real estate. So there’s a lot of synergy between our advertising clients and now our property-buying clients.

Starting the Mallorca Living Podcast: Purpose & Stories

So now it’s a new voice, a new chapter. How has launching the Mallorca Living podcast come about and affected your everyday life?
The podcast was a very personal project. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time because I just had this feeling that people who are dreaming of living here in Mallorca, they need to know as much as they possibly can about what life is like in Mallorca. I thought, who better to explain that to them than people who have already made the transition? Since we launched this project, it’s really turned out that there are so many small nuances, small tips that are really significant and important, but it also builds confidence.

If people are in another country and it just feels like a dream that maybe isn’t achievable, and then they listen to a podcast and realize, “Oh wow, that family were able to do it, so maybe my family can do it,” or “that lady was able to transition and create the most incredible business; maybe I could do that.” So I feel the podcast is like this incredible inspiration for people who want to make the move. They can find out all kinds of incredible information, and it feels authentic. That’s for me the other point: it’s not somebody trying to sell anything. It’s really people who have made this big transition in their life and who want to share something that they feel could be valuable to others who are dreaming to do the same.

And what’s been the most… because you launched in April this year, is that right? Yes. And we’ve already completed I think over 20 editions. So it’s amazing, it really has been a big success. So many of our property-buyer clients who contact us now do so as a result of listening to the stories from clients who have already used our service. So of course they’re the people who have had the experience. They know how much it benefited them along the way, and then they’re sharing that experience with others who potentially could use our service.

What Surprised Helen Most About Hosting

What surprised you the most about hosting? How much I enjoy it, actually. I absolutely love it. It’s something I suppose even when I was in my 20s, I did think of doing TV presenting and so on. It was just always a little seed somewhere behind, and now it’s grown into something I really enjoy.
I’m going to interrupt you by saying your opening take was one take. So, it’s a true professional at work. I just thought I needed to add that; I was incredibly impressed.

Helping People Transition to Life in Mallorca

But the success of the property buyer’s service… what do you put that all down to? Helping people transition to life on the island must be a wonderful experience.
It is. Really, when I originally launched the Helen Cumins platform dedicated to people who want to live in Mallorca, I didn’t really have the business model in my mind. I know that sounds crazy for a business person to say, that I put all this huge investment of work. But I just felt if I create something that doesn’t exist—and this type of information we offer just does not exist on any other platform—then people would start to use it. They would trust it. They would see the passion and the love really that goes into what we do. And then I would figure out where the opportunity is for us to add value to the client.

Because in recent years, we’ve had a lot more North American clients buying in Mallorca. The normal model in North America is that you have a buyer’s property agency service and you have a seller’s agency. You don’t have the dual role as is normal in Mallorca or even in Europe. So I felt with our local knowledge, our in-depth knowledge of Mallorca, the massive network of businesses that we know throughout the years, this could all add a lot of value to new people coming to the island. So I thought, that’s the link. Bring all this together and offer it as a service.

I think the biggest difference from what we do: we are a service company. We are providing a service to those who are buying. A real estate agency representing the seller is selling. It’s the difference between selling and service. Everything we do is about providing a service rather than selling something.

What resonates so strongly with them? I think it’s the trust. I honestly think it’s down to trust. All of the people I’ve interviewed, that was at the heart of what they felt. Making a massive decision like buying a property for millions of euros is one of the biggest transactions people will ever make. They’re doing it in a foreign country where they don’t know the laws, they don’t speak the language. They’re so scared that they will make a bad decision, and that’s completely understandable. So what they need is that guiding hand to show them where to go, what they can find, and honesty. I think that’s what came across very strongly: that once people had the initial consultation and then they actually met in person—either Lucy, Nadine, Stephanie, or myself—they really understood that we’re not trying to sell them something. We are trying to ensure that the decision they make is the best decision for them with the knowledge that they need.

What Are People Looking for in Their Mallorca Dream?

It’s a lifestyle vision, right? Most people coming here have a vision about what they’re dreaming their lifestyle will be. Many of them are looking to slow down. Again, I think that’s why the whole concept behind the Helen Cumins brand is slow living, and people are searching for that—to leave maybe very busy, stressful lives and come here and have something new, something different. They resonate with that.
But everybody is so different, and I think you see that also from the people we’ve interviewed on the podcast. Some people were looking to create a vineyard, and somebody else is looking for a townhouse, and somebody else wants a lock-up-and-leave apartment. Everybody is so unique in their dream, and our work is to really understand that, listen, ask questions. Sometimes it’s a process because people come here with initially one idea, and then they end up with a completely different property because they realize it wasn’t the right thing for them.

There was a couple, for example, in Pollensa who had always been to Pollensa with the wonderful cycling, a super-fit couple, and they ended up southwest in Port Adriano. It is a process, and you need to be patient for that. To be fair, if you’re a real estate agent, then you have a listing of properties and your job is to sell that property. So you’re not going to be interested, really. If you have a property in the north, you want the client to buy your property in the north. Whereas for us, it doesn’t actually matter to us whether you buy in the north, south, east, or west. It’s just: what is your dream and how can we make sure that we can fulfill that dream? That’s what we do.

Favourite Relocation Story: Trevor & Judy’s Journey

Favorite story? What was the favorite story of this year with regards to people relocating to Mallorca?
Well, I think the couple, Trevor and Judy, who spent five and a half, six years on a boat and sailed into Mallorca and decided, “This is it.” People who have visited maybe 40 different countries in their life and then they choose this small island when they could choose anywhere—this is just such an honor in a way, such a compliment to what Mallorca has to offer. So I loved that story, and they were great people, and a beautiful friendship blossomed from that.

But we’ve had so many incredible stories. Everybody’s transition story is unique, and it’s what brings us so much joy to be part of that story for them.

Personal Growth: Writing Her First Book, Kundalini Yoga & Leading Retreats

But of course with this wonderful new experience in your life, an adventure if I may call it that, there’s also a personal side. There’s a personal life going on. You’ve had a very busy one, haven’t you? Tell us about it. What’s been happening in your world?
Yes, I’ve been… well, I took on one project, which is an exciting project, something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I’m writing a book at the moment. Wonderful. The book is actually very related to my own personal journey over the last seven or eight years. I have had a really big personal transformation. I became a Kundalini yoga teacher. I have been offering day retreats, and we did some retreats in Marrakesh. It’s a part of my life that is separate but yet very integrated. A lot of what I learn in the whole spirituality world helps me to live my day better every day, and I think that has maybe influenced other people to create a curiosity. So a lot of my clients have come on my day retreats. Some of my clients have come to Marrakesh, and some people are now practicing Kundalini yoga daily. So that’s been great.

So my book is really about capturing that story. It’s part memoir, part kind of self-help manual, I would say, where a lot of the nuggets of wisdom I’ve gained over the last few years, I’m trying to document them and share in the hope that maybe it helps other people with their story or their transition. We can live too fast and maybe too unconsciously. What Kundalini did for me was it was basically like an awakening. It was becoming more aware and becoming more conscious, and that helps me to live, I think, a better life.

Discovering the BRCA1 Gene & Preventive Surgery

And because of the personal health as well… You’ve had a discovery in your own personal health.
Yes. Three years ago, I had a… well, it was actually kind of a miracle at the time because in just a general checkup, my doctor found a suspect lump in my breast. He advised that we get this checked, and I did. Subsequently the lump was removed, and it was precancerous. So I was very lucky because it was something that could have been very difficult to detect, but it was detected very early. So I actually didn’t need to have chemo or radiation therapy; removing the lump was enough. That was my first health scare, let’s say. So that starts to put things into perspective.

Then quite by chance this year in January, I was sitting with a very nice doctor, Dr. Jose Hernandez, a longevity doctor. He explained he was setting up a new clinic in Mallorca and offered me to have all these tests he offers for longevity. I thought, “Wow, this is great. Sure, I will do this.” It was a lot of time and effort. I thought he was going to come back and tell me, “Well done, you’re the healthiest 50-something year old I’ve ever met.” But actually, he contacted me and asked me, “After your scare three years ago, did they do any DNA testing?” I said no, because actually there’s no history of breast cancer in my family. He said, “Okay, come and see me,” and then he told me that I had this mutation of the BRCA1 gene. People know it because it was made very famous by Angelina Jolie. In her case, her mother and her aunt had both died of breast and ovarian cancer.

I was absolutely shocked to find this out because, as I said, there was no history of breast cancer in my family. So it meant that I was strongly advised to have surgeries to prevent and make sure, because when you have this gene—which about one in 400 women have—the chance of you developing breast or ovarian cancer is over 80%. So I felt I was on a path, my destiny was probably that in my future this would happen. With modern medicine, we’re so lucky because first of all you can find out, which is a miracle in itself, and I actually could do something about it.

So that’s been my health issue this year, really: to make sure I’m in a safe place with prevention. For your daughter as well, no doubt. With Eva, she’s… because it has a 50/50 chance of being passed on. Luckily for my beautiful daughter, she did not get that, and we’re very happy about that. Again, it’s really, I suppose, the point is it’s good to know. Some people say, “Oh, I prefer not to know,” but I think certainly in my case I felt it was good to know. It’s been a tough experience, of course—forewarned is forearmed, as the old-fashioned expression goes.

Writing the book, has that been therapeutic? Absolutely. It’s been amazing. It’s not only about that issue, but it’s kind of weaving together all of the different experiences that one has in their life and what you learn from those experiences. Maybe by sharing those experiences with other people, they can also gain some insight.

Absolutely. How do you fit it all in?

How She Manages It All: Her Team & Support

I have an amazing team. And that is the secret. People ask me, a friend said, “I think, Helen, you have 48 hours in every day and the rest of us only have 24.” Well, as I said, since the pandemic I really have stepped back from the day-to-day because I have an amazing team. I have a couple of people who have been with me for many, many years and they are brilliant at their job. I’m guiding, but I’m not there daily saying this or that. We hire people who have amazing skills—our social media manager, our graphic designer, our writers—they’re all very skilled people. So, I feel I’m the leader, but these people are so talented and so committed that they do a great job.
But that’s also a credit to you if you have members of your team. My father, a businessman, always used to say to me, “You’re only as good as your worst employee.” I think that’s a very true and valid comment. The fact is, as I said, it’s a credit to you if you have this wonderful team that have been with you so long. So that is something that is good to hear. It’s great to hear.

Changes in Mallorca After 25 Years

Now, as I said, you have such a busy lifestyle. But 25 years you’ve been here on Mallorca. What changes have stood out to you over those 25 years?
Yeah, I think the biggest change is in the hospitality sector. The offering of restaurants—amazing restaurants on the island—is fantastic. The offering for boutique hotels is also amazing. I think now Mallorca is just world-class in terms of what it has to offer.

Of course, there’s a downside to that because we have millions and millions of tourists every year. And the scare, which I can totally empathize with, is that we reach a point of saturation. There’s a maximum. As we all know, there’s been bad publicity in the world news that people are not welcome here. I would just say that’s actually not the truth. People are very welcome to come to Mallorca. The thing is, it’s a smaller group of people who unfortunately feel a little threatened that their culture, the beauty of the island, will be in some way damaged. That’s why we ask people when they do come to really respect the island, to take care of it, to clean up, and to make sure you’re not leaving a heavy footprint. Tread lightly on the island, I suppose, is the point. Then it’ll be here for many, many years for many people to enjoy.

The Future of Tourism, Sustainability & Connection

The evolution—how it’s evolved over this time—do you think it is going to improve then? With the impact of tourism that they are trying to manage, is the culture being damaged? Is the community evolving in a way that it can be sustainable for everybody?
I think a lot of it is to do with government policy, to be fair, because there is a shortage of housing here, like in many places in the world. We need policies from the government that also protect the local community. But on the same token, Mallorca is very dependent on the tourist sector to provide employment. There’s good and bad with everything. I think the management has to come into where, as you mentioned, reaching a point of too many. Maybe we’ve already surpassed that, and therefore we have to curtail. I don’t know; I’m not suggesting one way or another. But I think it’s all about managing it. We do have a lot of hotels, we do have a lot of restaurants, so we do need the tourism industry to prosper and grow.

Over the last number of years, what I’ve seen as a big change is that we’ve moved towards a more luxury tourism, which is maybe for the island more sustainable in the long run.

What Inspired & Where Was the Fun in 2025?

So behind the scenes, here we are at the end of 2025. What was the highlight? What inspired you so much? And where was all the fun? What did you enjoy?
I think there was a lot of work, but with my team, we have a lot of fun. Even the day of my birthday in June—we had an amazing day in the north of the island. We went to the beach, I gave a yoga class, we had lunch. We had a super nice time, and we have a lot of fun together.

From a personal perspective, I went to Australia for my niece’s wedding earlier on; that was an amazing trip. Other than that, I’ve been very much on the island. I took my own summer holidays here in Mallorca because we have everything. It’s like we don’t need to travel; we have it all here on the island.

Challenges of 2025

And what were the most challenging parts of 2025 for you?
Well, I think the health issue was my biggest challenge because I’m not somebody who sits around waiting to feel better. I’m always spinning a lot of plates. Yeah, that was definitely a challenge. But other than that, I think it’s been an incredible year, and I’m very proud of what we’ve managed to achieve.

Plans for 2026: Rebranding abcMallorca & Personal Goals

So, we’re knocking on 2026. What is planned for the future professionally and personally?
Professionally, next year is very much about the idea of rebranding and repositioning ABC Mallorca. Over the last six or seven years, the predominant focus of the business has been on building up the Helen Cumins brand. We’ve put a lot of resources, energy, and effort towards that. I now feel that we have it in a very good place; it’s running and working really well. Now I want to go and really implement a lot of the great things that we’ve seen working well on Helen Cumins onto ABC Mallorca. ABC Mallorca still has over six million visitors to the website. We have an incredible Instagram account heading towards the 100,000 mark, which we’re very excited about. We have our business networking lunches, which just run and are wonderful. So for me, a lot of it is making sure we keep doing what we do really well and slowly improving. I think ABC Mallorca is ready now to dive in and give it a whole new look and feel, and I will reposition it. More on that coming in 2026.

From a personal perspective, I am going to again do the 312 cycling event. I’ve now completed the 167 three times, and I aim to do the 167 again, but I want to do it in a better time—less than seven hours. We also have an event coming up in May, which is a cycling event where I will do the whole perimeter of Mallorca—the 312—in two days, not in one day. So that’s going to be an exciting event in May.

Other than that, with all my normal things going on, we have retreats planned. The retreat in March is almost full; we sent it out in the newsletter and it just books up, which is wonderful. I will do more of the day retreats because the feedback I get from people who participate is just amazing. It’s very satisfying, very fulfilling, and very special. I meet amazing people who say, “I’ve been getting your newsletter for years and now I’m here in person.” They’re very excited, and I just love that.

And of course, we have sent out the book proposal to some publishers, some of the big publishers. So I’m just waiting to see if we get a deal. That would be a dream if I can get a book publishing deal for my book next year.

When we met years ago, I said, “You’ve got to write.” I think there’s not just one book in you; there’s probably about five or six. Well, let’s start with one. Absolutely.

Final Message to Those Dreaming of Life in Mallorca

2025, though—there’s a lot to be grateful for. Gratitude. Absolutely. Like I say, the year’s been full for me in terms of abundance, and from abundance comes so much gratitude for all that we have.
So, what message would you like to send out to your listeners on this podcast where we’ve swapped seats? Is there something special?

Well, I think it’s beautiful to connect, and honestly, I think that’s what people are yearning for. I’m always very proud of the fact that since ABC Mallorca exists—it’s going into 23 years next year, which is incredible—what we’ve done over all this time is connect people. Whether it’s through the business launch, the open house, now the retreats… if you’re on the periphery and you live already here in Mallorca and you want to join some of those events to meet other like-minded people, or if you’re in your home country listening to this and dreaming of making that move… come and move here. If that’s really on your mind and you’re dreaming, it’s one of the best places in the world you can live.

I agree with you. You know, you’ve been here so long, too. You just never tire of Mallorca because of its sunshine, its beauty, and bliss. We really do live in paradise, and for that, we’re so grateful.

So is that your wish for 2026, that it continues? Yes, it absolutely is to continue that. I think we really do have to focus on this personal connection. I think it’s going to become more and more prevalent and more desired in people’s lives. We don’t want to be solely in the digital, virtual world with AI and all of this. We actually want to go back and connect with real people in real time and have that joy of having a great conversation with somebody you’ve just met, who inspires you or says something that changes your life. We all need that. So I think it’s this connection that’s beautiful, and that’s what I would love to propel and move forward with.

Well, I cannot thank you enough. I said at the opening it’s an honor, and it has been an honor. I follow you and enjoy watching your success year after year. Thank you, Izzy. Happy New Year. Thank you. Happy New Year to you too, and all the very best for 2026. Have a wonderful year. Thank you. I will. Well done.

If you’re dreaming of making Mallorca your home, let me invite you to use our property buyer’s agency service. With our service and our help, we can guide you to the right location that fits with your lifestyle. We’ll also help you find the perfect home that fits with your dream. Contact us today for an online consultation or book an appointment and come and see us in Palma. We would love to help you make your transition to Mallorca a reality.