Post: #1

Sup guys, brainstorming ideas here. You have $15,000 to start up in a developing country.. you want to make it work straight away but have no problem investing your time into the business while you are there. You want it to be sustainable by month 6 from initiation.

Where would you go? What would do? How would you spend the money?

My ideas are:

Cambodia, Business visa for around $300 a year. Open a bar in a resort town and work your ass off for the first 6 months till you have staff you trust. Expand to rooms for rent when possible.

Philippines, Business visa, again similar cost for a year, this time setting up an online outsourcing company aimed at wealthy western clients who need stuff like blog updates, SEO and social media.

Eastern Europe, within the EU set up a company which is aimed at highlighting the legal loopholes for businesses to set up different aspects of their business in different locations within the EU, such as capital gains, inheritance etc. Although I figure this would require a lot more than $15k to get going..

Go go go

Post: #2

I'm not nearly as well traveled as you guys but I would recommend if your going to start a foreign business don't be an absentee owner unless you have family over there running it, even if you start it off strong and have good employees. Your always going to be a foreigner and people will take advantage. Also just the having contacts will probably make things run smoohter overall. A bar is a cash business too which is dangerous even here in the states but being an absentee owner out of country probably even worse. You really have to monitor a cash busines its too easy for people to steal

Post: #3

sorry should have made clear. Make the business work within 6 months, then hire others, but remain on location checking over things.

Post: #4

(04-11-2014 10:19 AM)2014 Wrote:  Sup guys, brainstorming ideas here. You have $15,000 to start up in a developing country.. you want to make it work straight away but have no problem investing your time into the business while you are there. You want it to be sustainable by month 6 from initiation.

Where would you go? What would do? How would you spend the money?

My ideas are:

Cambodia, Business visa for around $300 a year. Open a bar in a resort town and work your ass off for the first 6 months till you have staff you trust. Expand to rooms for rent when possible.

Philippines, Business visa, again similar cost for a year, this time setting up an online outsourcing company aimed at wealthy western clients who need stuff like blog updates, SEO and social media.

Eastern Europe, within the EU set up a company which is aimed at highlighting the legal loopholes for businesses to set up different aspects of their business in different locations within the EU, such as capital gains, inheritance etc. Although I figure this would require a lot more than $15k to get going..

Go go go

And there's the big problem right there.

Good luck finding staff you trust in the developing world. Things don't work the same way here as they do back home, and people don't either.

Post: #5

I like the idea of this thread but have little to offer.

Somewhere there was a post about being able to own a business for 10k, I think it might have been a calwinston post but it was a brief mention.

Will definitely be following this thread, great idea.

Post: #6

East Africa, big city, near hotels for westerners,ice machines.

WIA

Post: #7

I'd say go to China, preferably around Guangzhou or Shenzhen and set up shop there. Learn about the culture, language, build a network, see what's possible and make a move. With 15K you would have enough to live on for a year while building the foundation: that is build a solid network, learn as much as possible about not only doing biz there but also living and interacting efficiently with the locals.

Within that year, you will have more opportunity come your way than you'd know what to do with. One advice I can give you about not only China but pretty much anywhere in the world, is do not rush it. Take your time to see what's up, how things work and build as big and tight of a network as possible, comprised of both locals and expats. Then, armed with all these, make your move. An excellent resource for living and doing biz in China is theelevatorlife.com

They are the real deal and are good friends of mine. I can totally vouch for them.

Post: #8

Fast food in certain places in Africa in places with many expats. Imagine all those Western people working in development in an African city ordering a piece of meat with veggies and having to wait 1,5 hours for it because Africans dont give a shit about time. This is not really for cities like Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam where they handled this already but plenty others that have no real solution for it yet.

Another thing is a restaurant with healthy food (according to Roosh forum standards), I think people will become more conscious about what they eat in Western world first and only much later in development places. So again, expats having knowledge about healthy eating, locals who don't and no businesses around to cater to it.

Another idea I had is danger tourism trips. Going to places that are perceived as very dangerous, asking a lot of money for it and people who will go on this trip will gain bragging rights on fb etc. with pictures while still pretty secure since you calculated the risks and limited them by a strict organization.

Post: #9

I like the attitude. Will keep reading this thread.

Post: #10

Idea: Coffee shop. I had a vague idea for a while to open some sort of cool cafe somewhere. Rent out a space and convert it to an unusual cafe design.

Design/decor: Could be a hybrid between a european-style cafe (more atmosphere, designed for being social) and a north-american-style (more practical for posting up alone with your laptop to get some work done), that would cater to both crowds.

Or perhaps even more unorthodox with beanbags and interesting floor lamps and stuff. Something like this:



Music: cafe del mar chillout. Something like this:




Location: EE/SEA/SA in a 2nd tier city so it would stand out more, and where you could become 'locally famous'.

Drinks: no super expensive espresso machines but instead a menu of 'world coffee' with different types of coffee from around the world. So instead of the very limited options you typically get - espresso/americano/latte/cappuccino, there'd be stuff like Turkish coffee, Greek frappe, Vietnamese iced coffee, etc.



Moniez: Not sure how financially viable this would be though. I don't really see it as a business venture but more of a personal project that would hopefully break even or make a small profit. Something that would be pretty fun to do and surely result in some funny stories.



Edit:

Bonus: would double up as your daygame/date spot. Don't tell the girl you own it, then walk around like you own the place

Post: #11

Build a big ass fuckin wifi antenna, start broadcasting to a whole city.

Post: #12

As a failed business starter 9/10 times ( lawn mowing was about the only success) I would include the question do you have an income to survive on as you try to develop the biz?

Post: #13

many options with 15k, I would not lay all eggs into 1 basket, but diverse in a range of smaller businesses.

As for doing a 4 hour work week style business in a 3rd world country where you step away and it runs itself, you are going to need people you REALLY trust which will take years to find.

Post: #14

How sure are you guys of these proposals?

$15k should be easy to get your hands on/

Post: #15

I would focus in the online industry. With a bar you can get robbed, your employees can steal from you and even worse, it may not sell anything.

Within the Online industry you can provide services that are already booming in other countries such as Taxi apps, Digital Marketing agencies, Classified websites, Dating services, etc.

Post: #16

Espresso,

Sounds like a cool idea if I liked coffee. Just wondering what the cost is in getting some of those world coffees. In other words, let's say it is some special blend from Peru, it won't be sold cheaper to you because you are in a poorer country.

It would be great for social game but I just wonder where the profits are. Not disrespecting the idea, I plan on doing something when I move to a different county. But like IKE said, probably need some backup resources for monthly living.

I even thought of just a general store in a small town selling the basic foods, etc. I know it ain't sexy.

You could always be that guy selling used phones and plans. Probably meet a lot of RVFers lol.

Post: #17

(04-16-2014 03:18 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  Espresso,

You could always be that guy selling used phones and plans. Probably meet a lot of RVFers lol.

When I was in the Phils a lot of girls didn't have smartphones yet or had really weak ones and since attention is the third most important thing to all women after food and water, maybe you should make a market in cell phones.

Some of them actually seem to pawn their cell phones ( sometimes it's a bullshit play for a handout) but that could be a space where bad feelings and even violence happen when you sell off a girl's phone because she can't pay you back.

One guy who worked at a hotel in CDO was a load dealer, all he had was his phone, I told him how much I wanted, and he did some stuff on his phone and the load appeared on mine, I think he bought in bulk from a cell company .

That is a VERY small startup cost I would imagine.And no physical plant investment. Good for socializing too, you could sell load to friends etc. It doesn't cost them any more than going to a store and can be more convenient to them .

Post: #18

(04-16-2014 03:18 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  Espresso,

Sounds like a cool idea if I liked coffee. Just wondering what the cost is in getting some of those world coffees. In other words, let's say it is some special blend from Peru, it won't be sold cheaper to you because you are in a poorer country.

It would be great for social game but I just wonder where the profits are. Not disrespecting the idea, I plan on doing something when I move to a different county. But like IKE said, probably need some backup resources for monthly living.

Not quite what I had in mind when I said world coffees. I don't mean the blends - that would be a hassle and expensive to get those shipped in. And also such places are probably fairy common. I meant something else - some countries have a coffee associated with them: e.g. turkish coffee, greek frappe, vietnamese coffee, etc, which are all very different. Like this:


So it's not going to be about 'great coffee' for coffee connoisseurs but a more 'gimmicky' idea, aimed at a broader customer base. Like 'Oooh, what's a greek frappe, never heard of it'. In addition, I wouldn't need to buy an expensive espresso machine (which in itself could cost $15,000).

Financing: you are right, I don't know if it's viable, so perhaps it doesn't really belong in this thread. It's more of a personal project and a fun way to sink $15,000, for some good stories, experience of running a business, etc. During that time, assume you'd need to support yourself in another way: online income/savings/freelancing/etc.

Lets say you do it for 3 months initially. A rough breakdown of costs might be something like this:
Rent a space in a good location in 2nd tier SEA/EE: $1500/month x 3 =$4500
Some sort of business license: $1000 (?? no idea about this)
Equipment: espresso machine, other coffee making stuff, coffee: $3000
Decoration: $2000
Wages: hire say 2 baristas. $500/month each x 2 x 3 = $3000 (this seems quite low, but local wages for an unskilled job in 2nd tier SEA are probably very low)
Other: $500

Total: 4500+1000+3000+3000+3000+500 = $15,000.

After 3 months, if it's not going well, just fold up shop, sell off furniture/equipment to get a bit of money back, and proceed tell stories about how you used to own a coffee shop in some random city. Have a grand opening day, where all coffee is free, to promote the place. Ideally, find a buddy or two to put $5000 each and do this thing together, since $15000 investment with no guarantees is quite large for most people, whereas $5000 is a lot more manageable for a pretty unique experience.

Thoughts? Am I just being delusional here?

Post: #19

if its costing you $15k to run in 3 months, your numbers are totally off for a 2nd tier country in SEA, dont know about EE. I would hazad a guess it would be a lot less than that.

Post: #20

Espresso,

Thanks for the share of info. As long as the country didn't have crazy laws which make me personally guarantee the lease, etc. I'd do it for the experience. Or fuck do it with some RVF guys. I wouldn't do it for the living aspect, just an experience to have. Which would have its own issues - randomly entering a venture with people you don't know well is not so smart either.

Post: #21

I would be interested to know if forum members here have friends/relativies etc who actually own businesses in other countries and which countries are helpful for expat business owners via laws etc.

Cambodia/Chile seem like the exception in that most countries dont make it easy for foreigners to open a business. Shit even big Multinational corporations dont have an easy time setting up shop in many countries.