This article is submitted by Matt Landau, a writer for The Panama Report.
If you’re reading this and you’re older than 40, you must leave now! I’ll be using phrases like “sup B” and “OMG” and “mo-fo” that you’re destined to not understand. “You see, when I was your age, the closest I ever got to Central America was a crummy Spanish textbook” I imagined my mother nagging in my ear as I reclined on a balcony in Casco Viejo overlooking a beautiful plaza and drinking a glass of Chilean wine.
I became fascinated with the idea of working for myself soon after I moved Costa Rica and my belief became cemented soon thereafter by fellow alumnus who complained at length about a life in NYC of ironing shirts and corporate lunches just to sit in a cubicle and report to some retarded boss named Stan who said corny thinks like “Seeya later alligator!”
I am part of a new generation: one of tech-savvy travelers and risk-taking diplomats. We, as a group, only vaguely remember the days without internet, thinking painstakingly back to the evenings of Netscape browser which took forever to load and the family computer base which was roughly the size of a small fridge. We are a curious, well-culture bunch attracted to exotic cuisines and international films. Many of us consider the iPod to be an officially-recognized appendage. We don’t mind paying extra for imported beer, we tend to think outside the box, and because we have creativity up the wazoo, we are a generation that’s primed to break serious entrepreneurial ground in Panama, Central America’s hottest bed for success.
Because the country has long been dependant on trade and banking, many industries in Panama which might otherwise emerge with the evolution of a nation, have lay dormant here. Weighed against a slowing economy in the USA and increased competition in the workplace, young entrepreneurs are moving down to Panama to find comfort in an open-canvas-like myriad of business opportunities. Embrace the unknown. For the young entrepreneur, testing these new waters is replacing grad school in delivering not only an education, but in many cases, a hefty payout to those crafty enough to get in at ground level.
The 8 rules below may serve as a manual to youngsters who seek to move to paradise and start their own business like I did. I have been inspired by the amount of opportunities witnessed in Panama and humbly, the accomplishments I’ve achieved before my 25th birthday. These rules are not terribly different from elsewhere in the world, but thanks to various factors at play in Panama, finding success, adventure, and self-worth may be easier than you think.
1. Be the first in the game:
Finding your niche in the market is the imperative. Take equally into account your skill set and your field experience, but perhaps mostly your passion. Going with the grain on this one is ill-advised as you’ll fall right back into the rat-race you tried to escape at home. Be revolutionary and uncompromising: don’t let anyone at home or in Panama tell you your idea won’t work. Chances are they’re simply jealous of your ingenuity. Identifying a successful endeavor in the States can work, but be sure to research heavily upon arriving in Panama to confirm you’ll be an expert as the first kid on the block.
2. Master the art of mobility:
Build your business model around the goal of never being there. As cited by Tim Ferris in The 4-Hour Work Week, the easiest and lowest-maintenance businesses are the ones that work while you’re sleeping and this especially holds true in Panama where secluded beaches and teeming rainforests are regularly calling you out to play. Choosing an internet business can be ideal as high-speed services are offered throughout Panama, while similarly effective is the process of outsourcing, seeing as though labor here is cheap and English is fairly widely spoken. Focus not only on coming up with a good idea (as good ideas are commonplace) but on implementing your good idea. You’re a big fish in a small pond down here.
3. Seek out the perfect match:
Network your ass off and meet as many potential business partners as possible. This is not unlike finding a personal mate. Search for a trustworthy person of a strong work ethic with whom you might share a common vision. Going with your gut instinct here, as you will frequently see elsewhere in Panama, is crucial. Joining forces with another entrepreneur will allow you to accomplish twice as much and play off each others’ strengths. There’s increasingly a large pool of young entrepreneurs coming to Panama and meeting prospects will be a direct result of your ability to make friends: settle only for the perfect business partner and someone you admire. Participating in expat banter and creating enemies will hold you back drastically.
4. Head of the class, my ass:
Almost every successful entrepreneur I know in Panama left the States with a less-than-flawless academic record. While that’s not to say that paper whiz kids won’t do well here, it is meant to show that sub-par GPAs and unremarkable CVs are common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs in Panama. Legitimizing yourself has never been this easy; find any lawyer in Panama and have them build you a custom corporation (should cost no more than $1,000). Award yourself 100 shares of the corporation (or split evenly between co-founders), then have business cards printed ($30) with the name of your corporation followed your name as Founder or President. This subliminal confidence boost of being your own (retarded) boss will be a huge stepping stone. Seeing your name on paper is instant proof and will get the ball rolling.
5. Avoid all shortcuts:
No one said it would be easy so don’t expect to arrive here and have a successful business handed to you on a silver platter. While the atmosphere in Panama is ultra-conducive to success at a young age, it also requires a lot of bitch work. Read as much about your chosen industry as possible; sign up for RSS feeds and bloglines to be delivered directly to your email and stay up-to-date and informed. Write as much about your industry as possible. Exhibit foresight and be prepared to start the company from the ground up using your vision as the final objective and avoiding (tempting as they can be) all shortcuts. Set goals and reward yourself when you reach those goals. Luckily, if you’ve chosen the right business, it won’t feel like work but rather an exiting sense of momentum.
6. Minimize costs:
Focus on low overhead. Not many new, young entrepreneurs realize the list of costs associated with a start-up in Panama. Splitting electricity, internet, and rent costs with another group of young entrepreneurs will free up much-needed cash and compensation for common positions (like secretary) should be divided as well. Sharing an office is an act that will simultaneously function as a breeding ground for competition and a carving station for the perfectly-honed business plan. Try to stay away from business ideas that require large capital investment as they’re unfortunately no more difficult to dig yourself out of south of the border than they are at home.
7. Plan to fail: Making mistakes in your Panama industry of choice should be expected, but if prepared correctly, you won’t have a) any competitor up your ass ready to take your spot or b) any law suits to deal with. The result of failure as a whole is comparatively friendlier in Panama than in the US, generating an atmosphere where you can learn from your slip-ups. There’s no better way to become the best in an industry than by recognizing what everyone else is doing wrong. Try to bounce your idea of people who are not involved in your project and accept criticism with open arms.
8. Be a student of the game:
Finding a mentor in Panama will greatly accelerate your learning curve. The properly chosen mentor will steer you around costly mistakes and catapult you over traditional timeline milestones, especially because of Panama’s closely-interwoven social network. Contact them on the internet and take them out for drinks: they may prove more influential than a paid education. Solicit advice from anyone who will give it and synthesize all this information in a balanced manner.
Hopefully the wave of young entrepreneurship in Panama will begin and my generation will go after new markets in Panama for all the right reasons: not only to live a great lifestyle and enjoy the tropics, but also to be challenged in the pursuit of a passion.
Hopefully we’ll utilize our creativity, energy, and viewpoints as young people to create a nurturing environment for each other in Panama, perhaps different from the standard which has set by older expats prior. Hopefully we won’t start a business just for the sake of starting a business, but rather to bring a truly good idea to the table; one that can make Panama a better place.
Matt Landau writes for The Panama Report (www.thepanamareport.com), a travel and investment portal in Panama City, Panama, Central America
Category: Entrepreneurship
Not long ago I took a trip to Tuscany and spent a week in a cooking class. Before the trip I spent time researching my options. I wanted to know who would be teaching the class, what courses and dishes would be covered, how hand-on the class was, if wine-pairings with the dishes would be addressed and if the class included trips to the local farmer’s markets to select fresh produce. Finding just the right cooking school was important to me because I would be spending a significant amount of money traveling to Italy and I wanted my experience to be well worth my time and effort.
For a woman interested in buying a franchise, evaluating the training a franchise business offers should involve even greater research – after all, this is about your future – not a vacation.
As part of your due diligence when researching a franchise opportunity, find out everything about the training a franchise system provides. A good training program should cover not only the product or service but also setting up the business, marketing, employee management, business procedures, reporting, etc.
The best way to find out about the scope of the training program is to ask existing franchisees. Find out what stood out about the training they received and what they feel could have been covered more completely. Ask them how prepared they felt when they opened their business and what ongoing training they have been provided.
Keep in mind that the franchisees you talk with may have been through various versions of the training program. Problems that existed at one time may have been fixed. Or, you may find that a training program that was fine in a company’s early days is now out-of-date. Be sure to include in your research franchisees who have had the same training you will receive to get an accurate assessment of its value.
Ask current franchisee if they received a training manual and if the information is updated periodically. Also ask if the franchisor offers other training resources such as conference calls, webinars or intranet sites. Ongoing training is important for many companies who adjust their business with changes in the marketplace. If this applies to the business you are reviewing, find out what they do to keep each franchisee up to speed.
An addition source of training may come from periodic conferences held by the franchisor. Besides providing additional education about the product or service, conferences offer franchisees an excellent opportunity to connect and network with other franchisees in the system. A network of peers is one of franchising’s invaluable resources so be sure to ask if this is an opportunity the franchisor provides.
Although this is less of a problem today than in the past, some industries may have an “old boy’s club” mentality among franchisees. You will be able to tell by reading the UFOC if there are other woman franchisees. Include some women in your due diligence calls so you can get an idea of the business culture and the prevailing attitude towards woman franchisees.
Many franchisors will have field support personnel who are available to be at your site during your grand opening and at periodic intervals during your first year in business or longer. Having someone right there to answer your questions may help calm your first-day jitters so find out if this a serviced provided by the franchisor.
If, after your franchise investigation process is completed, you don’t feel the offered training will adequately prepare you to run your new business, it’s time to step back and look at other opportunities. As reported in the August 2006 Franchising World magazine, a recent study by FRANdata found nearly 2500 franchise concepts in 18 different industries and almost 900 of these concepts were started over the past three years. You don’t have to compromise – if one company does not have the training you are looking for, there are sure to be many other companies who can meet your needs.
I’m happy to report that the cooking school in Tuscany exceeded my expectations and I left there able to prepare a number of authentic and delicious Italian dishes. Had I not researched the available schools so thoroughly, I might have been very disappointed with my choice.
To get full value for your investment in a franchise business, the training should answer all your questions and set you up as a confident and successful owner.
Franchisee training should include:
• Everything you need to know about the product or service
• Everything about using/protecting the brand
• How to find your business location
• How to negotiate a lease
• How you complete the permits and buildout
• How to find, hire and manage employees
• How to market your product or service
• How to keep books and records for the business
• The reporting requirements and processes
• Where to get the equipment needed for the business
• How or where to buy supplies and inventory
• How to get help when you have a problem
Kimberley Ellis is the President of Bison.com, a leading online resource for franchise and business opportunities. She has been quoted as an industry expert in USA Today, Wall Street Journal and a variety of local and regional publications regarding trends in business and franchising. Kim combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a diverse background in marketing and operation to help others succeed in franchising.
It’s not just Mark Zuckerberg; the kid down the hall from you is probably making hundreds of dollars a week writing a blog about deep sea fishing. The girl outside your dorm, who sits and knits during anything, is probably selling those pieces through her ebay store and paying for her shoe fetish.
Everyone is an entrepreneur. This is the message behind Global Entrepreneurship Week- with enough creativity and innovation we can solve any challenge. It is important to us that you get involved because we offer unparalleled opportunities: connections to major entrepreneurs, speed networking activities, competitions, etc. The initiative takes place in over fifty countries, involves more than 70% of the world’s population and involves heads of state, university leaders and world famous entrepreneurs.
To get involved check out www.unleashingideas.org – you can sign up to run an activity, join an activity, see what’s going on at your school or community and in a couple of weeks sign up to volunteer. Learn what is going on, how to pitch your ideas and address major social challenges. Maybe your collection of comic books can actually translate into a global business and alleviate poverty. Entrepreneurship is not just for business majors anymore.
Global Entrepreneurship Week
If you are considering a franchise as your next career move, you probably already understand a number of the benefits to being a part of a franchise system. However, as each franchisor will offer different levels of assistance, it can be confusing to someone trying to evaluate a potential franchise purchase.
Since the value of a franchise is that the system has been developed to have replicable results, you will want any system you evaluate to score high in those areas that are important to the success of your unit.
Location – Location – Location
If your franchise is going to be site-dependent, the franchisor should, at a minimum, provide guidelines for selection of a site and the general terms of a lease agreement applicable to this type of location. Some franchisors will provide company personnel who will help you search for and select a site while some even work with national real estate brokers to find the best properties. If your franchisor provides help in site selection and lease negotiation, you are working with a good company.
Build-out Assistance
A typical franchise will provide each franchisee with instructions for the design and lay-out of the store along with details of where to purchase the components. As group buying power an important benefit of being part of a franchise company, you should expect to pay less for these components as a franchisee than if you purchased them as a sole proprietor.
At the high end of franchisor build-out assistance are those companies with design groups who help the franchise design the store, sometimes with such high-tech devices as CAD (computer-aided design) systems. Also, some franchisors will even hire a construction team to do the build-out and then deliver the components right to the new business.
Initial Training
The majority of franchised businesses do not require a new franchisee to have previous industry experience, primarily because they believe they can train a person with good business acuity to run the business successfully. A good training program is therefore essential. Most franchise companies will bring the franchisee to corporate headquarters for classroom training and some will allow time for hands-on training at a nearby franchise unit or corporate store.
This initial training should cover all aspects of the operations of the business, including book-keeping, record-keeping, operations, recruiting and retaining employees, and finding customers. The franchisee should receive an operations manual and get answers to any remaining questions she may have so that she feels confident she will be able to get her business up and running.
Some franchisors will provide corporate or field personnel to work side-by-side with the franchisee during grand opening and during the first week of operations, ensuring the franchisee has mastered the training and achieves a comfort level with the business. Franchisors that are willing to train a franchisee’s manager along with a franchisee are providing a value-added service.
On-going Training and Assistance
A good franchise business will continue to improve and evolve with time and the addition of new units and on-going training is often a necessity. Similarly, a good franchisor will offer continuing educational opportunities to franchisees as well as providing on-going assistance as needed. Many franchisors provide a help-line for issues that come up in the field and some will make regular visits to the franchisee’s location. A company that provides conferences or other opportunities for a franchisee to connect with fellow owners has the best interests of their franchisees in mind as these opportunities allow for creative problem-solving, the sharing of best practices and can reenergize the business focus.
Marketing Expertise
Your franchisor should provide you with a complete marketing plan for your new business that covers grand opening through at least the first 3-6 months. Since the franchisor has every reason to want you to succeed, a savvy franchisor will do much more. Many will provide you with the actual marketing materials, professionally produced. These may include pieces such as posters, banners, direct mail postcards, newspaper ads, and maybe TV and radio spots, all of which can be customized for your location.
Permits, Compliances and Other Legal Issues
Depending on the type of business, you may also need assistance in dealing with local governmental agencies for various permits. If your franchise involves food or beverage, there are numerous health-code compliance issues you will need to handle. Your franchisor should provide help in these areas so that your opening is not held up waiting for permits to come through.
There are several ways to find out how the franchisor handles these support items. The first, of course, is that you will want to ask questions about each as part of your investigation into the business. The second step is to talk to existing franchisees about the support they received and how well prepared they were to open and run the business.
Be sure to ask these franchisees if they felt there was anything missing from the training and support they received and if there is anything they wish had been more complete or done differently. If the company you are investigating scores well with these franchisees, you can be confident you will be happy with the support they will provide to you.
Kimberley Ellis is the President of Bison.com, a leading online resource for franchise and business opportunities. She has been quoted as an industry expert in USA Today, Wall Street Journal and a variety of local and regional publications regarding trends in business and franchising. Kim combines her entrepreneurial spirit with a diverse background in marketing and operation to help others succeed in franchising.
OK, so this blogging thing is truly like therapy! I can tell you my thoughts and if they resonate, you give me feedback. Its the perfect relationship!
So i find as i get further into my career, i become more and more unwilling to deal with other’s version of value when it comes to my core business which is selling talent. As an agent whether its for athletes or Hollywood A-listers, I am always amazed at how off base some so called “professionals” are at evaluating the market price for some.
I will give you an example, one of the hottest areas in my business right now is booking Celebrity Chefs. Both some that I represent exclusively such as former Supermodel turned author and chef, Maria Liberati or uber famous chef Mario Batali who i don’t represent but have booked for several corporate events.
My company handles leads from many different sources such as www.chef2chef.net or www.allamericanspeakers.com as an example. It amazes me firstly how much money celebrity chefs get theses days but also how little the market understands about booking them. Just because someone is on TV and your local charity group is having a fundraiser that would be perfect for a celebrity chef, doesn’t necessarily mean that is a possibility.
On a regular basis my staff has the unenviable job of calling back well meaning people who don’t have a clue on costs and valuations of talent on the open market. I recently received a request for Emeril for $5,000. Might seem like a lot to some, but here is the reality, Emeril gets close to $200,000 an appearance plus the cost of his G-4. No that is not a video game, that is one of the swankest private jets on the market. Probably cost another $10-30,000 just for the plane.
So my challenge every day is teach my staff to either a. upsell a potential client on the reality of the costs and the benefits of those who charge more or b. take a lead for a celebrity that have no chance of getting done and find them someone who will reasonable meet with their approval for their program within their budget.
This highwire act we do hundreds of times a week. We do it for TV commercials, infomercials, speaking engagements, Satelitte Media Tours, endorsements, personal appearances, licensing opportunities and so much more.
You have to learn the skills of communication usually on the phone to keep someone’s enthusiasm while you essentially convey to them that there is a better chance that Reindeer will be attending their next Christmas party with a jolly ole fat man in a red robe and matching shoes… Anotherwards, NOT! Oh, and still get a deal done with them! Now that takes skill.
My point is this, you may be insulted, disappointed, truly aggravated that you did everything you could to generate a fair offer for your product or services and sometimes no matter what, the market just doesn’t see the same value. The question is, what are you going to do then? That is my point, good sales and marketing people always find a way. Don’t give up, at that point of feeling complete and utter frustration, suck it up because that is when you need to be at your best. If not, start working that resume’ because you clearly are not going to last long in this game!
Evan Morgenstein: Entrepreneur, Consultant, Sports Agent, Motivational Speaker. Morgenstein started in the tech industry after graduating in 1987 from Syracuse University. Working for several partially owned IBM partnerships, Morgenstein learned from some of the best. He has parlayed that into a dominant company Premier Management Group in the celebrity talent and sports marketing industry.