There was a time when being successful in retail was all about having a bricks-and-mortar business in a good location. Not only would you be paying rent or mortgage on your store; you would also have to keep your stock in a large storeroom or warehouse. Your business was about bulk buying, stock control, and supply-chain management.
I’ve made a business out of leading groups of people on walking tours and the year ahead is looking good. I am going to visit two wonderful regions of Colombia where English-speaking tourists are almost non-existent. Then there’s a trip to the Ecuadorian Andes that incorporates stunning vistas and a shopping extravaganza at indigenous markets. Following that, I’ll enjoy a magical walk in Peru on Inca trails that aren’t under the spotlight of big tour companies. The plan is to extend that trip to explore the Nazca region, famous for the figures etched in rock only visible from the air. I turned 60 a month ago and will celebrate my 40th wedding anniversary this month.
Weddings bloom in magical locations all over the world… sunset on a Caribbean beach…a spectacular hilltop in Spain…in front of the romantic Eiffel Tower in Paris. And you could be there, making money while fluffing the bride’s gown, basking in compliments, and popping open Champagne.
You probably remember a time when the U.S. wasn’t heaving with coffee shops. Back in the early 1980s, Starbucks was just another place to get a coffee in Seattle. Then they tapped into the trend of European-style cafes. Within 10 years Starbucks had more than 400 stores in the U.S. Today they have almost 18,000 stores worldwide.
About three years ago my husband, Scott, and I started talking about leaving Indiana and moving abroad, possibly to Central or South America. We had both traveled there and loved what it had to offer in the way of lifestyle.
They have a thriving and long-standing business in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, but Rob and Kelly Thomas, owners of El Gato Negro Coffee Shop and Bookstore have the most relaxed workdays of their lives.
Ecuador, Costa Rica and Belize are three of the Latin American countries in the “cocoa belt”—the 10 degrees either side of the equator where the cacao tree grows. Here you'll find a burgeoning cottage industry devoted to this type of chocolate making.
Panama is a great place to start a business. It’s easy, everyone uses the dollar, and you can tap into a well-educated English-speaking workforce. That last point is crucial if you want to start a tourism-based business—and you should.
When Elizabeth Ballard Slagle and her husband swapped Florida for rustic Panama five years ago, they wanted to extend their youngest son’s childhood and give him a different perspective on the world. She and Larry—an ex-bartender—run a restaurant called Big Daddy’s Grill in “downtown” Boquete.
“If I’d known just how capable I was, it would have saved me a lot of doubt and angst,” says Californian Vicki Johnson, a tireless self-starter who’s been mixing business with pleasure at the southern tip of Chile’s beautiful Lake District for the past 35 years.