“Many educators will tell you that schools are not in the business to make money,” says Janice Gallagher, who set up a children’s school in Nicaragua. “I, on the other hand, am a business woman, and there is definitely potential for profit. There will not be profit immediately because you will need time to grow and establish yourself. There are several private schools that do turn a profit after several years.”
When a serious health issue and the loss of my job occurred at the same time as the international financial collapse, we took a huge hit emotionally and financially. Our family’s income was instantly reduced by 65% when I lost my job. Saving for a rainy day had been tough enough…but we were ill-prepared for the several “rainy years” that followed.
The organic food industry is growing steadily each year, as consumers across the globe demand access to healthy and pesticide-free produce, meat, and other foods. Thailand is no exception to this growing trend, especially in the country’s urban, high-population areas of Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Malaysia is on the rise. The middle class is growing, disposable income is increasing, and it is one of the easiest places in the world for a foreigner to set up a business—ranked 12th of 185 by the World Bank. In my experience of observing start-ups here in Malaysia, franchising is a very feasible business opportunity in this economy.
The first time John Morgan set foot on Little Corn Island, he was under its spell. “The moment my feet sunk into the soft, coral sand where the captain beached the water taxi, I had an overwhelming feeling of being home.” “I had never traveled to Central or South America and had certainly never heard of these remote undeveloped Caribbean islands off the coast of Nicaragua.
In my line of work there’s no such thing as a typical day. One recent Tuesday, my partner and I sat side by side on the beach, sipping morning coffee in our swimsuits and flip-flops…our two dogs lounging in the sand beside us. I was translating a presentation for an advertising company…she was working on a set of by-laws.
For almost three years while teaching English abroad I also imported and exported goods between North America and Asia, mainly China and Thailand. It was the perfect supplement to my teaching income and a good way to enjoy some local travel. Here’s what I learned and how you can get started:
My first overseas experience was a summer homestay with a family in Mexico when I was 16. It was the beginning of a lifelong love of the country and a belief in the benefits of exposure to a foreign culture. I later became a Spanish teacher and took groups of students to Mexico. Eventually, I moved there with my own children and became part of a large community of expats raising their children there.
For every substantial, bricks-and mortar business set up by an expat overseas, there are hundreds of small enterprises that people operate from their own homes with very little investment. Within a year of starting their micro-enterprise overseas, Jim and Mariellen Wiemann are making a profit and supplementing their retirement income. “The business allows us to purchase the things we might otherwise not have. We are planning some vacations abroad, and the business will support those adventures,” says Jim.
The tourism market in Colombia’s Coffee Triangle is heating up fast—and expat hostel owners are setting up shop and cashing in. For decades, the Coffee Triangle—referred to locally as El Eje Cafetero—has been a favorite vacation spot for Colombians. But an increasing number of foreign tourists are descending on the region, too.