#685 – The Expat Files: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started Opportunities opportunities. There are so many ways for gringos and expats to make money down here Let me repeat rule number one to having a successful business here in Latin America is never have gringos as your competition

[00:46] You want Latin says your competition you come down here get boots on the ground for a while and you'll see why That's not to say that every brilliant gringo money-making idea is gonna actually pan out. I mean, that's impossible, right? Take for example a couple of the business ventures that expat Eddie got into before he struck gold in the sushi restaurant business Which by the way is no longer a business you want to get into since gringos have moved in and they will be your competition By now most of the sushi restaurants in Latin America that were owned by Latins have either died on the vine or gringos expats are Europeans Bought them out and took them over and that's how it goes By the way, most gringos and expats who come down here permanently or semi permanently are the adventurous creative and chance-taking types So often their business ideas will come a mile a minute

[01:33] They're the ones that have so many business ideas They have to have a notebook to scribble them down and later comes the not so trivial Problem of deciding which business or two you want to get into the one that has the least amount of cash in Versus cash out. That's the point, right? However, there's always that percentage of gringos and expats who come down who are on the surface not very motivated Now they could be creative geniuses But when you're not motivated, well getting up at 10 in the morning is just fine By the way, governments are just filled with those types big surprise, huh? Yep, unmotivated gringos They're more the paint by the numbers types, but they seem to do just fine down here, too Man, you run into a lot of those on the gringo tourist trail A lot of them spend most of their free time in gringo expat bars

[02:19] In fact, many of them have stools and beer mugs with their names on them Oh, and they're the first ones, you know to offer up some quote good gringo expat advice on what? Well everything whether you've asked for advice or not Then there's the smart but slightly introverted gringos and expats who come down here who are also looking to start businesses They too can have great business ideas, but sometimes drag their feet and often don't pull the trigger They just wait too long and someone else does and it's usually another gringo So there goes that opportunity Like I said, you don't want to be in competition with other gringos, especially ones that have stolen your idea Now as for newly arrived older gringos and expats pushing retirement age at first

[03:04] They're so excited soon They'll be getting their first social security check then they get business ideas to usually brick-and-mortar business ideas After all, they've got a lot of time on their hands and they see business niches, too Though I'd have to say more and more at least younger gringos and expats are truly Immersed in the digital ways to make money, you know online practically all their waking hours and glued to their smart devices Like pretty much everyone these days who's under 35 But you know, there can be a lot of satisfaction in having a brick-and-mortar business here in Latin America You get that real one-on-one face-to-face people interaction that you just don't get online Which is why some gringos and expats of the more introverted type don't necessarily start their businesses from scratch They just buy out a Latin business and gringo eyes it I've known quiet

[03:53] Introverted gringos and expats who are just kicking butt in a business that they bought after finding it for sale in the classified ads And you do that by sifting through one or two with a big Latin newspapers in your area That's where you'll find the great deals and the diamonds in the rough No, I'm not talking about checking out the classified ads in gringo tourist areas Now you'll find English language newspapers and magazines all around gringo tourist areas They'll have classified sections too, but you'll be dealing with gringo sellers So you're not likely to find any deals there plus there'll be a lot of gringo competition in the area, too Instead you should be checking out the big Spanish language daily newspapers Just go to the classifiers and check out the businesses for sale column. Usually the column is titled negocios inventa

[04:41] negocios inventa There's where you'll find those diamonds in the rough and dirt cheap generally, too Think about it a whole column full of desperate sellers who are not making it in that business or they're just breaking even Many times you won't believe how cheap these things are going for so have a look You'll see restaurants beauty parlors machine shops furniture makers printing outfits pharmacies health clubs and on and on And the truth is most of these businesses if tuned up by a first-world gringo could be quite profitable even kick ass again It's all about the details in Latin as well. They're not about the details So if something catches your eye looks interesting check it out thoroughly do an inspection call your lawyer in that means hang around for a Day is even a week and watch every aspect of what's going on

[05:29] I want to remember most businesses in Latin America unless their franchises have two sets of books, you know The one they show the government and the real set. Hey, what's not to love about Latin America, huh? And the other very important thing you have to consider is Location no matter how great you think a certain brick-and-motor business prospect is no matter what the upside potential Don't even think about it if it's in a bad neighborhood And of course, you'll know that because you'll have investigated the good the bad the ugly and the great places in whatever city town or district You're in that means wherever you decide to live and set up shop in Latin America You should have boots on the ground for at least a couple of good solid months That's really the best way to get the lay of the land You might know that old saying fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Well, you know over the years

[06:15] I've seen a lot of gringos do that Tropical paradises sometimes have a way of turning normally astute gringos into well fools man I've heard a hundred stories like the following a green gringo has a buddy in Bogota or Costa Rica or Panama that Entices him to come down or maybe he's just spent a few days on vacation in the tropical paradise and was blown away by it Anyway within two weeks he's invested in something already man. If that's not a recipe for disaster I don't know what is then when it fails Peter's out or crashes and burns spectacularly They'll whine to me and say but Johnny they're swindlers There were things the owners and developers never told me about I don't get it I did my due diligence when I was up in Cleveland. I investigated the hell out of it

[07:01] Everything I could find about it on the internet. Oh, yeah I know tons of gringos who've been taken or swindled or just kind of gouged In fact when we're talking on the gringo tourist trail There are more gringos who've been swindled than those who haven't and after that experience Most of them will say that Latins tell you what you want to hear. They're dishonest and in fact liars Then surprisingly enough that same gringo will buy into another stupid deal Yep, I know gringo suckers who've been taken two three four times until they've completely run out of money yet They don't leave or they go to another Latin country because it just love Latin America It's what expat Eddie calls an imperfect paradise to which I say I don't care where you are in the world If you're buying a distressed business

[07:47] The owner is gonna stretch the truth or at least put the best face on the deal that he possibly can and I'd bet because most Of these guys are desperate sellers They're gonna lie to you at least a little a lot of these Latin guys who are selling businesses are just one or two Payments away from losing their house or their car And if you'd been down here as long as I have you'd know the vast majority of Latins that look successful are just putting on the dog Hmm putting on the dog What a phrase, huh? And they really are maxed out on the credit cards and laid on that Toyota payment Which is why whatever price a Latin owner puts on his business He'll take a lot less for it, which brings us back to expat Eddie You know before he found that golden business opportunity with the sushi business would have thunk, huh? He tried a few other things when he first came down matter of fact

[08:34] He couldn't help but notice especially in the small towns way off the gringo tourist trail that every once in a while You'd see some old-timer driving a 1950s or 60s classic car Some of them, you know heavy metal high horsepower machines that are today when they're restored expensive classics Now Eddie who grew up lower middle class and kind of white trash Had worked on a lot of junks and beaters back in his high school days Now these days up in the first world anyway kind of a lost art, you know tinkering with things keeping them going making them last That as opposed to here in latin america where the locals patch things together till they can't be patched anymore So when eddie first got down here, he'd spot old classic cars with an eye on restoring them He was thinking about making a little restoration shop. Just a hole in wall place

[09:23] He said after all that's all you'll need down here. My personal car mechanic doesn't even have a cement floor He works on gravel if you can believe it. Yep. He's got a small lot enclosed by a chain link fence He's got a laminate roof lean to and when he's jacked up a car and it's working under it He uses a nice big piece of cardboard as a cushion between his back and the gravel It's a mess during the rainy season as you can imagine Anyway, eddie's first big business idea was to buy some of these old classic cars have a little restoration garage Fix them up send them to the states and make some big money sounds like a winner, right? Next thing, you know after he'd only been down maybe three or four months He bought a 1963 thunderbird a t-bird for around 3500 bucks looked nice enough

[10:10] From a distance anyway, kind of like the original adam west batmobile But like so many classic cars here in latin america the closer you get the worse they look on top of that It barely ran. He said, you know after i've restored this thing. I probably can get 20 or 25 grand for it So I walked around it a couple of times looked in the trunk poked around a bit looked under the hood And the next thing I said eddie Where are you gonna put it because he was staying with me. He didn't have his own place yet much less a restoration garage And I knew it was gonna end up in my driveway I said eddie you could park it here temporarily, but no longer than a month, please He said don't worry. I'm looking at places now. I'll have it out of here in a couple of days Then he gave me that prideful look like he just cleaned up in vegas and said

[10:57] What do you think? And I said, you know, eddie have to be real honest with you here if the thing was really tricked out and perfect It would be worth 20 or 25 g's but it needs way too much work And I said eddie, you know, what's wrong with this car? Same thing that's wrong with 98 of all the classic cars here in latin america. It's been out in the sun way too long You know, this isn't normal sun down here. This is a hard hot sun Then I poked at the rubber seal on the windshield which has cracked and fallen apart The seats were junk and the dashboard all faded I said you're going to get nit picked to death ordering all new plastic and rubber parts that have been dried out for years And yes, you can get all restored even remanufactured parts for practically all the classic cars now That's not the problem But back then what was it 15 or 18 years ago internet shopping was just getting started

[11:47] Not to mention back then the shipping cost of latin america would kill you On top of that your stuff would always get stuck in customs Then you're dealing with those lard ass slugs in government That means waiting a couple weeks to get notified standing in line for a couple hours Imagine having to go through that for every part you order and it looks like you're going to have to order a couple hundred Parts here plus all new upholstery all of which didn't seem to deter eddie at all Yep, and i've seen that attitude more than once typical gringo with an obsession and believe me down here when gringos get obsessed with a project Well, let's just say i've seen it wipe out more than a few pocketbooks Anyway after being extremely critical about the car eddie said nothing, which is his quiet way Oh, and by the way, eddie did what most all gringos do when they have to leave a car outside

[12:34] He bought one of those protective covers a good move in fact a very good move Now oddly enough since latins don't care about the details You'll often see a very nice car in the driveway getting baked by the sun and you'll see that same car Getting baked day in and day out and after a year or so of that Even a new car will start looking a lot older than it really is again It's details details for 25 bucks. They could have thrown a nice cover on it problem solved But latins don't even recognize there is a problem to solve But it's more than that more than the 25 bucks. That's nothing It's more like they don't want to take the cover off and on every day and Stick out as the odd guy with the car cover in the parking lot The fact is and you've heard me say this before upscale latins are all about the show and they want everyone to see

[13:22] What a nice car they have that's one of the main reasons they bought the thing in the first place. They want to show off Yeah, I know I know up in the states. That's a young adult male testosterone thing, but down here. They never grow out of it Anyway, so here in latin america unless you're truly driving a junk and don't care You definitely need a car park that'll shade your car during the day Now if you have to drive to work and park your car in an open parking lot all day Buy one of those car covers though be prepared to get some strange looks from the other guys parking in a lot You'll be the only one doing it, you know, however soon enough. They'll figure you're just another crazy gringle So anyway eddie bought that 63 t-bird. It sat in my driveway And one day about three weeks into eddie's great restoration plan

[14:09] I saw a big old note pinned under the windshield wiper and wouldn't you know it was addressed to me. It said Dear johnny you were right now go to hell About two weeks later. I came home from a short trip and wouldn't you know it the car was gone Now a real muscle car fan might have said it was fun fun fun till eddie towed the t-bird away But I digress and you know what eddie never said another word about it and I never brought it up either Until just about six months ago when eddie said johnny you remember that 63 t-bird I had in your driveway Then he clicked his ipad and showed me an auction that was going on up in the states There was a fully restored 63 t-bird a convertible going for around 45 grand

[14:55] Then he said johnny my mistake was buying a hardtop and not a convertible Then he showed me a 63 t-bird hardtop on the net and it was going for around 23 grand about half of what a convertible went for So can you believe it after all those years eddie was still thinking about that damn t-bird? Which again proves human nature? You know, you can have a hundred successes and it's that one failure that sticks with you forever Which begs the question when you do hit on a business success wherever you are But we're talking about latin america now, right? How long do you want to work and how much is enough? Now most expats and gringos down here who are truly happy. They'll tell you they work because they have to have something to do They got to stay busy And usually if you follow the career path of something you love and you have a little luck the money will come

[15:42] So they say unless you're an art sociology Poli-sci business psychology marketing drama or any other liberal arts major Oh and speaking of luck remember what old benjamin franklin once said by the way Ever read poor richards almanac. Anyway, I think one of benji's best sayings was this Isn't it funny the harder I work the luckier I get Now I have a couple of friends up in chicago. I still keep in contact with I don't know why Since one of them is just not a nice guy But you know, you grow up with a guy who lives down the street in your neighborhood You ride bikes catch frogs steal candy and play a little league together Well, you kind of stay friends even though the guy's a jerk I'm sure some of you know what i'm talking about and sometimes it's not a childhood friend. It's your brother or your sister

[16:27] That's even worse. Anyway, this childhood friend of mine is pretty obsessed with money typical 50 something american Overweight on at least five prescription meds, you know five at 50 and I remember not so long ago We were talking about working money and stuff and I said brian how long you got to keep on working? You get tons of money. You're overweight. You're all stressed out. You're on medications You got to change your ways man, or you're just going to be another health care statistic In fact, you are a health care statistic. He said johnny, you know, I couldn't stop if I wanted to this is my pace Then I said so you don't have a goal then you just work and work and work And he said oh, yeah, I have a goal My goal is to work until my bank account matches my phone number Then he said i'm coming down to live by you which by the way I hope will never happen because you know, there are some people you can only be friends with if they're two thousand miles away

[17:18] which is by the way, one of the reasons I got into the habit a long time ago of throwing my Cell phone sim card in the trash about every six months Of course, you can only do that if you're not on a contract plan Because if you've signed a long-term contract you're stuck with that number now down here in latin america At least 80 of the phones are of the prepaid kind. That's the non-contract type They call them burner phones up in the states, right? It's what I use Then you might ask why so few phones on a contract and so many prepaid burner phones Well, that's because to get a year-long 18 month or even two year telephone or internet contract You have to prove you're credit worthy. That is your good for the monthly payment when you sign that contract You'll have to have references a bank account a credit or debit card a cosigner, etc, etc

[18:08] And here in latin america where you've got maybe 20 to 40 percent of the working population off the books depending what country you're in They're on a cash basis, which means they have no credit history and thus don't qualify for a phone or internet contract That's why there are vastly more prepaid cell phones than contract phones I used to call them dumb phones, but they're not as dumb as they used to be even the low-end burner phone Like the one I have cost me like 15 bucks has extended features like what's up Which here in latin america is the number one universal app everyone uses But you have to download them which I don't of course these days One of the big objectives for gringos and expats is to remain as anonymous as possible and to have a burner phone, man That's anonymous Now, of course, if you go to one of those agencies or kiosks on the street and buy a phone with your credit card

[18:58] They'll have all your information, right? There goes the anonymity. Well, not quite Well, here's the hack that gets you back to being anonymous again You just stop into anyone a little phone kiosks pick the company you want to have your phone service with There's four or five companies and just buy another sim chip. They're three or four bucks And you know, every latin american country has passed laws Stating specifically that you have to register your phone once you bought it It's their lame effort at trying to track people Anyway, when you buy a new sim chip and slip it into your phone, you'll have a brand new number, right? Of course the little guy in the hole in the wall kiosk is not going to take down your information or scan your passport or anything So how does a latin government get you to register your phone? Well first time you try to make a phone call

[19:45] You'll get a text message asking you to put in your national id or passport number to which me and so many expat gringo Say good luck fat chance. It's not going to happen But you won't be able to initialize your phone until you comply with that request. Well Here's what many privacy seeking gringles and expats do they know in the particular latin country they're in How many digits there are in a personal id number? Let's say for example, there's 13 digits So when prompted on the phone, they'll just plug 13 digits in there and surprise surprise the phone's activated Yeah, right a supposedly foolproof system set up by a bunch of fools so again What so many freedom loving gringles and expats have been wising up to is the fact that they can buy a sim chip And when prompted to put in their national id number even if they don't have one

[20:33] They'll just stick one in that's got the right amount of digits and then they're off to the races so again yet another idiot law that any idiot can opt out of Now when latin governments first started passing these cell phone identification laws something like a year or two ago now The whole idea and how they promoted it in the media newspapers and stuff Was that now the cops in the government would be able to track people who might use telephones in extortion schemes And they'd be able to track no good nicks using cell phones in the narco trade Well, good luck with that since you just heard me explain how easy it is to just slam in a number And get your phone activated, huh? All right altogether now the I mean what's not love about a country that's so hopelessly bogged down by

[21:19] Retarded dumbasses that they'd even bother passing legislation like that Now that's a really good example to point to when someone says well, aren't latin countries coming right along in the big brother race Yeah, well, they're in the race, but they're facing the wrong way. They're going backwards, which is a good thing But try they will they'll take every first world law and regulation Pass one just like it in spanish and forget to or just won't have enough money To create an effective enforcement branch again. You gotta love it Well, by the way recently, I was with a gringo buying a cell phone. He played the dumb gringo act You know no hablo espanol And the little guy in the kiosk did the whole thing for him including plugging in his own national id number because the gringo

[22:06] Didn't have one. Yep. The gringo advantage rides again Or maybe he just wanted that three dollar sale in the worst way. All right, let's move on to an email This one's from john and i'll paraphrase a bit He says I just became aware of a study that I heard about on gary null's show which helps to explain why latin americans Seem to get by only taking a small amount of antibiotics instead of the whole prescribed 10 days worth normally Doctors will give you strict instructions to take the whole thing But latinos don't seem to do that and I remember johnny you discussed the drug store slash pharmacy situation in past shows So I thought of you right away turns out Just using the antibiotic till symptoms subside Seems to actually work and is not apparently

[22:53] Contributing to the bigger problem as big pharma has always wanted us to believe The article that i'm linking here is just an abstract the full article is behind a paywall Probably have to pay 40 bucks to get the whole article But anyway, if you hit the link you'll get the summary of this new study Signed john. Well john you bring up a very interesting subject there something most people would never give a second thought to I never did until you sent me this email. Yep. I looked at the study You gave me the link to and wow Can't believe they were even able to publish such an article you think big pharma would have brought the hammer down on them for even Suggesting such a thing that would put a huge dent in their sales All right So we have another crack in big pharma's facade, but I highly think mainstream media is going to pick up on that one

[23:40] Oh, and for those of you who aren't longtime listeners, here's what we're talking about I mentioned on the show probably a couple years ago now That if you visit the bathroom in most any latin person's house snoop around a bit like I always do and check the medicine cabinet It turns out you're likely to see one or two little blister packs that are half used You know those antibiotic pill packs that we in the first world have always been trained to finish off completely And the common perception has been drilled into our heads over and over again If we don't finish the whole thing the bugs that did survive would build up a tolerance And then the next time you had to go through a penicillin or whatever regimen again Yeah, I know you've heard this before On a microscopic scale. It's basically the old saying what doesn't kill you will make you stronger

[24:26] Of course, we've all heard about those strange flesh eating bacteria and in the hospital's MRSA in the past They could use a wide spectrum of antibiotics and now there's only one or two left that'll actually work Now I mentioned in a past program that to me it was just kind of strange to see how middle lower middle class and poor latins Especially would get sick take just a few antibiotic pills recover and get on with life And you know i'd even see pharmacists going along with that too They all will sell individual pills not a whole blister pack So obviously they too are buying into the fact that they can really bend the protocol So the dirty little secret amongst latin pharmacists is that in many cases you really don't have to take every pill in the blister And the results after years and years of less is more in the pill popping department

[25:16] Well, it's just the opposite of what you might think people here in latin america seem much healthier than first world people The fact is if you check the stats, they live just as long or longer are more ambulatory when they get older Very very few end up in nursing homes In fact, there are not too many nursing homes around at all And as I said in a previous show hip and joint replacements Well, they're almost unheard of here except with gringos and expats that come down You know, it's that medical tourism thing So when you really are sick and need an antibiotic prescription Should you scrimp on the pills do as the latins do? Well, i'm not making a suggestion either way But there you have it the latest news and you're captain of your own ship. So it's your call Wait a minute. You live in the states, right? Well, then I guess you're not so much the captain of your own ship, which is reason 2476

[26:06] Why you have to get going on that plan B? Hey, you know It looks more and more certain that someone or something is going to press the reset button up where you live when that happens It's not going to be pretty You don't want to be in the thick of it. You'll want to be watching it from a nice safe distance far far away South of the border here in latin america would be my choice hands down and the best fastest and surest way to get that latin american plan be going and develop a nice solid network of friends and like-minded people to help you achieve a soft landing is to come down to my january 2018 expat insider seminar Yep, people will tell you it's a solid week of drinking from the fire hose and getting the absolutely Necessary kind of boots on the ground that you'll really need To get on the waiting list and qualify for the early bird discounts

[26:53] Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you just can't make it down to the seminar or get boots on the ground yourself Well, the next best option by far is to take my expat essentials course Just go to www.expatplanb.com There'll be a free video waiting for you there. That'll explain the whole thing And finally at whatever step you happen to be in your own plan Be if you get hung up along the way or needs of advice Do it a lot of people have done set up a phone or skype consultation with me But first download my consult questionnaire form from www.thenewexpat.com. Have a look It's sure to get the wheels turning South of the border This is the expat files living in latin america If you want me to help you out with your own plan b just schedule a one-on-one consult

[27:42] Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own plan b from right up there in the states go to www.expatplanb.com and check out my three videos. See ya nos vemos