Fund Your Life Overseas

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How to Get Paid Anywhere Your Dream Takes You

Fund Your Life Overseas

© Copyright 2011. International Living Publishing Ltd., Elysium House, Ballytruckle, Waterford, Ireland. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means without the express written consent of the publisher. The information contained herein is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Registered in Ireland No. 285214.

Fund Your Life Overseas: How to Get Paid Anywhere Your Dream Takes You

An International Living reportPrepared by the staff of International Living

Designer: Lorie DrozdenkoCover photo: iStockPhoto.com/Robert Churchill

1Fund Your Life Overseas: How to Get Paid Anywhere Your Dream Takes You

Introduction

No matter how affordable the destinations we here at International Living talk about are, the simple fact is: You can’t live anywhere for free. But what if you had an income that went with you? An income that could give you the freedom you need to just pick up and go?

You could spend half the year in your own cottage on the beach…work in the mornings and snorkel and relax in the afternoons. Maybe spend the other half of the year up in the mountains where it’s cool...and get paid while you’re at it...

With this kind of flexibility, it doesn’t matter where you’re based. That means you can travel whenever you feel like it. You could rent a place in Paris or Buenos Aires for a month or two of vacation, work from home a few days a week and spend the rest of your time enjoying the city...

Wouldn’t it be nice to get paid...but instead of being lashed to a cubicle and being answerable to a boss, you keep control of your income and your schedule…

But if you don’t have a sizeable nest egg, what do you do?

One easy solution is to earn an income from back home while you go live someplace where the cost of living is much more affordable. That way you put dollars in your pocket, but you spend in a place where those dollars really stretch. It’s called “working the latitudes.”

Take Jason Gaspero…Jason is a freelance copywriter. His office can be a coffee shop, his front porch, even a bus. As long as he has an Internet signal, Jason can work anywhere. Right now, he’s living in Thailand… and loves it. You can read all about his amazing lifestyle later in this report.

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Another solution is to find a place that’s so eager for the goods and services you’re used to at home…that you could easily create your own successful income-producing business there on the ground.

That’s exactly what Steve McCarthy from California did. After deciding “on a whim” to move to Santiago, Colombia, he noticed that there was a demand for tour operators in the area. With the help of a local family he had befriended they set up their own tour company. Now, he says it’s the best thing that ever happened to him.

Opportunities like this really do exist, and you don’t need years of specialized training before they pay. You don’t need a particular qualification to get started, and you don’t need long experience to make a go of them either.

Take Libby Rush. In her “previous” life, she worked for a real-estate underwriter. When she lost her job in 2009 Libby decided she wanted to do something completely different with her life. After taking a short English-language training course, she now teaches English in the Mexican city of Campeche. And she is already thinking about other countries where she can take her new career.

Lots of IL readers tell us that their biggest stumbling block to moving overseas is finding a way to fund their new life. They want to take advantage of the great perks a life abroad can offer—but need a way to support themselves or simply a way to augment a modest retirement income.

Maybe it’s your worry, too. But it really shouldn’t be…

In this special report, we’ll tell you about people who had those same worries, but overcame them…and are now funding their dream lives overseas.

Some of them took the skills they already had and relocated to the destination of their dreams. They then used those skills to fund their new, more enjoyable lifestyle. Others decided to take a totally different career path to the one they had at home when they moved overseas…but the end result was the same. These people are happier, more relaxed and loving their new lives abroad.

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What if you could collect your paychecks from the beach? Or from the terrace of a café in Rome? Or both? What if you could spend six months living la dolce vita and the rest of the year working on your tan…?

Good news: It’s not such a pipe dream.

Thousands of expats fund their lives overseas with portable careers. They are their own boss, they have control of their lives…the time to explore—all they need is a laptop and an Internet connection.

It’s called, “working the latitudes.” You earn in one jurisdiction (where the cost of living is relatively high) and live in another (where the cost of living is much lower).

Jason Gaspero is “working the latitudes” as a freelance copywriter. “I’ve got a career in which I’m in total control of my time, my income, and especially, my choice of workplace. Today I spend most of the year living on an island in Thailand. My ‘office’ is

Portable Careers and Business Ventures for Funding Your Life Overseas


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An office with a view…this is the kind of scene Jason sees when looks out his “office” window in Thailand

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now the perfect place for some mid-day snorkeling!” (You can read more about Jason’s life later in this report.)

With a love for Latin American culture and an itch to travel, Jaime Johnson and his laptop struck out for Panama four years ago. Originally from San Diego, California, Jaime makes his living researching and writing reports for financial traders. “All I need to do my work is a decent Internet connection,” he says.

In Panama, Jaime met a “special someone” and a year later he found himself living in her home country of Colombia.

“In Medellin I found one of the most progressive cities I have ever visited. I instantly fell in love with it and I’ve been here for the past three years.”

Medellin’s communication infrastructure is just as advanced as in the States, so Jaime finds working online easy. Best of all, he adds, “I make my salary in U.S. dollars and live for about half the price of home.”

And Jaime has branched out and used his new experiences to pen a couple of travel guides, too. See his website at www.vercolombia.com.

You can easily “work the latitudes” as well and enjoy the freedom to live anywhere, work when you want, travel when the urge strikes. When you slash your expenses overseas, there’s less pressure to bring home that 60-hours-a-week income. You gain the flexibility to relax, slow down, and improve your quality of life.

It’s not just writers who can do this. Engineers, medical professionals, and teachers all have online-earning options.

Take Denis Tonsing, a U.S. lawyer who lives—and works—in the highlands of Ecuador. Denis is drawing down U.S. dollars and at the same time living in one of the most affordable countries on earth. He helps law students to achieve their personal best in law school. And he does it all online (see his website at www.dennistonsing.com).

Larry Snyder is a registered nurse whose website helps nurses with their continuing education. In 2008 Larry moved from Coral Springs, Florida, to a new life in Medellin, Colombia. “Years ago I bought a bunch of Internet domains and started a business offering nurses continuing education over the Internet. I got the approval of the various State boards of nursing and as the business grew it became clear I could do it from anywhere,” says Larry.


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When his girlfriend decided to move back to her native Colombia and start her own company manufacturing clothes, Larry sold his Lexus and rented out his Florida home.

“I really fell in love with Colombia. I find the lifestyle is excellent. The people really go out of their way to make sure you are happy and service is much better than in the U.S.

“Now I work on the website and my wife is expanding her business in Colombia, too. The Colombian authorities are going to accept our online courses and we’re getting new courses written in Latin American Spanish for this market,” says Larry.

But “working the latitudes” is just one way to fund your life overseas…

Other expats take their entrepreneurial leaning with them abroad and find on-the-ground income-generating business opportunities they could never have imagined from back home.

Some “retire” only to find a new passion doing something they love. Others are serial entrepreneurs who can’t believe the number of business opportunities they notice once they arrive in a new place.

Arnie White has been traveling since college and says he’s made all his career choices based on the possibilities for travel. “When my wife Pam and I got together 25 years ago, I was involved with importing jewelry from Asia, Bali and Thailand. The frequent travel required made it difficult to keep up. And then we heard about the jewelry industry in Mexico.”

They made an exploratory trip to Taxco, Mexico, and moved their operation there not long after. Their wholesale jewelry business now has offices in Virginia and Taxco but they spend much of their time on the road. (They spoke to IL from Belize while en-route from Merida, Mexico to Guatemala).

Their company, Naldo Jewelry (website: www.naldo.com), designs and produces sterling silver jewelry for many of the largest and most successful mail-order catalogs, direct-retail websites, museum and symphony gift stores and accessory boutiques in the U.S. and Canada. It all started as a way to fund their travels, but it turned into an income that funded a life abroad.

Expats successfully earning an income overseas say it’s not unusual to fall into opportunities once you’re ensconced in a new place. Often you end up making money in a way you’d never have predicted from back home. Take Monique Duvall, who settled in Merida, Mexico.


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Monique worked as an artist and writer in the U.S., where she used recyclable materials for her sculptures. “We arrived in Mexico in 2001 with my welding equipment and the anticipation that I would continue my work. But Mexican society does not discard, so I could not recycle. Here broken objects are repaired. If not repairable, then the metal is salvaged. I found myself without my raw materials! So I began looking for something else to do,” explains Monique.

“I had a terrible diet, and loved fast food. But then I became pregnant and so I decided to learn how to make healthy bread. I started milling flour myself in 2006. The whole process of bread-making captivated me. I began learning about the Slow Food movement.

“When my work outgrew my kitchen, I rented a separate house as a sort of laboratory and began the work of exploring whole grain breads, natural leavening and cheese production. I even had a herd of goats which we milked and from that made fresh goat cheese.”

Today Monique has a bakery and sells artisan bread, pastries, cheeses and yoghurt to expats and locals alike. She also does a Wednesday and Saturday market and is the local organizer of the international Slow Food movement in Merida. “My bigger plans are slowly taking shape,” she says.


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The colonial city of Merida in Mexico, proved to be the perfect location for Monique Duvall’s bakery

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Like Monique, snowbirds Barbara and Joe Wilson arrived in Mindo, Ecuador, with one plan, but ended up doing something different. They had been planning to set up a retirement home. But everywhere they looked they saw opportunities…

“So our house soon turned into a restaurant, a coffee roastery, a hostel, a chocolate-making business and now a microbrewery,” says Barbara. (See the websites at www.elquetzaldemindo.com and www.mindochocolate.com.)

“It’s a good time to make a move; there are a lot of business opportunities here. In the U.S. we’re used to a level of quality, professionalism and service that people aren’t used to in Ecuador yet. There are lots of untapped service business opportunities and products that are successful in the U.S. and don’t exist yet in Ecuador. There is also a growing market of Americans who are relocating to Ecuador and they want to find some of the things that they are used to getting in the U.S.”

“We set our own hours and create what we do ourselves. We can afford to hire people to help us—that’s easier in Ecuador. We are still working too hard at starting the chocolate business, but we hope to soon have other workers in place.”

Of course, it wasn’t the prospect of hard work that drew Barbara and Joe to Ecuador. They came, as they put it, for the “perfect weather, a low cost of living, the country’s safety and its natural beauty.”

But, as Barbara says, “work is play and that is the best of all worlds.”

In Panama, expat Catriona White would agree. She found a niche funding her lifestyle by doing something she loves. While looking at more “serious careers” Catriona decided to tide herself over by turning her life-long obsession with cooking into an income generator. That’s how she started cooking for people in their homes.

She has steadily built up her business and now her clients range from busy diplomats and families with hectic schedules, to medical patients who are in Panama for treatment. “I called my business Minihaha, which is what we used to call my maternal grandmother because she was small and she laughed a lot and that’s my business in a nutshell.

“I love the fact that there is a demand for this in Panama and an entrepreneurial buzz around the city,” says Catriona. “I had always shied away from cooking as a career because I didn’t want to turn my favorite hobby into a job, but making money doing what you love is most people’s dream. That was a clincher,” says Catriona.


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“The great thing is you can do this anywhere in the world. I have hopes to do a tour on a yacht next year before moving to India where I want to spend a year doing a culinary tour learning as much as I can. Maybe after that I’ll be ready to pick somewhere to settle down and open a nice Indian café-bistro.”

Catriona’s not the only entrepreneurial spirit to find Panama alluring. Originally from Canada, Cynthia Mulder and her husband Hiddo first visited Panama in 2000. “We were looking for a place to invest for business, a place which was up-and-coming. Panama was at the point of exploding business-wise so we were here at the right time. We love the country, it has a lot to offer,” says Cynthia.

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Many expats find that Panama offers great opportunities for funding your life overseas

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Cynthia and Hiddo split their time between Panama City and Taboga Island, where their B&B Hotel Cerrito Tropical is located. “We live part time in Panama City in Paitilla (its central) and work in Taboga three days a week. It’s just 12 miles from Panama City by ferry. We have a good life here, our business is growing and we enjoy the climate.

“Before setting up the B&B, we did a lot of research and made various scenarios and business plans. Then… we just did it.”


Learn more about funding your new life overseas

If you’d like to learn more about flexible, work-anywhere ways you can pay for your life overseas, sign up for Fund Your Life Overseas, a new free e-letter from International Living.

As a Fund Your Life Overseas reader, each time we come across an opportunity that could help you pay for your life overseas—a business idea, work-anywhere job, even the story of a fellow reader creatively earning an income abroad—we’ll make sure you get the full details.

So many readers have told us that the reason they’ve not yet gone overseas is because they don’t have a way to pay for it. If that sounds like you, then join our new Fund Your Life Overseas e-letter here: www1.internationalliving.com/overseasincome/optin/201104report.html.

It’s absolutely free. And there’s no commitment. It simply means that you’ll hear about the best ways to get paid with income you can take with you anyplace on the planet.


Everyone wishes that they could work their dream job from anywhere in the world…but nobody actually does it….Do they? Well, the short answer is…Yes, they do. And we’ve met them.

So to give you some inspiration and to show you that making enough money overseas to enable you to live the life you’ve always dreamed, in the location you’ve always dreamed is not as difficult as you think, here are the stories of people who have taken that leap of faith.

They’ve left their jobs and their “regular” lives and have taken the decision to fund a new, better, happier life for themselves overseas. Here, they share their journeys…and maybe they’ll inspire you to do the same.

Making a Living on the Beaches of ThailandName: Jason GasperoNationality: U.S.Living in: Koh Phangan, ThailandFunding lifestyle by: Copywriting

It was perhaps the most surreal “office” setting I’ve ever experienced. Towering limestone cliffs jutting hundreds of feet straight up into the sky. A mint-colored, luminescent sea stretching half a mile back between the massive limestone cliffs forming a freakishly-beautiful lagoon that looked eerily similar to the planet “Pandora” in the blockbuster film, Avatar.

It was the perfect place for some midday snorkeling, sea-kayaking, cliff jumping, and a little underwater photography. Exploring a “secret” beach hotspot made famous by the movie, The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Working the Latitudes” Real Life Stories


Mysterious undersea caverns teeming with crabs and other unusual sea critters. Swarms of curious tropical fish of every imaginable color swimming right up to your mask as if to say, “Hello.”

An impromptu, fresh fish barbeque on the beach. (A fishing boat pulled in, and one of the guys on board caught a wahoo that must’ve been at least four feet long. It tasted magnificent.)

And a purple-tinted sunset over the Andaman Sea so mesmerizing, it looked like it was Photoshopped. What a day.

It was a couple of weeks ago…and I was on a boat trip around the island of Koh Phi Phi, Thailand. The thing is, I wasn’t on vacation. It was a work day. In fact, once I got back from the boat trip, I got about three hours of work done before heading out and meeting some friends I hadn’t seen for ages for a few drinks at the always-bustling “Dojo Bar.”

This was my office! How is that possible?

Let me explain.

You see, I’m a freelance copywriter. And my job is, essentially, to write words that sell.

There’s a little more to it than that, but it’s not terribly complicated. Anyone can learn how to do it. And it doesn’t take long to get pretty good at it, either. But here’s the kicker.

Freelance copywriting pays very, very well. In fact, according to a recent study, 22% of freelance copywriters make over $100,000 a year. But in my opinion, that’s not even the best part about being a freelance copywriter. Not even close. You see, I love living overseas. I am hopelessly addicted to all the weird strange wonderfulness of it all. Every day is a great story.

As a copywriter, Jason can work from anywhere in the world. Right now, he’s living in Thailand

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And that’s what I think is the best part about being a freelance copywriter. You don’t have to go to an office in the U.S. or Canada to maintain a very respectable (and very well-paid) career.

With a laptop and an Internet connection, you can make a living as a freelance copywriter from anywhere in the world. Anywhere. Thailand… Paris… Rio de Janeiro… Playa del Carmen… Milan… London… Dubai… Sydney… Queenstown… Barcelona… Biarritz… Panama City… Dubli… you name it. Anywhere in the world you want to live.

I happen to spend much of the year on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand. That’s where I am now. It’s a great place to live. Warm, year round weather, an exotic culture, friendly locals, spectacular beaches, the legendary Full Moon Party (the most infamous beach rave in the world)…and super cheap prices, too!

What’s more, there are plenty of restaurants on Koh Phangan that offer free Wi-Fi…so you’ll never have to worry about Internet issues. Me, I don’t even use Wi-Fi. I use my mobile phone as a modem and it suits me just fine. It’s fast enough and it expands the places you can get work done almost exponentially…in all those places with no Wi-Fi signals. Like, say, in between islands in Thailand!

Just the other day, I had to do a visa run to Burma. However, I was still able to write copy both on my way to Burma and on my way back. That’s because the mobile phone service from DTAC (one of Thailand’s main mobile phone service providers) is so reliable, I could connect my mobile phone to my laptop both on the ferry and on the bus, get a strong connection, and get some work done. I could do this even when I was smack bang in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand on the Lomprayah High-Speed Ferry.

I’m amazed and blessed that there is a career out there that allows me to work with such unlimited freedom. Anywhere you want to go…anywhere you want to live…and anywhere you want to earn income…you can do it as a freelance copywriter. For a die-hard world traveler like me, it’s the best job in the world.

If you want to make a living from your dream overseas destinations, perhaps you should take a closer look at freelance copywriting. But be warned, it could change your life in ways you could not possibly imagine. I really mean that!


“Being Here, it’s Like a Fountain of Youth”Name: Diane PearlAge: 59Nationality: U.S.Living in: Ajijic, MexicoFunding lifestyle by: Running an arts emporium

In Diane Pearl’s view, taking a conventional retirement is the worst thing you can do for yourself; people start feeling old, she thinks, if they have nothing to do…and it’s all downhill from there. No chance of that with Diane—or with the place she’s called home for the last eight years: Ajijic, Mexico, on the shores of Lake Chapala.

“I was amazed right away,” she says of Ajijic. “There is so much to do here, and the combination of people is incredible.”

In fact, she believes, people find so much to do here that they actually start feeling younger and more energized. “Being here…it’s like a Fountain of Youth.”

It’s certainly proven true for Diane. Her enthusiasm—for her shop (called D.P. Collections), her friends, and her life in Ajijic—is contagious. The afternoon I visit at her shop, she entertains a steady stream of friends and passersby who clearly make this a regular stop on their strolls.

Diane’s arts emporium sits on a busy corner in the heart of Ajijic, just a few blocks from the lake. The large shop has several rooms and levels, all filled with Mexican- and expat-made arts and crafts. Paintings, masks and murals

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cover the walls; shelves are filled with Mexican pottery, expat-crafted jewelry, and striking table lamps of painted parchment and other materials. A few expats browse through the rooms; the others have come just to see Diane. They chat cheerfully and munch the cookies she keeps in a jar behind the counter.

Besides the cookies, she also keeps dog biscuits and candy. The little kindnesses matter here. As much as a shop, “this has become a community center,” she says.

Diane came to Ajijic eight years ago and at first, she operated her shop as a co-op with friends. She took over completely in about 2004; since then “it has definitely evolved due to community needs,” she says. Today about 20% of the merchandise she carries is expat-made; the rest is Mexican.

The shop’s evolution reflects Diane’s own experience as an expat. “I’ve always been in the arts,” she says. But in Ajijic she learned an important lesson: “Everything that I had learned before didn’t apply!”

She had to learn the language (she started Spanish lessons “right away”), as well as the routines and tastes of those in the area. Then there were the customs. “Someone had to tell me that I needed to put up blue paper for ‘Guadalupe,’” she says. (The Virgin of Guadalupe is patron saint of Mexico; her saint’s day is December 12.)

Fortunately, the Lake Chapala area is, Diane says, one of the easiest places to resettle and do business. “It’s a community destination,” she says.

Today, with a successful business, a circle of friends, and a role in the local community, Diane considers Ajijic her home. “I don’t have great expectations for living in the States anymore,” she says.

And besides, there’s all the fun and activity that daily life in her shop brings her. “It’s theater for me. I can play.”

“It’s Way Easier to Start a Business Here”Name: Stephen HylandAge: 33From: IrelandLiving in: David, Panama Funding lifestyle by: Running a cafe in David

For most expats, it’s a place to pass through on the way to more popular destinations. But as far as expat Stephen Hyland is concerned, the capital of Panama’s Chiriquí Province, David, is Panama’s new business frontier.


“I wanted to work for myself and make more money, and in David…well it’s like going back 20 or 25 years. Barriers are low, and it’s way easier to start a business than in Europe or Australia where I have experience,” says Stephen.

He and local partner Angela Valdés have just started their café called Da-Li. “Panamanians make up about 80% of our target market. It would be foolish to focus solely on the expat market here. There aren’t enough expats to support a business like this,” says Stephen.

Despite that, David has other niches to fill and a growing middle class eager to spend money in venues that are unique in any way. “We don’t fit into any one category,” says Stephen, explaining how Da-Li has set itself apart. “We are part coffee shop, juice bar, art gallery and community center. We hold events and classes and are looking to collaborate with as many local providers as possible. For example, we may have a sushi chef sharing the space soon. We want to maximize the locale. In any market there are always established players, and it’s difficult to grab some of the share. You have to stand out.”

What other businesses might do well in David? Stephen reckons you could start a trendy Internet café for as little as $10,000 here. He’d like to see more ethnic restaurants and cosmopolitan bars here, and he feels other locals and foreigners agree. “We could also use some bookstores and fashion outlets,” he adds.

When asked about his first months as an entrepreneur in David, Stephen doesn’t hesitate. “I wouldn’t change anything,” he says. “We learned a lot about choosing items for our menu, staffing and marketing…you make mistakes for a reason. You need them.”

And Stephen has learned his lessons. He advises that in smaller towns like David, consider having a local partner or manager. It helps when dealing with the language barrier, getting through red tape and local permits, negotiating prices and with networking. And always keep an eye out for other opportunities. “Your first attempt at doing business in a new country may or may not be successful. But each attempt is a golden learning opportunity. If you do well, ask yourself: How can I branch out? If you don’t, reevaluate the market. The more you learn, the better your future will look,” says Stephen.


From Asphalt Jungle to Highland HeavenNames: Dan Delgado and June LeeAges: 49 and 47Nationalities: U.S.Living in: Cotacachi, EcuadorFunding lifestyle by: Running a café in Cotacachi

At the rooster’s first crow and just as the sun peeks a winking eye over Mt. Imbabura, Dan Delgado goes to work. Funny thing is, he considers himself semi-retired.

“I put more time and energy into this than I’ve ever devoted to any job,” he says. “But I’ve also never before felt so personally connected to both process and outcome.”

As he grabs a finely sharpened Calphalon knife and attacks a pile of waiting zucchinis, he explains: “This is what I want to do for the rest of my days. I would do it whether or not it made lots of money.”

Dan and his wife, June Lee, believe that life is good when you’re doing something you love. And that’s what they’re doing in Ecuador. But like many of us, it took them a while to reach this point. Just two years ago, firmly rooted in the asphalt jungle of one of the world’s largest cities, they worked at jobs they liked but didn’t find creatively fulfilling. They yearned to escape New York City—where they were both born and raised—to a quieter, simpler life. And while they knew what they wanted to do, they just didn’t know where it would be.

Dan has 20 years of experience as a New York City chef. June went to school to learn bread baking and worked in the bakery business. Their dream was to open their own restaurant, but they knew they couldn’t afford to do that in the city. They also wanted to focus on ecology and self-sustainability, and they hoped to eventually have a plot of land where they could grow organic fruits and vegetables.

After a friend recommended Ecuador, Dan and June found themselves on an extended tour of the country in 2008, traveling from north to south along the spine of the Andes Mountains. One of their stops was the artisan town of Cotacachi.


“In Cotacachi, we found an opportunity to volunteer and work on an organic farm, and we enjoyed that,” says June. “Cotacachi had the land and climate we were looking for.”

They also enjoyed the small-town, Main-Street feel and culture of the village, its community-oriented atmosphere and many festivals. The cleanliness of the town was a plus, too. So were its progressive ecological projects, including water, sewage and sanitation improvements.

Two years later Dan and June now own the small Cotacachi café called Bocaditos No Típicos.

“It only took us five months from the time we returned to Cotacachi to open our place,” says Dan. “Thanks to the relationships we developed on our earlier visit, it took only a few days to look around town and find a place to rent.”

The required fire department, safety and health inspections, tax registration process and other details took a bit longer. “It was somewhat difficult to go through these,” says June, “but Dan is fluent in Spanish and that was incredibly helpful. The municipal offices, too, were very helpful and cordial.”

Bocaditos No Típicos, which literally means “little non-typical tastings,” is not the type of restaurant normally found in a village like Cotacachi. Dan and June offer a menu that changes daily and consists of small portions of up to 10 items on a plate. The dishes use local produce and are influenced by a different culture every day: mostly Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese (June’s mom’s recipes) and Mediterranean dishes. Dan makes his own tofu, wheat proteins, preserves and ice cream.

June takes reservations and cleans the café. (They have no employees.) She interacts with customers, serves and waits on tables. In the afternoon, she shops for the next day’s menu and makes the next day’s breads and dessert. Her specialties include lemon bars, pies, flan and brioche.

In just a few short months, the business is more successful than they had hoped. Future plans include a catering business and intimate dinner parties serving special menus.

“We’re happy and excited about the future,” June says.

“We feel fortunate to have found a modest means of supporting ourselves,” Dan adds, “doing the things we’ve always enjoyed, in an environment that offers never-ending opportunities to grow and be creative. We enjoy making the food we serve, and we really enjoy the happy faces of the people who eat it!”


Packing in the Opportunities in Panama— An Entrepreneur’s Dream

Name: Frank Sherman Age: 63Nationality: Canadian Living in: Panama six months, Canada six monthsFunding lifestyle by: Running a worldwide packing and shipping company

Frank Sherman is a levelheaded guy. He just doesn’t seem like the type—you know, the type that “runs off” to Latin America. This tall, serious man couldn’t possibly prefer the chaotic mañana mindset to the protestant work ethic of the north.

But Frank happens to think Panama is a land of opportunity. And the country’s growing reputation as a place to do business got his attention just when he was looking to start something new.

The 63-year-old Ontario native had been flipping property in Canada since the early nineties, but he knew he had to move on. The housing markets everywhere had dried up and Frank wanted an exciting new project. He didn’t like the idea of simply retiring.

Frank first looked to the Turks and Caicos. “They said it was risky, and they were right,” he says. After two years of trying to get things off the ground, escalating costs convinced him to look elsewhere. Some friends of his decided to buy a home on the beach in Panama, and that got him thinking…

Frank runs a franchise shipping company and was able to get down to business quickly in Panama

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Frank visited and liked what he saw: a stable country, sound infrastructure, beaches and mountains, valleys and ranches…something for everyone. He made five or six trips before deciding to go for it. He settled in David, the capital of the Chiriqui Province.

Frank was intrigued by franchise opportunities, and noted that there were many foreign franchises already in Panama. After some research he found Pakmail, a worldwide packing and shipping company. Here was a ready-made business model that he could take and apply in Panama.

He started looking at commercial property in David in December 2009, finalized renovations on his business center around February 2010, and began operations in earnest just four months later…a far cry from the two years he’d spent in the Turks and Caicos. Still, the Panama experience came with its own set of challenges.

Frank sat down with me to discuss what he has learned and had this advice for expat entrepreneurs:

• Starting small is starting smart: David offers many amenities, but on a smaller, less expensive scale than the capital. The banks and government offices make travel to Panama City unnecessary…mostly. Frank knew he would have less competition in David, too. It was the ultimate testing ground.

• Learn to delegate: Says Frank, opening a business takes more than just setting up your Panama corporation (which can take as little as a day). “If I had it all to do again,” says Frank, “I would pay someone to do the running around for me.”

“Setting up utilities…getting permits…applying for exemptions…there are hundreds of transactions to deal with.” In hindsight, Frank could have delegated many of them to an assistant, a paralegal, or even a messenger. The investment would have been worth it in terms of time and money saved.

• Get involved and get in touch: Networking is important in any country, and in Panama this is especially true. When researching Panama, Frank tried contacting professionals from different industries. He took note of who was helpful and responsive. That’s how he found Nikolai, a businessman who knew the system. He eventually became Frank’s general manager and right-hand man.

Before starting operations, Frank joined local organizations like the American Chamber of Commerce in Panama. “I also made appointments with over a hundred companies,” he says.


• Live to serve: “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of customer service,” Frank says. Panama is growing, and customer service is still poor at many companies. Offer excellent customer service, advises Frank, and you’ll outperform your competitors.

Today Pakmail Panama offers door-to-door packing and shipping services. Frank can even ship you a house—that’s right, he recently arranged shipping for a pre-fabricated home all the way from Ontario.

He takes a concierge approach, making every effort to assist from start to finish. Need to ship your household goods and find an apartment? Frank’s team will do its best to help you out.

Frank still sees many opportunities and niches to fill in Panama. He’s excited about the May 2010 Free Trade Agreement between Panama and Canada. The agreement must still pass through the ratification processes of both countries before becoming law, so Frank thinks it will be at least a year, perhaps two, before he reaps any benefits. But the prospect of duty-free shipping between the two countries is very heartening indeed.

He has a lot of ideas, and says Pakmail probably isn’t the end of the line. “I’m always looking for opportunities, and that’s what’s fun,” he says.

To contact Frank, e-mail: [email protected].

“I Needed to Reinvent Myself”Name: Libby RushAge: 68Nationality: U.S.Living in (for now): Campeche, MexicoFunding lifestyle by: Teaching English in Mexico

Libby Rush is finishing up a year teaching English at a small foreign-language school in Campeche, Mexico. It’s been “a wonderful experience,” she says—and she’s already considering where she may teach next. Ecuador, Honduras and Nicaragua are on her short list—as are some other cities in Mexico.

That’s the beauty of teaching English abroad: It’s a very portable career. And that’s exactly what Libby likes about it.

“I needed to reinvent myself,” says Libby, after the real-estate underwriter she worked for closed shop in 2009. She wanted a career that was “fun, where


I could be of service,” and that let her travel abroad in search of the perfect retirement spot. Teaching English fits that bill.

Libby began her research online and eventually settled on the ITTO (International Teacher Training Organization) school in Guadalajara, Mexico. She liked ITTO’s mix of classroom instruction and hands-on experience teaching students. Plus ITTO is well-known in Latin America, the region that most interests her.

“Asia is too far away for me,” she says ruefully. “I want to be close to family…to be able to get back to the U.S easily” and to her two grown children.

Of course, that means forfeiting those high Asian salaries. According to Libby, Europe and Asia pay English teachers higher salaries than they can get in Latin America. “In all of Latin America, except maybe Chile, the pay is low.”

To compensate, though, “in a lot of places they provide accommodation as part of your contract,” she adds. That’s the case with her Campeche job, for instance, which provides her with accommodation and half-pension (breakfast and lunch) in addition to a salary.

Libby did consider a well-paying teaching job in Vietnam. But the school didn’t accept her TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate: It required a different one. There are “lots of different certificates” available for teaching English, she notes. Her advice: If you know you want to teach in a specific region, make sure you earn a certificate that’s accepted there. Libby hasn’t lost any sleep over that job in Vietnam, though. Her TEFL certificate is widely accepted in Latin America, where she wants to retire.

Campeche is her first overseas assignment, and it’s taught her a lot about what she’s looking for in a retirement spot. For one thing, she’s realized she wants to live near a beach. She’s started making lists of beach towns to research in her target countries.

For another, she wants to be able to take her dog, Gigi. Libby left Gigi behind when she came to Campeche—but she doesn’t want to do that again. Alongside that list of beach towns, she’s started jotting down cities near international airports she can fly to with Gigi.

It may be a case of “do as I say, not as I do”: You really need to be “free of encumbrances” to teach English abroad, Libby notes…even as she makes plans to bring her own little canine encumbrance on her next teaching adventure.


Why One American Says He’ll Never Leave Belize

Name: Elbert GreerAge: 64Nationality: AmericanLiving in: Ambergris Caye, BelizeFunding lifestyle by: Running a dive shop

“This may sound a little chauvinistic, but I think every man has the desire to build a home for himself in the wilderness with his bare hands,” says Elbert Greer. It was this desire, to carve out a place in paradise, that led the former teacher to his new life on Ambergris Caye, a Caribbean island just off the northeastern tip of Belize in Central America.

After many years teaching vocational education for the state of Tennessee, Elbert had decided it was time for a change. Recently divorced and 40 years old, he didn’t just change his life… he started over from scratch.

He and his faithful black Labrador, Bubba, arrived just as the island was becoming a diving mecca. That was in the mid-1980s. More than 20 years later, Elbert is running a successful business and is one of the top dive instructors in the Caribbean, with more than 4,000 dives under his tank. His White Sands dive shop offers a full range of services to divers and snorkelers, and he also teaches at Las Terrazas, a local luxury resort.

Elbert’s not the only entrepreneur on the island. His wife Katie, who originally came as a tourist, now runs the Sew What? shop on Back Street in San Pedro, which provides custom upholstery and sail repair.

I caught up with Elbert at the Smiling Toucan, an outdoor restaurant at Journey’s End Resort, where his dive shop is located. With a shout of “Run like the wind,” he sent his dog splashing through the shallow waters lapping the shore. Although his original Bubba passed away in 1998, there have been three Bubbas since, all black Labs. At two-and-a-half years old, Bubba Number Four is sturdy and lean, with a friendly disposition. Watching Bubba wade through the water, Elbert explained that this resort used to be the farthest point north anyone could stay on the island. “Once the north end was hooked up to electricity [in 1995], people who had held land here for years began to build.”

When Elbert began his search for a place to “start over,” he spent a year considering eight different islands. He found some places that were too expensive, some that had no stable government, and others where foreigners couldn’t own land.


“I had been searching all over the Caribbean,” Elbert said. “Caymans, Turks and Caicos. I would go, check things out and then head back to Belize to think about it. Sad to say, it took several visits to figure it out.” Everything he needed—the government, the prices and “fee simple” land ownership rules—was already under his feet. “I’m a slow learner,” he chuckles.

Despite these obvious advantages, the greatest appeal the island had for him was the honest character of its people. “There’s something about a Roman Catholic fishing village,” he said, describing his first impressions of San Pedro. “It gave the people a very high moral standard.”

Elbert built his own house on two acres at the northern end of the island, clearing the land himself. Although there was what could loosely be described as a road, no cars were allowed, so his main transport was his boat. Elbert found it all exhilarating.

“I had one of those butane refrigerators. I used to have to light up a flame to get things cold. I was like Robinson Crusoe when I started.”

Bird watching, another of Elbert’s passions, also kept him busy. “I didn’t have to get wet to do it, and all my idle time was spent at the bar,” he laughed. Without a telephone, a TV or computer, it was the only entertainment he and Bubba had. He became such an expert that he wrote a column for the San Pedro Sun newspaper called “Bird of the Week,” which he later self-published as a book, Birdwatching with Bubba (Xlibris Publishing), back in 2002.

Today Elbert writes essays, often about economic development and its impact on the island’s environment. Recently, a big-name hotel wanted to build in the Bacalar Chico Nature Reserve, one of the few undeveloped places left on the island.

“The Belize government has the ability to designate a place as a ‘reserve,’” he explains. However, Belizean laws are such that government ministers can “de-reserve” that piece of land to sell at their discretion. Elbert has made it his mission to keep the Bacalar Chico Nature Reserve and other areas protected, including the designation of several small lagoon-side islands as bird sanctuaries.

Would Elbert consider returning to the U.S.? “No. Belize has ruined me for the States,” he says proudly, adding that he has become a citizen.

Both Elbert and his wife Katie are on the San Pedro Library board and all proceeds of Elbert’s book benefit the library. His book, recently updated, is available at: www.amazon.com. For more information on Elbert’s dive shop, visit: www.whitesandsdiveshop.com.


Running a Successful Business on Australia’s Sunshine Coast

Name: Brian ChurchAge: 55Nationality: CanadianLiving in: Queensland, AustraliaFunding lifestyle by: Running a restaurant

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Brian and his son Gene run successful restaurants on Australia’s coast

The average lifespan of a restaurant in the resort town of Maroochydore, on Queensland’s “Sunshine Coast,” is around two years. Lefty’s, Brian Church’s restaurant, has been in business for 13 years.

“We didn’t have a cent the day we opened,” Brian says. “The butcher and fishmonger staked us the produce and we reimbursed them at the end of the first week.”

Today Lefty, as Brian is universally known, is one of the longest-surviving restaurateurs in the area. He opened his first restaurant, a Tex-Mex, in 1981, a second Tex-Mex in 1987, and his third, Lefty’s, in 1997. Each was profitable almost from day one. Now after nearly 30 years in the trade, he’s semi-retired, although his wife Kathy still runs the kitchen.


Brian is originally from Calgary, Canada. When Brian and Kathy came to “The Coast,” Maroochydore—which is one-and-a-half hours north of the state capital of Brisbane—was just a minor surfing and fishing resort.

Kathy liked cooking and Brian had waited on tables to pay his way through college. He found a job as a trainee chef at Rusty’s, one of the few restaurants in town. “I learned a lot from the proprietor about how to build a business in a small town,” he recalls. “He knew everybody and never forgot names.”

Impatient to break out on their own, Brian and Kathy opened their first restaurant in a shut-down motel. The premises was hardly perfect, but the location was promising. BC’s Tex Mex, as their first venture was called, was right alongside the town’s only McDonalds. “If you can, grab a site right next door to a chain like McDonald’s,” says Brian. “They’ve done all the marketing and they bring in the customers.”

Brian launched this first venture with $4,120. The restaurateur describes himself as “the Ned Flanders of Maroochydore” after the glad-handing character in The Simpsons. His “mates,” as they call friends in Australia, helped him knock out walls, hook up the power and water and install the equipment. Their payment? Free meals.

“I’ve always done that,” explains Church. “Nobody takes advantage of it. And they help spread the reputation of the restaurant by word of mouth. That’s the most important advertising you can do in this town.”

To keep costs even lower, the couple lived above the restaurant. Open six days a week, the 80-seater establishment soon proved to be a catalyst for other ethnic restaurants that sprang up around it as the locals got more adventurous in their dining habits.

Five years later the business was on such a firm footing that, when the landlord decided to demolish the old motel, the couple simply took their clientele a little farther up the road with hardly a hitch. Once again, the location wasn’t exactly perfect—an old wooden house at the back of a failing car dealership.

Yet with a $41,200 loan from a local finance company and even more help from friends, the couple renovated on an even larger scale. Brian’s next Tex-Mex had 170 seats, a garden bar and a bigger menu. By now, Kathy had adjusted to local tastes. “She’d learned that the secret was in the sauces. That’s where we added the value,” explains Brian. The venture returned a profit immediately and the couple paid back their loan early.


Their third restaurant grew out of their growing reputation for getting things done. A local developer offered to convert the ground floor of a two-story wooden house into a restaurant and put the couple into it, living over the top as they’d always done… but now with two young children. The location was good—in a fast-developing tourist area. The finance couldn’t be bettered—the developer funded the conversion. And when it was done, Brian borrowed from the bank against the improved premises and immediately paid the developer back.

What advice would Brian give perspective entrepreneurs interested in the restaurant business? First, be nice. He makes sure to help out in his competitors’ establishments.

Second, adapt. What works overseas often won’t work locally. “That’s especially true here. Australian cuisine is going more and more Asian,” he says.

Third, never buy a restaurant. “Goodwill? I’m the goodwill. If you purchase a business, you’ve got to do 20% to 30% better than the previous owners to get your money back.”

Finally… love your work: “I’m here to serve. It sounds noble, but it’s thankless. Your reward has to come from inside.”

How to Build a Business in ColombiaNames: Robin Finley and Jeff GuerraAges: 32 and 39Nationalities: U.S.Living in: Medellín, ColombiaFunding lifestyle by: Producing English-language magazine The Arepa

Several years ago, just five days into graduate school in California, Robin Finley had what he calls his “ah ha!” moment.

“I knew right away grad school wasn’t for me,” says Robin. “But I didn’t really have a Plan B, and I saw the U.S. entering some rough financial times. So I just set my sights on Colombia. I’d been there on a previous trip through Latin America, and it left a strong impression on me.”

Robin settled in Medellín and immediately saw the need for an English-language magazine.

“With the large number of tourists without a way to connect to the local culture, as well as a large local population with a desire to improve their English, it became apparent an English magazine was necessary,” says Robin.


Not too long after, Robin ran into Jeff Guerra, a fellow Californian exploring Latin America.

“In 2006 I began traveling through South America,” says Jeff, “supporting myself as a telecommuting freelance editor and part-time D.J. I found Medellín in early 2008 and immediately fell in love with the city, its people and its emerging cultural scene.”

The two hit it off and today they produce Medellín’s premier English-language music, culture, and event magazine, The Arepa.

“The initial inspiration and first few issues were different from what the magazine has become,” says Jeff.

“Robin launched The Arepa alone, before we’d met, when he saw that Medellín lacked a hip tourist guide for English-speaking visitors. We met after just a few issues had come out, and when we began working together our very first conversation was about making the magazine less tourist-focused and more culture- and lifestyle-focused. Medellín is moving toward becoming an international city, and we felt having an English-language magazine that covers its fashion, music, art and social scenes would be well received.”

They were right…. The Arepa soon began gaining a reputation for itself and for Robin and Jeff.

“Medellín is undergoing a planned economic transformation from an industrial to cultural capital,” says Jeff. “Colombians are finally beginning to look inside their own rich and multicultural borders for creative inspiration. It’s the perfect storm for an explosion in the arts, and it’s tremendously exciting to be working with the people who are literally shaping culture.”

But even in such a rich cultural environment, Robin says there are some significant business challenges, especially if Spanish is not your first language.

“Being foreigners in another country and working on a very visible project, Jeff and I have become public figures,” says Robin. “That presents its own challenges. But because we receive dozens of contacts from the local business community on a daily basis, we have the opportunity to sharpen our Spanish communication skills.”

Jeff says there are other business challenges as well.

“Much has been made of how slowly things move in Latin America, and I think a lot of that is due to the importance here of personal relationships. In the U.S. things feel much more black-and-white, and business decisions are


made on an empirical basis… things like demonstrated product/service quality, track record, references, etc. Here it’s all about personal relationships… you have to take time and build a relationship with someone before they’ll decide to work with you or become a client.”

“That’s right,” says Robin. “In Medellín respect in the workplace is often won on how well you can bargain a deal, and as a foreigner you really have to be ready to play hard ball in order to hold your own. Doing business in person is a must here, and coming from the States where everything is done over the phone, it took me awhile to realize that I had to make more time for face-to-face interactions.”

All the hard work and relationship-building has paid off, however. After appearing on television 15 times and being covered by national and international newspapers, The Arepa magazine is flying high.

“We recently upgraded the format,” says Robin, “and we’ve launched subscriptions across all of Colombia as well as across the U.S. Issue 10 will be coming out shortly, and we’ll soon be celebrating one year of Prime Cuts Radio Medellín, a related on-air project. The goal for 2011 is to spread out into national content and distribution.”

“But,” he adds, “having fun in Medellín and traveling throughout Colombia are the perks that go with the job every day.”

“The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”Name: Steve McCarthyAge: 59From: CaliforniaLiving in: Santiago, ChileFunding lifestyle by: Running tours in Chile

Frankly my life in California had become disappointing. I’m an architect, divorced and the only child of deceased parents. My story isn’t much different from that of a lot of other people who were caught when the bottom fell out of the economy and work as a consultant dried up.

One day I had lunch in Los Angeles with a Chilean friend. Almost on a whim, I decided to move to Santiago. Why not? No work and staring at 60, I didn’t have much to keep me in the States. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I ended up “adopting” a Chilean family and creating Chile Tours & Transport.


It was pretty rough at first. Andrea and Marcello, who were friends of my L.A. friend, helped me find a place to live and to get around the city. Along with their two kids, Nico and Solamara, they made me feel right at home.

Four months after I arrived, they lost their family business because of a change in zoning laws. Then came the big earthquake in February 2010 and poof—business, apartment, car—it was all gone.

They had helped me so much when I arrived, so I invited them to come and live with me. We made an agreement: I would pay the rent and they would provide the food and do the cooking and the cleaning. We didn’t share a common language. Crazy me! I came without any Spanish, so communication was all done in Spanglish and sign language. I’m not saying it was easy, but in time we bonded and became a family.

After months of looking, Andrea and Marcello couldn’t find full-time work. I still had some savings, but I needed to start making money, too. When Marcello was offered a job driving a taxi part-time, he told me that most taxis were independent businesses—and that was my inspiration.

I had been thinking of getting a van for some time, so it all made perfect sense to have him drive it as a business for us, as I didn’t need a van most of the time anyway. Then I started to think about what I like that is close to Santiago. Within 90 minutes I can be at the beach, wine-tasting at vintners’ or in the Andes. An easy day-trip for me, so why not share it with others?

So I bought a 12-seat passenger van, Marcello got his chauffeur’s license and Andrea handled the paper work for a tour-transport operator’s license. We were in business.

We likely won’t get rich, but we live well enough now and we are growing the business as we go. The New York Times named Santiago as the number-one travel destination for 2011, so we hope that attracts more tourists who want to take our personalized tours.

Fourteen months ago, I couldn’t have imagined how well things would work out by “retiring” to Santiago. I have a real family now. And Marcello, Andrea and I have a new family business. We are all happy, and I am amazed about how serendipitous this has been.”

See here for more information about Chile Tours & Transport at their website: www.chiletours-transport.com.

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