www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Well I stand by my original post:



This was advice that I was given early on in my research and I have found it most helpful.

The level of due diligence required here is far more complex than what is required in the US and the pit falls here are enormous. Many, many come here with pockets full of money and find that they loose it very quickly. How much better advice do you want than a warning to that effect?

I have been advised by many that have long standing ties in this country that this is a very difficult place to make money, perhaps the most difficult in Central America.

Thus:

The fact is San Jose is in a dire need of a good sports bar. It is a no brainer. San Jose is filled with americans wanting to watch the games on sat and sunday and lo and behold , not one decent place to watch the games.

A true sports bar needs the sunday ticket to get ALL the games and there is a college football program also that gets alot of the games. You need 6-8 outputs as sometimes there are 8 early NFL games. Alot of big screen TV's.

The corner bar in Lima, Peru is such a place and there are not that many gringos in Peru...go figure.

All the places in SJ are lacking.

The sportsmen lodge.... no sunday ticket can only really get the games on cable. A few different feeds on his satellite Good luck watching your team there. I know, they can almost never get my game. Bill has no interest in getting the sunday ticket either. And the service is always poor to nonexistent.

The colonial is now the best bet. They have the sunday ticket but only four feeds. A fifth game from cable. But most of the tvs are small and the service is usually poor.

The DR no sunday ticket so they can only get a few games. It is mission impossible to get them to find your channel.

The NYB has no sunday ticket, small tvs etc...

The sports book on the 2nd floor of the morazon can get all the games but the place is small, you have to bet 50$ to watch, and no food or beverage service......go figure.

So for the all the difficulties of opening a business in a foreign country, the fact is San Jose is in dire need of one.

I hope he opens one up.

I agree that it would be great to have a "pure" sports bar in SJO. But the logistics to actually doing it (successfully) are overwhelming. I wish the best of luck to anyone who undertakes such a venture.

Respectfully,
Mucho Gusto

_________________
You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

I think the problem is that even if you have the customer base in the SJ area, those in Escazu won't necessarily come down to downtown just to watch a game, and guys like me won't go to Escazu just to see the 49ers lose. And can you make it just on Sunday business? There are lots of places to watch popular games here. Is there a big enough market for obscure games? I don't think so, personally.

_________________
"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

MG is an individual that knows the realities of what is involved in doing business here. He knows what he is talking about.

I personally don't think Costa Rica is a place to come with a big idea and try to do business. There are many pit falls if you do not have the necessary relationships before you start. It is VERY important to build your infrustructure of relationships here before you do ANYTHING. Period. Without them, you will be taken advantage of, you will get ripped off and you will loose all your money. Without the right relationships in place with people you know you can trust you have almost no chance of success here. It takes a lot of time and it takes a lot of patience to do business in Costa Rica. If you don't have plenty of both, you should forget it. Do your business in the US and just come down here for fun. (also good advice that was past on to me that I am passing on to you.)

I stand by my earlier statement that this web site is not the place to start.

Once you get the "right" people around you (many fail because they surround themselves with the wrong people). You need to proceed very causiously and deliberately.

Z-Man,

In theory not a bad idea but... ever see a P & L on a Sportsbar in the US? Checkout the June-September revenue numbers.

Once the NBA is over, watching Golf, Baseball and the WNBA are not big draws. I would only see that as be amplified here in SJ. And Shawn4DR don't bitch slap me for leaving your sport out vvvrrrooommm, vvvrrrooommm

There is an even bigger problem.

Are you marketing to Ticos? All they care about is Soccer.

Are you marketing to marketing to Expats? According to CR immigration there are only 8000 Americans living in CR, that is men, women and Ch*ldren. Not much market there.

So that leaves visitors, which is fine on game days, but how are you going to reach them and what is the attraction when there aren't games going on?

I agree that the theory is good, but I think you need more than sports to make a business out of it. The big attractions in SJ are prostitution and gambling. If you don't offer one or the other (preferably both) you just aren't going to get a lot of business coming your way expect on big game days. A sports bar would be a nice complement to the 2 big attractions, but you are going to need to be plugged into one or the other to make a go of it. Both Sportsmans lodge and the del rey offer a combination of all 3.

FYI; Zona Blue has the most expensive beer in SJ @ $3.00. Del Rey is $2.40. Sportsmans $2.00. Most places charge around $1 to $1.50. Not much margin in that.

Thanks KC! And as a CR business owner yourself, you have also been around the block more than once! And I respect your input on this subject matter.

I have had many, many people ask me about running a business in CR. And I always answer their questions as best I can. But so many people just can not believe what I tell them. When I tell them what’s involved, and about the deals that are oftentimes made “in the back rooms” instead of the “board rooms”, they usually just shake their head and look at me like I’m full of sh*t. While this may be true, I’ve certainly learned a couple things along the way. In lehman’s terms, I simply tell them “you’re not in Kansas anymore Dorothy”.

Starting, owning or running a business ANYWHERE is not easy, whatsoever. And in CR, you can multiply that by a factor of 10! If you don't believe this, ask any business owner in CR about their experience(s). You will probably be blown away with what they tell you. You can start with Eddie (ZB) and/or Bill (SL) and go from there.

I’ve been an empresario (entrepreneur) and multiple business owner (in the U.S. & Bahama’s) for 22 years. Currently, I own 2 companies (in completely different industries) in the United States, and 2 companies (in completely different industries) in Costa Rica. Over the years, I’ve made lots of money, and I’ve also lost lots of money. I wear shorts and flip-flops to work every day, and I drive a pick-up truck to my office every day. The stress that comes with owning a business can be overwhelming at times, but even so…. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

But, with that being said, I must also say that - doing business in CR is a totally different animal. And if you’re contemplating starting a business in CR, I will tell you (IMHO) one of the most important things you’ll need to know. You may think I’m full of sh*t, and you may not believe anything I’ve written so far, but you better believe this:

To own and run a successful business in CR, you have to know “people”. And I’m not talking about the masses. I’m talking about the “right” people.

You’ve all heard the old cliché “It’s not who you know – it’s who you blow”. Well, that is one of the most important factors to owning a business in CR. No matter how smart you think you are, or no matter how much homework you’ve done, that’s great, but it really doesn’t matter a whole lot in CR. Again, YMMV and this is just my opinion.

If you really want to start a business in CR – do your homework, and make sure you have a pocket full of money, and a good / long list of contacts. And that list should be filled with names of other business owners, attorneys, accountants, real estate professionals, plenty of local Tico’s, vendors, delivery personel, politicians, taxi drivers, municipal employees, law enforcement officials, homeowners, industry professionals, hotel owners, etc., etc, etc…… and they should ALL speak Español!

Ok, I’m done giving my .02 cents worth! Buena Suerte a todo los negocios.

Mucho Gusto

_________________
You ALWAYS have an option ....... "NEXT" !!!

MG is 100% right, no ifs, ands or buts, period, end of story. If you don't have the right people around you, you WILL get taken to the cleaners in CR. Even then, you have to be very careful and deligent.

If you really want to do business down here, focus on building a solid network around you and nothing else. Plan on that process taking 2 to 4 years. Once you have your network in place, then and only then, should you begin looking at individual opportunities.

For me, it was a situation where #1 I chose a business in an industry that I have been working in for 15 years. I made several trips down as a contractor over a 2 year period. Then I spent 18 months researching and building my network over the internet, follow that with a year living down here to get things set up, and then I was ready to get things going. Even after that to tell you the truth, I feel like I am still finding my way.

To talk about coming down here and opening a sports bar (or anything else) out of the blue, you are just asking for nothing but trouble. You virtually have no chance for success unless you are willing to just throw money at the project.

All that said, if you can get the right people around you, the whole experience can be very gratifing and rewarding. I wouldn't trade the whole experience for anything.

The sports bar in Lima seems to be a big success. They get the residents to watch soccer that are not on normal cable TV. Like Madrid vs Barcelona etc...

There are alot more than 8000 americans living in CR more like 80,000 although not one knows for sure because the perpetual tourist is hard to count.

The place would have to be a good restaurant also and a nice comfortable place to drink. heck everyone drinks down here.

Even a dump with high prices and bad food like the new york bar seems to be a success in SJ.

A nicer place with sports, entertainment , sports book, and good food could easily be a huge success here. No doubt in my mind at all.

I have had a very hard time accepting that number myself (8000). But that number was recently published by Costa Rican immigration. I have made the same argument about there being a lot of perpetual tourists here, but my arguments have been a minority opinion among those that have been here a lot longer than I have.

Well-informed people that have been dealing with immigration issues here in CR for a long time throw out numbers like 8000 legal and 3000 perpetual tourists. I tend to think that the numbers are bigger myself, but I wouldn't build a business plan on that sort of speculation.

I know nothing about what is involved in opening a business in Lima and what sort of connections the owner of that sports bar has in his back pocket, do you Zman? Before opening a business here in CR, talk to people that have actually been through the process. They will all tell you just about the same thing.

delete

maybe the number is higher, but that is pure speculation. The fact is neither you or I know. Immigration says the number is 8000, that is a fact. There are many people in the know that agree with that number.

I have made all the same arguments that you have. But I also know that I don't know and many knowledgeable people disagree with those larger estimates.

It is fine to argue the numbers in a friendly conversation, but writing a business plan is a whole other story.

I have to tell you. I have spent a lot of time in areas all over the country. The truth is I don't run into that many Gringos that live in CR as I do. In a year I have met less than 10 outside my business circles. There are a lot of Gringos in Escazu, but outside of there, you don't run into them very often, the gulch included.

While on the subject, I wonder how many CRT members live in CR. I bet the number is less than a 100.

It is difficult to answer your thought-guestion without knowing your background and experience. It is a very common thought to want to own a business for profit or just to have something to do. HOWEVER, this is not easing into a Mr Turtle pool in the safety of your back yard. This is like jumping off a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean. You better be prepared and ready to swim thru a bunch of sharks, ice cold water, ticos, etc . It is always good to look at and intensely study similar business when considering opening or buying one. Were talking about finding the closest thing that exist to what you want and sitting across the street in your car for two weeks to study what the market is. So many people would love to back out of things they started if they had known in advance what they learned in the process . Many environments thrive and exist on Newbies because the Oldies got the heck out when they found out, "the rest of the story". AND, What is your experience in Costa Rica ? Will you still feel the way you do now in a year or so? Standard advice for opening a business is to work at one most similar for several months to a year to learn the business and to get exposure to it. As for the actual nuts and bolts of operating a bar in CR: Liquor License , Location, Getting your Liquor License re instated after your first one was revoked for this or that. Trying to figure out who is robbing you blind from the inside. Trying to find a way to quit getting your outdoor furniture stolen during broad daylight. Trying to run a business from a cell phone because your still waiting for ICE to connect your landline(s). Trying to get the company that sold you 30k in Plasma TV's to come back because they are all fuzzy again . Were these rejects to began with ? And trying to do all this while living in a motel because your girlfriend had the police kick you out of your new house. Good Luck.

have owned and ran a few businesses in various countries. From large scale textile manufacturing to an English Learning Center with 5 employees. All in Southeast Asia. I looked into investing in Latin America anywhere and found that other than a small project, highly specialized, it is not worth it. Return vs. investment (ROI for you MBA's) just is not there.
That is not to say I wouldn't start a small hole in the wall pizza place with a few grand in Nicaragua, but more than that is more exposure than is wise.

But if you want to do it anyway, I will give you the same advise I gave Americans starting business ventures in Taiwan and Indonesia, my countries of "expertise". Still applies in CR quite well, imo.
1) During the development and any remodel as well as during negotiations with suppliers, you need to be invisible. You need a trusted local partner that must give all vendors the impression that there is no American involvement. Then lock them in to a low rate.

2)Learn when to pay and when not to. This takes a year or two in the country to figure out. Many people will make pests of themselves coming around looking for money. You only need to grease about 10% of those palms, but wrong 10% will sink your investment.

3) You must speak the local language, FLUENTLY! If you are going to trust everyone to translate for you, you will be bankrupt before you know it.

4) Realize the value of relationships. This means sitting through alot of boring events to score the necessary points to keep people from tampering with your license and property.

Good luck if you really want to do it, sincerely. But think about the above first.