Just looking for ideas

[BeachyKeen]

hola , just trying to be pro active , IF an investment goes well for my husband we may be able to go to RP and have a little bit of money to start a small business. Not a restaurant. I know so much of most expat businesses rely on the tourism aspect but we’re up for any outside of the box ideas, something that is either lacking there or that there is not enough of. It more than likely wouldn’t happen for at least a year.
The most into food we would dive into is a food truck (thought of doing baked potatoes subway style where people can chose their size toppings and or meats )
We are not of retiring age so we would need it to be a bit profitable , not expecting much. Trying to remain realistic . We understand many businesses fail also so we want to look at every option and take a very long time studying ideas & all aspects.
Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Jungle Jim]

Hey Beechie..........

How about renting out Bonerfied Postal Scales and Smell-O-Meters!

Every fish monger in PP uses tweaked out scales to rip off trusting ignorant Gringos. I don't even trust my trusted guys on the weight of shrimp and fish. I'll pull out my postal scale every now and then just to let them know that I'm damned dead serious about their criminal activity.

Smell-O-Meters are really in need. A simple version of a probe type meat thermometer that registers the level of internal ammonia gas would change the world for the ripper-offers that sell rotten shrimp and fish all over town.

Ever notice that most of those big white cooleros loaded with mariscos smell like Clorox or Pine Sol? It is routinely used to mask the rotto way past edible seafood that they contain. There is certainly something wrong with a lily white shrimp.

Pine Sol is also a regular ingredient in many Margaritas sold everywhere in town. I used to think that the Pine Sol smell in taco shacks was due to their fastidious cleanliness...wrong...it's their homemade margarita mix!

JJ

 

[Stuart]

If neither you nor hubby is a Mexican national, my best advice is good luck with that! Not trying to be snarky, but it is a very difficult row to hoe being a gringo and trying to run your own business in Mexico, especially Penasco. You will be viewed as competition and stealing jobs from Mexicans, unless you are able to employ them to work for you. Even then, be prepared to bleed a lot of money for permits, taxes, etc. on a regular basis.

My BEST advice is to talk to a few a gringo business owners about their experiences before you spend one dollar trying to do this. A food truck (in my opinion) is a terrible idea because there are taco carts on every open corner. If you're counting on tourists to make or break your business, another good luck with that. Why? People don't go to Rocky Point to eat a baked potato anymore than they do to eat at McDonalds. They want fish, shrimp, tacos, the whole enchilada that Rocky Point offers and is not available at home.

As always, just my miserably logical .02 cents.

 

[brokenwave]

And you also have to deal with the local cartel who will want their slice of your business.
My local buddy had a small store and after 2 years, they paid him a visit to buy from their guys and wanted $$ so he could stay open or they would open a store right around the corner from him.
He shut his store down less than a year later.
Think about why there are OXXO's every 2 blocks.

 

[BeachyKeen]

If neither you nor hubby is a Mexican national, my best advice is good luck with that! Not trying to be snarky, but it is a very difficult row to hoe being a gringo and trying to run your own business in Mexico, especially Penasco. You will be viewed as competition and stealing jobs from Mexicans, unless you are able to employ them to work for you. Even then, be prepared to bleed a lot of money for permits, taxes, etc. on a regular basis.

My BEST advice is to talk to a few a gringo business owners about their experiences before you spend one dollar trying to do this. A food truck (in my opinion) is a terrible idea because there are taco carts on every open corner. If you're counting on tourists to make or break your business, another good luck with that. Why? People don't go to Rocky Point to eat a baked potato anymore than they do to eat at McDonalds. They want fish, shrimp, tacos, the whole enchilada that Rocky Point offers and is not available at home.

As always, just my miserably logical .02 cents.

I appreciate honesty . He is Mexican but not a national. We aren’t there enough to get the full picture so that’s why we want to be realistic. The forum is exactly why we want all opinions from experts , not just ones that we want to hear. May save us in the long run. Muchas Gracias

 

[BeachyKeen]

And you also have to deal with the local cartel who will want their slice of your business.
My local buddy had a small store and after 2 years, they paid him a visit to buy from their guys and wanted $$ so he could stay open or they would open a store right around the corner from him.
He shut his store down less than a year later.
Think about why there are OXXO's every 2 blocks.

Wow , I can see that happening . thanks for the heads up! Maybe we will do what we have a little experience in and stick to renting out . We hate to rely on tourism things like vacation rentals in case the economy goes bad again (which it will eventually we just don’t know when) but we have a rental in AZ , it works , the cartel shouldn’t be able to know who is making money from rentals unless you are a big shot and big shots we are not.
We won’t ever make enough for anyone to shake us down LOL (if for some reason we were blessed enough to, we sure wouldn’t make it seem like it)

 

[mexicoruss]

Both my wife and I run small businesses here and have been doing so for over 10 years. It is not the same as the States but we didn't move here to be in the States. We are having fun learning new ways to do business and make the necessary networking contacts to be successful. It can be a challenge for sure, but for us it was totally the right way to go.

 

[BeachyKeen]

Both my wife and I run small businesses here and have been doing so for over 10 years. It is not the same as the States but we didn't move here to be in the States. We are having fun learning new ways to do business and make the necessary networking contacts to be successful. It can be a challenge for sure, but for us it was totally the right way to go.

Thank you ! We definitely want to be there much more for quite a few reasons , we have time to think so I appreciate any and all info! We want to be realistic , smart and excited about it , whatever “it” may be

 

[mexicoruss]

Thank you ! We definitely want to be there much more for quite a few reasons , we have time to think so I appreciate any and all info! We want to be realistic , smart and excited about it , whatever “it” may be

you can always send me an email. [email protected]

 

[Stuart]

Russ and Naomi have been successful and found a good "niche". Not to mention both are great people. I think finding that niche is an important part of being successful.

 

[Brad]

Russ and Naomi have been successful and found a good "niche". Not to mention both are great people. I think finding that niche is an important part of being successful.

 

[Brad]

Kyle has set up a powder coating business in Cholla very successful stop by talk with him

 

[jerry]

Maybe a e-bike rental and sales business...I just bought a 500 dollar one that is actually pretty ok...locals might find them useful...esp especially the cargo types

 

[jerry]

Maybe a e-bike rental and sales business...I just bought a 500 dollar one that is actually pretty ok...locals might find them useful...esp especially the cargo types

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/aug/06/electric-bikes-france-vercors-grenoble-mountains-forests-outdoors . Picture doing a ebuke tour biz around Pinacates tours on these....way more fun than being jambed in a van full of gassy bluehairs

 

[MIRAMAR]

There were some locals doing tours and hikes up Pinacate about 5 years ago, but I think they disbanded. But it was really fun- our daughter went all the way up, we went 2 miles up, but it was really interesting. You can't hike it now w/out a guide (at least this is what we were told).

 

[InkaRoads]

Beachykeen, you can do whatever you want to do, most importantly DO NOT pay attention to the naysayers, they are just that frustrated people that never got of the planning stages, whatever you do make sure you have all your immigration and Hacienda paperwork, I did it in Penasco and I am doing it all over in Bahia de Kino a district of Hermosillo, very sticky when it comes to paperwork, but my best advice to you will be to learn spanish, especially if you are going to run a business and I mean get fluent at it, all legal paperwork becomes easier and the fee (unless displayed) are a lot cheaper, just because they see you with different than those that do not even try

 

[apricot]

Beechykeen, Have you heard of Dole Whip? It comes in 7 flavors, but pineapple is the original flavor and by far the best. It's a frozen soft serve dessert. You used to just be able to get it in the Disney parks or the Dole Plantation in Hawaii. You can get it now at a lot more places....we always get it when we go to Vegas. Phoenix has a few places that sell it as well. It's delicious!! I would think it would do well in RP. You can get it on Amazon now. Comes as a dry mix, just add water. It's crazy addictive.....once you've had it, you can't wait to get it again...lol! Just google it to find out more about it.

 

[InkaRoads]

I know you probably are looking for something less busy but when I was in RP my wife and I almost started a mail and package delivery, as the existing companies at the time only 2, were horrible and always taking advantage of their customers by charging non existing fees or the border taxes even though they were not charged for it, we thought that doing it thru San Luis/Yuma using the UPS store was the easiest and way to do it and very straight forward as long as you do it all above board with legal paperwork and permits, cost is minimal just driving, we have a prius and gas usage was super cheap and you do not have to travel everyday just 2 or 3 days a week, lots of money to be made without ripping off your customers!!!