Puerto Rico - can gringo start small biz? (coop, unemployment)
U.S. TerritoriesPuerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, etc.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We visited PR once and found that it is lovely friendly, etc, but the organic/health store food we are use to is pretty scarce. If we decided to relocate there - how feasible would it be to start a food coop - maybe ship food from Miami to NW PR. Is this doable or pie-in-the-sky?
It is doable but it would be expensive. That is the problem with everything being higher here. Since everything is shipped the prices you would have to charge would not be worth it.
I don't think it will be very feasible. Maybe in San Juan near the shoreline, where incomes are high, but NW Puerto Rico isn't exactly a high income area. Organic food is also relatively unknown in Puerto Rico, as it is known in the US. I would recommend purchasing locally grown food instead, that'll save on the high shipping costs
I'm going to go a little further and strongly recommend that, before you even think of opening any business, you live and work (for someone else and in a related field) for at least a year in PR.
I'm going to go a little further and strongly recommend that, before you even think of opening any business, you live and work (for someone else and in a related field) for at least a year in PR.
I second the above recommendation. It's one thing to go to an island on vacation for a few days and fall in love with the surroundings. It's another to live there thru hurricanes, need medical services, deal with property issues, etc.
I second the above recommendation. It's one thing to go to an island on vacation for a few days and fall in love with the surroundings. It's another to live there thru hurricanes, need medical services, deal with property issues, etc.
especially with the Puerto Rican government bureaucracy. One reason why unemployment is so high is that the red tape to set up businesses is burdensome compared to other states. Puerto Rico is not a very business friendly area in the U.S. The unemployment statistics reflect that.
I'm going to go a little further and strongly recommend that, before you even think of opening any business, you live and work (for someone else and in a related field) for at least a year in PR.
This is definitely the absolute most important advice the OP can receive. He can also use that opportunity to research the market he wants to cater to. IMO, this is true all across the US, the organics market is best suited in a large metropolitan area. Most organic food stores in the US are found in more upscale areas, because organic food is not the cheapest out there, add to that the cost of shipping in organic goods from the mainland that isn't grown in Puerto Rico. Most Puerto Ricans don't have the money for paying the premium price on organic food when we have to worry about $300 a month in electricity and that's with moderate A/C usage.
It definitely can be done, but I would suggest he researches into more higher income areas, just like in the U.S. You won't find an organic store in a working class neighborhood for a reason.
The good thing is, OP, you being a "gringo" is not going to be a problem in Puerto Rico. I wouldn't worry about that, just do the usual market research and search for the laws on setting up a business (they are most likely in Spanish only on the relevant government websites) and I do recommend learning some Spanish, since Puerto Rico is nothing like Hawaii or Florida
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.