My wife and I moved to Costa Rica to live by the beach. After a couple of months in the city, and a couple more spent living in the mountains above, we took what we had and moved to the beach. This was as much about therapy as it was about sticking to the dream.

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We tried the beach area living on Playa Azul near the River Tarcoles, but this area left us with few neighbors. We knew we needed more community and an income if we had any chance of making it here. As you will read from my previous article – Living in Costa Rica: So you want to own a bar on the beach, hmm? We no longer had an interest in trying to build a business from the ground up opting instead to buy something turn-key.

After countless hours of searching, my wife began finding several businesses for sale in Guanacaste, so we planned a shopping trip. After shopping about eight different businesses for sale in the area, one which was seriously outside the area, and outlining the pros and cons, my wife and I landed on a business which we felt would be a good opportunity for us.

The actual story of us closing the deal is a whole different article, so today we will only cover lessons learned, highlighting the three main take-aways I will share, but like jumping in an icy river, I could never explain the real deal with words.

The temperature of the water, as you will feel once you jump in, will be more tolerable if you have found an area where you are confident you want to be a part of the community in every way, if you hire a trustworthy, time-proven attorney with whom you can clearly communicate, and if you purchase the largest bag of patience money can buy.

In fact, forget the bag, buy the pallet.

  1. Owning A Small Business in Costa Rica: Know where you want to be.

    Costa Rica, more than anyplace I have been, is all about community. It’s no surprise that your business is going to occupy much of your time so it should be located someplace you want to be. With our first venture, we did not want to be in the city, so in the long run it wouldn’t have worked for us anyway.

    In Guanacaste, where we could see ourselves living, we shopped about eight businesses, predominantly in the Tamarindo area. We considered options which would have required loans, and some that did not. We looked at hotels, restaurants, and tourist hubs for sale.

    In the end we decided buying outright beat creating any debt, so we made an offer on a Pizzeria for sale. The seller had barely opened doors November 2012 when a family crisis pulled him home to Greece. The financials looked good so we made an offer which was countered and closed.

  2. Locate and Hire A Good, Experienced Attorney (Abogado).

    Key to this process, before we started the offer, we found a good lawyer. By luck really so make sure to shop around. How do I know our attorney was good? The seller was frustrated by all of the i-dotting and t-crossing on which our lawyer insisted. He was very clear with us and with the seller that the whole transaction would be done above board or he would not be involved.

    We risked the seller finding another buyer, but suspected he had no one else due to the length of time the place had been on the market, and in the end it turned out we were correct. We were holding all the cards.

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    That is, until we looked in on the shop one day to find the oven was missing from it’s prior home. In the long run we found out that it was a loaner, that the owner listed it as inventory, but really did not own. The vendor who loaned it confiscated the oven when he learned the owner was not in town anymore. Had we not hired a lawyer, this is where the story could have ended, but our attorney negotiated an amended contract, with a discounted price that included a brand new oven to be supplied by the seller prior to signing the contract.

    Had we been alone who knows what would have happened.

  3. Be Patient

    Come to expect a new level of patience from yourself. The most popular expression in Costa Rica is not “Pura Vida.” And no it’s not “se vende” either. “Mañana” should be the phrase plastered on all the souvenir t-shirts.

    Central America and especially Costa Rica has mastered the concept of tomorrow, that will in all likelihood arrive, but not in any version of what Westerners have come to accept as tomorrow. It really just means “not today.” The prospect of bad news never excites anybody, the deliverer nor the receiver, but the way that it is handled here eludes many straight shootin’ cowboys when they trying to get ‘er done.

    Since confrontation and “straight-up” generally fall into the Costa Rican category of avoidables, in lieu of the truth, Ticos have found the promise of tomorrow to be a comfy hiding place.

    In actual fact there will be likely no information that you do not already posses to indicate that tomorrow is going to be the day your delivery is made or your repair electrician will come out, or that your water will be turned back on after a week of being off.

    The sooner you start translating “tomorrow” into “Well man, the truth is I don’t know and no question you ask is going to get me to give you a better answer,” the sooner you will find peace. The best response to parrot back the word “mañana” in confirmation.

I strongly suggest breathing exercises. Why do you think so many expats take up meditation here?

In the long run there are much more detailed recommendations I could suggest, but if you start with these three, the other footfalls will become clearer.

As example, a good attorney will help you navigate much of Costa Rica’s business law, and direct you to other professionals such as an accountant. You have probably already done a search online, but if you haven’t, and if you are reading this, then you are familiar with the wonderful universe that is known as the world-wide web, and are already familiar with the vastness of available information/disinformation.

Read everything you can get your hands on.

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Written by VIP Member Damon Mitchell who spent over 10 years in the fitness industry before he moved to Costa Rica in search of a better work/life balance. Currently he runs a small business in Tamarindo with his wife Cristina and their dog Kai.

Daily, Damon’s exercise regimen could include running on the beach in Tamarindo, calisthenics, TRX training or working out at the Tamarindo Fitness Center; really just about anything he can to make fitness fun.

You can email Damon here if there is anything specific about staying fit and healthy in Costa Rica you would like him to cover in his next article.

You can email Damon here if there is anything specific about staying fit and healthy in Costa Rica you would like him to cover in his next article.

Owning A Small Business in Costa Rica – Three important steps to owning your own business in Costa Rica.

Article/Property ID Number 4341

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