Starting a New Business in Negril as a foreigner - Do's, dont's and general advise

[Rob]

Sweets,

This is a tourist oriented website, and while starting a business is a common dream for many who visit this forum, there are very few people here who can answer your question in anything other than a second hand account.

That being said, there are a few of us here who have started businesses in Negril and Jamaica and have been successful. And come to think of it, there are really only a few non-Jamaicans that I know who have started up long term thriving businesses in Negril.

There are things that need to be done in order to acquire all the necessary paperwork and legal status for both you and the company you want to set up. I would not call them obstacles, just the usual steps that need to be taken when setting up a new business. Being a foreigner will add a few steps, but nothing daunting.

The best initial advice I could give you is on your trip in September, search out some of us who have been successful here and listen to the advice that you get from these people. I took about 3 years of research here before starting my business, Negril.com, back in 1995. The research I did made the whole thing much easier.

As a footnote, I lost count years ago of the number of people I have seen move to Jamaica, invest much more money than they anticipated, and went home empty handed. Most feel that Jamaica was to blame, but in reality it was their inexperience and lack of research that got them into trouble in the first place.

[rastagirl777]

Sweets,

As a footnote, I lost count years ago of the number of people I have seen move to Jamaica, invest much more money than they anticipated, and went home empty handed. Most feel that Jamaica was to blame, but in reality it was their inexperience and lack of research that got them into trouble in the first place.

So true! Though I know quite a few foreigners who have had successful businesses in Negril...through a lot of hard work and a great deal of tenacity. None of these people made millions but all make a living. And like Rob said for everyone I know that has done this, there is at least one that has tried and failed. Research and community development are KEY.

[Blake]

And like Rob said for everyone I know that has done this, there is at least one that has tried and failed. Research and community development are KEY.

Hey, if it's only a 50% fail rate that's pretty good odds!

I've started 6 businesses in the US over the past decade and it's a hell of a lot of work, a lot of money is sunk into them, and it's ALWAYS a gamble no matter how much research you do.

You need a cocktail of the right people, the right location, the right concept, and the right customer base in order to turn a decent profit in a reasonable period of time.

The problem is people often will get the right location, the right customer base, and then their ego steps in and the concept and the people they hire to execute the concept are WRONG.

I wouldn't mind opening up an island business at some point in the future, but it would be after significant research and then after doing more research after the first batch of research is already outdated, and then it would probably involve just going to the casino and betting it all on black and if I win then I'll open a business on a beach.

Not to discourage anyone but the business world will chew people up and spit em out, you only hear about the successful ones in the long-term because otherwise it's bad for business!

I'm curious about one thing on page 1, is it still currently that US citizens have to leave every 6 months? Does that apply to business owners as well? One would think they'd want to support international business owners coming over and creating jobs and investing heavily.