This is the 5th installment in the “Starting a Business in Ecuador” Series.
The next big step in starting your business in Ecuador is a fun one… buying stuff.
Furnishing it… in other words. Furnishing your business can help it reach the zenith of success, because every customer or client likes to visit a place which is pleasing to the eyes. Get a comfortable sofa for you to relax when things get tough at work, or maybe even consider bying a Modrest Kingsley Modern Marble & Rosegold Dining Table, when you want to engage your clients in a meeting with not only powerpoint presentations, but also some nice delicacies. All the furnishing hacks bodes well in business and mus be considered.
And it’s important you understand something before you attempt it.
No matter how long you live in Ecuador, no matter how well you speak Spanish… you’re still a foreigner, and locals will know it as soon as you open your mouth or maybe even when they see you a mile away.
You have to accept the fact that there are certain things we just cant do as well as the locals… like get the best prices on many things.
You can live in denial if you want to, or you can accept this and take measures to protect yourself against it like using a trusted local to do a lot of the shopping for you.
At 5’6, I’m short.
I have to accept the fact I will never be good at reaching things that are high up. I just won’t.
And you and I, being foreigners in Ecuador, very often just won’t be able to truly pay the prices the locals pay.
I aquaint this like when a guy goes into a gay club… they either going to get ya’ on the front end, or up the back… but be sure, they going to get ya’.
Particularly, when a foreigner buys at an open market in Ecuador, unless you really know what you’re doing, they going to get ya’ on either the price or the quality.
Never fails.
Keep this truth in mind before you go spend thousands of dollars on furniture, equipment and other items for your business, you could save yourself thousands by reading about them on unclutterer before buying.
Trust me, I know, after less than a week of my new business Quito Airport Suites being open, a bed rail broke, causing me to replace all of them with more sturdy ones, I had bought bad, in an open market in Ecuador. And it cost me a few hundred bucks.
Buyer beware, this aint Walmart anymore Dorothy.
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