Business Vs Job

[coolhunter]

Hey All,

I wanted to throw the discussion out there to see it's better to own a business in BA or to just get a job. Would love to hear stories from expats who own businesses here (legal or not) and how they are doing. Also those who work for companies/businesses here, would you regard it better (i.e. less risk, stress etc).

 

[TheBlackHand]

I think it really depends on what your long term plans are. If you are planning on living in Buenos Aires for at least 5-10 years and you have the liquidity of say $ 150-250K on hand to take a chance and it won't hurt your bottom line to much then owning your own business isn't such a bad idea. But if you're here for like 1-5 years and you don't have the money to lose, then I would say getting a job is a much more realistic and reasonable aspiration.

And trust me owning your own business in Argentina is very high risk and very stressful. But you won't ever succeed in life if you never take chances. And if you're gonna fail, might as well do it while your young.

 

[jb5]

Only start a business if your customers are outside of AR and you are paid in a relatively stable currency. That said, I've run into very few expats who have good jobs in BA.

 

[fifs2]

Hey All,

I wanted to throw the discussion out there to see it's better to own a business in BA or to just get a job. Would love to hear stories from expats who own businesses here (legal or not) and how they are doing. Also those who work for companies/businesses here, would you regard it better (i.e. less risk, stress etc).

Bsas for owning a business is a city of extremes like no other. For the positive side, see the feel good thread from yesterday on the smoked ribs guys now running a major restaurant due to good karma - this is the reason why so many are tempted to run a business here as there are so many business opportunities on the table...for the not so good read David Glen's threads as he would have any potential business owner run for the hills and rightly so. I'm a Bsas business owner who's been blackmailed, robbed, physically threatened, sued by unscrupulous employees..but then I chose not to live in Bsas any longer. It's a minefiled here for business owners but a goldmine too if you have the stomach and it's a hell of an interesting ride let me tell you...and to think they warned us about opening a Brazil office - Brazil has been a dream compared to here let me tell you!

 

[elclandestino]

Don't try to run a business locally! If you serve the global market, it could be a goldmine. If you go local, you're going to get screwed

I came here about 3 years ago. Young, successful, moneyloaded, proven record of entrepreneurial success, etc. Lost all I had. Now I'm broke, depressed, of damaged health, frustrated and stranded in this dump

There are a lot better places to do business

Doing business in a 3rd world dump, yea, only if ROI is extremely high and if you got a strong local backing (politicians, mafia, tycoons... they usually blend in one)

If you work remotely, cool. But, prices are at level of London... Almost. Before it was cool if you work remotely. No more

 

[NomadInBA]

I don't agree with all this doom and gloom.Ok the systems don't work and thing are far more complicated/expensive then we are used to back home. That said, there is a huge amount of potential in the Argentine market for those who know what they are doing and know the market. There are openings here in Arg due to the continuing growth that simply don't exist in the likes of the US & Europe. To the op: I have worked here as an local employee (which i didn't like but I gained experience) and now I'm setting up the oprations of a multi national that is about to get heavily involved.

 

[elclandestino]

If it's international, it could work well

Chile and Uruguay are a million better, namely Chile

I worked locally too. As a UX/UI designer to Globant and as a guest lecturer at UTN