When I first arrived I tried to set up a business with the plan of hiring young, tech savvy Argentines to help me service US/European/Australian based clients. I offered a decent wage as well as commission with editors receiving a percentage of the job and the opportunity to work as much as they liked. It would have worked out to a higher than average wage, esp. for someone with a desire to have control of their own income and a good work ethic. The rub was that it was time sensitive work. In order to compete I had to deliver results according to industry standards - the following morning by 9 a.m., so I needed assurances that if someone took on a job that they'd get it done in the required timeframe.
I interviewed several people and didn't come across a single person who was willing to commit to those requirements. A few asked about the hours of siesta and time off instead of details of the work. Nobody seemed to care that it was the type of work where you could set your own hours as long as you met the deadline, work as much as you wanted above a certain reasonable minimum, and make as much as you wanted by taking on more work.
A friend of mine who runs a similar business in Peru and who's familiar with ARG told me that out of 10 workers you're lucky to get 1 maybe 2 who are above average, around 3 who aren't going to last a week and will constantly need to be replaced, and the rest will be average, which is not saying much and will also have to be replaced due to turnover. He also warned me that promises I make to clients and base the business on will be of zero concern to workers and since most of the workers I'd be looking to hire are of an age where they still live in their parent's home, offering financial opportunities such as above average earnings based on commissions and the ability to earn more by working more would be met with a shrug.
I thought about it for a few hours and ultimately decided I didn't want to bother creating something where I'd be staying up all night finishing unfinished projects in order to make deadlines, having to likely make apologies on a regular basis for missing the client's deadlines (their clients actually set the deadline), and also have to deal with all the govt. bureaucracy and regulations that come with running a business and having employees. Maybe in the Philippines (were similar businesses exist but the work ethic is much different), but not here. Glad I find out about that cultural difference before diving too far in. I don't object to the concept of slacking (I used to be a slacker myself), but I wouldn't want to rely on them when making promises to others.
