Real Estate Agency - BEWARE

[Davidglen77]

Well I certainly can't compare my business venture to a chain store or restaurant backed by a multinational company with unlimited resources and a knowledge base that I simply don't have. However I did everything myself! From incorporation, to AFIP, to purchasing, renting, human resources and I learned a whole lot. It was totally worth it and I know what I need to move forward.

 

[starlucia]

And that is why foreign companies like Carrefour or Starbucks will never come to Argentina. Wait a minute... Ooops, my wrong.

Exactly. The only businesses able to make a profit here are the impervious billion-dollar corporations, while local mom-and-pop shops continue to struggle or get swallowed up. Hence McDonalds, Starbucks, TGI Friday's, and Benihana being the only eateries in prime locations such as Alto Palermo.

 

[Davidglen77]

This hopefully will make people looking to start businesses in Buenos Aires think in a different way then they may be used to, especially those coming from countries where the business environment is a lot friendlier.

The good news is.......my business did well and turned a profit every single month since I opened the door! That says I did my homework properly, picked a good mix of merchandise and ran things well from the beginning. The problems began when I started getting the shop flooded with sewer water, broken pipes, throwing merchandise in the garbage, then I had an armed robbery, and then I got shut down by municipal inspectors, then another fine for nothing and so on and so on. So if you can learn to navigate the shark filled waters in Buenos Aires capital federal in terms of bribes, a threatening and nasty landlord / consorcio, your well planned business can actually be profitable.

 

[AngelinBA]

You´re an inspiration, Davidglen77! You´re doing much better than so many Argentine owned small businesses, you see them opening and closing down within the first year. I´ve often thought about starting a business, have the idea etc but all of the things you have mentioned have managed to keep me at the happy dreamer stage.
And I´m sure all of us agree, as the renter it is impossible to get the attention of the consorcio for anything! They only listen to owners.
Muchos éxitos for your new business!!

 

[Fuyi]

Gotta say, I'm totally unimpressed with Starbucks here though. Most of them don't care about your order, the customer is an inconvenience.