Post: #1

I’ve ditched my corporate job last year in London and did moved to Tehran, Iran. However, I’m still struggling to start a business.

Let’s say I have $100K initial capital. And also I’m happy to change my location. I can move to Southeast Asia, Middle East, South America or Eastern Europe. I really don’t want to come back to Western Europe (for obvious reasons). I have no strings to Britain. Also, I’m single.
What businesses can I start with this money? If you had this money what would you have done?

Thanks

Post: #2

Why did you move to Iran? What are you doing there currently? Did it go wrong?

I'm sure there is an interesting story here that we don't know!

What fields are your expertise, interests and experience in?

Post: #3

(11-18-2016 02:46 AM)the-dream Wrote:  Why did you move to Iran? What are you doing there currently? Did it go wrong?

I'm sure there is an interesting story here that we don't know!

What fields are your expertise, interests and experience in?

Moved back to Iran for family reasons. My parents live in Tehran and I was away from them for a decade. But due to the sanctions, starting a business is really difficult here. All markets suffer from a deep recession, including construction and international trade.

I can tell a long story about Iran and how this country has changed from a conservative religious culture to a Western hedonistic consumerist style. Truly Iran can be names as "Poland of the Middle East". I would probably write a separate thread on the degeneracy of women and cuckholdry of poor men in this country.

But again, I'm looking for a new start and so tired of the UK. I still can continue my corporate job (which was in IT consultancy) in somewhere like Dubai. But really don't want to enter to any corporate.

Post: #4

I think you first should ask yourself what kind of skills you are bringing to the table. Are you a developer. a marketing guy, how good are you when it comes to sales?

Do you want to build or offer a product or a service? Also a question is where do you want to live and would you either do a nomadic lifestyle business or a brick and moratar business with an office at a fixed location.

$100k is a decent amount of money to start any kind of tech business the only thing is that you need to stick with something once you have started and don't try different methods every other week. Also stay away from buying courses and stuff from "gurus".

Hope this helps a little bit but from your post it seems you don't have a specific direction at all yet. Find this direction first and then people might be able to help you in a better way.

Post: #5

Ah that's cool, I didn't realise that you had family connections in Iran.

With 100k USD, I imagine that you could start most kinds of businesses! The obvious answer would be an IT/online business, especially seeing as that is your current line of work, which would probably take much less capital.

I'm in a similar situation myself where I've successfully transitioned from being employed to being a freelancer and am now looking to move on and create a proper, scalable business.

Since working online, I've lived in Manila, the capital of The Philippines, and here are some observations I've made about starting a business here if you're interested... I'm sure a lot of these observations could be applied to other developing countries too.

There are a lot of Australians, Americans and Europeans who run IT and internet businesses of every kind here who have their clients back in their home countries. The clients pay Western prices for the services and have a familiar voice to talk to but then they have their employees in the Philippines (which the client may or may not know) do the actual work, paying them 20,000 pesos or so a month which is a respectable wage here but probably at least 1/5 of what it would cost to hire a similar worker in Britain/Australia/USA. Everybody wins and it is a great business model, especially if you already have relationships with people back home who you think you could sell an IT service to.

There are also a lot of Chinese and Korean run online casino companies which could certainly be very lucrative but I don't have the expertise to do it and it's not exactly a field where trial and error is a sensible idea.

Aside from online businesses doing the work in the Philippines but catering to foreign customers, there is also a huge amount of potential for creating an online business, website or app for the Filipino market. Filipinos still don't really use the internet for most day to day things (eg shopping, buying tickets, watching movies) the way that we have done for many years in the West but that shift is happening. If you think Westerners are glued to their smartphones, Filipinos will blow your mind! There are very few good existing websites here and the few decent ones that there are are still generally more expensive and more hassle than doing the thing the old fashioned way (eg going to the shop, phoning a hotel, hailing a taxi). If you can get in and establish yourself as a market leader now (whilst there is not really any competition) before the shift truly happens, you'll be rich by the time the Philippines goes online.

The market is still so undeveloped that even if you don't have a good original idea, you could be successful just ripping off the popular websites in Europe or America and many people already have been. I'm not suggesting you do this but am just telling you to show how much opportunity there is. A few examples are "Grab", a watered down more expensive rip off of Uber which is so popular here and recently secured $750 million funding. Another is "Lazada", a watered down, more expensive and clunky rip off of Amazon which has got around $600million funding and I think was started by a British-Arabian guy. Another is iFlix which is a shameless rip off of Netflix but has received around $50million funding and was started by an Australian guy.

However, it is very difficult to own a business as a foreigner in the Philippines unless you are married to a local so a lot of these types of businesses are in a grey area legally (read: technically illegal under Philippine law). On the other hand, the government doesn't mind and likes the foreign investment so they have a lot of loopholes which will let you do it (eg. unlimited stay/renewals no questions asked tourist visas, easy no questions asked banking, cash payment for rentals of offices etc).

For the reason above, you'll probably be limited to running an online business here but there is also a lot of potential for brick and mortar businesses too if you can find a way to do it within the law.

Western food and snack cafes and restaurants and fast food places are extremely poplar here and generally cost almost as much as they do in the west to buy things from (maybe 60% of the price on average). However, the wages, rent and overall running costs of these businesses are much lower than in the West so I image the profit margins are much higher!

If you're just starting an online business and looking for inspiration, I would recommend going to co-working offices. You'll people, foreigners and locals, who run online businesses in the country of your interest.

That's a brainstorm of my thoughts on running a business in the Philippines, and probably to an extent elsewhere in the developing world! I hope it was of some help

Post: #6

/thread-57204...ght=Schlep

Post: #7

You should not risk $100k on the advice of strangers on the internet - particularly as anyone with a good idea is not going to share it with you so that you can get rich of their cleverness.

If you don't have an idea for a business, despite many years experience in an industry, then you are unlikely to be cut out for starting and building one.

You must be able to be a freelance IT consultant, or something like that. If you aren't a guy who takes to business naturally, there's no point trying to force it, you'll just lose money. Look for something you can apply your skills to, and see whether people will pay for it. IT consultancy (freelance) would be where I'd start in your shoes.

Post: #8

With 100K, you have enough money to create a product. Not a product that is expensive to develop, not a product that you would have to patent. Not something where you'd have drop $10K into each round of prototypes and thousands into market testing.

I'd suggest a web service that serves a niche and would be too much trouble to simply replicate for the big fish.

Another option is an import good business. 100K is enough to buy a large stock of something to get a low per unit price. However, the develop is in the details. Distribution is the challenge and you have to find a product to import for which there is demand that exceeds current supply.

Post: #9

Setup eCommerce stores.

Somewhat steep learning curve but you've got money to jump start the process with quick ad campaigns to test demand.

Post: #10

Go online and research, research, research..... Absolutely nothing wrong with asking people online it's how I met a partner in one of my businesses, just vet and learn about whom you're working with or taking advice from and or the field you decide to go in.

Post: #11

(11-18-2016 02:55 AM)IronShark Wrote:  ... due to the sanctions, starting a business is really difficult here. All markets suffer from a deep recession, including construction and international trade.

Sounds like a big problem. Solve it: try something like clerky.com.

Without knowing more about Iran in particular I can't suggest how exactly, clerky.com idea might be totally off base. You can get very good and recent books on how to do business in foreign countries, pick them apart and look for pain points. If Iran is anything like other similar countries I'm familiar with, there is not a whole lot of money to go around period.

In the end, it is as H1N1 said: try looking into your own IT experience.

Post: #12

Let me answer everything in one go:

Quote:I think you first should ask yourself what kind of skills you are bringing to the table. Are you a developer. a marketing guy, how good are you when it comes to sales?

Tech industry is becoming an extremely left wing place which makes it too difficult for people like us to breathe. Look at Silicon Valley or faggots in Shoreditch, London. My business will be in low tech sector. It could be a shop, or trading basic good. But definitely I'm not going to start an office with bunch of hipsters.

I have work experience with blue chip companies and have postgraduate degrees from top tier British universities. But I would say my main skills are in sales and team building. I can connect people very well and my interpersonal skills are quite good.

Quote:There are also a lot of Chinese and Korean run online casino companies which could certainly be very lucrative but I don't have the expertise to do it and it's not exactly a field where trial and error is a sensible idea.

I've worked in gambling industry and have good knowledge of it. However, gambling is illegal in Iran due to Islamic laws. However, there's a massive underground sport betting market here.

Quote:Aside from online businesses doing the work in the Philippines but catering to foreign customers, there is also a huge amount of potential for creating an online business, website or app for the Filipino market. Filipinos still don't really use the internet for most day to day things (eg shopping, buying tickets, watching movies) the way that we have done for many years in the West but that shift is happening. If you think Westerners are glued to their smartphones, Filipinos will blow your mind! There are very few good existing websites here and the few decent ones that there are are still generally more expensive and more hassle than doing the thing the old fashioned way (eg going to the shop, phoning a hotel, hailing a taxi). If you can get in and establish yourself as a market leader now (whilst there is not really any competition) before the shift truly happens, you'll be rich by the time the Philippines goes online.

This is a massive market opportunity. But let's ask why big boys and international companies haven't moved there already?

Quote:Western food and snack cafes and restaurants and fast food places are extremely poplar here and generally cost almost as much as they do in the west to buy things from (maybe 60% of the price on average). However, the wages, rent and overall running costs of these businesses are much lower than in the West so I image the profit margins are much higher!

I like this idea. Simple and always profitable if it's done properly.

Quote:You should not risk $100k on the advice of strangers on the internet - particularly as anyone with a good idea is not going to share it with you so that you can get rich of their cleverness.

That's also true. And I'm not going to put my life saving without any research.

Quote:With 100K, you have enough money to create a product. Not a product that is expensive to develop, not a product that you would have to patent. Not something where you'd have drop $10K into each round of prototypes and thousands into market testing.

I'm thinking about farming fish or farming in general. I need even less cash for this.

Quote:Another option is an import good business. 100K is enough to buy a large stock of something to get a low per unit price.

This is true. But the country I am in at the moment is suffering from deep recession and I will not be able to sell the stuff. There'e no cash in the market and they will buy your stock on credit which is not good.

On the other hand I have access to buy many products and export to the world. This way might work.

The other business you guys suggested already exist here. And they are well established. Plus it need huge amount of money (especially for marketing purposes).

I am thinking to start a business with half of that money and save the rest. When my first business takes off I can start another one. I personally don't want put all my eggs in one basket.

Any ideas?

Post: #13

You have sales and team building experience that puts you 10 steps ahead of others in the IT field (meaning the everyday freelancer or tech) go into Cyber security or some other lucrative field Bhire few appointment setters sale high end software, hardware something in a niche market like Law Office, dental office, EMR install and support it. You'll be living the dream in no time. Whatever you do decide do it on a shoestring budget, I wouldn't invest anymore than $15k in the high end, and see if it can and is actually making money.

Post: #14

What successful people have done where i live is either import shit from their original country (for example japs in colombia have a big part of the electronics business) or find shit to export to their home country.

Both of them are pretty straight forward and do not take too much time to recuperate starting capital.

Post: #15

What kind of stuff can you export out of Iran?

Besides hot persians and centerfuge parts?

Post: #16

You could dabble in cigarette trading around the Kish Island.

Random question, are girls easier to game due to the economic crisis? Are persian girls more personable in Iran or in the West? They act as if they're God's gift in the US.

Post: #17

(11-25-2016 02:02 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  Are persian girls more personable in Iran or in the West? They act as if they're God's gift in the US.

Really? Every Persian girl I've met in the U.S. has been very personable. It does seem that they tend to stick to their own, maybe more than other nationalities.

Post: #18

Any business, even selling manure can be an excellent business. If you quit your job and have made the commitment not to return to corporate life you're already ahead of the pack. The real question you have to ask yourself is what do you want to do everyday that also makes you good money. Even you're hobbies might give you clues at your next future business.

Post: #19

(11-18-2016 01:53 PM)ElJefe1 Wrote:  You have sales and team building experience that puts you 10 steps ahead of others in the IT field (meaning the everyday freelancer or tech) go into Cyber security or some other lucrative field Bhire few appointment setters sale high end software, hardware something in a niche market like Law Office, dental office, EMR install and support it. You'll be living the dream in no time. Whatever you do decide do it on a shoestring budget, I wouldn't invest anymore than $15k in the high end, and see if it can and is actually making money.

El Jefe, Could you elaborate on the EMR install and supporting it. Would like to know your knowledge about that industry.

Post: #20

(11-25-2016 02:31 PM)Merenguero Wrote:  

(11-25-2016 02:02 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  Are persian girls more personable in Iran or in the West? They act as if they're God's gift in the US.

Really? Every Persian girl I've met in the U.S. has been very personable. It does seem that they tend to stick to their own, maybe more than other nationalities.

We might have to exchange notes than man, your Persian for my Mexican. The ones in Tejas tend to act very tribalistic, sticking with their own kind and acting like they're Kim Kardashian.

Post: #21

(11-25-2016 01:42 AM)ms224 Wrote:  What kind of stuff can you export out of Iran?

Besides hot persians and centerfuge parts?

To be honest there is a long list.

Post: #22

Realistically your looking at immigrating to a place and going native to be able to start a business legally in another country. Your going to need to spend a lot of time looking at laws and how you can get your money into the country and how business is run. I honestly think the best way to go about it is maybe studying in the place you want to go to and scoping it out for a few months. If you like it enroll at a local university in some random program and leverage that to social circles.

Realize that 100k is a shitload of money in 2nd and 3rd world countries, most locals will never see that in their entire lives. They will also like to see that money parted away from you very quickly as well, so stay sharp and never let anyone know you have this $ and start in bits.

Post: #23

100K will buy you a few years in a cheap country - SEA, LatAm, EE or a combination of them if you live frugally and don't travel around too much.

Alternatively, if you live with your family and/or your current cost of living is low, you can stay there while you get your business up and running.

If I were you, I would consider bootstrapped/low investment ideas. I would not start a physical business in a foreign country I'm not familiar with.

Instead, I would try to start an online business: dropshipping, affiliate marketing, blogging, freelancing, whatever works for you.

I would also account for some of these business ventures failing, but eventually one or more of them will work out.

100K is enough to fail a few times unless you invest too much in each business venture (e.g. more than a few thousand bucks before you know if you succeed or fail).

Especially stay away from stupid ideas such as opening a bar or hotel in Thailand where you can't even get a proper visa and become a resident. Basically stay away from doing business on the ground in any country where people are relatively poor and/or government is corrupt. Exception to this rule may be your home country, particularly if you have connections and can make corruption work in your favor.

Post: #24

He should reach the elite and make outflows of their cash to England using his contacts there. In real estate, business opportunities, etc.

Post: #25

Or inflows of foreign capital into the country. Trying to get around the idiosyncracy of the country would be a nightmare. Work with foreigners.