another business closing at Bavaro ...

business all over is bad, but sometimes people open up a business without doing any background check. Open up and 5-7 months down the road their closed; go figure I guess sometimes people like to blow $700,000-$2,000,000 without thinking of the long term picture.
No business can make a profit in the first year, but desperation hit some business tycoons thinking they will breakeven in under 4 months.

rubenpriego said:

Well, what to say, it is absolutely sad and annoying looking how there is no way that Bavaro moves forward ...
In plaza Nautica (if I remember well its name), that new one, white, there was a business called "Berlin".
You were able to buy good sausages, meat, have a beer.
Right now it is closed.
Moreover, I remember that 5 months ago being here there was a new bar in that plaza where is supermarket alex and western union (dont remember the name). When I was having a beer there, waiter told me they just opened about 2 months ago. When I went back to Bavaro 2 months later (in Sept), that business already closed.
Of course what to say about Alale supermarket, still closed and looks like no one will open it again. It was the biggest supermarket in Cortecito area, so it is big shame to lose it.
It is a nightmare seeing that quality of life in Bavaro does not improve, so many empty spaces in plazas, so few businesses and options for the ones who live here.
Wondering if after some time, maybe a year, moving out from here to a more lively, more infrastructures, options place ...

Click to expand...

~Wow now Berlin is closed. We were just talking about this place to our German friends visiting in January...we were going to take them there for some authentic German cuisine...and its is ashame that Alale closed as well it was so convenient for quick stops, now its hit the guagua and go to Super Pola...hopefully things will turn around with the upcoming high tourist season ahead of us fingers crosseddddddddddd!!!!!

This is a world-wide epidemic. Businesses are closing all over. I live in Westchester County. Central Avenue has tons of businesses with "for rent" signs.

A friend of mine had to close his club he had open for over 10 years in the Bronx.

Sad situation. We just have to make the best of it. ; )

My wife and I discuss this topic often. (We're new condo owners in Cortecito... looking forward to spending more time there in the coming years.) We are generally more surprised at the businesses that actually survive, since there just does not seem to be the necessary population of people there to support the number of businesses in the area. We think that maybe when the new highway from S.D. opens, we'll see an increase of people around... Dominicans coming to P.C. for visits / vacations. That might help the local economy, (outside of the A.I.'s).

Many businesses do not survive not just because of the lack of trade but because of inadequate business planning and management. A beautiful aspect of this country is that if you have a great idea you can act on it pretty much immediately without becoming bogged down in rules, regulations, licensing and financial reviews. Those same 'benefits' can also kill you if you are not adept at managing a business!

The Dominican Republic remind me much of what I read about the 'Wild West' in America. Anyone is able to do anything to help make a living. Tangentially, anyone can do anything to anyone to screw it up as well. But with opportunity this broad comes an inherent responsibility to have the capability and / or capacity to deal with the ebb and flow of business in a tourism driven economy. This isn't really the Wild West so we can't be robber barons (they are already here, we are their serfs).

Before you start any business, develop a plan and focus the sustainable aspect of the business on your target demographic. If you base it purely on the tourism business you need to have exceptionally deep pockets (which few of us possess). Be careful focusing on that demographic!

It's terrible that businesses fail because we all enjoy the 'newness' and 'uniqueness' of new businesses. But more small businesses fail than survive...get used to it.

Most small businesses start out with very limited funds. They invest almost all of their money to get set up, they start, and the first couple of months are fantastic.

Unfortunately enough they need the income from the business to buy new supplies, and to survive themselves.

After the first couple of months they see business drop ( everybody tried the new place... ), and they get into trouble.

A good business plan has to take a longer view. You need the funds to survive at least a year. If you have a good business you will then break even. A very good business will then be able to sustain you. Count on 2 to 3 years to be able to save some decent money out of it.

Of course there are exceptions, but they are rare.

And always keep the funds from the business separated from your private funds for living

Volume

rubenpriego said:

Well, what to say, it is absolutely sad and annoying looking how there is no way that Bavaro moves forward ...
In plaza Nautica (if I remember well its name), that new one, white, there was a business called "Berlin".
You were able to buy good sausages, meat, have a beer.
Right now it is closed.
Moreover, I remember that 5 months ago being here there was a new bar in that plaza where is supermarket alex and western union (dont remember the name). When I was having a beer there, waiter told me they just opened about 2 months ago. When I went back to Bavaro 2 months later (in Sept), that business already closed.
Of course what to say about Alale supermarket, still closed and looks like no one will open it again. It was the biggest supermarket in Cortecito area, so it is big shame to lose it.
It is a nightmare seeing that quality of life in Bavaro does not improve, so many empty spaces in plazas, so few businesses and options for the ones who live here.
Wondering if after some time, maybe a year, moving out from here to a more lively, more infrastructures, options place ...

Click to expand...

The area caters predominantely to AI tourism.
Condo owners do not create enough volume to sustain such a business.They maybe would have done better in Sosua/Cabarete

The rents are too often based on high season and not a year-round business model. The owners won't lower the rents as long as there is someone who will pay double for six months plus security deposits. The same thing happens in here in the college town I live in where students are actually there for less than 7 months out of the year.

my greatest ambition in life is to be a college town property slum-lord. LOL having had two kids in college, I've seen first hand the dumps that are rented to students and the ASTRONOMICAL rents that are charged for these places. They get away with it because the properties are generally shared by a number of students, each paying a little less than what an apartment would cost on their own, but taken together the total rent is like highway robbery. Granted, these places are often trashed by having a large group of college kids live there... but the owners don't fix them up either.